It was so dark… and creepy… Kimith didn’t know what to do as he slinked around a corner, hands sliding against the walls as he inched further around the underground facility. Ophiuchus had teleported him somewhere on Rukshore, but he didn’t know what the exact location had ended up being, and that scared him. He was also all by himself, which scared him even more. He was hoping to have been teleported alongside Adona, at least then he’d have someone reliable to give him orders. Kimith was always useless by himself, after all. He constantly got scared too easily and forgot to move the same way he’d been trained, so he always needed someone to shove him into situations by force so that he could get even more afraid and blow things up. He was like a double-edged sword, Kimith knew that, that’s what Kallan always called him. He always performed his best when he was with his dear old friend, there was no question about that, either. They’d been close friends ever since their days at the academy, and Kal was the only one who actually knew how to draw out his full strength… it was terrifying, because Kimith couldn’t even do that on his own. And now that Kal was locked up somewhere in here, no telling where, he was surely going to blow it and do a horrible job… ahh, but he didn’t want to cause a mess! Why had he even been invited to come on this infiltration in the first place…

  “I’m so useless,” he sobbed when his shoulder rammed into the stone wall, before flinching at the sound of his own voice, flattening himself against the rocky structures as he took a nervous look around. No one… no one was there… right? Right. Yeah, right… he was just being silly, just like usual. Though, when he slowly turned around to look behind him, he…

  “Oh? A young man? And who might you be?” smiled a red-haired woman, tilting her face rather slyly towards him as Kimith’s breath got caught in his throat, before… he let out the most loudest, ear-splitting scream.

  An explosion popped out of his hands, breaking apart the wall he’d so desperately been holding onto, but it didn’t reach his target. The woman just side-stepped the falling rubble and ignored it as part of the ceiling crumbled at her feet, her rosy red eyes gleaming somehow in amusement while she shot him another seductive, red smile. “Right. You must be Kimith, then. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

  “Wh… you, you… you’ve heard abuhh, about… about me… me?” he stuttered out, explosions fizzing on his fingertips as he was forced to stumble backwards so that the bricks didn’t tumble onto his feet. They were in a thin hallway, without any real place for him to go or hide. Maybe he could run through the opening he’d just created, but… but she was right in front of it. Wait, wait… wasn’t this the same red-headed woman who had kidnapped Kal?! It was, it totally was! He’d watched it happen! She had the same scarlet hair, bright rose-petal eyes, soft and smooth pale skin… honestly, she looked a bit like a vampire. No, wait… could she be a vampire?! “Wha, wh… get away from me!!” he waved his hands in front of him as a wimpy way to attack, explosions firing off both hands at once while the woman merely took another step to the side.

  “Of course, of course… I’ll get away from you, just as you wish of me. But soon enough, I’m sure you’ll want me closer,” she smiled, lifting her fingers up into a rectangle as if she were trying to put him into a frame. Her red eye shone through the small open space she had made, her smile twitching with a certain excitement as Kimith felt tickling chills run up his spine. “You seem like a pretty easy guy, just like your friend… I’m sure it’ll be just as easy to lure you in… let me become whoever you love most dearest, my dear Kimith…! Hahh, hahahh… unlike that other foolish man, you seem far more civilized and oh so sweet and docile… I wouldn’t mind having a bit of fun with you…”

  “Huh? Huh, what? What are you saying?” Kimith faltered, backing away even further, before his mind suddenly seemed to lull as his thoughts slowly whirled into a completely different direction. It was like his mind had snapped, and suddenly, within mere seconds, he had completely forgotten where he was and all of his dire circumstances. The only thing he could focus on was the woman in front of him… a woman with smooth black hair reminiscent of curtains of silk, with beautiful blood red eyes that could compare to the most lovely of jewels, and pale white skin that was soft and clean over sharp triangular features.

  This woman was Kyavir Sanguin in all of her regal, intimidating beauty, with her sheets of black hair kept back by a bright red headband, her modest clothing nothing but loose black pants and a tight blood red shirt that wrapped around her chest with a white collar and tie. Kimith had always thought Kyavir was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. She was so elegant, and so graceful… she always held a certain air of wisdom and dignity about her, like she knew things he couldn’t even begin to fathom. She was mysterious, quiet, reserved, beautiful, and… absolutely terrifying.

  “Kya?! No, no, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean it! Please forgive me!!” he got on his hands and knees, sitting fully down on the broken and crumbling cement as he bowed his head all the way to the ground. He was trembling so immensely, and Rose could only stare at him in complete and utter awe as she watched him shake.

  Her concept wasn’t complicated. She could make people see her as the person they loved most, and she could control whether the type of love she was manipulating in them was romantic, platonic, paternal, or familial. She’d turned on the gears for romantic love for Kimith, since he seemed like the type to be very overwhelmed with such feelings, so… what was with this reaction? Why was he groveling on the ground, and why was he acting like he was talking to the devil? This was so weird… how was she supposed to toy with someone who was acting like this?

  “Um, hey. Chill out, yeah? I’m the person you love most, remember? Kimith…” she whispered from afar, waiting to see if the fizzing explosions sitting in his palms would go off or not.

  But Kimith just flinched when he heard her words, completely mesmerized by them. All he saw when he lifted his head was her elegant figure with a back straight and tall and clear eyes that were both cold and calm as she gazed down at him apathetically. “Calm down. Don’t you love me, Kimith?” was all he heard, his heart pounding in his chest and thundering in his ears. He really was about to go crazy. He was so scared. Kyavir terrified him. She was so powerful, and so intimidating… she had her entire life put together, whereas his was so messed up. He admired her more than anything, and he wanted to be strong enough for her to like, but… but he was just so scared! Like, look at her! She was terrifying! It didn’t matter how big of a crush he had on the woman when she was so scary!

  Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

  “AHHHH I’M SO SORRY KYA PLEASE JUST KILL ME NOW!!” he screamed, slamming his head back into the ground as Rose stared at him, incredulous. “I know I’m not worthy of your love, Kya, I don’t expect anything in return! You can just ignore me, step on me and kick me aside if you want to… no wait, that sounds weird… I’m so sorry!! I promise I’m not trying to be weird…”

  “Uh, no, don’t worry about it… it’s fine,” Rose frowned while stepping around him, trying to check and see if he’d injured himself. But it didn’t look like he was bleeding… uh, usually people just heard whatever was in character for the person of their interest whenever she talked, but… what the hell was this guy hearing? Rose had no idea what the people under her concept’s effects saw or heard, but this was probably one of her weirder experiences…

  “It’s fine, it doesn’t bother me. You shouldn’t worry about such trivial things,” were the words that Kimith heard, his brown eyes watering as they stared regrettably at the ground. He was so scared he might cry. Kya sounded angry! She was always so strict with herself and others, and she never made room for play… him overthinking everything must be so annoying for her! But he couldn’t help it, he always overthought everything his mind ever tried to ponder… though he lifted his head anyway, his thick skin and hardened skull unmarred or even bruised as he looked at the vision of Kyavir he was seeing in front of him.

  “Still… I’m so sorry… I know I should have never confessed to you, it must’ve only bothered you… I didn’t mean to give you extra things to worry about, you already are working so hard and doing so much, and Kallan told me about how strict your family is…”

  Oh, now that was something Rose found interesting. Kimith was talking to her and referencing Kallan’s family, which meant he was probably hallucinating something from a time before that man had been disowned by the Sanguin’s. How wonderful… she could play along with that.

  “Don’t be silly now, Kimith. Actually, I’ve always wanted to tell you this, but I do return your feelings! Isn’t that great? Imagine all the things we could do together… so many fun things, right?” Rose smiled cheerily, tapping a pale finger along her cheek while she smiled at Kimith’s teary face. She did rather like pathetic men, and their tears and whines were always arousing. She could make this fun for herself, indeed.

  Although, for Kimith… he didn’t hear anything close to what she’d intended. Instead, all he saw was Kyavir’s cold face, expression full of disdain as the black-haired woman crossed her arms at him and raised her chin, looking at him as if he was nothing more than a lowly bug. “Don’t be foolish, you know I can never return your feelings. What would we even be able to do together? We’re far too different in mentality, we’d never be able to enjoy each other’s company.”

  “Ah…” Kimith faltered again, his heart shattering into pieces before he began to wallow on the ground. “No, Kya, I know… of course, you’re right… we’re just not meant to be, I get it… I’m so sorry to have bothered you, I know I’m not right for you at all, you deserve someone so much better than me… I’m sorry… I’m so sorry, please forgive me for even thinking I stood a fraction of a chance…” he sniffled, palming at the ground while tears slipped off his dark charcoal-colored skin.

  Huh? What in the world? Rose didn’t understand this at all. He’d heard a rejection? Why? She’d clearly just tried to accept his feelings. The only way he would’ve heard a rejection was if… was if his mind couldn’t possibly imagine a scenario where this person he loved would ever love him back. Was his love life really so hopeless? How pathetic. If things were really like this, then he was probably a virgin, too. Rose liked messing with virgins, but still, this was a bit much. Well, whatever, she’d just get it over with and then be on her way to the next victim. Maybe she could kill him quickly and fuck the corpse while it was still hot and fresh…

  “Don’t worry, I’ll make this quick. And then you won’t have to worry about anything else,” she smiled, thorned vines snaking out from her skin as they inched closer to where Kimith sat on the ground, completely crumbled and defeated. They wrapped around his legs, up to his arms and his torso, around his arms, and all the way up to his neck. It shouldn’t hurt though, even when the thorns pierced his skin. It should just make him feel pleasure, like he was melting into a sensory blanket of honeyed feelings and sweet sensations. And she smiled, satisfied when her briars pierced the airways of his throat, a small and pleasurable moan slipping out from Kimith’s gaping mouth as his eyes rolled back into his head. “That’s right, just leave everything to me… it’ll be over quickly, I promise…” Rose chuckled, rose red eyes looking rather hungry as she began walking closer to properly grope his face and mouth, tucking a finger onto his tongue as the man shook and whined.

  Though, in his mind, Kimith couldn’t hear her anymore. The deeper he fell into the vine’s pleasurable clutches, the more conflicted he felt. Kyavir hovered over him, her cold expression from when she’d rejected him all those centuries ago still stuck on her face as if it had only happened yesterday. How had she said it back then? Why had she rejected him? Oh, he’d never be able to forget.

  “Ah, um… sorry. I don’t really know how to say this, but… I don’t think we’re very compatible. I only find interest in men who are stronger and braver than me. You know, someone who would actually be able to stand by my side as an equal and support all my endeavors. And, well, Kimith… I’m sure you’re aware that you aren’t any of those things. Though, ah, I still apologize… I assure you that you are still a kind and honest man, so I’m sure you’ll be to someone else’s liking.”

  He could feel his mind spiraling in a dark hypnotizing cloud, his body beginning to feel cold and heavy as everything with him… his mind, his feelings, his breath… all slowed to a stop. His thoughts were filled with rejections, of everything he’d failed to live up to. He was the crown prince of Monotum, but he was worthless. He wasn’t fit to be a king. He was weak… and a coward… and he couldn’t perform his best without someone better to help him. He relied on others far too much, he failed to do anything by himself… he was always scared, always afraid, always so terrified of everything around him… and slowly, Kimith felt his body get lowered deeper into the dark mist, his back hitting against something solid as he felt hands wrap themselves under his shirt, caressing his stomach and abdomen while his eyes fluttered shut. His power ran off fear, so without fear he couldn’t use it… but if only he were less afraid, if only his concept were different… if only he were braver. Maybe then he could do something about himself. If only he were as fearless as his dear friend Kallan, the person and leader he admired most in the world, maybe then he could’ve… done better… than this…

  Spoiler for those who want closure for the chapter's cliffhanger and feel uncomfortable waiting for the next chapter: