Nansich couldn’t breathe.
The monster was close enough now that he could see every grotesque detail—its rubbery skin shimmered with slime, and its tentacles writhed unnaturally, twitching with anticipation. The maw, those grinding, rotating teeth, opened wide as if it were about to clamp down over his entire torso.
This is it. I’m going to die. This thing’s going to eat me alive. I’m gonna be torn to shreds, and no one will ever even find my bones—
His body went cold.
He felt the world narrow into one singular point: those spinning teeth. Everything else—his memories, his pain, his fear—just collapsed into that one moment of terror.
he.. he was going to die...
his grandpa woudl be left alone in thsi world...
Then—
Snap.
The alien froze.
Its body jerked as if something had gone terribly wrong. One of its massive tentacles lashed upward, convulsing. And then—
A hand emerged from within the monster’s gaping maw.
A human hand.
It pushed outward, fingers coated in thick, black ichor.
The alien’s body trembled, convulsed.
Then a second hand shoved through the maw. Wet cracks echoed in the night as cartilage and sinew tore apart. The smell of rotten blood filled the air.
With a sickening schlurk, the creature collapsed to the side, its entire body slumping over in a twitching heap of gelatinous limbs and gore.
Nansich gasped for breath, choking on the air.
He turned his head.
There—standing behind the twitching alien corpse—was him.
The man.
Half-naked, breath fogging in the cold night air, his black bodysuit peeled down to his waist, revealing a sculpted torso glistening with sweat and alien black blood. His shoulders heaved with each breath. Steam rose off his skin in the moonlight like smoke from a battlefield.
He stood among the remains of the alien like some vengeful spirit ripped from hell.
Nansich couldn’t move—couldn’t even flinch.
He watched, wide-eyed, as the man raised one blood-slicked hand and casually wiped the monster’s remains from his forearm. The air seemed to tremble around him—dense, heavy, alive with a humming energy.
The moonlight caught him just right then.
It poured over his face, lighting his sharp features in silver and blue.
His hair—golden, tousled, slightly damp—fell messily over his forehead. And just beneath the fringe, centered perfectly between his brows, something glowed.
A red gem.
Embedded right in his skin.
It pulsed softly, as if alive—an eerie crimson that contrasted starkly with the pale blue of moonlight around it. And his eyes—God, his eyes—were glowing like burnished gold. They shone. Like a halo had been trapped behind his pupils.
Nansich let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.
His heart was still pounding wildly, and his limbs felt like jelly. But for the first time in what felt like forever, he felt like he could breathe.
The man turned slowly, his gaze locking with Nansich’s.
Something in that look made his breath hitch.
The man covered in alien blood stepped toward him.
Nansich’s legs finally remembered how to work.
A jolt of raw instinct surged through him, and he scrambled backward, breath stuttering in his chest. He didn’t know why—not really—but something deep in his gut screamed at him to run. To get away.
That man was a fucking alien!
He literally tore through an alien like wet paper.
Nansich turned and bolted.
His feet pounded against the grass, slipping and skidding with every panicked step. His lungs burned. His heart felt like it was trying to crawl out of his throat. He didn’t look back. Couldn’t. He just ran—panting like some kind of terrified animal.
But he heard it.
The footsteps.
Steady. Fast. Gaining.
And then, out of nowhere, strong arms wrapped around his waist from behind and lifted him clean off the ground.
"Let go! No!" he cried out, thrashing wildly. His legs kicked in the air. His hands clawed at the arms holding him. "D-Don’t kill me..."
His voice cracked with raw panic.
He forced himself to look back—and immediately regretted it. )
That same pristine, inhumanly handsome face stared up at him. Close now. Too close. His expression was unreadable. Cold. His golden eyes glowed faintly, like trapped suns, and they didn’t blink. Not once.
"I said let go!" Nansich shouted, his voice shaking. He struggled harder, heart hammering painfully in his ribs. "I—I saved you... so please don’t kill me. I have my grandpa waiting for me... please..."
He hadn’t even realized he was crying until a tear slid down his cheek.
And then, one of those arms moved.
Nansich flinched—but the hand didn’t hit him.
It touched his face. Gently.
Fingers stained with black blood brushed softly against his cheek, wiping away the tear.
Nansich froze.
The touch was... gentle. Ridiculously gentle.
Those long fingers moved slowly, tracing the curve of his cheek like he was made of glass. It was surreal. Confusing. His skin tingled beneath the touch, and his breath caught.
He stared down into the man’s eyes.
Those glowing golden irises looked like they held stars in them. But the most unsettling part—the part that made his heart slam against his ribs—was that those eyes were completely focused on him. As if he was the only thing that existed.
The way the man was looking at him.. it was like the man was holding him adoringly in his gaze.
Nansich’s chest tightened.
His heart thudded loud—so loud. Too loud.
No, he told himself, shaking slightly. What the hell are you doing? Snap out of it.
He looked again at the strange red crystal embedded between the man’s eyebrows. It pulsed faintly, the color rich and deep like freshly spilled blood.
He’s not human...
The realization slammed back into him. The calm vanished. This man—this thing—wasn’t just dangerous. He was something else entirely. Alien. Inhuman. A creature that could crush his bones with a flick of the wrist.
And yet... his heart still wouldn’t stop beating like it was caught in a storm.
Why... he thought helplessly. Why can’t I stop this stupid heart...