A dull ache throbbed through my bones like a slow-burning fire. I didn't scream. I didn't move. I just… existed.
A white ceiling stared back at me, sterile, silent. The faint beeping of medical devices matched the rhythm of my heartbeat—annoyingly calm for someone who had nearly died. Or… someone who had almost killed everything around him.
I tried lifting my hand. My fingers trembled like I was brushing the edge of fear itself.
Perin was curled up on my chest, warm and quietly breathing. At some point, he must've climbed onto me. His tiny claws pressed lightly into my shirt, as if reminding me: I'm still here.
"…Perin," I whispered.
He stirred, opened his eyes, and, like he understood everything, gently nuzzled my neck.
I exhaled. Not from relief—just because I remembered how to breathe.
Flashes. Not memories. Violence.
Crimson water… Black horns… Bones cracking under my fists… Vayushri's faint voice calling my name… Her small, cold hand slipping from mine…
My pulse spiked. I could still feel the wet warmth of something—someone—splattering on my skin. Not my blood.
…Hers?
I clenched the bedsheet.
A thought crawled into my mind like poison: What if next time… it's them? Shivani. Om Sai. Perin.
I don't fear what I become. I fear who I might destroy because of it.
My breathing got heavier. Perin noticed, his tail flicking anxiously as if to ground me. I reached out, resting my palm gently on his head.
"…I'm not scared of myself," I muttered to no one. "I'm scared I won't be able to stop… if they're ever in front of me."
Even saying it aloud felt like tearing open something raw inside me.
The door slid open slightly—but didn't make a sound.
A voice leaned against silence.
"You look like shit."
Om Sai stood there, leaning on the frame with a lazy grin—but his eyes weren't smiling. They were watching me too closely. Too knowingly.
Perin growled low, sensing something off.
Om Sai didn't step in immediately. It was the first time I'd seen him… hesitate.
"…So," he said, expression unreadable. "You planning to keep drowning in guilt, or are you gonna get up and control the thing that nearly tore you apart?"
I didn't answer.
Not because I didn't want to.
…but because I still wasn't sure if I had the right to.
To stand near them again.
Om Sai didn't blink.
He waited.
I could feel his gaze trying to pull words out of me.
My mouth felt dry, like my throat had been torn open during the rampage and never fully healed. Perin pressed himself closer, sensing something was about to break.
"…There's something," I said quietly.
Om Sai raised a brow. Still casual.
"I'm not alone," I continued. "Inside."
Silence.
No mocking reply. No joke. Just a slow narrowing of his eyes.
I looked straight at him.
"There's… something in me. No—someone."
The air in the room got heavier.
"His name… is Kalink."
Those words lingered like a curse.
Om Sai froze.
His grin vanished.
For two full minutes, he didn't move. Didn't breathe wrong. Didn't even blink. He just stared at me, like the universe had glitched.
"…Oi," he finally said, voice lower than before. "Tell me you're fucking joking."
I didn't speak.
Didn't move.
Didn't deny it.
And in that silence…
He understood.
Om Sai's casual posture shattered. His breathing hitched—not from fear, but calculation. His fingers tightened, and for the first time since I met him—he looked like someone carrying the weight of ten destroyed battlefields on his shoulders.
"…You're serious."
"Yeah."
He looked away for a moment, dragging a hand down his face, exhaling sharply.
"That… thing," he muttered under his breath. "That damn name."
Then he looked at me again—no jokes left in him.
"Do you know what that means, Arin?" His voice was calm. Too calm. "If anyone else hears this… they won't put you in recovery. They'll put you in containment. Or down a fucking burial pit."
I didn't flinch.
Om Sai stepped forward, slowly, like approaching a bomb that was half-broken but still ticking.
"Is he conscious? Does he talk to you? Control you? Feed on you?"
I exhaled.
"…He talks. Watches. Sometimes… laughs."
Om Sai's jaw clenched.
"And during the rampage?"
I hesitated.
"He—didn't control me. But he… enjoyed it."
A punch slammed into the metal wall behind me—Om Sai's fist.
"Fuck."
Perin jolted in alarm and hissed at him.
Om Sai didn't yell. Didn't rage. But there was a storm in his eyes.
"…You dumb bastard," he whispered, almost painfully. "You're worse off than I thought."
I lowered my head. "If… if I lose control again—"
"I'll kill you myself," he cut in sharply.
I didn't look shocked.
I nodded.
Om Sai exhaled deeply. Then stepped closer and put his hand on my shoulder.
"Which is exactly why…" his voice hardened, "I won't let anyone else do it."
My eyes widened.
"For now… you're under my watch," he said. "And until you learn to beat that bastard whispering in your chest…"
He gave a half-smirk—not mocking, but determined.
"…I'll train you until even Kalink gets scared of you."
I stared at him—not knowing whether to be grateful, terrified, or both.
And then—just barely—I nodded.
Perin pressed against my neck, like he agreed.
Somewhere deep inside…
Kalink laughed faintly.