Yun Hao couldn't focus.
Not on the blaring TV. Not on the half-eaten toast on his plate. And definitely not on the lecture notes open on his tablet.
His mind was stuck on three things:
1. The dream.
2. The stranger at the door.
3. Ruin's answerless answers.
He glanced toward the balcony.
Ruin was out there, leaning against the railing, eyes staring into the city skyline like he wasn't really seeing it. Shirt half unbuttoned, silver-white hair blowing softly in the wind, a strange tension surrounding him. Not lazy and smug like usual. But sharp. Focused.
Like he was preparing for something.
> "The seal is weakening. They're starting to wake up."
Yun Hao's heart beat unevenly.
He rubbed at his chest—right where the burning heart symbol had first appeared after the contract. The skin had healed, but...
He froze.
His fingers brushed something strange.
He lifted his shirt and stared.
> A faint mark. Dark red. Curved and ancient-looking. It pulsed once beneath the skin, like it was alive.
"What… the hell is this?" he whispered.
Suddenly—
Ruin was behind him.
Yun Hao jumped. "Don't do that! Stop popping up like—like some cursed cat!"
Ruin didn't joke this time.
His gaze dropped to Yun Hao's chest—and in a flash, he was kneeling, grabbing his hand, and inspecting the mark up close.
Yun Hao flushed. "H-Hey! Personal space!"
"You weren't supposed to awaken it yet," Ruin muttered, fingers brushing the edge of the glowing symbol. "Not this early…"
"What is it?!"
Ruin hesitated.
Then sighed. "It's a sigil. A royal one. From the demon realm."
Yun Hao blinked. "Why would I have a demon royal mark on my body?!"
Ruin looked up at him, eyes unreadable. "Because your soul is bound to mine. And not just through the contract."
Yun Hao stared. His voice dropped.
"You're still hiding something."
Ruin didn't deny it.
He stood, walking back toward the balcony. "Some truths… are like fire. Beautiful from afar. But when you touch them—"
"They burn," Yun Hao whispered.
"Yes."
Yun Hao didn't follow him. He sat on the couch, staring at the mark.
And then…
The windows exploded.
BOOM—
Glass shattered. Wind howled. Smoke burst into the apartment like a bomb.
Yun Hao screamed, throwing himself to the floor as debris rained down.
"What the hell—?!"
Then he saw it.
> Something slithered in through the broken window.
A creature. Tall, thin, its body pulsing like smoke and bone. Eyes glowing orange. A hundred whispering mouths in its ribcage.
It looked straight at him.
> "Found you," it hissed.
Yun Hao couldn't move.
His heart froze. His legs refused to work. He was paralyzed—by fear, by confusion, by the suffocating pressure in the room.
The thing raised a clawed hand—
And then the temperature dropped.
Not rose. Dropped.
Ice crept along the walls. The creature froze mid-motion.
Ruin stood between them now—his body surrounded by black fire.
But his face… was nothing like before.
Not playful. Not charming. Not dramatic.
> It was terrifying.
His eyes blazed pure white, no pupils. Horns erupted from his head—tall and curved, black as night. Shadows writhed at his feet. The ground cracked beneath him as if the apartment couldn't contain his presence.
"You dare touch what's mine?" he said, voice echoing like thunder across dimensions.
The creature shivered. It actually backed away.
But it was too late.
Ruin raised his hand. The shadows obeyed.
> They leapt.
Wrapped around the creature like chains. Crushed it.
Its scream didn't even get the chance to finish before it imploded—vanishing into black smoke that scattered across the room.
Silence.
Yun Hao lay there, frozen.
Then slowly… slowly… Ruin turned back.
His eyes were still glowing. His body still radiated too much power for a human room to handle. But there was worry in his face now.
"Yun Hao," he said softly. "Are you hurt?"
Yun Hao couldn't speak.
He just stared.
"You're not supposed to see me like that," Ruin added after a long pause. "Not yet."
"You—" Yun Hao swallowed. "You weren't joking when you said you'd protect me."
Ruin looked away. "Of course not."
Yun Hao's chest rose and fell fast. His voice cracked.
"Why is that thing after me? Why do I have this mark? Why does it feel like my whole life's been rewritten since you appeared?!"
Ruin's jaw clenched.
"I wanted to wait. Let you live a little longer in peace. I didn't think they'd find us so soon."
"Who are they?!"
"…The ones who want your soul."
Yun Hao froze.
"My—what?"
Ruin stepped forward, slowly now. His power faded back into his body. The horns disappeared. The room warmed again, like the storm had passed.
"You weren't just any soul, Yun Hao. You're not just some mortal I bumped into."
He raised a hand, fingertips brushing the edge of the red sigil on Yun Hao's chest.
"You were once a prince," Ruin whispered. "In my world. In another life."
Yun Hao's breath caught.
"A prince who gave up everything… to bind his soul to mine."