Sam wasn't usually called to the ORC.
Most of the time, he got dragged there—by Akeno, by Koneko, sometimes Asia, and lately Yumi. He helped when he was needed, passed through when he had time, then left.
This time, Rias had asked for him.
He walked with Asia during lunch.
They pushed the doors open together.
The room was already quiet.
Sam caught Asia hesitating as they stepped in. Not stopping—just slowing.
Rias was standing.
No one was talking.
That was what made it register.
Sam had been here before. Not often, but enough. Enough noise, enough teasing, enough casual chaos that silence like this didn't belong.
Koneko was sitting where she usually was. No snacks. No movement. Just waiting, arms folded.
Akeno was watching Rias. Not smiling. Not judging. Just focused.
Yumi stood a little apart, jaw tight, eyes moving once between Rias and the rest of the room.
Asia crossed the room and sat beside Koneko.
Sam followed them in, then stopped.
Sitting felt wrong.
It felt like the room needed him to stand.
"There's something I need to tell you all," Rias said. "This concerns my family."
Sam felt it click.
This was what last night had been about.
"I'm engaged," Rias said.
The room broke at once.
"Engaged?!"
"That's not—"
"President—?"
He felt it just before everyone's emotions exploded.
A flicker of displeasure.
Everyone started talking at once.
Sam spoke anyway.
"Who are you engaged to?"
The question cut the noise at the source.
Everyone looked at him, then back to Rias.
She hesitated.
Just for a moment.
"…a fellow devil noble," she said.
A few of them held their breath.
Sam felt it then.
Displeasure—sharp, heavy.
Close to hatred.
Akeno spoke before Rias could continue.
"Riser Phoenix?" she said, the name lifting at the end like a question she already knew the answer to.
Rias flinched.
Asia shook her head immediately. "That's not fair."
Koneko didn't hesitate. "You don't want this."
Rias didn't argue. "I don't."
Yumi frowned. "Then when?"
Rias looked away.
"Soon."
The word landed heavier than the announcement itself.
Sam watched the way she held herself still.
"How soon is soon?" he asked.
Rias opened her mouth—
The room shifted.
Magic snapped into place at the center of the room. No warning. No permission.
Flame flashed once.
Someone stepped out of it.
Tall. Broad. Dressed to be noticed. Red and gold. Flashy.
Blonde hair.
A smile already in place.
Confident. Possessive.
Like he'd arrived exactly where he belonged.
Sam felt it the second Rias looked at him.
The displeasure that had been sitting under everything surged forward—
and sharpened.
It was the same thing that had surfaced when the name was mentioned earlier.
Hatred.
That was enough.
Sam didn't need the introduction.
This is Riser Phoenix.
By the time Sam had realized, Riser was already talking.
"Ugh," he said. "I haven't been to the human world in a while."
Sam stayed where he was, attention narrowing, empath pressing in—not at the words, but at the man saying them.
Riser's eyes locked onto Rias.
"Rias," he said, a half-smirk pulling at his mouth. "My love."
The word rang hollow.
What Sam felt wasn't affection. It was possession. Certainty. The quiet confidence of someone who already thought he'd won.
Manipulation sat underneath it, smooth and practiced.
And just for a second, the voice wasn't Riser's.
Sam, my friend.
Sam's jaw tightened.
"I was beginning to think you'd forgotten your responsibilities," Riser said, looking around the room.
He gestured loosely as he spoke, taking in the space like it amused him. "All of this."
His gaze passed over the others without stopping.
"It's time you stop playing king," he said, eyes returning to Rias, "and start playing queen."
Anger flared somewhere close.
Sam didn't track who it came from. He was already locked in.
The empath hit spiked.
Not affection. Not irritation. Ownership.
And the image slipped.
For half a second, Riser wasn't there.
There was another boy in his place. Same posture. Same look. Blonde. Sun-darkened skin. A jersey instead of a coat.
You don't belong where you're standing, the memory said. You belong beneath me.
Sam's fingers dug into his palm.
He's not here, Sam told himself. He's not here.
The image snapped back to Riser.
Riser's attention drifted again.
Not hurried. Appraising.
His eyes moved over each of them in turn, slow and deliberate, like he was measuring what they were worth.
They stopped on Asia.
Sam felt it immediately—the flicker of interest.
"Well," Riser said, amused, "I didn't realize you'd started collecting nuns, Rias."
"What an exquisite gift," he added. "For me."
The room blurred.
Same boy. Same blonde hair. Same look that said the world owed him things.
An arm thrown around someone else's shoulders. Casual. Claiming.
All this… for me, Sam?
Sam's focus snapped back as Riser's eyes finally locked onto him.
"You seem to keep some unwanted company as well," Riser continued, dismissive. "No matter."
Cruelty. Thin. Effortless.
Not aimed. Not invested.
"We'll deal with it after we celebrate our union."
Rias spoke.
"That's enough."
Riser turned his head toward her, slow, almost curious.
"You're upset," he said. "That's understandable."
The empath shifted.
Annoyance. Mild. The irritation of something not moving the way it was supposed to.
"But this was decided long ago," Riser continued. "You know that."
Something in Sam's chest dipped, off-balance.
Riser kept talking.
"I gave you time," he said. "I let you pretend this mattered."
For a moment, Sam was lower.
Not standing.
Looking up.
He couldn't remember how he'd ended up there. If he'd fallen. If he'd been pushed. If he'd been crying—or if he'd already stopped.
He remembered asking—
Why?
"If you keep acting like this," Riser continued, "you'll get in the way."
The words had no heat.
No anger.
Just inevitability.
And Riser wasn't there anymore.
The same boy was looking down at him instead. Same posture. Same distance. Same casual ownership of the space Sam was occupying.
Not mad.
Not satisfied.
Just disappointed.
It was fun, the boy said, almost thoughtful.
And then you broke.
Sam felt it tear through him.
The pressure that empath had been holding back cracked—
and the mask along with it.
-------------
P*treon.com/Alex_DLC000 for earlier chapters!
I have two other novels, more incoming.
Apocalypse Kindergarten (This one was recently voted on)
Reset Hunter: Path of the Strongest