Jack was a single child, with no siblings, or even cousins for that matter, and grew up quite quickly as a result. Still, as a man with enough close friends, he knew all to damn well just how good it felt to mess with them. To horse around and then laugh in amusement when your antics and mischief bore fruit. Much like it would work with siblings, he supposed. From what he had heard from such people, it was both incredibly fulfilling when you were the mastermind, and just as irritating when you were the but of the joke.

  But what he was doing now? He felt it surpassed everything he had done before. At least as far as the pranks and mischief went. So much so that he could no longer classify his current actions as anything of such low and generally harmless scale. No, what he had offered, and then- with Nivi's tacit agreement went on to implement- was downright malicious, though without a doubt well deserved.

  The idea was simple. Once he had seen the exquisite similarity in looks between Nivi, her older sister and her mother, he had come up with a rather nasty mind fuck plot. Abusing his overpowered appraisal, he could easily single out the people who were of significant importance to the mother/daughter pair, and then begin his plot. Using and abusing his recently created stealth spell, he found just the right moment's to briefly reveal Nivi to the chosen targets while being not quite where they should, all too well aware it would come up in the coming conversation between both parties. Then, rinse and repeat, with several others of similar status.

  Then, once the bait had been set, the duo moved to the next targets- the mother/daughter pair themselves, repeating the same ritual. A somewhat bloodthirsty ghost that held a crumbling sand castle for one, laughing at the coming misfortune of the observer. A brief glimpse for the other- a prelude for a much more sinister second act. He could hardly wait for it to come.

  Nivi too seemed to enjoy it all. Playing her role to a perfection Jack could do nothing but appreciate. A quick done and gone revenge just did not sit well with her it seemed. And so, once the mother joined Ivelyana and Velunia in their private room, the duo turned their attention towards the last target of their revenge. The one that would end as the eternal servant and keyholder of the modified dungeon in the Cradle.

  But first things first, and a fair amount of mental torture would have to be visited upon the failure of a father that the lord of this particular family just happened to be. And while Jack could go and do a shoddy work for a quick result, he refused to waste such a heaven sent opportunity, especially since he found it to be quite fun and entertaining. Thus, the duo of master and maid snuck out of the hall that held the gathering, spending the next hour or so sneaking through the entirety of the mansion, with Jack doing things, most of which was planting extremely well hidden formation markings of his own.

  Jack and Nivi then returned to the hall once again, his spirit tracking his three targets at all times. The mother daughter duo had just finished their chat with their important matron guest, while the father had picked up the slack and made rounds as he interacted with the guests, serving as the dutiful host that he was supposed to be. Ameliana joined him as soon as she was once again able, shrinking the pressure the man was under.

  "My apologies dear guests." she smiled as she slid herself within the group "When lady Velunia graces your house with her presence, you seize the opportunity. Or am I wrong?"

  A chorus of slightly awkward laughter followed her words, joined with nods of agreement and understanding, though some gazes even held a momentary flash of envy, concealed just as quickly as they arose. The unnerving experience from not that long ago had been pushed back as a momentary lapse due to a glass not properly cleaned Ameliana had had the misfortune to sample her drinks from. Yes, that was most definitely it and not anything much, much more ominous. Surely.

  "Oh, the mother is starting to spiral. Slowly for the moment though." Jack snickered with an evil undertone in his voice, bringing a small, satisfied smile to Nivi's face as well.

  "But we are only getting started. Right?" Nivi asked, a spark of vindication flashing through her eyes.

  "We have plenty of time, so yes, we are only getting started. But since they will become your servants at the very end, breaking them entirely is not advised. Trust me, you will thank me for this down the line."

  "Mhm. Alright." Nvi nodded once more in agreement to Jack's words.

  It was not advisable to blast the entirety of your ammo load in one sitting. Sure, it might feel good in that particular moment, but when just moments later a very special trophy beast emerges from the forest despite the noise you had made just moments earlier, you would curse all that is holy for your own shortsightedness as well as the Murphy's law for its existence. So, to save Nivi from the same further down the road, he did the responsible thing.

  That did not mean their fun was over for the evening. There was still the father to mess with. And Jack was nothing if not an equal opportunity offender. As such, he sneaked around and found the perfect spot to perch his ass on, dragging Nivi along with him as his mind already was going full throttle, figuring the best way to dish out some mental damage to the only male member of Nivi's direct family.

  Jack was once again abusing his appraisal skill to milk all the necessary information, going so far as to quickly read through what he could only call a quick overview of his targets life.

  "Hmm, hmm, I think I got it." Jack nodded a few minutes later, turning his head towards Nivi and explaining his thought process. And seeing an almost childlike glee spreading across her face, he concluded that his plan was just good enough. The man in question had been the deciding vote in Nivi's mind sealing and exile.

  And so the two waited for the perfect moment, their eyes locked on the man of the hour, evening more like it since they did not quite know when the desired perfect moment would come. Spark of mischief in Jack's eyes while Nivi's reflected that and a sense of vindication and anger, intermingled with a lot of disappointment and disgust. It was all good. The festering wound would be surgically cut open, cleansed and sutured so it could heal nice and quick. Jack would make sure of it.

  The evening gala, or whatever the hell the elves called this particular event was slowly coming to a close. The food eaten, gossip exchanged and several new deals, schemes and other such plans were put in motion- as expected of the high society of any culture.

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  Of course, it would not be quite right for the host to remain silent, to not grace their guests with a final statement. A pat on one's own back and what not. And so the ruling couple of the hosting family took center stage, heads held high as they drew the attention of all those present. A glass in each ones free hand as they were joined at the elbow with their other hands, displaying a couple in harmony despite their long marriage.

  The man of the house cleared his throat rather loudly, drawing in the eyes and ears of the last few guests who had not immediately clocked them. One he knew he and Ameliana had the attention, he gave way for his dear wife to speak. She so loved to after all.

  "Dear guests and friends. It has been such a pleasure to host this small gathering of peers. To exchange the later gossip and to strengthen our bonds...."

  Ameliana continued her speech, as all self important and arrogant high elves would. And her fellow peers patiently waited for her to finish. It was only right. They too would hate to have their monologue disrupted. Jack and Nivi did not, however, pay any attention to said monologue. Both had already left their previous perching spot and moved on to another location, preparing to deliver a small, sneaky stab to a certain house head's mind.

  Using Nivi's memories, Jack had recreated the same dress she had worn when she was judged guilty of a crime she did not commit, her memories sealed and then her being promptly exiled, never to return and most likely fall into the hands of beastmen where she would become a slave and suffer the rest of her life. Then, once Nivi had donned it, Jack added a few finishing touches to her visage. A couple streaks of bloody tears sliding over her cheeks, a set of relatively small, but sinister looking wings behind her back, slowly flopping behind her back, and a dark, oversized and sinister scythe in her right hand. She gave off quite the unnerving feeling.

  "Quite grim if I do say so myself. What 'cha think?" Jack questioned, fishing out a full body mirror from his spatial storage and showing Nivi her current look, slightly startling the elven maid for a split second, only for her to draw closer to the mirror the next, admiring her current look, fascination flashing through her eyes.

  "Wow. I look, monstrous, yet still decidedly me."

  "That was the point, no? How else would he realize the identity of the 'monster' now haunting him?" Jack smiled, stashed the mirror away and pulled Nivi along, finding the correct place to maximize the impact. The pair did not have to wait too long. Thankfully. Ameliana's speech finally coming to an end. She gave the spotlight back to the man of the house, only for Jack to act a few words in.

  The glass doors to one of the balconies suddenly sprang open, accompanied by a roar of thunder not far away, followed immediately after by a rather cold and shiver inducing wind. And all that despite there not being a single dark cloud anywhere in the sky all day long, and despite the climate being very warm this time of the year.

  Then, a dark, swirling portal shimmered into existence, heralding the arrival of something dark and ominous. Another roar of thunder, this time accompanied by a bright flash of light, forcing all those within the hall to close their eyes and look away for a split moment. Once they lifted their eyes back to the balcony in question, the swirling portal had apparently produced something. There stood a frightening image of an elven woman, face streaked in bloody tears. Dark, evil looking wings slowly flapping behind her back and a large, sinister looking scythe helf in one of the girls hands. And those eyes. Pitch black as though it could draw out your soul if you stared too long in them.

  Yet what sent the greatest chill down the spines of the spectators was the facial features of the being. It look so much like Ameliana and Ivelyana. One would not be wrong to guess they might even be related. And those that were present when Nivi was found guilty despite her pleas of innocence, punished and exiled, would also recognize the dress the entity was wearing. It was rather unique after all.

  "Payment's due." a grating, sinister voice that sounded like nails drawn across a chalkboard resounded from the entities throat "She remembered you all!", it hissed, then proceeded to laugh in a half maddened cackle, and then another nearby lightning strike followed- one that forced all eyes to momentarily close once again. And then there was nothing. The entity, along with the portal, was gone. As was the wind, the chill and all other evidence of what the guests had just witnessed.

  A stunned silence permeated the hall, followed eventually by a number of glances slowly moving towards Ameliana and her husband, both of whom still stood seemingly frozen on the spot. They did recover relatively quickly afterwards, though it was not even slightly in doubt that they were still shaken by the encounter. As was everyone else who witnessed it to be fair, some with greater reason than others. Everyone had felt the oppressive feeling the entity exuded. So much so that it was very much a possibility, almost a guaranteed likelihood in fact, that it was above level twenty- five. A second awakening level monster. Not one person who saw the entity, believed for even a second that it was anything but a monster of an unknown species. And worse yet, it seemed to possess intelect, and worse yet- a grudge to settle.

  And so the guests began to filter out, finding any excuse they could to depart as soon as possible. Those believing themselves unrelated to the whole ordeal did not wish to 'catch stray bullets' by accident of sheer proximity, and those who knew they played a part in the origin story of the entity, were just as inclined to put as much distance between themselves and the contaminated area as possible so they could start and brainstorm for solutions.

  Of course, etiquette still had to be observed, for in the event this unknown entity was nothing more than a farce, no one wanted to fall out with a family as prominent and influential as Nivi's blood relatives. Thankfully, the event was more or less already over, and due to the interruption there would be no other speech to follow. And many a guest could use the excuse of them rushing back home to dig through their own family libraries in hopes they would have some information of the entity they had encountered and mayhaps methods to deal with it.

  Jack and Nivi were watching all of this happening, both holding their bellies as they laughed. Sure, they might have strayed from the original plan- haunting only Nivi's family for a while before swooping in for the proverbial kill, decapitating the family by spiriting away Nivi's parents and her wretched sister. By playing as they did, they could make the mysterious entity more of a legendary horror story that those left behind would use to scare their own children into obedience. There would be little question as to who the culprit was if any other noble family that had been involved in Nivi's sentencing suddenly experienced some bizzare streak of misfortune and attacks.

  "Let's deliver another strike to your former family in the morning before we spread our claws to other noble families complicit in your exile."

  "if you think it best master." Nivi responded near instantly as her intense yet paradoxically soft gaze was glued to Jack's form. She was having it bad, and she knew it too. She was falling for her master more and more by the second. Thankfully, she would come to the conclusion that she would be happy even if all she could do was serve him as his maid until her dying breath. Not that she would complain, or mind one bit if, and hopefully when, he would call for her to share his bed. Hell, she was even hoping it would happen, and sooner rather than later. And then, the more often the better.

  The duo then departed the hall as well, finding a room that was left unused by the family for quite some time and rested their bodies as well, mentally already preparing for the shenanigans they would get to come morning. They had a whole elven city to terrorize, and only so much time in the day to do so as well.

  Jack Raja(?)

  Age- 27

  Species- human(?)

  Level- 50

  Class- Greater twin aspect of Creation and Destruction(Ex)

  Stats unassigned: +14

  Attributes:

  Strength- 39 (14+12+13(gear))

  Vitality- 38 (12+18+8(gear))

  Dexterity- 34 (15+11+8(gear))

  Intelligence-30(15+10+5(gear)

  Spirit- Spirit- 35 (20+15)

  Skills- Wisdom of Creation and destruction(EX), Choice of the creator(EX), Eyes of procurer(EX), Matter storage(EX+), Arukain language(C), Spark of inspiration(EX+), Origin of matter(EX+), Unbound by laws of the lessers(EX+), The end made manifest(EX+). Destroyers presence(unique legendary), It's all the same, really.(EX), Domain of Destruction(EX).

  Spells- Whatever the heck he needs.

  Titles(unlocked): The real Monster, Big Game Hunter, The brilliant rookie, The insane Solo. Monster debugger.The actor. Executioner. Survivor. Pioneer, Record breaker.The new champion supreme. Slavemaster, Eldritch garbage disposal(legendary).

  Gear: Two handed sword(t3)+ 5 str +5 vit: Armor 3str +3 vit +3 dex; Ring 1 - spatial storage, ring 2 +5int, ring 3 +5 str; amulet +5 dex.