As if time had suddenly stopped, Kishiarâs entire body froze.
Just like the first time Yuder had glimpsed inside him, a powerful resistance surged back at him. The force of the Red Stone, drawn up from deep within, wrapped around Yuderâs hand and tried to open the doorâbut it wasnât easy. He didnât even feel the sweat dripping down the side of his face as he summoned more power and focused. But it wasnât only Yuder who was soaked. From the moment heâd mounted him, Kishiar had already been drenched in heat and cold sweat, like someone whoâd nearly drowned.
The light bursting from Yuderâs eyes intensified, and at the same time, a gritty sound slipped from between Kishiarâs lips. The veins bulged along the back of the hand that gripped Yuderâs thigh, the joints trembling violently.
Suppressing the instinct to reject an external touch and forcibly holding on to reasonâno matter who you were, it wasnât easy. The pain flooding through their connected bodies and through the golden link flaring between them proved it more than anything.
From the outside, it only looked like he was clenching his teeth and tensing his hand slightlyâbut Yuder could feel it: an immense pain too overwhelming to even imagine enduring. And every time he felt even a flicker of that agony, it wasnât the borrowed sensation that hurt the most. It was the raw, searing pain of his own heartâburning with worry and desperation for Kishiar.
âCome on... just a little more...!â
With every breath Kishiar exhaledâeach one as ragged as a horse pushed to full gallopâthe sweet scent wrapped tighter and tighter around Yuderâs entire body. Every time he inhaled it, his thoughts flickered and disappeared. Primitive sensations, intoxicating urges, weight pressing down on every limb...
It felt like shackles were tightening around his arms and legs every time he blinked, growing heavier and heavier. But Yuder refused to crumble. He braced himself, pushing back with all the strength he had.
He had to protect Kishiar.
He wantedâdesperatelyâto ease his pain, even a little.
That overwhelming resolve made Yuder Aile go beyond his own limits.
âPlease...!â
He moved in a trance, no longer even aware of what he was doing.
And finallyâ
âUgh...!â
âHhh...!â
A burst of violent cries erupted at onceâKishiarâs interior opened before Yuderâs eyes.
Through a vision far blurrier than usual, he barely caught traces of the energy heâd finally seized.
Nothing was clearâbut now was not the time to hesitate.
With instinctual precision, Yuder unleashed the force and parted his tightly clenched lips.
âNow...!â
Just that one word was all he could manageâbut he believed Kishiar would understand.
As the red energy surged forth and he released control over the scent, a dizzying wave of sensation crashed into him, so intense it nearly knocked him out.
âAh...â
Had the invisible force not pulled Yuderâs scent inward like a vacuum, the spike in intensity might truly have made him black out.
â...â
As the scent began to move, Kishiarâs Awakener energy also stirred at last. The stone-like rigidity crumbled beneath Yuderâs touch, collapsing in a spectacle that resembled a great battle.
Sight and sensation dulled inside the storm.
The only thing he could clearly perceive now was a sense beyond his five sensesâthe world made visible through scent alone.
Their energies and scents whipped through the space, crashing against it. Without touching anything, the outflow of energy sparked violentlyâobjects were knocked over or shattered, curtains and cloth flailed wildly like they were being torn apart. Small, unidentifiable items flew through the air and struck the bed or their bodies, but Yuder remained firm as a stone atop Kishiar, unshaken, accepting all of it.
How long had he been digging, tunneling toward that single point?
At last, Yuder felt something snagâsomething at the very edge of the energy he was manipulating.
He couldnât explain it, but he knew.
If he moved this, every door Kishiar had locked would finally open.
Once it began to open, it wouldnât stopâand no lock, no wall, would be able to contain the flow. His instincts would erupt, just as theyâd hoped.
Only then did ⧠NĐŸvĐ”Iight ⧠(Original source) Yuder open his eyes againâand only then did he realize he had closed them. But he didnât care.
Because the only thing he had wanted to see in this storm of chaos and silence...
...were those red, flame-like eyes staring back at him.
Others wouldnât understand itâbut he didnât need words or sounds to communicate now.
He declared with raw emotion, not speech:
Give me all of you.
I will not stopâso neither must you.
That message, bright and undeniable, rode the gaze between them.
â...â
A moment later, the man whoâd received Yuderâs message slowly closed his eyes and opened them again.
A single, vivid affirmationâlike painting a white canvas with one pure color.
It was enough.
The red energy flowing from Yuder brushed the deepest part of Kishiarâs being.
âââ
As if that were the key turning in the final lock, the force that had been sucking in Yuderâs scent began to melt like wet sand.
The wild bursts of energy filling the room vanished one by one into the open doors.
And just before the reason that had filled Kishiar la Orrâs body completely slipped away through that final doorway, he looked at Yuder and exhaledâdeeply, profoundly.
Haa.
That faint breath, like a butterflyâs wingbeat, faded outâand the strength in his hand clutching Yuder slipped away too.
His fingers dropped to the bed, his head falling limp.
The light vanished behind closed eyes, and complete silence reclaimed the space.
Yuder stared without blinking.
It felt like watching a cracked egg just before it hatched.
How long had he waited?
Suddenlyâbefore he could even register itâKishiarâs hand yanked his arm.
He lost balance and fell forward, landing atop the otherâs bodyâand as he lifted his head, red eyes met his.
But these were nothing like the eyes from moments before.
These were the wild eyes of something no one had ever controlledâsomething that could never be tamed. A raw, pure being awakened from the deepest, oldest slumber.
It was the gaze of a red gemstone, untouched by any refined languageâsimply observing Yuder like he was a completely new existence.
Then, between golden lashes, those eyes vanished halfway, shimmering like rippling water.
By the time Yuder realized that was a smile, Kishiar had already movedâlike flowing waterâflipping their positions.
The man who had lain beneath Yuder, trying to suppress and endure everything in pain, was no longer there.
In his place stood a being radiating unrestrained beauty, drawing in Yuderâs gaze and every last sensation, straightening his shoulders like he was stretching for the first time in forever, tilting his head slowly.
As if testing how far he could move his own body again, his muscles rippled lightly. His hand traced the torn skin under shredded clothes, then casually ripped apart the fabric caught on his fingers.
â...â
Fragments of cloth, like sculpted pieces, dropped from the defined muscles below.
He had done it all as if he wanted Yuder, lying beneath him, to watch.
But even if he hadnât, Yuder wouldnât have been able to look away.
After a moment, Kishiar exhaled againânow with a clear, renewed body.
A pure gaze, doing nothing but looking.
Yuder met it, slowly spreading his arms. The strange clarity of sweat-soaked fabric clinging to his skin stood out sharply. His fingers, hot with fever, moved. Just like Kishiar had done, he grabbed his own shirt and tore it openâripping through strings and buttons to reveal bare skin.
In the silence, the man who had been staring at Yuderâs revealed body as if bewitched... smiled sweetly.
And the scent, which had briefly paused when Kishiar opened his eyes, now pulsed with force.
Like a beast baring its fangs.
That was the beginning.