Chapter 180 – The Man Who Appeared Without Warning

He was just about to down the last of his drink.

The sharp chill of the liquor had barely touched his lips when, without warning, a sudden gust of wind burst through the tightly sealed windows, slamming them open with a crash. The heavy curtains surged upward like waves caught in a storm.

Eryx’s brows furrowed sharply. He jerked his head up—and in the very next second, the glass in his fingers hit the floor with a sharp crack, scattering liquid across the tiles. His entire body tensed as though ice had been driven straight through his chest.

At some point—unseen, unheard—someone had taken the empty seat across from him.

The figure was so gaunt he hardly looked human. A long robe clung damply to his frame as though he had returned from a night of rain, yet his hair, though loose and falling to his shoulders, was oddly dry, as if it had been scorched by fire. His face was sharply cut, all bones and hollows, like it had been carved with a blade, and every line of it radiated a quiet mena