Night fell quietly, wrapped in rain.
Not a storm this time—just a soft, persistent drizzle, like the sky whispering instead of screaming.
I checked my phone before reaching home. Nothing important. No answers. No relief.
A few minutes later, I stepped inside, dropped my bag, and let my body fall onto the floor. The TV flickered to life, filling the silence with meaningless noise.
Then… a knock.
I opened the door.
Alya.
She smiled—and before I could react, she wrapped her arms around me.
"Good evening, Darksito. I came to visit… and stay the night. Kim and Mom went to my grandma's again, so…" she tilted her head playfully, "…tonight I'm staying with you."
I sighed, stepping aside.
She didn't wait. She took my hand and pulled me straight into the kitchen.
"Let's cook something delicious."
She searched through the cabinets with determination… and terrible resources.
Spices. Lamb. That was it.
I gently grabbed her shoulders and sat her down.
"You're my guest. Stay there. I'll cook."
She blinked.
"You cook?"
"Just pick a movie," I said. "We'll watch while I make dinner."
She blushed… then nodded, pulling out her phone and choosing a fantasy film.
I started working—washing vegetables, cutting, seasoning.
Her eyes never left me.
"Why do you want to cook for me?"
I smiled faintly.
"You want to marry me, right? Then we should share things equally."
I paused.
"…Though I should probably do more."
She froze.
Then—
She screamed in excitement and jumped on me.
We fell to the floor.
Her laughter melted into something softer… warmer… dangerous.
Before I could speak, she kissed me.
Deep. Intense. Possessive.
My thoughts blurred.
My heartbeat lost rhythm.
"I adore you," she whispered between breaths. "No matter what happens… you'll always be mine."
She kissed me again.
And again.
Minutes passed before she finally pulled away, breathless.
"Sorry… I couldn't hold back."
She sat down again like nothing happened.
I… just stood there for a moment before returning to cooking.
Dinner turned out… unexpectedly good.
She took one bite—
—and her eyes widened.
"This is the best thing I've ever eaten."
She started eating faster.
Desperately.
Like she had discovered something sacred.
I stared, confused.
"…Really?"
"You're incredible," she said. "You're good at so many things. You just refuse to see it."
I looked away.
"…I'm not."
She sighed softly.
"You undervalue yourself too much."
Later, we watched movies. Ate. Laughed.
For a moment…
I felt normal.
Safe.
Human.
When it was time to sleep, I told her to take the bed.
She ignored me.
Dragged me with her.
Threw me onto it.
And laid beside me, wrapping her arms around me like I might disappear.
She kissed my forehead.
My cheek.
Then my lips.
Again.
And again.
Half an hour passed in quiet affection before she finally fell asleep.
Still holding me.
I didn't move.
I couldn't.
Tears slipped silently from my eyes.
Because for the first time in fifteen years…
Someone was holding me while I slept.
Morning came gently.
She made breakfast.
We ate together.
Then she drove me to school.
Before I got out, she looked at me.
"Tomorrow… come with me somewhere. I want to tell you something important."
I kissed her cheek.
"I will."
She smiled.
"Good. Now go—and punch Kim for me."
We both laughed.
But the moment I stepped inside the school…
Something felt wrong.
The air.
The silence.
The weight.
From the ceiling vents… whispers began to leak.
Soft.
Repetitive.
Unnatural.
"Qel'vethra…"
"Darkür…"
My breath shortened.
My vision blurred.
My hands trembled.
I ran.
Straight to the garden.
I collapsed onto my knees, searching desperately for my pills.
I took two.
Waited.
Breathed.
The roses nearby… were bleeding again.
I forced myself back to class.
Minho wasn't there.
Still sick.
Or worse.
The teacher sent me away to rest.
But something…
Something else was calling me.
The auditorium.
On my way, my phone rang.
Minho.
I answered.
Silence.
Then—
His eyes appeared on the screen.
White.
Empty.
And he began to sing.
In that language.
I hung up immediately.
The whispers returned.
Louder.
Pulling me forward.
The auditorium doors creaked open.
Darkness swallowed everything inside.
And then—
A push.
I fell forward.
The doors slammed shut behind me.
She was there.
The woman.
"Seems this school is incompetent at punishment," she said calmly. "Don't worry… I'll educate you myself."
She snapped her fingers.
The shadows moved.
Danced.
Twisted into shapes that weren't human anymore.
Something spoke.
Not from her.
From deeper.
From everywhere.
"You are the cause. Everyone you love will die… because of you."
Images flooded my mind.
A ruined city.
Mountains of corpses.
A throne made of heads.
And her—
Sitting above it all.
Behind her… a portal.
Tentacles emerging from something beyond existence.
Five stakes.
Five bodies.
My friends.
Broken.
Dead.
And then—
Alya.
She lifted her.
Smiling.
And tore her in half.
Blood covered me.
I screamed.
"I DID NOTHING! I DON'T WANT THIS! WHY ME?!"
She laughed.
Loud.
Cruel.
"You'll understand… when it happens."
Snap.
I was back.
Alone.
Crying.
Curled in a corner.
The whispers returned.
"Your destiny is to watch them die…"
"Your suffering will never end…"
"Your existence is a mistake…"
Then—
A piano.
Soft.
Familiar.
A memory surfaced.
A child.
Me.
Three years old.
Wrapped in blood.
That same melody.
"STOP… PLEASE… MAKE IT STOP…"
The doors burst open.
Silence.
Everything vanished.
I ran.
But before leaving—
I looked back.
She was there.
Cleaning the piano.
With a cloth stained in golden blood.
She looked up.
Smiled beneath her hood.
And whispered—
"Goodbye… my prince."
"My lord of darkness."
The door slammed.
After that…
Everything became distant.
Voices.
Hands.
Concern.
Nothing felt real.
When I woke up…
I was in a hospital.
A doctor stood beside me.
"You've been in a coma," he said. "Ten days."
Ten days.
Gone.
Like nothing.
Then—
Alya entered.
The moment I saw her—
I broke.
I hugged her tightly, crying uncontrollably.
"I don't want to lose you… I couldn't save you… I'm not enough…"
She held my face gently.
"You won't lose me."
She kissed my forehead.
"Fear is your enemy. But it doesn't have to control you."
Her voice was warm.
Steady.
Real.
"I'll be with you. Always. When you're afraid… I'll hold your hand."
Her words wrapped around me like light.
And for the first time since that nightmare—
I felt… safe.
I fell asleep in her arms.
"Stay with me…"
"I will."
Her voice was soft.
Infinite.
"When darkness tries to devour you… I'll be the light that devours it instead."
And as I drifted into sleep…
I realized something terrifying.
Even light…
Can cast shadows.