4:05
Jin gasps—clutching his jaw as a sharp, *blinding* pain tears through his mouth. His teeth throb… then *shift*. He stumbles back, hands flying to his face.
> "R-Rael—my teeth—I—"
He spits—and blood splatters the floor.
One of his canines is gone.
In its place?
A single **fang**, long and needle-thin, glistening black like obsidian.
Then another cracks into place beside it.
And another.
All across both jaws—the transformation spreads like infection under the skin. In seconds, Jin's entire set of teeth are sharpened into jagged fangs that gleam wetly in the moonlight. His gums burn with unnatural heat… and a voice in the back of his mind starts to whisper:
> *"Yes... embrace it..."*
But worse—from between his shoulder blades—comes a tearing sensation.
He screams—a raw, guttural sound—as something rips through fabric and skin alike. Two thick **tentacles**, dark as sinew and veined with pulsing shadow-blue lines, tear free from beneath him—one lashing wildly against the wall like an uncontrolled limb, knocking over debris; the other curling protectively around Jin's waist... or perhaps possessively?
His body arches in agony—and ecstasy? Sweat pours down his face as he trembles on all fours now… breathing ragged…
eyes no longer silver—but deep void-black from corner to corner.
The man watches—smiling wide now—and claps once softly:
> *"There you are."*
> *"My perfect vessel."*
5:00
Jin tries to push to his feet, but the tendril around his waist pulls him back—wrapping like a snake around his body and forcing him onto his back, pinning him against the floor.
His chest heaves—still shaking from the transformation—as the man steps closer, that smile still gleaming above those pit-black eyes.
> *"You're beautiful, you know that?"*
> *"The way you squirm… so fierce… but so helpless. Like a caged, wounded animal."*
Jin struggles beneath the tendril wrapped tightly around him.
5:03
The man crouches down, eyes trailing across Jin's body—over the fangs, the shadows twisted across his face and the back of his neck like a collar. His gaze comes to rest on the tentacle around Jin's waist—it's writhing, like a living thing, holding him tight against the ground.
Jin stares up at the man defiantly, breathing hard. He's pale, eyes burning with defiance.
> *"You'll never control me."*
5:07
The man chuckles softly, and reaches to caress Jin's sweat-damp cheek.
> *"Oh… you think that's your choice?"*
He leans closer, hand still on Jin's face—fingers tracing the shadow-collar around his neck. It *throbs* under his touch—like it's *alive*… like it's *hungry*.
5:09
Jin shivers. The shadow-collar *throbs* again, pulsing against his skin. He stares up at the man through thick, black eyelashes—face pale under a sheen of sweat.
His body *burns*... and the heat feels *wrong*.
> *"Get away from me,"* he manages, throat dry with fear.
But the man just smiles wider. He tucks a lock of dark hair off Jin's forehead, almost… tenderly.
> *"And why would I do that?"*
5:13
Jin tries to flinch away from that touch. The shadows wrapped tight around his waist hold him still, pinning him in place.
The man leans closer, eyes glinting in the dark.
> *"Stop squirming… it's adorable."*
His fingers trace the line of Jin's jaw. The shadows *throb* against his skin—each beat harder now, like a pounding pulse that won't go away... as if his touch is calling something *forth*.
5:17
The shadows throb louder—*faster*. Like a heartbeat.
Like they're *excited*.
Jin writhes, gasping.
> *"S-stop it,"* he gasps—but his own body betrays him.
> "Please—"
The man just grins, fingers still tracing the shadow-collar. Every inch of Jin's skin is alive… burning… begging for *something*.
> *"What's wrong, sweetheart?"*
5:20
> *"You feel it too, don't you?"* the man murmurs, voice soft—almost tender. *"That hunger… deep inside. That need to be filled with something only I can give."*
Jin trembles violently, eyes wide and glassy.
> "N-No…" he chokes out—but his body arches up toward the touch, *begging*, even as his mind screams to resist.
The tentacle around him tightens—slowly squeezing—like a lover's embrace turning into restraint.
Then—a low growl rips through the silence from across the room.
Rael stands at the edge of broken glass. Knife in hand. Eyes *blazing*.
And behind him?
The shadows on the wall are moving—twisting into claws, fangs… like they're afraid of what's coming next.
---
Rael's eyes narrow. His voice is cold.
> *"Get your hands off my fiancé."*
The man's mouth curves in a condescending smirk.
> *"Or you'll do what, little boy? Yell at me? Try to slice me up with another butter knife?"*
5:23
Rael doesn't answer.
Instead—his *breath* changes.
Slow.
Deep.
Like the calm before a storm.
Then—he *exhales*.
And the world shatters.
Glass explodes outward. The walls crack. The shadows scream and *retreat*, writhing like burned flesh as raw, golden energy erupts from Rael's body in a blinding wave—light so intense it turns night into day for one fleeting second.
His coat rips apart at the seams, torn by invisible force as power surges through him—not magic, not skill—
**Esper essence.**
S-Rank class.
Long suppressed… now unleashed in full fury after weeks of hiding, healing… waiting for Jin to be safe again…
> "You should've left," Rael says—voice low, trembling with restrained violence. "Before I remembered what I am."
The man staggers back—the shadows around Jin recoiling from that light like insects under flame. For the first time?
Fear flickers in those void-black eyes.
> "Impossible… you were broken! We saw you fall!"
Rael steps forward—one foot at a time—the air warping around him with heatless fire and unseen gravity. His hands clench into fists—and space itself seems to bend toward them.
> "I was."
He looks past him—to Jin's trembling form on the floor—fangs glinting black, tentacles bound tight around his body.
His voice breaks just slightly.
"But he brought me back."
And then—he raises one hand toward the man who dared touch his lover…
and whispers:
> **"Now I burn you."**
5:30
Rael clenches his fist.
The shadows *scream*—like souls burning alive—and then they recede, slithering away from Jin and slinking back into the darkness.
The man gasps as his own power leaves him—the tendril around Jin *retreating* as if in pain, slinking back into the shadows.
Jin collapses. He's on all fours, breathing hard—trying to hold himself up on shaking elbows...
Then arms wrap around him, pulling him close.
Rael has him in his lap, holding him tight. He cradles Jin's head against his chest, arms wrapped protectively around him—one hand running up and down his back, trying to soothe the tremors that still shake him.
> "Shh…. I've got you. I'm here… I'm here…."
His own breathing quickens, face buried in Jin's hair as he trembles with rage and relief both.
> "You're safe… I promise… you're safe now…"
5:36
The man staggers back—burned, bleeding shadow—but not broken.
He clutches his side where Rael's power seared him, face twisted in rage. Then… he laughs. Low at first. Then rising—wild, unhinged.
> "You think this ends here?"
> "You think *love* shields the world from hunger?"
With a final glare at Rael and Jin—he throws his arms wide—and *screams*.
Not in pain.
In **command**.
From the cracks in the earth, from sewers beneath cities, from mirrors and shadows and forgotten graves—the air splits open with screeches as *things* crawl out. Beasts with too many eyes. People screaming as their skin splits and bones twist into claws… fangs like Jin's—but worse… mindless now… driven only by thirst for blood.
The man hovers above them all—a king of nightmares—and whispers:
> **"Let them feed."**
> **"Let the age of light end."**
---
Later—just before dawn—
L arrives on foot—cloak torn, eyes grim—as Mira descends from a floating platform behind him, her staff crackling with energy.
They find Rael still cradling Jin—who shivers weakly against him despite growing stronger every second under his warmth and protection.
L looks down at them both—not cold now but concerned—and speaks softly:
> "It's begun."
> "He turned half the city already... turning humanity into blood-bound monsters under his control."
Mira adds:
>"We've dispatched S-Grade Espers to hold the lines... but it won't last long if we don't stop *him*. And…" she glances at Jin—"he's marked your lover as one of their kind."
Rael looks down—at Jin's darkening veins pulsing just beneath skin—and tightens his arms around him one more time without fear or doubt…
only resolve:
> "Then I'll save him..."
"...and then I'll erase that monster—for good."
[To be continued]