Hyun-Jin's patience snapped.
He grabbed Akhlys by the collar, his black eyes burning with frustration. "What the hell is your problem?! Why are you doing this to me, you perverted god?!"
Akhlys didn't flinch. He simply gazed at him with those eerie, crimson eyes, his lips curling into a soft smile.
"Because I can only touch you."
Hyun-Jin froze.
Akhlys slowly raised his pale hand, holding it up in the air between them.
"If I touch anyone else… they die on the spot."
Hyun-Jin's grip loosened slightly. "…What?"
Akhlys' smile faded.
"My poison is absolute. My very existence is death to others."** His voice was calm, but there was something behind it—something heavy.**
He lowered his hand and met Hyun-Jin's gaze.
"But you… you are different."
Hyun-Jin's heart pounded in his chest, but he didn't know why.
"You are the only one who is not affected by my poison."
Akhlys leaned closer, his deep voice almost a whisper.
"That is why you are my beloved."
Hyun-Jin gritted his teeth. "That's ridiculous. I don't believe in fate or—"
"I waited a thousand years."
Hyun-Jin stopped breathing.
Akhlys' expression softened, just a little.
"I waited a thousand years for you to be born. A thousand years of loneliness. And finally… you are here."
A cold shiver ran down Hyun-Jin's spine.
For the first time since meeting Akhlys, he didn't know what to say.
Because something about this man—
Something about those words—
Didn't feel like a lie.