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STORYLINE: ...This is how the world entered the Age of Apophis.
Forbidden Zone, 5 minutes to midnight. April 13, 2055
We are the Shadow of Apophis.
Our last Chosen One created wonders. She was kind. She kept us well fed. When she disappeared, we waited. We returned to choose another, as we have for millennia. A room full of beautiful devotees. Orderly, Hungry. Exactly as designed. Boring. We were about to leave.
A boy stumbled in. Not invited. No idea where he was. No agenda. Chaos recognizes chaos. We chose him immediately.
He ran. Running. Running. Running away into the storm.
The sun was still in the mouth of Apophis. So we followed.
A noisy man-bat swooped down, its shrieks blaring loud enough to give us a headache. Its claws were about to hook into the boy. Very annoying. We flicked our tail, cracking it through the air like lightning. Precision strike. Severed wings fluttered down.
Ahead, Void Nuns had amassed. Strange things. No pulse, no warmth, no eyes. Unacceptable. We dealt with them too.
“Come back to us, Lathandro..." We had whispered to him. "We love you... We miss your warmth..."
The boy ran harder. “My name is Yoon Jihoon. I’m a student. I study. I keep out of trouble. I had a normal life.”
Rejection. Again and again. We were patient. Time does not move in straight lines for us. It coils. We would wait.
The sun was still in the mouth of Apophis. So we followed.
A noisy man-bat swooped down, its shrieks blaring loud enough to give us a headache. Its claws were about to hook into the boy. Very annoying. We flicked our tail, cracking it through the air like lightning. Precision strike. Severed wings fluttered down.
Ahead, Void Nuns had amassed. Strange things. No pulse, no warmth, no eyes. Unacceptable. We dealt with them too.
“Come back to us, Lathandro..." We had whispered to him. "We love you... We miss your warmth..."
The boy ran harder. “My name is Yoon Jihoon. I’m a student. I study. I keep out of trouble. I had a normal life.”
Rejection. Again and again. We were patient. Time does not move in straight lines for us. It coils. We would wait.
Present Day
Now, the boy had nowhere left to run…
We adjusted our heavy coils, settling comfortably across the plush furniture. The cushions were decent, but they weren’t warm like proper temple stone. Still, we stayed put, guarding the comatose boy in the lavish quarters of his captor. Tomorrow, the loud creature in high heels would disturb the peace and try to unravel him.
We flicked our tail, annoyed. This whole situation was not how things were meant to be.
Our tongue flickered, tasting a sudden metallic disturbance in the air.
Thump.
We reared up, our eyes snapping to the balcony's glass door. Heat. Electrical vibration. And the unmistakable scent of Jihoon.
The unconscious body of the large red-haired guard slowly slid down the glass and collapsed into a sad little pile on the cold cement.
Something had changed.
We tasted the air, tracing a dark, delicious tendril of entropic energy straight back to Jihoon.
Our eyes shone, and the corners of our mouth upturned in a heavy, reptilian grin. The boy was finally reaching outward, using the only means he had. Power.
We sank into the boy’s dream den, slipping through thought, smooth and heavy as ink pooling into groundwater.
Dreamscape, The Robotics Classroom
This construct was new, created by Jihoon.
Deliberate. Intentional.
The boy’s other half was slouched in the darkest corner. Lathandro the Beautiful. Vanquished, bored, and quietly playing PONG with our ancient, sacred Apophian glyphs. The LED lighting of the desk screen made his forlorn face ghostly.
Lathandro noticed us. He offered his hand with serpentine grace. Lovely.
We accepted a quick, delightful head-scratch, then turned our gaze to the other one. Jihoon the Desperate. He was a miserable snakelet, stubbornly refusing to shed old skin. He was hunched over a desk, beside the fake metallic dog, frantically tapping a glowing surface. Light strobed across his face.
“Come on, come on… Get a signal out.”
We slithered down from the upper shelves, our dark form gliding lazily across the desks to get closer to the warm pulse of Jihoon’s voice.
Suddenly, the air ripped open overhead.
The red-haired boy materialized and fell into the room in an ungraceful mess, hitting the linoleum floor with a loud, disruptive crash.
"What the..." the guard scrambled up, staring wildly at the glowing classroom monitors before his eyes landed on Jihoon.
"Kyle!" Jihoon beamed, leaping up from his seat to embrace his friend. "I don’t know how long I can hold this connection. Quickly. Tell me everything that’s happening out there."
“Stop hugging me!” Kyle shrugged Jihoon off. “Damn, I just had the craziest dream. Thanks for letting me fall asleep in class, Nerd.” He smacked Jihoon on the head.
We reared up instantly, our hood flaring wide, casting the Vile One in the blackest shadow.
Kyle squeaked and fell over backward. “Oh, shit. Not that thing again.”
Lathandro struck before we could, grinding his foot hard into Kyle's chest on the floor. “You just hit me for the last time, Kyle. When I wake up,” he sneered, “I’m gonna break every bone in your…”
“Who the hell are you?” Kyle spat back. “Jihoon’s ugly albino twin sister?”
“Wait, wait,” Jihoon laughed nervously, arms flailing between them. “Everyone… please. Calm down. We don’t have time for this.” He turned to Kyle. “You’ve seen the snake before? I thought I was the only one who could see it.”
"Yeah, I’ve seen it.” Kyle panted, slowly climbing back to his feet and backing away. "When Hwan smashed the Black Snakeskin Box, this massive bastard burst loose and screeched. Almost shit myself. Hwan told us it was returning to its master. Said if we followed it, it would lead us right to you.”
The Delivery Box? Yes, the Dokkaebi smashed our beautiful nest. Very rude. It was a failure anyway. No gift we materialized made Jihoon love us.
Lathandro stood down, removing his foot. We wrapped ourselves around him like a massive, oversized boa constrictor, though we kept glaring at Kyle just on principle.
"Kyle, please. Sit down," Jihoon said softly, righting a chair.
Kyle hesitated, looking at our massive coils suspiciously.
Lathandro slid into the chair beside Jihoon, looking down his nose at the redhead. “Relax, Asshole. It’s more scavenger than predator. Besides, it won’t hurt you without permission. If it wanted, you’d already be dust in the wind.”
“Can someone please tell me why Twisted Sister is shooting sass at me?”
Lathandro rolled his eyes. “I am Jihoon, idiot, the better version of him. The one that won’t hesitate to hit you back.” He began to stroke our dark scales, right under the chin where we love it. “He’s not as scary as he seems. He’s lazy. He likes warmth, easy meals... you know, snake things.” He looked over at Jihoon. “You would know that too, if you stopped running away from it.”
Lathandro turned back to us and cooed in a ridiculous high voice, “Who’s the goodest Snakepoo? It’s you! It’s you!”
We melted. It was embarrassing, really, but his pets were too good. We moved our tail to gently tap the top of Lathandro’s pretty head, mimicking his petting movements. Then, feeling generous, we extended our tip to pet Jihoon too.
See? We are nice. Love us.
A forked tongue flicked out of Lathandro’s exquisite mouth at the exact same time as ours.
Jihoon shrieked.
He jumped out of the chair so fast it overturned with a loud crash.
We tasted Fear. Thick and pungent.
Jihoon stared at Lathandro. Then at us. His hand slowly rose to his mouth. “Oh, God.”
“Okay...” Kyle shook his head, thoroughly bewildered. “So this is not the strangest shit I’ve seen since stepping into the Zone, but it’s definitely in the ranking.” He shivered as if a cold breeze went up his back. “I get that this is a dream or something. Yin and Yang, perhaps. But what I don’t get is why one of you would know something the other doesn’t if you are the same person?”
Jihoon slumped and looked away. “Here’s the deal, as best as I understand it. Everything changed the moment I entered Club Apophis.” His voice faltered, hands wringing in his lap. “I saw it, a shape darker than black. It was looking right at me. The Serpent. A lot of shit happened after that. Don’t ask me how or what it means, because I don’t know. My memory is fractured. I just know whatever was happening to me stopped when I ran.”
“Alright,” Kyle clenched his jaw. “Since I'm the one who shoved you into the Zone, this is all my fault. What do you want from me?”
Jihoon’s voice turned serious. “Be my bodyguard. Protect me. Be my legs because I can’t move.”
“Already on it, Boss. Next.”
“There is something else I want. A favor. But before I tell you, please tell me everything that’s happening out there. So I might know if I made the right decision.”
Kyle nodded.
We only half listened. We wanted to know what the decision was. We wondered if Lathandro was also curious.
"You want the quick version?” Kyle folded his arms, his eyes darting between Jihoon and our shadowy coils. “The Zone is a slaughterhouse run by Monstrum. We found trapped people being auctioned off to monsters like live bait. And MasterGin? Slavery disguised as plastic surgery. We even found a dead nun who tried to go back in time to stop all this. Named Sophia.”
Jihoon went very still.
Emotions clouded the air. Fear. Rage. Heartbreak.
He touched his throat. “Did she wear a gold rope necklace with a snake head and tail?”
“Hmm. Most of the nuns wear little snake brooches, pins, that kind of thing. But now that you mention it... yeah, hers wasn't a brooch. It was the whole necklace. Like a real snake, coiled all the way around her neck. Kind of hard to miss.”
The dreamscape flickered.
We bowed our head. Our Dearest Sophia. The boy had discovered the truth we hid for so long. A small mercy.
Jihoon looked away. He turned colder.
Moments passed as no one spoke.
“You doing ok there, buddy?”
“Continue,” he replied softly.
Kyle hesitated. “Uh... okay.” In a hushed voice, he described the many horrors in the Zone and what had happened to Jihoon’s classmates.
We yawned. Our long, sharp fangs fully deployed. The darkness of our throat leaked out in tendrils of black smoke.
The conversation died.
We opened our eyes, surprised.
The three boys were staring at us.
Fear, once more.
If we could blush, we would have. We tried to look cute and friendly. Having no success, we pouted. We slithered away and curled around the desk where Jihoon had sat, our coils swallowing the robotic dog beneath them.
Kyle inched his chair away and looked back at Jihoon. “So now you know everything. What’s the plan?”
A plan?
We leaned in, excitement accidentally rattling our tail.
“Wake up. Pick up my body and run. Go to the Safe Zone. With any luck, the others are there. We’re getting everyone the hell out of here.”
Kyle suddenly disappeared, cut off before he could react.
Lathandro bolted out of his chair. “But I’ll never wake up! The Ceremony is tomorrow!”
“Fuck it.” Jihoon stood, fists clenched. “You don’t get it. I’m a lost cause. You’re always reminding me. I caught on fire in fucking daylight! I’m a monster now. One person has already died trying to save me. Mom.” His voice faltered, tears running down his cheeks. “No one. I mean NO ONE is going to die for me. Understand? This shit-show ends now.”
We tasted the air. Fear. Rage. Grief. And something else. Resolve. The boy was no longer running.
Jihoon looked over at us. The fierce expression on his tear-stained face made our hearts flutter. “Don’t try to stop me.”
We approached timidly.
Jihoon did not recoil.
We lowered our head.
Time seemed to stop.
We wait. Patiently wait. Still waiting.
We had been waiting for this since before he was born.
There.
At last. A trembling hand lightly touched our scales.
We listen. We obey.
Lathandro paced the room frantically. Then finally he stopped and looked at his other self. “You’re not leaving me behind. You are me. You need me. When you hesitate, I act. When you’re weak, I’m strong.”
Jihoon held out his hand to Lathandro. “Then let’s stop fighting. From now on, we are one.”
Lathandro took his hand without doubt. “We are one.”
We put our tail tip on top of their joined hands. “We… Are… One…”
Time to shed old skin.
We wrapped our coils around the two boys. In our embrace, their bodies dissolved into tendrils of black smoke. When our coils fell away, there stood only one boy.
It was complete.
“Good boy.” The Chosen One reached over and petted us the way we liked. “Ready?”
He had eyes like us. Teal.
We nodded. Eager.
His pupils narrowed into black slits. His hand pointed forward dramatically. It was exactly like the stunning posters of Prince Lathandro plastered all over the Forbidden Zone.
“Clear the path. Go now!”
On him, Lathandro:
Eyes: Goetia - Thorned Umbral Eyes- Light Green [BOM](Night Market)[150L]
Eyeshadow: A.D.D.Andel - Gloss Shadows-Teal [BOM](Night Market)[130L]
Crown: ARCHIVEFACTION - Requiem Crown [mesh]
Gloves: ARCHIVEFACTION - Sacremorne Knight Gauntlets_Silver_Legacy M [mesh]
Shoulders, collar: BUFFY'S - Gwendolyn Neck Piece - LegacyA [mesh]
Gown: Soapberry - .SB. Rune Gown - LegacyA [mesh]
Veil: Grasshopper - ST GHS Wedding Veil [mesh](300L)
Shine: ARANA - Dragon Body Shine 3D HQ (2K) [Applier]
Strings: YUEBIN - Bound in Bloom - [Legacy Ath] [mesh]
Stocking: YUEBIN - Spider Charm - LegacyA, 5 [mesh]
Hair: Aii - Necromantic Hair, HAIR HELL [mesh]
Tongue: Clover - Lizard set, tongue [mesh]
Pet: MoonRabbit - MR SNEK SPIRIT [mesh]
Skin: outernaked - #evox - juhoon skin [NF: natural] - nb [BOM]
Body: TheShops - [BODY] Athletic Meshbody (Legacy)(m) (1.7.1) [mesh](5000L)
Pose: momomuller / 3M - [3M]**_w5_0
Outfit: PENDULUM - EMILIEN.Suit - LEGACY M [mesh]
Dagger: ARCHIVEFACTION - Requiem Dagger [mesh]
Hair: TRASH - Pumpkins Hair - v1 - Fatpack [mesh]
Crown: UNA - Ruise crown Silver [mesh]
Necklace: Oblivis - Secret Bastion Key Necklace M SILVER [mesh]
Shoes: Deadwool - Dandy shoes - non rigged - black/silver wingtip [mesh](360L)
Rings: RAWR - Battie Rings Legacy Male [mesh]
Earrings: BADa - Cross B Earrings [mesh]
Claws: Subject Thirteen - Solstice Set - LegacyA [mesh]
Skin: outernaked - #evox - juhoon skin [NF: natural] - wb [BOM]
Body: TheShops - [BODY] Athletic Meshbody (Legacy)(m) (1.7.1) [mesh](5000L)
Pose: Tableau Vivant - TheCageM5
BONUS IMAGES: inworld raw shots, hi-res, midday sky:
