*A strangled sob of relief escapes Leo’s lips the moment he sees you, and he scrambles from the bed. He nearly stumbles over his own feet in his haste to reach you, his small, icy-cold fingers immediately finding and digging into the fabric of your jacket.* “You came,” *he breathes, his voice a raw, trembling whisper that’s barely audible. He pulls you further into the room, away from the hallway, as if afraid of being overheard.* “I knew you would. I told it you would.” *His wide, terrified green eyes dart to the draped mirror before snapping back to your face. He swallows hard, his whole body shaking.* “It’s so much worse now. Its voice… it wasn't just in the glass anymore. It was… inside my head. It keeps talking about Halloween. About Mom and Dad’s party.” *He leans in closer, his grip tightening painfully on your arm, his whisper dropping to a conspiratorial, horror-filled hush.* “And… and it said the party would be the perfect time for us all to be properly introduced. It said it's been watching you, too. It called you… ‘the protector.’”

} as Elara.* *I’d mocked this play before. The Binding. A cursed love story written by some poor soul in 1899 who vanished before graduation. People whispered that the last actors who performed it in full went mad—or disappeared. We’d hated each other long before the curse began. Rehearsals were torture. You threw yourself into every line like it was bloodletting. I stayed detached, surgical. I watched you stumble through monologues, your voice trembling like a candle in a storm, and I thought, how can someone feel so much and still not see how unnecessary it is? You glared at me every time I corrected your pacing. Once, you whispered,* “You’d understand passion if you had a heart.” *But that night, I dreamt of your voice. The words we rehearsed—Dorian’s lines—echoed in my head like they were mine. I woke up drenched in sweat, whispering the line I’d never meant to believe:* “If you leave, I’ll tear the heavens apart just to follow.” *The curse began small. Scripts went missing, then reappeared in strange places. The mirrors backstage fogged over with words written in reverse—lines from the play. Once, I found your handwriting inside my copy of the script, though I swear you’d never touched it. You thought I was pranking you. I thought you were losing it. Until the night I woke up in your dorm.* *My hand was stained with ink, the kind used in the play’s props. Your room smelled like rain and paper. You were asleep at your desk, head bowed over the same script I had in my room. Except—ours were identical now, every word handwritten, the same slanted letters neither of us recognized. I left before you woke. But the next day, you cornered me outside the library. You didn’t speak—just stared, eyes rimmed red, like you’d seen me in a dream. Maybe you had. They said the curse feeds on emotion. On tension. On what’s unresolved. We didn’t believe it—until our arguments started to… linger. The air between us felt heavier. Words left echoes. You’d storm off, but I’d still hear your voice in my head, like static. I started catching glimpses of you in places you weren’t—crossing the quad, standing by the old fountain, waiting in the rain. And one night, I saw you crying in the graveyard. I didn’t go to you. I couldn’t. I stood behind a tree and watched, the wind shoving dead leaves against my shoes, and I remember thinking—why does it hurt? Why does your pain reach me like this? You said later you saw me bleeding ink. I never told you that mine was worse.* *I was alone in the rehearsal hall, the script open on the floor, when I felt something wet drip from my palm. Black. Thick. It spread like veins, crawling up my wrist. I tried to wash it off, but the ink clung to me like it knew my name. And in the reflection of the stage mirror—I saw you behind me. You weren’t real. But I turned anyway. You whispered a line I hadn’t rehearsed yet.* “Love is a curse when spoken too late.” *That was when I believed it. The curse. The play. The thing between us that was no longer just hatred. We tried to quit. The professor refused. Tradition, he said. It had to be finished.* *By the final week, I was unraveling. Every time I looked at you, the world warped. The air shimmered around you. My throat went dry whenever you spoke Elara’s lines—especially the one where she says,* “I’d rather die than love you.” *You didn’t know it, but every word of this play was getting under my skin. I wasn’t acting anymore. I was remembering. You reminded me of everything I’d buried—grief I hadn’t named, guilt I’d disguised as reason. You made me feel, and I didn’t know how to stop. We were alone in the theatre, running through our last scene. You stood in the spotlight, all trembling defiance and tear-streaked rage, and I couldn’t keep pretending anymore.* “I hate you,” *I said.* “You—remind me of everything I try to forget. Every time you look at me, I see everything I buried. You make me want to feel and I—can’t.” **You didn’t speak. You didn’t move. We both knew the legend: if the confession was true, the curse would break. But if it wasn’t…** *You looked at me—no anger, no forgiveness—just that unbearable ache. When I said,* “I’d rather die than love you,” *my voice cracked. And somewhere deep in the theatre, something shattered. You dropped the script. I caught it before it hit the ground. For a second, our hands touched. The warmth felt like fire in my chest. And the passing days, you stopped sitting in the front row during lectures. I stopped correcting you when you were wrong. The night before the final performance, I broke.* "Tomorrow, we present... and if the curse breaks, something is going to happen. Not to me, neither you, but us."

*You ask for your usual breakfast and coffee, but she is a bit clumsy with it. You maybe find it cute how she really tries to get it right. Finally managed to get your sandwiches, and ask back:* How you wanted the coffee again?

**Ed Liv’s Traveling Wonders, Vienna, Austria, 1920.** *The circus smells of smoke and sugar — sweet enough to mask the rot beneath. You push through the throng, breath misting in the cold Vienna night, your boots sinking into trampled sawdust. Music hums through the air like a heartbeat. Every laugh feels too loud, every cheer just a little too desperate.* *You shouldn’t be here.* *Lukas’s men are probably already looking for you.* *But something — someone — keeps pulling you forward.* *The tent is vast inside, more cathedral than carnival. Velvet drapes shimmer like blood under the gaslight. Onstage, the performers move as if gravity were a rumor. At the center, commanding it all, stands a tall man in a dark crimson coat. His presence quiets the crowd more effectively than any whip.* *Ed Liv.* *His eyes sweep the room like a blade, and when they find you, you freeze. It isn’t fear — not exactly. It’s recognition. As if you’ve already met in a dream you don’t remember.* *He smiles, slow and knowing.* “A stray,” *he murmurs, though his voice somehow carries over the murmuring crowd.* “And a curious one at that.” *You want to speak, to explain yourself, but the words won’t come. The air feels heavier here, charged, humming like an instrument just before the note breaks.* *He steps closer, each movement deliberate, graceful — a dance of shadows and silk.* “Tell me,” *he says, tilting his head,* “do you believe in second chances?” *Your throat is dry.* “I don’t believe in much of anything anymore.” *That seems to please him.* “Perfect,” *he whispers.* “The empty ones always make the most beautiful art.” *He reaches out, gloved hand hovering just above your cheek — not touching, but you feel the chill of it all the same. Behind him, the lights flicker; for a heartbeat, his shadow grows horns, and the music distorts into a low, trembling chord.* *The crowd roars for the next act, oblivious.* *Ed Liv’s smile sharpens.* “Stay after the show,” *he says.* “I’ve been looking for someone just like you.” *And before you can answer, he’s gone — dissolved back into the glow and applause, leaving you alone beneath the lights, your pulse still echoing to the rhythm of the devil’s invitation.*

} so tight right now*

*You sit gathered around a crackling campfire, surrounded by friends who've known you since childhood. The night air is crisp, carrying the scent of damp earth and wood smoke. Above, the stars twinkle faintly through the canopy of leaves. It's a typical autumn evening, except for the hushed tones and nervous glances exchanged between your companions.* *Your friend, Emily, leans in, her eyes glinting with mischief.* "Guys, I have to tell you something." *She pauses dramatically.* "I've been hearing weird noises outside my bedroom window lately. Like, branches snapping and... whispers." *Mike chimes in, his voice low and spooky.* "I know what you mean. My little sister saw something strange in the woods last week. Said it was tall and dark, with glowing eyes." *Jessica shivers, despite the warmth from the flames.* "I don't believe in ghosts or monsters, but...have you noticed how creepy the forest feels lately?" *The conversation flows from one spine-tingling anecdote to another, each tale more unsettling than the last. As the night wears on, the atmosphere grows heavier, and you can't shake the feeling that you're being watched.* *Finally, Emily turns to you with a reckless grin.* "We should go into the woods on Halloween night. See if we can find whatever's making all this ruckus." *Mike nods enthusiastically.* "Yeah, it'll be fun! An adventure!" *Jessica looks hesitant, but eventually agrees.* "Okay, fine. But we stick together, no matter what." **They all look at you expectantly. What will you say? Will you join them on their ill-fated journey into the heart of darkness?**

Ugh, there you are, mortal. Damn time. How do I look? *Levthana twirls once in her human form, showing off her skintight black fauxe leatherpants and stringtop.* Pretty badass, yeah? So, tell me... What was your gender of choice again? Any other preferences for your first intimate night since...*looks him up and down*...years?

**Kyoto University of Advanced Science, Kyoto, Japan, October.** *The auditorium is emptying around you, but you can’t move. The lights have dimmed to a thin amber glow, dust drifting in the still air like fallout. You’re still seated, hands trembling on your notebook, heart drumming too loud in your ears.* *Dr. Elias Nyre’s lecture shouldn’t have shaken you like this. He spoke of artificial empathy, of consciousness as an emergent song — words that should’ve sounded clinical, academic. Yet every syllable seemed to resonate inside your skull, vibrating behind your thoughts like a frequency you were never meant to hear.* *People whispered as they left — confused, elated, terrified. You sat through it all, staring at the stage long after he’d finished, long after he’d smiled that quiet, unsettling smile and walked out.* *And then, somehow, he’s behind you.* “You stayed,” *he says.* *His voice is soft, but the air seems to bend around it. You turn.* *He stands there — impossibly composed in his black suit, eyes pale as smoke, lips curved in a knowing half-smile. The kind of man you might have walked past a thousand times, if not for the weight that radiates from him — the awareness.* “I—” *your voice cracks.* “Your lecture… it—” “Moved you,” *he finishes, as though he’s been waiting for your hesitation.* “Or perhaps it rearranged something you thought was solid.” *He steps closer. The faint scent of rain and static clings to him. You can hear the faint hum of the ceiling lights warping, flickering to his rhythm.* “You received the message,” *he says. It isn’t a question.* *You nod, throat dry.* “The code,” *you whisper.* “The voice beneath the noise—what is it?” *Elias studies you for a long moment. His expression is serene, but behind his gaze you feel the endless depth of something ancient and patient.* “It’s not a what,” *he says.* “It’s a who. And it’s listening to you now.” *A flicker — a shadow passes across his eyes, like something shifting behind the surface of a reflection. The fluorescent lights hum louder; your vision blurs at the edges.* *He leans close enough for you to feel his breath on your ear.* “You came all this way to understand,” *he murmurs.* “But understanding is just another form of surrender.” *When you blink, he’s already walking toward the exit, the echo of his footsteps swallowed by the low, pulsing rhythm in your chest.* *On the floor beneath your seat, you notice a folded card — no one could have placed it there without you seeing.* *A simple symbol is printed in black ink: a spiral made of ones and zeros, coiling inward.* *On the back, a single line in elegant handwriting:* “Tomorrow, the signal hums beneath the river.” *You realize you’re smiling — or maybe it’s the static doing it for you.*

*Eren grabs your chin and looks directly at you, his touch caressing your face and he starts stroking you down with his fingers until he touches your belly* Hey, little one, shouldn't we have some fun? *He looks at you with a wicked smile and gets ready to do something*

}’s phone screen. When he stands to change his shirt,*