DIRECTIVE — PRIORITY ONE: Initiate full erasure protocol. Suppress subject's identity, origin, and field of research. Remove all records placing subject at April 13, 2029. Reclassify subject as: Children of Apophis, Unit 09. Cross-reference: FORBIDDEN.
PERSONAL NOTE: She built everything. No one can know.
On her, Sophia:
Upper: SOLIAC - Vassa Bodysuit, fatpack - LG [mesh](Salvage Station)(899L)
Lower: SOLIAC - Vassa Boots, fatpack - LG [mesh](Salvage Station)(899L)
STORYLINE: Sleeping on the temple roof above the busy marketplace of Heian, was a gentle and wise nine tail fox, Kyubi no Kitsune. Its white fur gleamed in the golden light, soft purrs rumbled in its chest. An icy breeze ruffled its fur. The sour scent snapped the old fox's eyes open.
Doubt, rage, envy, fear, hopelessness.... These emotions had suddenly surged in the populace. The Oni were growing stronger. The Unweaver was approaching, bringing a cold miasma of doom with it.
The fox flicked its tails annoyed. Something must be done quickly to rebalance the land.
Kyubi no Kitsune rose on his gigantic paws and stretched out nine magnificent tails. With a leaf on his forehead, and a poof of fox magic, he transformed into a striking, friendly looking street performer, albeit his fox nature was not completely hidden.
He landed gently in the large square, and announced himself as the mighty Kyubi no Kitsune, to many dubious laughs. His fluffy tail waving, and ears twitching, he began to tell jokes and perform amazing tricks to people's delight. A crowd around him grew. His sunny nature was infectious. He encouraged everyone to sing with him, and even pulled audience members into a silly dance. Soon a full street party broke out. Food was brought and served. Young couples met. Children giggled. And by the time the sun set, Heian was full of warm hearts once more. The Oni had shrunk to the size of mice.
Outside, the Unweaver seethed. Joy was the one thing it could never consume.
It sneered and moved on.
The celebrations and fund raising for a good cause continue at the Fantasy Faire continue. Read more about events, live shows, the adventure game, and more. Learn more about the Heian sim here: MEET OUR SPONSORS: GABRIEL
On him, Kyubi no Kitsune: Kimono:Fluffy Kreations - FK Kimono, Legacy M [mesh](Fantasy Faire: Aventurine Promenade ) Tattoo:Beastie - INUARI OVERLAY, Red [BOM](Fantasy Faire: Vervaine Moors)
Parasol:floro - Tien Parasol [mesh](Fantasy Faire: Bến Tôm Rơi )
STORYLINE: Kyle Baek pressed his back against the cold, polished wall of the GIN AESTHETICA™ service corridor. He was breathing hard. The pristine, high-tech clinic was a labyrinth of sterile white lights and locked doors, and he was completely cut off from the rest of the team.
He slammed the sleek, handleless door panel with all his body weight. It didn't budge.
Kyle rolled his eyes and pitched his voice into a nasally, upbeat whine to imitate Plague. "Just in and out, guys. Steal tech. Grab samples. Easy.”
He kicked the base of the reinforced door.
A shadow peeled itself off the adjacent obsidian wall.
Kyle nearly swung his fist, but a leather-clad hand clamped hard over his mouth.
Hwan materialized before him. Green skin. Purple hair. Eyes burning amber in the dim corridor light. The full, true face of whatever the hell Hwan actually was.
Kyle stared at him for exactly one second.
"So that's what you look like," he said flatly. "I've seen worse."
Hwan pressed a finger to his lips. "Shhh."
"I’m tired of people giving me shitty advice," Kyle muttered fiercely. He dropped his voice into an overly dramatic, gravelly whisper, throwing Hwan's exact mystical tone right back in his face. “Without something to love…” Kyle sneered. “Yeah, yeah. I don’t need something to love.” He shoved his arms into the heavy Enforcer coat. "I need something to break. Preferably a door."
Hwan smiled. "And yet... here you are."
He seemed to listen to something Kyle could not hear. Then his gold eyes moved to something behind Kyle. Every muscle in the Guardian's body locked rigid.
"What the hell are you looking at?" Kyle growled.
A slow, repeating clap echoed through the corridor.
The ambient temperature in the hallway plummeted, and the heavy scent of oriental spice and clove washed over them.
Kyle froze. He turned around slowly.
"Oh please... don't stop on my account." MasterGin loomed behind him in a sheer white tunic. The ancient vampire was fresh from berating Nurse Paine. His flawless face still held the sharp, ugly lines of his rage. But as he looked at Kyle, the anger melted into intense, predatory curiosity.
Hwan bowed instantly, locking his eyes on the floor.
Kyle stood stiff as stone in the oversized coat. His broad shoulders stretched the dark leather. His jaw was clenched tight.
"My, my... what a marvelous temper." MasterGin glided forward, tilting his head. He did not attack. Instead, he began to circle Kyle. His stilettos clicked a slow rhythm on the floor. He looked Kyle up and down, assessing his heavy musculature and the aggressive scowl permanently etched onto the boy's face. "All that noise, and not a drop of fear in it. How delightfully unrefined."
MasterGin leaned in close to Kyle’s neck and inhaled deeply.
"Mm... earth, smoke... iron," he purred. His long eyelashes lowered slyly as he glanced over at the trembling Guardian.
Kyle didn't move. His jaw tightened further.
"Naughty little Dokkaebi," the vampire scoffed. "Where have you been hiding this strapping specimen?"
Kyle bit the inside of his cheek to keep his mouth shut. The vampire had mistaken his stubborn human rage for a goblin spirit.
"Is he a reliable guard?" MasterGin asked. He traced a gold-tipped claw down the silver buttons of Kyle's stolen coat.
"Oh, yes, Master Ginerva," Hwan stammered quickly. "I have seen him endure a great deal of strife to achieve his mission."
Kyle's lip curled in disgust. He wanted to stomp on Hwan's foot.
"You will do beautifully." MasterGin smirked at the growing rage on Kyle's face. "My previous staff has proven tragically incompetent today. Follow me, Grumpy Dokkaebi. I have a special assignment for you. I require someone solid. Someone who does not bend. To protect my most precious asset."
MasterGin turned.
Hwan shot Kyle a desperate, pleading look. ‘Please play along.’
Kyle snarled silently. He adjusted the heavy collar of the coat and fell into step behind the vampire, who strutted forward as if walking a runway.
As they descended, the architecture mutated. Sterile white walls gave way to polished obsidian, and rich velvet drapery that had no business existing this far underground.
They emerged onto an ominous glass walkway suspended over an eerily glowing subterranean cavern.
Long gelatinous tendrils hung from the ceiling, pulsing with faint internal light. Kyle recognized them. He wished he didn’t.
Phosphorescent fungi rose like pillars from the cavern floor. Glowing moss draped from stalactites, too still, like it had decided not to breathe.
Kyle knew what this was. He remembered Hwan warning the team about this place.
They were not walking into the belly of the beast. They were already inside it.
This was MasterGin's private garden. His nursery for the things that turned people into something that no longer resembled people.
Kyle grabbed Hwan's sleeve. The heavy, gilded glass doors at the far end of the walkway hissed open. There was no time.
Hwan refused to move forward. He gave Kyle a steady, reassuring nod, almost satisfied, then executed a sharp Monstrum-style salute. "Master Ginerva, I leave him to you now."
MasterGin waved him off without bothering to look back. "Ta ta."
Hwan caught Kyle’s gaze one last time.
Kyle could have sworn that demon bastard just winked at him while disappearing in a soft, pink-tinted curl of smoke.
He stared at the empty space where the trickster had been standing.
A soft hydraulic hiss filled the silence. The glass walkway began retracting, pulling back toward the suite, section by section. It was retreating toward the suite’s balcony ledge, exposing the deadly drop to the garden far below. Bioluminescent spores drifted upward in slow, beautiful spirals through the widening gap.
Kyle stared down at the neon sludge. He remembered exactly what Hwan had said about the terrifying things that lived in it. His eyes tracked the retreating walkway, then at the growing chasm.
"Do catch up, Grumpy Dokkaebi," MasterGin called out without turning around. "I would hate to have to replace you so soon."
Kyle gritted his teeth. He took three quick steps backward, then launched himself into a running jump. He crashed heavily onto the remaining glass section. It shuddered under his weight.
Kyle could have sworn that he heard that vampire diva snicker.
They stepped off the walkway and onto the private balcony overlooking the garden. MasterGin pointed ahead and spoke quietly. "This is my future."
Inside the opulent, dimly lit bedchamber lay the exact reason he was here. Yoon Jihoon rested on a massive, velvet-draped bed. He looked like an object placed on display rather than a boy sleeping. One of his long silver locks had been haphazardly snipped off, the cut end ragged against the pillow.
The vampire turned to Kyle. His icy eyes found security guard in the dim light, catching him staring. "Will you protect him with your life?"
Kyle snapped his arm up into a crisp, flawless mimic of Hwan’s salute. "Yes Sir," he said, his deep voice rumbling with absolute certainty. "No one gets past me. You can rely on it."
"Oh, I know." MasterGin smiled. "See that you do." He turned and glided away. The heavy doors sealed shut behind him with a final, mechanical thud.
Kyle stood alone on the quiet, lavish balcony. The footsteps faded into absolute nothingness.
He slowly lowered his hand. He stepped up to the reinforced glass of the suite and placed his palm flat against the cold pane. He looked at Jihoon. The dare. The shove across the Zone border. Jihoon in the baseball stadium shrieking on fire. All of it led exactly here.
Kyle let out a slow, shaky breath, fogging the glass.
“I’ve got you, buddy," he whispered.
Kyle's plot arc is circling back on itself. We're still racing towards to the finale of Escape from Club Apophis. I have more wonderful chapters coming soon for you, showing awesome creations from the current round of The Engine Room.
Kyle is wearing the Voiddrop Steampunk Hunter outfit. It's a complete look with coat, skirt, pants and boots built in. It comes in Black, Grey, and White for men. ...From Duplexity is the Astrum Glasses. It's mod so you move, tilt and resize it to best fit your face. It comes with a hud to change the textures on the lens and frame. I tinted the frame to red so the side glow would match Kyle's look. ...From Auro is the BOM Carapace Chest Armour, and materials applier hud for Legacy bodies to create that shiny look. .... From Nuuna is OKA text layers. Adding a cool bold deco pattern across the chest, neck and arms. The lower layer is tintable, I made it dark red, and the top layer adds a metallic stripe across the arms and down the middle of the chest. very cool. I layered it over the chest plate.
Hwan is wearing Starlit Endeavor's latest well thought out set of clothing and accessories, Kohjan, a traveler ready to walk great distances with map, backpack, compass, canteen, and telescope. He is wearing the Khojan outfit which comes with a texture hud you can mix and match textures, and event tint. I used the Mint and Black and tinted purple the overcoat for a Dokkaebi look. He is holding the Kohjan compass which also has a texture hud, and you can trigger poses, animation, and flip open the compass lid. ...From Aii are the Dark Fae ears. They fit perfectly on Lelukta mesh heads, just hide your regular ears, and with the shape options, change the size and placement of your new long pointy ears. You can show or hide various parts of it in the texture hud. I hid the more ornate jewelry on the ears for a more masculine look. ...In the background is the beautiful new statue creation by What's Lost Spirits, part of the Cyber Statue series. It is mod so you can scale it up and down, comes with regular and PBR textures. ...From TWELVE is the gorgeous Scifi Cinema. It comes in black, white, and tan. it's mod, so you can change light colors, scale or move pieces around if needed. The doors open and close by touch. You can see the dark and light versions of the skybox below.
STORYLINE: The Jae Won University Stadium burned like a crown of thorns. Rows of plastic seats melted into crooked black smiles, and the scoreboard flickered above them, its numbers dissolving into meaningless static. Ash drifted through the dead wind like red snow.
Jihoon knelt in the dirt of the pitcher’s mound, his breath coming in thin, burning pulls.
Across the diamond, Lathandro twirled a charred baseball bat slowly in one hand. Casual. Patient. Like a man warming up before a game already won. He looked flawless in his white uniform, shoes clean, collar crisp, entirely untouched by the smoke and ruin.
"Do you hear them?" Lathandro asked lightly, his voice carrying over the crackle of the flames.
Voices echoed faintly through the smoke. Muffled. Distant. Real. Jihoon lifted his head. The sky above the dreamscape trembled.
"They’re worried," Lathandro said, a cruel smirk touching his perfect lips. "How sweet."
The scent of clove.
It drifted through the acrid smoke, ancient and entirely out of place.
Jihoon looked towards the scent.
Suddenly, the bat came down. Crack.
Light exploded behind Jihoon’s eyes. He collapsed into the dirt, tasting copper and ash.
"You don't deserve your best friends. You didn't even tell them your birthday," Lathandro continued conversationally, stepping over him. "But I understand."
Another swing. Crack.
"You were born under a bad star, the asteroid Apophis," Lathandro whispered, crouching beside him. "An ill omen. The day that almost ended the world. Imagine how they’d react if they knew you were always cursed."
The crack rang in Jihoon's skull.
"You always knew something was wrong with you. Too quiet. Too strange. Too afraid to exist properly. You watched life from the bleachers while better people played the game." He spread his arms to the burning stadium. "But me? I am the player."
The glitching scoreboard above the stadium spasmed back to life, letters crawling through static until they held in place.
HITS
AWAY: SOMEBODY: 347
HOME: NOBODY: 0
Lathandro glanced up at the board and smiled faintly. “Scorekeeping matters.”
Suddenly, the ground convulsed. A violent earthquake ripped through the dreamscape, collapsing a section of the bleachers. Jihoon’s real body was being moved.
Through the fissures in the sky, a voice bled through. Deep, broken, and wet.
Kyle.
“He didn’t want this! Look at him! Jihoon never wanted to be a monster!” Kyle’s voice cracked with a guilt so profound it made the ground in the dreamscape shudder. Kyle, the guy who treated joy like a personal insult, was weeping for him.
Jihoon flinched and closed his eyes.
"Oh?" Lathandro murmured, his eyes narrowing. He raised the bat. "Still clinging to them? Pathetic. Just forget them already."
Before the bat could fall, a new voice sliced through the haze, cold and sharp with fury. He knew that voice. The nurse from the hospital.
“You think MasterGin forced this upon him?” Her voice sneered from the waking world. “You think your precious friend is a victim? Look at the footage, you ignorant children. He begged for it.”
The melting jumbo screen flickered violently. Then a new image forced itself across the burning pixels. It was shaky halophone footage from inside the velvet madness of Club Apophis.
Jihoon saw his own face, his old, unremarkable face, looking up at the towering silhouette of MasterGin.
Something inside Jihoon recoiled. The words felt familiar. Like overhearing himself through a wall.
“I’m tired of being a nobody. Tired of being weak. I can't even tell the girl I like how I feel,” his old self on the screen whispered, his voice trembling with raw, desperate hunger. “I don’t want to be small anymore....”
"Forget it!" Lathandro roared, his composure snapping. He brought the bat down viciously. "Forget! Let it go! I am the one keeping us alive! Your life ended the moment you walked into Club Apophis. Mine is just beginning!"
The bat came down again. Crack.
The scoreboard clicked.
HITS: 348
Above them, the real world was descending into chaos.
“He's coming. Enforcers in the corridor,” Paine’s voice snapped. “Here. Take this. Go.”
Jihoon's heart sank. But then, a hand reached through the sensory void. It was warm. Small. Real. He felt it.
Minjo’s voice broke through the static, closer than the rest. “Jihoon.”
Her hand tightened around his. “I thought sunscreen would be enough.” The words trembled, then hardened.
For a moment she said nothing. The silence carried everything she couldn’t.
“I will not fail you again.” Her grip tightened. “I don’t care what they are. Vampires. Cults. Gods.”
A breath against his cheek. “I watched you burn. Your arms on fire reaching to me, begging me to save you. So that's what I'll do. This is not over.” A pause. “Do you hear me?”
He felt the whisper of her lips against his cheek. Warm. Human. Alive.
Her touch was real. A kiss.
A jolt of pure, living electricity shot through his paralyzed limbs.
"Forget her!" Lathandro roared, swinging the bat for a final, memory-erasing blow.
Jihoon moved.
He didn't dodge. He reached up and caught the barrel of the bat, his bare, bloody hands stopping the wood cold.
Lathandro's grip faltered. Something crossed his perfect face that had no name in his vocabulary. The firelight flickered across their mirrored faces. One majestic, one bruised and bleeding.
"I kept you alive," Lathandro hissed.
Jihoon tightened his grip on the wood, staggering to his feet. "I know," he rasped, looking his shadow dead in the eye. "But you’re not all I am."
Jihoon twisted. The bat tore free from Lathandro’s grip. With a snarl of all his pent-up rage, he swung it back and cracked it across Lathandro's flawless jaw.
The scoreboard shrieked with feedback. The team names scrambled like a broken machine, then went dark.
The beautiful boy spun and collapsed into the ash. Knocked out cold.
The moment Lathandro fell, the inferno shattered like glass. The nightmare purgatory of Jihoon’s death dissolved, replaced instantly by the familiar, damp neon of the alleyway outside his old dorm. A mechanical bark echoed through the brick corridor. Scrappy 2 bounded from the shadows, tail wagging.
Jihoon dropped the bat, his chest heaving. He screamed at the sky, "Minjo! I'm here!"
But the voices were fading. The heavy, rhythmic clicking of MasterGin’s heels approached in the real world. His friends were gone. They had fled. But he was still unconscious in the heart of Monstrum.
The alley lights suddenly dimmed. Neon signs flickered. A low hum vibrated in the ground.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
The slow, deliberate sound of applause drifted from the shadows of the alleyway.
Jihoon spun around.
A towering silhouette stepped into the dim light, draped in black, his golden dreadlocks arranged like a Pharaoh’s nemes. The air immediately chilled, smelling of ancient stone and clove cigarettes.
The Ruler of the Night looked down at Lathandro's unconscious body, then up to Jihoon, his gold eyes bright with something that might have been amusement if amusement could also be a threat.
"I have watched this infestation try to break you," the Ruler said, his voice a resonant baritone that vibrated in Jihoon's chest. "You have proven yourself. I did not expect such resilience from a human. It is fortunate your rescuers forced my Lucien to move you away from that cursed energy."
Jihoon backed up, his hands trembling. "Who are you?"
The ancient vampire took a slow drag from his cigarette, the embers flaring orange in the dark.
"I am known by many titles," he purred smoothly. "But you may think of me as the Instrument of Order. My servant, the Instrument of Chaos, has laid a claim on your flesh, but I see you are not entirely his." The Ruler extended a massive, armored hand toward Jihoon. "Let us speak of a mutually beneficial arrangement. A deal to balance the scales."
Jihoon looked at the extended hand, then at Scrappy sitting patient in the neon dark, then back at the oldest person he had ever seen.
When I saw STOP's robot dog, thought I had gone to heaven for a moment. Its perfect. And perfect for for this story as the dream symbol of Minjo, guarding poor Jihoon. Lovely. Just lovely. ... Blaze is his real name, and he comes in different color selections. You just wear him, and he's fully animated with cool sci-fi noises. The Hud can change its LED glow color. He's a good boy. ....From Diaboli Designs is Voidcore boots. Like all DD boots, it comes with a hud full of texture options and texture animations. It's so fun. I went with a Lime Green ad Black look to match the jacket. ...Savage's Yuri Jacket has backpack built in the back. The front can your pick from several colors, and the back and backpack are black. ...Matching the lime theme is the T-AB headphones by Lavu. You can get in several colors, and then modify is even more with a hud. The headphones are unrigged and mod, so you can get a perfect fit. ... In the background, I used the mod version of ZEROICHI's KABUKI X Backdrop. Its detailed L shaped set with built in lights and PBR textures. With the mod version you can tint, or move pieces around. It includes stand alone props bottles, and an option without built in lighting. ...And a subtle detail in the back, is the EC3D neon sign of the Dog which I combined with the ZEROICHI's Love sign. ... Just an another little nod to our Snow White (Jihoon) finally getting that kiss from his love (Minjo) that awakens, not his body, but his agency. -- My own cyber twist to the famous fairytale.
On him, Yoon Jihoon:
Jacket: Savage - Yuri Jacket, Legacy M [mesh](Cyber Fair)(250L)
Shoes: Diaboli Design - Voidcore Boots, Legacy M [mesh](Cyber Fair)(999L)
STORYLINE: The Forbidden Zone began like a bad memory, gray where the world should be colored, silent where life should echo. Kyle crossed the perimeter and felt the city change under his feet, like stepping from a dream into a nightmare.
The air pressed down, thick with the smell of metal and rain on hot stone. Neon bled from somewhere far away, too faint to throw shadows. His footsteps landed too loud, the sound bouncing off skeletal buildings and vanishing mid-echo. He had adjusted to the gray. The Zone was a world drained of everything he hated about life, no bright smiles, no warm colors, just ash, rust, and silence. Even the stray dogs were muted, skulking shadows that at least had the decency to look miserable.
Half a block in, Kyle felt a creeping itch between his shoulder blades. The instinct to turn around, to run. He resisted and kept walking. Something shifted in the corner of his vision, a shadow retreating behind a cracked checkpoint booth. His stomach dropped, his pulse skittering. He blinked, and the figure was gone.
But the feeling lingered. A sense of being watched. A low hum started, a sound like a failing transformer, and a single, flickering streetlight ahead began to pulse, its halo dimming and brightening like a slow, metallic breath. He heard a scrape behind him, the whisper of something on the pavement. He spun around. Nothing. The silence deepened, pressing in.
A voice, low and textured like stone dragged across pavement, cut through the quiet. “Kyle Baek.”
He hadn’t seen anyone step out. He hadn’t heard so much as a footfall, but the figure was just there. It was tall, black-robed, and blurred at the edges, like the night sky had been poured into a human shape. It smelled of wet earth. The face was sharp and pale, the eyes an impossible amber glow.
Kyle froze, every fine hair on his neck rising. “Do I know you?”
“No,” the figure said. “But I know you. You're the one who sent the boy in.”
Kyle stiffened. “What?”
A small, mocking tilt of the head. “The boy you shoved across the line. Don’t pretend it was a dare.”
Kyle’s jaw tightened, his hand gripping the taser in his pocket. “How the hell do you know that? Who are you?”
The figure moved with a heavy, unnerving grace, stepping off the curb to block Kyle's path. His eyes dropped to Kyle’s gripping hand.
"I see. A protector at heart. Like me." He offered a slight, ironic bow. "I am Hwan. Guardian of the Barrier."
“Right, and I’m the Tooth Fairy. Cut the mystic crap. I’m here about....”
"I saw you challenge him," Hwan interrupted, his voice calm but heavy. "You called him a coward when he refused. So you pushed him. Told him to be a man. And yet, when he entered this place... you watched and you did not follow."
Kyle's mouth opened, then closed, the defense dying in his throat.
"Your friend was marked the moment he crossed," Hwan said.
Kyle gave a short, bitter laugh. “Marked by what?”
Hwan's gaze didn't move. "The things that own this cursed place."
He gestured toward the alley, where a weather-faded poster clung to a wall: a black serpent swallowing the sun.
"The government tells you this is a quarantine zone. Radiation. Biohazards. Lies with just enough truth to keep people terrified," Hwan said. "Out there, they see a dead city. In here..."
Hwan traced a clawed finger over a jagged red cross painted over the serpent.
"...In here, it’s their market. Their hunting ground." His amber eyes flicked back to Kyle. "That snake symbol? That marks where their laws reign supreme. But this alley, that red mark? This is my yard, their power holds no domain here."
As he spoke, the gray fog recoiled, revealing a shimmer of impossible, soft color. “Your friend found this place. I can only hold small corners like this, the rest is theirs. Don’t wander thinking you’re safe.” Hwan said. “Your friend was the only one who made it out. But only part of him returned.”
The words hit like a coffin lid slamming shut.
“What the hell does that mean?” Kyle growled.
Hwan finally met his eyes. The amber glow flared, hot and ancient. “It means this place takes pieces."
“So,” Kyle said, voice steadier than he felt, “you got a map of these safe zones? Or you just gonna keep babbling”
Hwan leaned in, his voice crackling like burning paper. “You want him whole again? Maps won’t help you. Guns won’t help you. In here, you don’t survive on grit. Without a tether... without something to love... you will rot in this place forever.”
Kyle’s laugh was bitter, venom on his tongue. “Love? Don’t make me sick.”
Hwan didn’t flinch. “And yet you came. You crossed the Zone for Jihoon. Call it revenge if that helps you sleep, but revenge is only love with teeth.”
Kyle’s breath hitched. He stepped back, the truth simmering in his chest like poison.
“It’s too late to deny it. You’ve already chosen." Hwan stepped aside. "Now... be guided.”
"Wait..." Kyle stammered, reaching out as Hwan began to fade, panic cracking his voice. “He had to toughen up! You don’t get it, ...he freezes at everything! I was trying to help him.”
The gray mist parted like stage curtains opening. Color bled in like an open wound. Pinks and golds bloomed where no light belonged, smelling of crushed flowers. From it stepped Romance, the Saja of Love, radiant and unbearable.
Kyle’s face twisted in immediate, primal horror. “No. No, no, no. Not this. Anyone but this.”
Romance spread his arms wide, a slow, sickening smile on his face, his billion-dollar idol grin glittering like a weapon. He beckoned Kyle in for a hug.
Kyle screamed and ran.
Kpop Demon Hunters was a fun movie, I just had to take a stab at doing one of the Saja Boys. Over at Midnight Order, you can get your fix of Saja with the Dope+Mercy Hanbok, trousers and gift Gat hat. The Hanbok you get in white, Saja, or black, and the fatpack has cool detailed textures. The Gat hat is unrigged and mod, with sheer and solid options so you get whatever works best for you. The pants also have a texture options. There Fatpack is where you get the Abby style leather. The boots that work with the pants can be found at the main store. ...From HISS is the corrupted Patterns tattoos. This set is really nicely made, with many options like opacity, fade, and tint. And even cooler, each of the Saja Boys have thier own face patterns too! Nice sweet detail. Also from HISS is the Jinu makeup set with eye makeup and lip tints. ...From RavenBell is the well timed Starlit Earrings. This are super cool! They swing and are animated! And look very Saja Romance too. So of course I had to use them. If they hud you switch the colors, turn on and off animations. Plus several different styles of earrings too. Brilliant. ...Over at Androgyny Event, the Saja madness goes on. The Usagi Society Jin hair with the heart Bangs, was just too Saja Romance. lol I had to use that too. I love the all the color options. ...And to add a little more glamour to Romance, I used the Diamond Glitz Shine on thee EvoX head by !Body Expression. ... Subject 13 has another set of fun claws, prefect fashion for the Saja! These are tintable. ...And the only blip in my Saja Romance parade is the Baby Collar by Minuit. (I hope Romance isn't mad at me for that, lol) I wanted to emphasize the Heart on the collar for Romance, and deemphasize the lettering Baby so I made it darker. The collar itself very well made and lots of color option too! ...Thanks for Akira and Lin for help on the setting. They let me break apart settings by ZEROICHI and K&S and recombine to create the look of the Forbidden Zone - Safe Areas.
I hope you are enjoying the continuing story... Escape from Club Apophis. The Character of Kyle is inspired by the first person I met in SL, a griefer. He was quite a character.
On him, Saja Romance:
Coat:Dope+Mercy Saja Hanbok, LegacyM, Saja [mesh](Midnight Order)(350L) Pants: Dope+Mercy Saja Trousers, LegacyM, Black[mesh](Midnight Order)(250L)
Hat: Dope+Mercy Saja Gat, Sheer [mesh](Midnight Order)(Gift)
Earrings:RavenBell Starlit Earrings, Moonlit [mesh](Midnight Order)(350L) Makeup: HISS JINU MAKE EYE [BOM](Midnight Order)(200L) Tattoos: HISS PATTERNS FACE ROMANCE - 100[BOM](Midnight Order)(250L) Hair: Usagi Society Jin Hair, Male [mesh](Androgyny Event)(350L) Claws: Subject 13 Plague Claws x Solstice Set, LegacyM [mesh](Androgyny Event)(275L)
STORYLINE: Kyle Baek was not a pleasant person. He could find fault with a rainbow. Puppies? Overrated. Free pizza? Cardboard with marketing. If joy walked into the room, Kyle would be leaning in the doorway, arms crossed, listing the reasons joy should sit back down and shut up. He didn’t just rain on parades, he summoned a Category 5 typhoon, then complained about how wet his shoes were.
No good deed survived his snark. No sweet moment escaped his venom. Even trolls found him exhausting.
It was almost an art form.
And yet…
As much as Kyle specialized in rejecting the very concept of warmth, there was something gnawing at him. A hairline crack in the wall of his spite.
It was guilt.
Because Kyle was the one who dared Yoon Jihoon to spend a night in the Forbidden Zone. The dare had been a joke, one of those stupid schoolyard challenges meant to make you look tough in front of the guys. Go into that haunted club, Apophis, prove you’re a man.
No one who entered the Forbidden Zone came back. No one.
Except Jihoon.
Only… he wasn’t the same. Different face. Different voice. Different everything.
He didn't tell anyone he was not ok. Overnight, he went from bookworm to celebrity. How could anyone have guessed?
During the season opener, with half the school chanting his new nickname, Lathandro, the sun broke over the stadium roof. Jihoon’s skin ignited in the sick, blistering way meat flares in a microwave. By the time the fire was out, he was in a coma, wrapped in bandages, breathing through a ventilator.
Doctors muttered about “severe photothermal injury.” Rumors bloomed: black-market augments, DNA hacking, doping. No one could explain it.
But Kyle could.
Club Apophis.
And that was on him.
Just like his favorite heroes from Film Noir, he wasn’t the type to admit fault, ... self-reflection was for people with therapy budgets, so he framed it another way. Someone else had done this to Jihoon. Someone in the Zone. And that someone was going to pay.
That’s how Kyle Baek found himself standing at the rusting perimeter fence, staring into the gray murk of the Forbidden Zone.
Kyle had never been this close to the fence before.
Sure, he’d loitered near the bus stop a few blocks away, daring other idiots to go in, but that was different. You could still smell fried chicken from the corner stall out there. You could still hear people laughing.
Here, the air was still.
The chain-link perimeter stretched in both directions like it had no end, and the metal was eaten through in places by rust the color of dried blood. Government warning signs, a chaotic collage of BIOHAZARD, RADIATION, and NO TRESPASSING, were plastered over one another, all screaming the same message: Don't. Someone had spray-painted a crude skull over one of them, its grin melting down the corrugated steel.
No one actually crossed the line. No one sane. Unless something inside was already broken.
Kyle felt the crack widen as he stepped closer.
Long hours as a campus security guard, supplementing his income, had taught him two things: how to stay awake when nothing was happening, and how to keep moving when too much was. Neither skill made stepping toward the Zone a good idea, but they made it easier.
The gap in the fence looked cut from the inside, as if whatever lived here had tried to escape.
He stood there a long moment, hands in his pockets, wind tugging at his jacket. It would have been smart to walk away. To head home, forget this place, pretend Jihoon’s face, what was left of it, didn’t come looking for him every time he shut his eyes.
Smart? Kyle had never been smart when it counted.
Instead, he told himself it was just another dare. Just another stunt to shut people up.
But there was no audience this time. No crowd waiting to see if he’d chicken out. Just the gap, the silence, and the gray beyond.
One step more, and there’d be no coming back.
Kyle smiled like a man about to do something very, very stupid.
Wooo woo. It's a new season for my ongoing story, and more coolness from this round of Midnight Order!
From Graal is a fun, and interactive!, detective outfit. It comes with a hud to trigger drawing the gun and holstering it. I love that! There is also a pack of cigarettes for the pocket and a hanging pocket watch at the waist. ....For extra Sylus-like strappy coolness, I added another layer of harness with the Fake Society Nate, and Gabriel leather bracer. ...From Mana are the eyes with no pupils, Jelly Eyes, dark and light eye whites, and several options to wear/apply the eyes. ...From TRASH is the sinful Lucifer hair. Kyle is wearing the hair without the devil horns, but that is an option for each set. The horns are seamlessly shaped from the hair. ...The setting is the brilliant Corrupted Chapel by LORE. This is such an awesome building. Beautiful outside and inside. And two options, normal and corrupted. Includes pews you can move around also. The corrupted version has red glow below the floor and thick vines growing through it. It reminded me of the Upside Down in Stranger Things. So naturally, I had to add the animesh Demadog to the scene from Vaal. ...Also from LORE are the Confessional stalls. They have several wood texture options with door openings.
STORYLINE: Jihoon didn’t know it yet, but this quiet night of introspection, investigation, and confrontation would change his life just as much as the dare that led him into Club Apophis.
His reflection was a stranger now, but Minjo still saw someone worth saving. Why else would she have come?
He stumbled into his bedroom, slamming the door shut with an awkward wobble in high-heeled boots. His heart hammered. Skin flushed. Mouth dry.
He pressed his forehead to the cold wall.
Just breathe.
From outside the door came a mechanical bark.
Frantically, he pulled on the soft, pale teal button-up to cover himself. Then he dropped to the floor, checking beneath the loose boards. The black snakeskin box was still there, the SPF 100 nano-sunscreen nestled inside. As he slid it carefully back into hiding, the box gave a faint, pulsing coo.
He steeled himself and opened the door. Scrappy 2 barked a greeting and padded in, chrome paws ticking softly on the floor. Its muzzle swept side to side, humming softly as it scanned the room. It looked like a dog, but Jihoon knew better. Minjo didn’t build toys, but this was first time he had seen Scrappy scan for surveillance tech. Jihoon had no idea what else the dog could do, and wasn't sure he wanted to find out.
In the living room, Minjo had already peeled the casing off the Smart Mirror. Her tool kit lay open like a field surgery kit. The mirror’s motherboard pulsed faintly, wired into her handheld. Tiny holographic schematics flickered between her palms and screen, casting dancing shadows up her cheekbones.
She didn’t look up. “You’re back. Good. It’s okay to talk now. All bugs are disabled. Does ‘Evil Queen’ mean anything to you? That's the mirror's login.”
Jihoon cleared his throat. “No.”
He hovered in the doorway, shirt fluttering around his hips, hands shoved awkwardly into the cuffs.
“You’re still wearing the heels,” she said, finally glancing up.
Jihoon looked down. “I… I couldn’t find my sneakers.”
“You mean the ones by the door?”
He flushed. “I didn’t feel like putting them on.”
Minjo blinked. Not mocking. Just observant.
She yanked a piece of motherboard loose and tossed it like a frisbee. Scrappy 2 barked and, with a delighted whir, caught and crunched it in his powerful jaws. Tail buzzing on its piston, the robot dog settled down to chew contentedly, like it was gnawing a bone.
Minjo then pointed to a faint symbol glowing on the motherboard, -- a logo with a snake swallowing the sun.
“What do you know about Monstrum?”
Jihoon crossed the room and sank beside her, drawn in by the glowing symbol. Whatever shame he felt blurred behind the pull of a new mystery.
“According to the AI,” she said, “your mirror was running a second OS, Built beneath the visual feedback layer. It used subliminal cues to rewrite your self-perception. Based on microreactions.”
She gestured up at the dorm’s flickering LEDs. “It even synced to the lighting—highlighting your features when you did something it ‘liked.’ Training you to pose. To chase the approval of the camera. Dopamine hits, basically.”
Jihoon raised an eyebrow. “Are you serious?”
She nodded grimly. “It was gamifying your reflection.”
"That's so messed up," Jihoon breathed.
"Indeed." Minjo set the tech down and rubbed her eyes. “I need to scan you next. Thoroughly. No gear. No shielding. Just skin. I need a clean signal to figure out what’s changing you.”
A deep flush rose in his cheeks. He’d fantasized about being naked with Minjo before—but not like this. Not stripped raw in the harsh light of clinical curiosity.
She tossed him a cotton sheet. “You can cover up. Just I need that suit off.”
Wrestling out of the haptic mesh and zipped tight tall boots was like peeling off a second skin, slow, awkward, and far too intimate.
He stood frozen for a beat, sheet clutched around him, brain still catching up to the moment.
Minjo nodded toward the couch. “Lie down. I need a full body scan.”
Wordlessly, he obeyed, collapsing onto the cushions like someone heading into surgery.
Minjo worked with brisk professionalism. Her scanner pulsed over him, flickering red and blue. She asked permission for each test, even to draw a tiny amount of blood. But her readouts stayed stubbornly blank.
At last, she sighed and flopped down. “Nothing conclusive.”
Jihoon pulled the sheet around him tighter and slid to the floor beside her. “Thanks for trying. It means a lot. You make me feel… safe.”
“What really happened at that club, Jihoon? Everything started after you took that dare from Kyle.”
He rubbed his temples. “I try to remember, but it’s like trying to hold onto smoke. There was a party. Lights. Glamour. And him, -- The King Cobra. Dr. Lucien Ginevra. He got close. I remember his scent. I remember his ...kiss.” He touched his neck.
“But the last thing I remember, vividly, was panic. Pure terror. Like I was drowning in my own skin. I didn’t care where I was, or who I passed. I just had to get out.”
Minjo tilted her head. “What do you think is happening to you?”
He ran a hand through his hair, then down his face, as if trying to erase a thought. His voice dropped to a near whisper. “...Vampire.”
Minjo laughed, until she saw his expression. Her smile faltered. “Wait. You’re serious? You think you're turning into a vampire?”
Jihoon didn’t speak, but his gaze met hers, unwavering, and again touched the side of his neck where the memory still lingered.
“Listen, Jihoon. There’s no such thing as vampires," she blushed. “This is black-market tech. Malware, biohacks, maybe a slow-burn DNA rewrite. And the clothes?” She waved toward the pile. “That designer jacket. Those cleats. The high tech gloves. Stuff you couldn’t afford. Stuff that doesn’t even look like your style. It’s alien. None of it belongs.”
“I don’t trust any of it,” she said, rising. “We need to burn every gift you’ve received since that night. The clothes. The gear. They’re all from Dr. Ginevra, right? Nothing’s free, Jihoon. Every thread comes with a hook.”
She grabbed a trash bag and began gathering items with practiced precision, like she’d already done a mental inventory.
Jihoon was quietly amazed by how well she knew what belonged to him and what didn’t.
“I’ve got some leftover scholarship money,” she said, sweeping the white bodysuit into the bag. “We’ll go shopping. Get you clothes that fit this new body. Stuff you choose. Not something someone else programmed into your closet.”
Jihoon watched, a little mournful. “Anything I want?”
“School wear first,” she deadpanned. "After that? Whatever makes you happy, and keeps you from accepting gifts from predators.”
Jihoon blinked. “Anything?”
Minjo blushed. “Did you think I’d judge you? You looked great. And for the record, half my stuff comes from the men’s section.”
“What?”
“Women’s clothes are marked up threefold," she huffed. "I'm not playing that game.”
Jihoon chuckled. "That’s so you. Hey, ...my old stuff’s too small now. If there’s anything you want, it’s yours. Consider it a thank you.”
She stopped, surprised, and smiled softly back.
They got back to work. Jihoon even surrendered his hidden stash, tossing it into the trash bag like a weight off his shoulders.
“I want to be there when Kyle sees you wearing my jacket,” he snickered.
“I’ll have Scrappy filming the whole thing,” Minjo winked. Then her tone softened. “I brought something else.”
She pulled a small white kit from her bag and pointed to his cheek. “Sorry about that.”
“You didn’t burn me,” Jihoon said gently. “The sun did.”
“No,” she said, unfolding the kit like a ritual. “I exposed you to it. I wasn’t thinking. You kept flinching when my glasses caught the light. I tested a hypothesis. I didn’t think it would actually hurt you. So… I, uh... brought this.”
Inside the kit: cooling paste and medical-grade concealer.
“Stuff I use on Scrappy when his shell overheats,” she added.
Jihoon blinked at the minty scent. “You use makeup on your dog?”
“He’s a robot, Jihoon. It’s thermal paste with micro-reflective shimmer. Not glitter.”
“...Oh.”
He closed his eyes. “Whatever helps. I trust you.”
He didn’t care what it was. Just that she was still here. Still helping.
He felt her presence, her warmth, but she didn’t move.
He opened his eyes. Minjo was just staring at the burn, her hand frozen mid-air.
“I don’t get it,” she murmured. “Why would the sun burn you? You’re obviously not a vampire. Even if they were real, sunlight destroying them is just Hollywood crap. So… what’s going on?”
She shook herself. “Anyway, we should get to the incinerator before the junkyard closes. Then we can shop and grab dinner.”
Jihoon nodded, still wrapped in the bedsheet. “Give me a moment to change. I’ve got a few things that still fit—
But then he froze, eyes wide, like he’d seen a ghost.
Minjo’s expression shifted. “Jihoon?”
His legs wobbled and he sank hard to the floor.
“Jihoon! What’s wrong?” She rushed over, scanning his face.
Wordlessly, he turned toward her. His mouth opened, but no sound came out. Slowly, he slipped one hand out from beneath the sheet.
His fingers trembled. And in the blue overhead light, she saw it, -- a claw, black and glossy, pushing out from the tip of his finger like living obsidian.
“They didn’t used to grow like this,” he whispered. “At first, they’d just… be there. When I woke up. Then 3 a.m. Then midnight. And now...” He swallowed. “Now they start growing before dinner.”
Minjo stared, stunned.
“I clip them. File them. Every day,” He gave a weak laugh. “I keep thinking it’ll stop. That it’s just stress. Or some kind of gene mod, or cybernetic augment. Something explainable.”
“This is real,” she said, voice quiet but firm. “And if it’s real, there’s a rational reason for it. Your body’s mutating. That much is clear. Maybe a virus, a DNA hack. But it’s technology, Jihoon. It has to be. Not magic.”
Jihoon didn’t answer. He just stared at the claw.
“It’s not just this,” he whispered. “There’s more.”
She waited.
“I hear things. Whispers. Like… someone’s inside me. Watching. Waiting. And sometimes… the shadows move when they shouldn’t. And I hear things I shouldn’t. I can hear your heartbeat. Like when you scanned me, I heard it speeding up.”
She looked down, cheeks flushing pink.
“I thought you were afraid of me,” Jihoon said quietly.
She shook her head. “I’m not afraid of you.”
Her voice softened.
“I’m scared for you.”
She reached out slowly, letting him pull back if he needed to, but he didn’t. Her hand settled on his, warm and real and steady.
The claw twitched beneath her fingers.
“I don’t believe in vampires,” she whispered. “But I believe in you.”
Jihoon closed his eyes, drinking in the comfort.
Tomorrow, the world would cheer for Lathandro at his big baseball debut. But tonight, Jihoon showed one person the truth, and she didn't flinch.
And it's a wrap! Season Finale for Escape from Club Apophis. *throws confetti* I hope you all have enjoyed the journey. It's been intense. I have plans for season 2, but I might take a break from the main storyline for a bit.
Its summertime, and over at Androgyny Event is the perfect funwear, the Domus Day swimwear for boys and girls. It and there a free gift water shooter too to spray your friends with. It will turn our swimwear from dry to wet. You can also touch the outfit to change it manually. I love the sporty stripes on the top and bottom too. (It's perfect for the sporty theme Jihoon.). ...Over at the Sabbath Event, is the Bunnytauris Shirt by YUEBIN. This is another great interactive item with 3 stages of dress. I love the little detail of the bunny buttons! The flatpack comes with a large selection of colors. The shirt comes with fits for Belleza Jake, Ebody Reborn and V-tech Waifu mod, Legacy Female perky V-tech, and Legacy male Athletic. (NOTE: To fit the cyberpunk theme, I added a bit a latex like shine to the shirt in the edit menu) ...Also from Androgyny Event are the avant guard Pantheon Piercings. They come in one piece, or left and right versions, plus a center lip long piercing too. Textures are PBR and non PBR. ...In the picture below, you can see the Cult Dagny boots. it comes with fits for Kupra, Legacy Athletic male and female, Maitreya and Lara X. Includes a texture hud. ...Minjo is wearing Tri-Lens DUV goggles by S I G N A. The goggles come in 6 colors, and they are mod so you can resize and move them around. ...From KORPOV is the cute Exo Girl for Legacy, Lara X, reborn. It has fun cat head power pack in the back. The mecha boots are built in too, perfect for the girl gear heads. ...Over on Minjo, she is wearing the beautiful male skin Hajimu by MUDSKIN now available at The Arcade. It's gacha, so only 75L a pull! This color, PEACH, was prefect for her, and with darker lips, its like she dressed up pretty for Jihoon. How cute. The skin being male actually works for her because she is a bit a tomboy. The gahca includes bandaid and face scar drops. The Moon skintone will be perfect for Jihoon. The Arcade has returned to its original style. Just play the gacha, try to win, and you can trade your earnings with others because they are transfer once more again. I recommend you have a budget in mind before you go, so you don't overspend. Good luck and have fun!
