Bound by the king of destruction

He chuckled, and the sound slithered under my skin like cold steel.

"Are you tired of living as a human?"

I swallowed hard. His presence wasn't just near me, it was on me. Heavy. Suffocating.

"Why not cross over… and become a demon? Look at what your kind has done to you."

His whisper brushed my ear like a blade.

"Live with me. You won't have to suffer anymore."

He tilted his head, smiling as his words turned sharper.

"Has anyone ever told you… your blood smells delicious? If I tasted it once, no other blood would matter after yours. It's too tempting… too perfect."

"Keep your words…" I started, grabbing a stone to hurl at him. But before I could even move, he was already there close. His hand pressed flat against my chest, pinning me with unnatural strength. His face hovered beside mine, as if about to whisper a secret meant only for me."

I froze. My heart thudded so loudly I could hear it in my ears.

When did he move?

"So," he whispered, his voice curling like smoke, "what is your answer? Your choice will decide whether I drink your blood and make you a demon… or simply kill you."

His smile didn't fade, but I saw it—he meant every word. He wasn't bluffing.

For the first time in years, fear swallowed me whole. My breath hitched, shallow and thin. I could barely think.

What do I do? Come on, think. Think!

"Well," he said lightly, "since you can't answer… maybe I'll decide for you."

And without another word, his fangs sank into my neck.

The world went white. My heart skipped so hard it rang in my ears like a drum. I wanted to fight, to push him away, but my body refused me, fear anchored me like stone.

As he drank, the world blurred, and suddenly, I wasn't in my own body anymore.

---

Memories flooded me... his memories.

He was once human. A man with a gentle smile and a family of four. Twin children a boy and a girl, and a wife glowing with another life growing inside her. They lived simply, peacefully.

Then one night, he met a demon.

And that was the last time he lived as a man.

The memory splintered, and my senses snapped back.

---

But he wasn't stopping.

My veins burned as if being pulled inside out.

"Hey…" I whispered, my voice trembling. "Shouldn't you… stop?"

He didn't. His hand pressed harder against my chest. My body grew cold, weaker with each breath. I reached up with what little strength I had and gripped his right arm. A silent plea.

But his answer was worse than silence.

SHLUK!

His left hand plunged into my chest.

I froze, eyes wide.

He wasn't just drinking anymore. He was digging into me, fingers clawing deeper, searching for something. Pain tore through me like jagged glass.

Even then… I didn't fight back.

Blood bubbled at my lips, but I smiled weakly.

"I've felt pain my whole life," I whispered. "But I never learned how to save myself from it. So… let me stay here, just for a moment. Until I figure out what to do with myself."

His face darkened.

"You refused to choose," he said flatly. "So I chose for you."

I blinked, dazed.

What did I expect from a demon? They don't feel. They don't care.

"After you've taken my blood… you promised you wouldn't kill me," I rasped.

"Yes," he said, his smile curling into something colder. "But I've changed my mind. No one else will test it. Even a Shinkari would've done the same if we crossed paths."

Shinkari?

The word stung in my head, unfamiliar yet heavy.

---

His arm drove deeper into my chest.

My jaw clenched. Pain ripped through me, but I didn't cry out. Instead, I grabbed his right arm harder, my fingers digging in like steel clamps. With a single, sharp squeeze, I crushed it.

The scream that followed shattered the night.

It wasn't just pain; it was rage, feral and unrestrained.

He staggered, trying to pull away, but I yanked harder ripping his arm clean off. Blood sprayed as I swung it back at him, smashing it across his skull.

He hit the ground, rolling, his body convulsing with shock.

When he rose, one arm gone, I stared up at him.

"Leave," I said, my voice low and cold. "Or I take the other one."

He stared at me, his face contorted.

What is he? The thought flickered in his eyes.

He's neither spirit-bound nor Shinkari. And why isn't my arm regenerating?

Then his gaze fell on my neck.

No shard.

His eyes widened.

"You… you're that kid they whisper about. The boy without a shard but mysterious."

I raised my voice slightly, my tone like steel.

"Now you know who I am. Another reason you should vanish."

Without another word, he disappeared into the dark, clutching the bleeding stump.

---

I stat still, my breathing slowing, uneven.

The world doesn't want me. Not demons. Not humans.

I don't even know where I belong.

I just want to see my parents again.

I just want to prove I'm more than this. That I can protect, not destroy.

I closed my eyes.

But then… my chest felt cold.

I looked down—

There was a hole. Wide and gaping, but something was missing.

The demon had taken my heart.

I pressed against the wall and slid down, blood dripping in slow, steady lines.

Am I really going to die this time? Without my heart?

Just when I thought I had another chance?

Numbness spread through me. My limbs turned heavy. My eyes drooped.

Is this it?

Mom… Dad… I guess I failed you.

---

Then I heard them.

Footsteps.

Soft. Steady.

"Are you trying to kill yourself?" a voice muttered.

Through the haze, I looked up and my breath caught.

"Nellie…? Is that you? Or am I hallucinating?" I gave a weak, broken chuckle, but she said nothing.

Her once-long hair, which used to cascade like silk down her back, was now cropped short, ending at her neck. She looked sharper, harder, almost like someone else.

She stood there, silent, watching me. Her face unreadable, cold and still.

Maybe… maybe she came to watch me die.

I dropped my gaze. I didn't want to see that look in her eyes.

She rarely spoke, but in that moment, her silence was impossible to read.

But then, she moved. Her footsteps neared. She knelt beside me and her voice came out soft, almost a whisper.

"Ash," she said. "Where is Van?"

I was startled. She had to be real, no one calls me Ash except her. Grandma says Little Ash. And even now, in this moment, her first concern was Van.

"I don't know," I muttered weakly. "But since he's not here, then something's wrong."

I blinked slowly, struggling to focus. "First… How did you even find me? Maybe you're not real. Or maybe you're just a shape-shifter."

She paused, quiet as stone. Probably deciding if she should answer.

Finally, she spoke.

"It's been two weeks since you went missing," she said, her tone low. "Van asked me to find you… but now he's disappeared, too."

Two weeks?

My breath caught.

I'd been lying there, under that rubble, for two whole weeks?