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STORYLINE:
Mission objective: Escape Club Apophis
Team: Jihoon / LathandroLocation: The dreamscape in Jihoon’s mind
The void was a muffled, liquid grey.
Gone were the familiar dreamscapes of the burning baseball stadium, neon-lit street outside his apartment, or the Ruler’s ancient palace. Instead, it was like the void was constructing itself, trying to create an obsidian temple but running out of instructions halfway through.
Outside, miles away, the real world hummed with frequencies he could barely grasp. The air of the real world tasted of clove smoke and static. He heard the rhythmic, heavy breathing of Kyle, standing guard.
He focused on Kyle's breathing. Tried to reach toward it.
“Kyle,” his mind whispered. “I’m so cold.”
Kyle's breathing stopped. Just for a second.
The glass door swished open. He felt the bed give way as Kyle sat beside him. A blanket was pulled over him. It was warm and heavy. It smelled of earth and smoke, unmistakably Kyle.
Coincidence? Or had Kyle actually heard him?
He reached out with his mind again. “I’m hungry. So hungry.”
He heard something new. It sounded as if it were coming through a thick pane of soundproof glass. A mechanical hum, high-pitched and familiar. A reporter bot powering on.
Then Lisa Liemawr’s voice, sharp and suspicious: "Jihoon?"
A voice replied as “Jihoon.” But that wasn’t him, and that wasn’t his voice.
Jihoon went still in the void.
What’s happening out there?
He tried to open his eyes, but his eyelids felt like lead slabs. He tried to scream, but his lungs were filled with nothing but static. He was a prisoner in his own skin.
"Little Bookworm," a voice purred from the darkness. "Still wanting someone to save you? Pathetic."
Jihoon turned in the void. Lathandro was there, flickering like a holographic projection, looking utterly bored. He leaned against a glitching street light, looking like a male model in sleek latex from Monstrum Magazine. He sneered at his other half as he spun a digital dagger between his fingers.
"Leave me alone," Jihoon thought, his voice echoing in the hollow silence.
"I'll save you," Lathandro chuckled, a sound like glass breaking on silk. His dagger launched at Jihoon's head with deadly accuracy.
Jihoon held up a hand.
The dagger slammed into an invisible barrier. Violet lightning forked around Jihoon, spreading out from the point of impact. The blade flashed into molten metal and dripped from the barrier, sizzling as it struck the ground.
“You think I’m impressed?" Lathandro spat. "You think the richest blood was a gift? It's a trap. You sold yourself for power. The Ruler owns you now. You cannot disobey your master.”
Jihoon laughed softly. “You’re no better than me. I know your secret. I remember it all now. You only exist because you submitted to MasterGin. While I am what escaped before he could finish.”
A beat of silence. Lathandro's holographic form glitched for a second.
“So what. You’re still terrified. Admit it. The Opening of the Mouth is tomorrow."
“Stupid name. Like something a quack dentist would call an appointment.”
Lathandro leaned against the street light. The corner of his mouth curled upward. “On that point we agree."
“Progress. I’ll take it.”
The darkness softened around him. The void became something briefly familiar, Jihoon’s apartment. Scrappy 2’s ears perked up and his tail began to wag, before it disappeared again.
Jihoon smiled lightly, and looked toward the faint light in the distance of the "outside." He thought of the lecture halls at Jae Won. He thought of Minjo, the way she looked when she laughed, a memory so mundane and warm it felt like a holy relic compared to this surreal neon-lit hell.
"I just wanted to graduate," Jihoon whispered to the void. "I want to be... me."
“You died, idiot.” Lathandro’s voice dripped with mockery. “How many times do I need to say it? You can’t go back to hiding in a library, especially now that your body holds the blood of the most powerful vampire who ever lived. Honestly, I don’t know how we are the same person. You’re so stupid.”
"Easy for you to say."
"Because I'm the part of us that admits what we wanted."
Jihoon felt a sudden, sharp ache in his chest.
The dreamscape cracked open.
For a moment, the grey void vanished.
Throbbing music. Pulsing cyan lights. Perfume. Smoke. Laughter.
A thousand beautiful strangers turning toward him at once, wishing him a happy birthday.
The Lost one. The Chosen One. Prince. The words echoed through his memory.
MasterGin's hand on his shoulder. Warm. Proud. Possessive. The faint scent of clove and expensive cologne.
"What do you want for your birthday, dear boy?"
The answer came from both of them at the same time.
“I don't want to be small anymore." And also, “I want to be like you."
Both boys looked at each other.
Jihoon blinked. "Which was it?"
"Both.” Lathandro shrugged.
The memory shattered.
Fragments rained between them like a broken mirror, each shard clinking like tiny bells.
Jihoon saw his face in the fragments, one side was his old nerdy self and other photogenic Lathandro.
"I was drunk," Jihoon blurted. "Drunk out of my mind. God knows what was in those glowing green drinks they kept feeding me.”
Lathandro laughed softly. "Cosmic Snake piss probably.”
Jihoon cringed.
Lathandro looked at him. For once, he was the one who looked sad. "Why did you run? Why did you flee Club Apophis?”
Jihoon took a moment to collect his thoughts before he replied. “Beauty. Thrills. Power. They're fun for a while. But when everything falls apart, you don't remember the parties. You remember who stayed."
“You mean love?" Lathandro laughed bitterly. "That's rich coming from you. You think only human love counts? You’re a monster too. At least I haven’t forgotten who is dragging us back from the grave.”
The boys sat silently, pondering it all.
“I wonder…,” Jihoon said quietly. “What happens if the ceremony fails?”
"It won’t.” Lathandro folded his arms confidently. “We will awaken, and the Age of Apophis will begin."
Jihoon's head jerked up. "What? What are you talking about?”
“Don’t look at me with those sad, confused puppy dog eyes. Isn't it obvious?" Lathandro leaned in, his face inches from Jihoon’s, his eyes burning with a dark, predatory fervor. “I’m gonna kill the Ruler of the Night.”
The void cracked.
A hairline fracture spreading across the grey like glass under pressure.
Then it sealed itself.
Jihoon stared as his thoughts scattered, leaving something deep and unnameable to stir inside him.
Lathandro grinned, a smile that was beautiful and entirely wrong. “Don’t look so shocked. The old order is failing. Look around. Monstrum is the last dying breath of an ancient tyrant’s attempt to hold onto power. He can barely understand our technologic world. When we wake up, everything The Ruler built is going to collapse. Everything he owns is going to be ours. Don't get in the way, Bookworm.”
Jihoon tried to look away, but Lathandro gripped his chin, forcing him to witness the ambition burning in his own reflection. He watched his own pupils dilate with something he didn't want to name.
Jihoon closed his eyes.
Outside, Kyle's breathing was steady.
He held onto that.
On him, Lathandro:
Outfit: ABYSSAL - PROTOCOL gloves, catsuit, boots, Legacy M, fatpack [mesh](CyberFair)(2777L)
Hair Clip: Excy - X Clip - X-Metric [mesh](CyberFair)(219L)
Canons: TRK - Dawnbringer Canons [v2] [mesh](CyberFair)(499L)
Halo: TRK - Dawnbringer Halo [mesh](CyberFair)(499L)
Jacket: YUEBIN - Fallen Saint Jacket - [Legacy (m) + Ath] [mesh]
Hair: Aii - Necromantic Hair, HAIR HELL [mesh]
Pet: AxisMundi - SerpentHagoromo-BShort-LARGE [animesh]
Body snakes: HEIKE - Viper's Embrace -Arms, Legs(Legacy M) [mesh]
Claws: Static - Hexxus Symbiote {Black} Legacy M [mesh]
Skin: outernaked - #evox - juhoon skin [NF: natural] - wb
Eyes: IKON - Perspective Eyes - Oxidation [BOM]
Body: TheShops - [BODY] Athletic Meshbody (Legacy)(m) (1.7.1) [mesh](5000L)
Setting:
Setting: ZEROICHI - Crimson Watch Backdrop, mod [mesh](CyberFair)(560L)
Setting: ZEROICHI - Crimson Watch Backdrop, mod [mesh](CyberFair)(560L)
BONUS IMAGES: inworld raw shots, hi-res, midday sky:
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