2:52
Rael feels Jin shiver—a soft, eager sound escaping his throat that almost pushes Rael over the edge again. He knows he *should* be done, that he should give Jin a moment to recover…
But feeling Jin react like this, like he *wants* him just as much as before—
It's impossible to ignore.
He rolls his hips up, pressing against him in a deliberate, *torturous* way, and is rewarded with a broken moan, and fingers clenching tight enough to bruise.
2:55
Jin bucks upward, almost *keening*, when Rael rolls against him again—and there's no way to hold back now. He's shaking again, need burning hot as fire. Rael grips his hip, pulling him up, closer, *closer*, until there's almost nothing left but the heat that's driving them both now. Their lips connect again—teeth against lips, tongue against tongue in a brutal dance.
And just when he's convinced they'll both ignite…
A whisper drifts through the room again…
But this time?
It sounds familiar, like
2:58
…like *Jin's own voice*.
> **"Don't lose yourself…"**
> **"Not even for him."**
Rael freezes—half above Jin, breath caught mid-gasp. His eyes snap open.
Jin doesn't move either.
He's rigid beneath Rael, pupils blown wide—not from desire now, but *dread*.
> "That wasn't… me," he whispers.
Rael slowly lifts his head, scanning the room—the broken window, the shadowed walls. The air feels thick again… *alive*. Like something is breathing just beyond sight.
He rolls off Jin in one smooth motion and stands—naked and unashamed—but coiled like a blade ready to strike.
His voice cuts through the dark:
> "Show yourself."
No answer.
Just silence…
and the faintest echo of laughter—
from somewhere deep inside Jin's mind.
---
3:01
The room is dead silent. Even the rain outside seems to hold its breath.
Rael stands at the edge of broken glass, muscles taut, eyes scanning the dark corners like he can *cut* through shadows with his gaze alone.
Jin slowly sits up, arms wrapped around himself—suddenly cold despite the heat between them moments ago. He stares at his own trembling hands.
> "It's still in me," he whispers. "That thing… it's not gone."
Rael turns—fast—and crosses back to him in two strides. He grabs Jin's shoulders, not hard, but *firm*, forcing him to look up.
> "Listen to me," Rael growls. "Whatever it is—whatever got inside you—it doesn't *own* you."
> "You chose me tonight. That means something stronger than possession."
Jin's lower lip trembles—not from fear now—but from guilt.
Shame.
Like he's already betrayed something sacred.
> "What if I lose myself again?" His voice cracks.
> "What if… I hurt you?"
Rael says nothing for a long beat.
Then—
he pulls Jin into his chest and wraps both arms around him like a vow carved in flesh and blood.
> "…Then I'll be there," he murmurs into Jin's hair.
> **"And I'll bring you back."**
3:04
They stay like that—wrapped around each other amid broken glass and dark room—for a long moment. Then Rael moves back, arms slipping around Jin's waist as he lifts him effortlessly. Jin clutches at him like a lifeline, head resting against his shoulder.
> "Do you hear me, Jin?" Rael mumbles into his hair. "Whatever happens… we fight *together*. Together."
Jin closes his eyes, holding back the tears.
> "Together," he whispers. "I promise."
He feels… *whole* again. Like that *thing
3:07
…like that *thing* inside him stirs—just once—then falls silent, as if cowed by the bond between them.
Rael carries Jin to the far corner of the room—away from the shattered window, where shadows pool thickest. He sets him down gently on a torn blanket, then kneels beside him.
> "No more lies," Rael says softly. "No more hiding."
> "If it wants to take you… let it come. I'll be waiting."
He pulls Jin close again, wrapping both arms around him like armor.
Outside—the storm finally breaks.
Rain slows to a hush.
The wind stills.
But deep beneath their feet?
A pulse throbs in silence—
ancient.
hungry.
*awake*.
---
3:10
Jin shifts closer, pressing his ear to Rael's chest—listening to the steady beat of his heart. It grounds him. Keeps him real.
> "I don't want it back," he whispers. "I don't *ever* want to feel that again… being hollow… watching myself do things I didn't mean…"
Rael runs a hand gently through his hair—his voice low, rough with promise.
> "Then we destroy it."
> "Whatever's left inside you—we rip it out."
> "And if it fights?" He smirks—a dark glint in his eye.
> *"Then I'll burn its shadow from your soul."*
Jin looks up at him—eyes wide with fear and something deeper... love so fierce it hurts.
He reaches up, touches Rael's cheek—the scar along his jaw.
The one he got fighting for *him* last time.
And without warning—he kisses him.
Soft.
Desperate.
Like a vow sealed in breath and blood.
---
3:12
The kiss deepens—slow, aching, full of everything they can't say out loud.
Jin clings to him like he's afraid Rael might vanish. Rael responds by pulling him closer, hand sliding into his hair as if to anchor him in place.
For a moment, the world is silent again.
No whispers.
No shadows.
Just warmth… and breath… and beating hearts.
Then—
a *drip*.
Soft at first.
They break apart just as the first drop falls—onto Jin's shoulder. Cold. Wrong somehow.
They both look up.
The ceiling is intact…
but above them—hovering in midair—is a single black droplet of *something*. Not water. Thick. Oily. It glistens like ink under moonlight—but pulses faintly, like a heartbeat.
Another drop forms.
Then another.
Floating in midair around them now—like rain suspended in time…
and each one hums with quiet malice.
> "It heard us," Jin breathes.
Rael stands slowly—pulling Jin behind him—and glares at the floating drops circling them like vultures.
> "Good," he says coldly.
> **"Let it know…"**
> **"...we're coming for it."**
3:15
Rael steps forward, one arm still shielding Jin—a silent command not to move.
Jin obeys, eyes fixed on those drops like they might attack at any moment.
> "What is this?" he murmurs.
> Rael shakes his head.
> "I'm not sure," he admits, eyes narrowed. "But it's not natural... and it wants *you*."
Jin shudders, hand clenching Rael's tighter.
They watch in silence as the drops *pulse* again... almost in time with their heartbeats.
3:19
Rael's jaw is clenched tight, muscles taut as he scans the drops—waiting for them to *move*. To attack *something*.
But they just *hover* there in silence.
Like a spider's web waiting for prey.
Suddenly, a drop begins to *change*.
It ripples... darkens.
Jin gasps, gripping Rael.
A shadow stretches through the room from that spot—like ink across water—and resolves into a shape that makes Rael's breath catch.
3:21
It's a man. Tall. Black trench coat. White skin like chalk.
But his eyes—
They're like *nothing* Jin has ever seen. They gleam like polished jet, without iris or pupil.
He smiles, slowly, *deliberately*.
> "*Oh… beautiful*," he murmurs, voice like silk covering knives. "You've both come so far."
> "I've wanted to meet you."