Auren lay in bed, the glow from his terminal casting faint light across his room. The name of the message sender still blinked back at him like an ember refusing to die out.
Zevaros: Join Mortal Heaven.
It was a short, uncomplicated message. Just like its sender a man of few words and yet, this message burned through his chest more than he would ever admit. Auren pressed his thumb against the edge of the screen and exhaled, forcing himself to pull away, but his gaze stayed locked as though the words had caught his soul in invisible hooks.
"What am I doing…" he muttered under his breath. "I should be asking how he got my terminal number." Auren stared at the message again. "He must've gotten it when searching for information about me."
It was shameful, ridiculous, even. That his heart reacted so violently to something so ordinary. His chest was tight, his pulse erratic, and every part of him wanted to answer immediately. Yet the sharp, logical half of his mind hissed a warning.
He couldn't let this grow. [I can't let my heart decide.]
Auren knew himself too well. His nature was not kind, that could love freely without smothering. If he let himself spiral into attachment, he would sink claws too deep, twist affections into cages until the other person could hardly breathe. Eiran was proof enough of that, he is close enough to be a confidant, yet never crossing the line into true intimacy, because Auren refused to break someone he cared for.
And Zevaros? Zevaros was far too dangerous for Auren to allow inside his heart. He is a man whom death loves and also the man who Auren's parents, specifically his father doesn't like.
Still… the message glowed.
Auren's lips curved into a bitter smile.[Fuck what am I doing ?]. He berated himself, cursed his weakness, but his hands were already moving. Auren slid open the drawer beside his bed, pulling out the sleek gaming headset. He managed to bring it because the academy is quite relaxed with the rules and gaming is accepted as long as it is in the free time.
[If my heart was foolish, then so be it.] Auren took a breath as he placed the headset on.
The VR game headset blinked alive, scanning his iris before syncing with the Game AI of Mortal Heaven. The last time he'd logged out, he'd been at the grassy plain where he had his chat with Zevaros. Auren half-expected to return to that area but the game's plot progresses as normal.
When he logged in, he truly was at the plains and nothing much had happened. Auren checked his game mail and found that Zevaros had sent a pin for him.mit was the very jungle that they had their first game fight in.
Auren pressed the teleport icon and in a shimmer of light, he left the plains and arrived at the jungle. There, standing among the twisted roots and ancient trunks, was Zevaros. For a moment, neither spoke even as they acknowledged each other's presence. Their eyes locked and silence stretched, taut as a bowstring.
Auren's breath caught as he stared into those golden eyes. Zevaros looked at him like a storm, steady yet devastating, every inch of his aura screams danger and allure. Seconds passed before Auren broke it. His voice was softer than intended, almost betraying the racing in his chest.
"…Why did you call me?"
Zevaros tilted his head slightly, his expression unreadable. Then, without shame, he answered, "No major reason. I just wanted to see you."
Auren blinked. His lips parted in surprise, then curled into an involuntary smile he could not suppress. He hated himself for it, how easily that simple admission unraveled him. [Is it the Omega in me? Urgh! what am I saying there's no other me just a few traits. So this is all my emotions.]
The curve of Auren's mouth lit something in Zevaros' eyes and conversation sparked like flint to tinder.
"What bloodline do you carry?" Auren asked suddenly, perhaps to distract himself from how much his own expression had betrayed him. Zevaros leaned against a tree, shadows cutting sharp lines across his face. "Lion and Griffin. My mother was Griffin, my father is a Manticore."
Auren's brows rose. "That explains your arrogance. But you're the first double bloodline I've met apart from myself."
"Oh? And what are yours?" Zevaros asked smoothly.
"Fenrir and Dragon," Auren said, letting a smirk play across his lips. "My awakening was… messy." He chuckled low, remembering fire and hunger tearing through his veins that day. It was also the day that he remembered the most, for his soul awakened that day.
Zevaros' eyes softened, if only faintly. "Mine was the reason I'm still alive. A dual awakening saved me in the Seydra royal court. If I hadn't manifested both lines that day, I'd have been buried before my first hunt."
There was no bitterness in his tone, only raw fact. Auren studied him quietly. Survival had carved steel into Zevaros' bones. There was very little affection inside Zevaros and yet Auren could tell he had a special spot in Zevaros' heart.
Changing the subject, Auren asked, "What do you actually like?"
Zevaros blinked at him. "What?"
"I mean outside of bloodlines and survival and… everything else. What do you as Zevaros like?"
Zevaros' lips curved faintly, as though amused at the odd question. "Sour food. And blood."
Auren tilted his head, genuinely intrigued. "Blood? Why?"
Zevaros didn't hesitate. His gaze burned into Auren's, sharp and raw. "Because I've been drawn to death too many times to count. Blood… reminds me life is still here. That it can be willed."
Most would recoil at such an answer. But Auren only stared back, unflinching. His chest tightened with something unfamiliar. [So he's like me.] Auren smirked a bit before it bloomed into a restrained smile.
"You really are strange," Zevaros muttered, sounding almost thrown off. "I've never met someone who didn't flinch at that."
"I've always been close to death myself," Auren said quietly. "It doesn't scare me. Not anymore."
The air between them shifted, thickened, as though invisible threads were pulling taut. After a long pause, Auren asked the question circling in his mind: "What Thread are you connected to?"
Zevaros' lips parted, and for the first time, a flicker of hesitation crossed his features. "How do you know?"
Auren looked into his eyes then at the virtual sky, " The feeling you give off. I guess it's something unique? I'm not sure how to explain it. Thread bearers are special."
Zevaros stared at Auren som more, his eyes glowing with something indescribable before he parted his mouth and spoke.
"The Thread of Willful Death."
Auren froze. His pulse stuttered. Of all the Threads he had learned about and researched, that Thread is one that carried a weight that was both chilling and profound.
"And you are also connected to a Thread." Zevaros added, eyes narrowing as though he could see straight through Auren's skin. "I can sense it."
Auren's breath caught. "You can sense the knot? What is it? Which Thread is it?"
Zevaros could see Auren's throat for knowledge. He couldn't help but think that this was the perfect bait to keep their game going. His lips curved into the faintest, most infuriating smile. Then, without another word, he logged out. His form blinked from existence, leaving the jungle silent.
Auren's jaw dropped. "You.."
He cursed violently into the emptiness, pacing with his fists clenched. "You fucking Alpha! You can't just...."
Auren's fury burned, but underneath it throbbed anticipation he couldn't smother. He could find out about the Thread knot in his soul. [ I will finally know which Thread I owe my rebirth too. And the price to pay for it.]
Auren looked at the virtual sky once more. Zevaros had left him with only one line, like a knife wedged in his chest. His heart raged at the cliffhanger, but there was nothing he could do except curse and log out.
When he set his headset back in the drawer, his terminal flashed with a message notification. It was Zevaros and this is what he had to say,
"If you want to know, find me at the Inter-Academy Games. Five months from today."
Five months.
Auren's entire body itched with restlessness. When his senses returned to the dim glow of his real room, the night had already begun to fade into dawn. Auren watched the light shine in his room but his mind still seemed trapped by Zevaros' words.
When he arrived in class later on that day, Eiran just watched his friend walk,in like a lifeless zombie. First he excused himself quickly after the last class and now he comes looking like he's on a path to vengeance. Auren's eyes carried heavy shadows and his entire mood seemed restless.
"You didn't sleep at all, did you?" Eiran asked quietly.
Auren didn't answer. His gaze was fixed on the floor, where invisible threads still tied him to the words Zevaros had left behind.
[ I need to know. I need answers.]