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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 did not 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. The Guardian’s amber eyes glowed faintly in the dim lighting. He held a heavy black Enforcer coat in his free hand. With a swift, fluid motion, Hwan threw the dark coat over Kyle’s shoulders. It buried the university student's civilian clothes beneath the official uniform of Monstrum's private guard.
Hwan pressed a finger to his lips. "Shhh."
Kyle glared at Hwan's finger. He opened his mouth anyway. "You fucking bastard!" he whispered fiercely. “I’m tired of people giving me shitty advice!"
Kyle 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, rose-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 Kyle 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.
On Him, Kyle:
Outfit: VOIDRIP - Steampunk Hunter Outfit, Gray [mesh](Engine Room)(350L)
Glasses: Duplexity - Astrium Glasses [mesh](Engine Room)(299L)
Tattoo: Nuuna - OKA, EVOX [BOM](Engine Room)(250L)
Tattoo: AURO - Carapace Chest Armour [BOM, Applier](Engine Room)(450L)
Tattoo: AURO - The Prophet : Neck Fade [BOM, Applier]
Hair: TRASH - Lucifer w/o Horns V1 - Rainbow pack [mesh]
Eyes: Mana - Jelly Eyes, Clear [BOM]
Headphone: !Reliquary - !R! Synth-o Ear Tap [mesh]
Skin: MUDSKIN - Hajimu, C, Brow, WINTER [BOM]
Body: TheShops - [BODY] Athletic Meshbody (Legacy)(m) (1.7.1) [mesh](5000L)
On Him, Hwan Dokkaebi form:
Compass: Starlit Endeavor - Khojan Compass and Telescope [mesh](Engine Room)(650L)
Ears: Aii - Dark Fae - Ears, Lelutka Male [mesh](Engine Room)(800L)
Mask: Axix - Wukong Mask [mesh]
Tattoos: HISS - PATTERNS FACE ROMANCE [BOM](250L)
Hands: {Aii} Demonic Touch - bom/all parts, Legacy M [mesh](800L)
Hair: Truth Rogue colors [mesh](250L)
Horns: Hyperbole - Phosphorus Horn, Vile [mesh]
Body: TheShops - [BODY] Athletic Meshbody (Legacy)(m) (1.7.1) [mesh](5000L)
Setting:
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