INFINIX

PROLOGUE: "Kill him!" King Xhen commanded from his throne, forged from the skulls of all his enemies. The condemned was a mere peasant from INFINIX who had dared to enter the castle of Oxlander to protest the exorbitant tax rates. The executioners were demons who served the king. Ever since they lost the Holy War a thousand years ago, the demon race had been forced to serve as the army of the kingdom of Oxlander. Kronx was King Xhen’s general—a mighty demon and a direct descendant of Ares. It was Kronx himself who drew his sword and, without the slightest hint of remorse, severed the peasant’s head in a single stroke. The audience in the hall applauded. The king’s subjects were obliged to support his every decision, no matter how wicked. "Any other business?" asked the king. No one spoke. It seemed the session was over for the day. However, Kronx did not sheathe his sword, as was customary at the close of every court. "There is something else, Your Majesty," Kronx said. "Then speak. I don’t have all damned day," replied the king, waving his fingers impatiently. "I want you to get your damned ass off my throne," Kronx said, threatening the king with his blade. Outside the castle of Oxlander, the king’s three most powerful warriors were resting after a brutal battle in the Valley of Shadows when the shouts from inside the castle reached them. Xilos, Draxler, and Priax were direct descendants of the ancient gods—the mighty beings who had fought and won the Holy War against the demons over a thousand years ago. Heirs to the gods’ system, they possessed a gift that granted them extraordinary combat prowess. They ran into the castle, spurred by the alarm that King Xhen was in danger. They tore down the corridors with all the speed their legs could muster. For a moment, relief washed over them as they entered the royal hall and saw the king still seated on his skull throne. Surely it had been a false alarm, they thought. But their relief turned to horror when they saw the sword piercing the king’s back. A sword they recognized instantly—the weapon of the most powerful demon in the realm… Kronx. Kronx emerged from the shadows, seized the dead king’s head, and after withdrawing his sword from the lifeless flesh, tossed the body to the floor as if it were a sack of potatoes. He sat on the skull throne and fixed his eyes on the three warriors, a malevolent grin spreading across his demonic face. The three warriors looked at each other for a brief moment. The time had come to decide where their loyalty lay—whether to fight for King Xhen and avenge his death, or to submit to the demon Kronx, the new ruler of Oxlander. --- Chapter 1: IT’S AN ORDER! Mark was driving down the city’s central highway. It was already late, and he was on his way to stand guard at his boss’s mansion. He worked for Rick Mijak, one of the most important and dangerous mobsters in the world. But something on the road made him slam on the brakes. A strange man stood at the side of the road. His clothing was unusual, as if he had stepped out of a medieval play or something similar. What stood out most was how lost he seemed—disoriented, as if he didn’t belong there. Mark pulled over and went to offer the stranger some help. "Do you need help?" Mark asked, hopping over the safety barrier. The man only turned to glance at him, then stared back into the void—the enormous abyss below, as if contemplating a jump. "What’s your name?" Mark pressed. "Stay back or I’ll jump," the man warned. Mark raised his hands in a calming gesture. "I just want to know your name," he said. "My name was Xilos," the man replied, edging closer to the bridge’s ledge. "Was? What do you mean?" Mark couldn’t make sense of the situation. Perhaps the man was deeply disturbed—someone simply tired of living. "Now you will be Xilos," the man said, throwing Mark a strange bracelet he had removed from his wrist. Mark caught it with impressive reflexes, but that brief distraction was enough—the man hurled himself into the void before anyone could stop him. Mark knew the man was dead. There was no surviving such a fall, ending on jagged rocks below. He needed to leave immediately. A mobster’s bodyguard found near a corpse would be in serious trouble. He floored the accelerator and, within minutes, arrived at his boss’s mansion—earlier than ever, even with a few minutes to spare. When he stopped the car, he noticed he still held the strange bracelet the man had thrown at him. He examined it, spotting a mysterious green glow emanating from within. But his focus shifted when he saw his girlfriend’s car parked just a few meters from the mansion’s main entrance. "What the hell is going on here?" Mark muttered, too distracted to notice how close his hand was to the bracelet. Suddenly, the bracelet latched onto his wrist, as if alive. He struggled to remove it, but it clung to his skin, though it caused no pain. Still, there were more pressing matters at hand. He could deal with the stupid, glowing bracelet later. Right now, the priority was figuring out why his girlfriend’s car was there. Mark knew the mansion well, which meant he knew exactly how to sneak in. The back door was a secret entrance for those who knew how to use it properly. He moved stealthily, avoiding the other guards—colleagues whose positions he knew by heart. He reached the hallway leading directly to Rick Mijak’s bedroom—his boss, and the most dangerous mobster in the world. A very familiar sound caught his attention immediately—his girlfriend’s voice. Moans. Not cries of pain, but unmistakable moans of pleasure. Mark’s legs went weak. A sickly tremor ran through his body, and his mouth filled with a bitter taste. Still, he didn’t stop. He pushed the bedroom door open just enough to see his naked girlfriend on top of his naked boss. "Mark! What are you doing here?" his girlfriend blurted, quickly sliding off her boss’s erection. "Get out, Mark! That’s an order!" Rick Mijak barked shamelessly. A surge of rage and helplessness flooded Mark’s mind. They hadn’t even bothered to close the door. His eyes burned red with the heat of his own blood. "Bastards!" Mark’s roar filled the room as he launched himself at Rick Mijak, punching him repeatedly in the face. In a fit of madness, he was beating the most dangerous and murderous mobster in the world.