Chapter 4 Shadows of Obedience

The days that followed were drenched in luxury and clouded by questions.

Elion now lived like a man reborn. His old phone, with its cracked screen and lagging apps, had been replaced with the latest model. His basic apartment was forgotten - he now lounged in a penthouse suite with glass walls and leather furniture imported from Milan. Money had become a flowing river in his life. Whatever he desired appeared, as if summoned by his thoughts.

But beneath the comfort, a storm brewed.

He could feel her presence everywhere. In the hum of the elevator, in the flickering lights, even in the wind that rustled the curtains late at night. The goddess was watching. Waiting. Testing.

It started with small things.

His phone buzzed one morning with a new message.

A man will knock on your door by 10 a.m. You will give him $5,000. No questions. No words. Only obedience.

Elion blinked at the message.

He stared at the screen for nearly five minutes before moving. His heart thudded in protest, but his feet obeyed. From the wardrobe, he retrieved one of the thick envelopes that had begun arriving mysteriously in his room - bundles of clean, crisp hundred-dollar bills.

At 9:59 a.m., the knock came.

A man in a gray hoodie stood in the hallway. No greeting. No eye contact.

Elion handed him the envelope silently. The man left without a word.

He closed the door, breath ragged.

Obedience.

This was her first command. It wasn't dangerous. It wasn't even difficult. But it was the control that terrified him. She was testing him. Teaching him. Molding him into her servant with the gentlest of hands - for now.

Each task after that was more unnerving.

One evening, another message came:

Fire the concierge. He's been stealing from the guests. You are to report him to management. Immediately.

Elion hesitated. He liked Marcus, the concierge. The guy had always been helpful, warm even. But the goddess didn't leave room for doubt.

He obeyed.

Later, he learned that Marcus had been pocketing tips and overcharging guests for premium bookings. Somehow, she'd known.

The line between right and wrong was becoming blurred. He was doing what she asked - but was it his decision anymore?

Still, the rewards came.

His account ballooned to $134,000 within a week.

Luxury cars appeared in the building's garage registered under his name - sleek beasts with matte black paint and roaring engines. Strangers began treating him differently. People looked twice. Women smiled. Waiters bowed. Businessmen offered cards and invites to places he'd never imagined stepping into.

But the mark on his chest never faded.

And the dreams - oh, the dreams - grew more intense.

She came to him at night, clothed in nothing but firelight and stardust. Her touch sent lightning through his veins. Her voice wove itself into his bones.

"Elion... I am making you into something worthy."

"But worthy of what?" he asked once in the dream.

"Worthy of my realm," she had answered.

One evening, Elion stood before the massive window in his suite, watching the rain bleed down the glass like melted silver. The city below was alive, pulsing with neon and noise. Yet he felt detached from it all - like a man floating in a different world.

Then came the call.

This time, her voice wasn't a whisper.

"Elion," she said, clear and commanding. "Tonight, you will go to Room 707 at the Grand Vale Hotel. A man will be waiting. He has something that belongs to me."

"What is it?" he asked.

"His memory," she said. "And his silence."

The line went dead.

Elion froze.

He'd followed commands before. But this - this wasn't just giving money or reporting a thief. This felt... darker.

And yet, he found himself dressing in all black. His heart pounded, but he moved like a man possessed. In the back of his mind, a voice whispered, You owe her. You belong to her.

The Grand Vale was only ten minutes away.

Room 707 was unlocked when he arrived.

Inside, a man in his fifties sat on a chair, smoking. His eyes flicked up as Elion entered, full of recognition - not fear. "So," the man said with a smirk, "she finally sent someone."

Elion's throat tightened. "What do you mean?"

"She doesn't like loose ends," the man replied. "We all think we're special until we realize we're just tools."

"I don't want to hurt anyone," Elion said.

"You won't have to," the man said, holding out a small black envelope. "Take it. Burn it. That's all she wants. And then you walk away - for now."

Elion's fingers trembled as he took the envelope. It felt cold, unnaturally cold, like something pulled from deep earth.

The man gave a dry chuckle. "She's grooming you. You know that, right? She'll break you in slowly. She likes obedience."

Elion backed out of the room and left.

When he returned to his suite, he lit a candle and burned the envelope without opening it.

It screamed.

Not in sound - but in sensation. A sharp pressure pierced the back of his eyes as the flames consumed the paper. Then, silence.

The mark on his chest glowed red - then vanished completely.

His phone buzzed.

Well done, Elion. Your obedience is beautiful. Prepare for your awakening.

He dropped the phone.

Something was coming.

Something much bigger than money or power.

Something divine - and irreversible.