The rain hadn't stopped all night.
Jiang Yue buried his head under the blanket, grumbling as thunder rattled the thin windowpanes of his dorm. He shifted, pulling the pillow tighter against his chest. The air felt heavy, sticky, as though the storm had crawled inside the room with him.
Worst of all was the bracelet.
The black band clung to his wrist like a parasite, warm and faintly throbbing as if it had a pulse of its own. No matter how he yanked or twisted, it refused to come off.
"Should've left you in the dirt," Jiang Yue muttered. "Bet you're cursed. Figures the one time I pick something up, it tries to murder me in my sleep."
He rolled over, determined to ignore the faint glow seeping from beneath the blanket. Sleep first, deal with haunted jewelry later.
But the air grew thicker. His ears popped, his chest tightened, and the overhead light flickered wildly. Jiang Yue shoved the blanket off, blinking into the semi-darkness.
The bracelet burned against his skin. Its markings blazed with fire, runes lifting into the air one by one, forming a glowing circle that hovered above the floor.
Jiang Yue froze.
"…Okay. That's not normal. Definitely not normal." He clutched his pillow like a weapon. "If this thing summons a ghost, I'm suing the universe."
The circle expanded with a pulse that shook the walls. The storm outside roared, thunder slamming like war drums. Shadows poured out of the bracelet, black and endless, flooding across the floor until the entire room seemed to sink into an ocean of night.
Papers scattered, the chair toppled, his instant noodle cup rolled under the desk. Jiang Yue backed against the wall, swearing under his breath.
"This isn't happening. I should've just gone to that stupid lecture…"
The shadows twisted. They rose, pulling together, shaping themselves into the outline of a man.
Jiang Yue's breath caught.
The figure grew taller, sharper. Long black hair cascaded like liquid silk down broad shoulders. Robes woven from pure darkness swirled around him, embroidered with threads of silver light that glimmered like starlight. Crimson eyes snapped open, glowing in the dark.
The pressure in the room shifted, heavy but strangely steady, like a heartbeat returning after silence.
Jiang Yue, jaw slack, whispered, "…Did I just buy a cosplayer off eBay?"
The figure inhaled sharply. His gaze landed on Jiang Yue, and his entire body stilled.
For a long moment, he didn't move. Then, step by step, he crossed the distance, shadows curling obediently at his feet. His lips parted.
Words spilled out—deep, rich, trembling with something Jiang Yue didn't recognize. The language was ancient, harsh yet melodic, as if each syllable carried centuries of weight.
"…mir'en thal… shiya… vel'kath…"
Jiang Yue blinked. "Uh… what? Did you just curse at me?"
The man kept speaking, voice low and reverent, the way someone might murmur to a lover they thought they'd never see again.
His hand lifted as though afraid to touch, his crimson eyes softening, brimming with a raw emotion Jiang Yue didn't know how to name. He whispered more words Jiang Yue couldn't understand, his expression almost breaking.
Thunder boomed. The man finally spoke a word Jiang Yue did understand.
"…Yue."
The sound of his own name on that stranger's lips sent goosebumps racing down Jiang Yue's arms. He tightened his grip on the pillow until his knuckles whitened.
"…Bro, do I know you?"
The man froze. The look of raw devotion faltered. His hand, hovering just inches from Jiang Yue's cheek, trembled.
"You… don't recognize me?"
Jiang Yue edged sideways, pressing himself against the corner of the bed like a cornered cat. "Recognize you? I don't even know who you are! What kind of dramatic entrance is this? Are you one of those live-action roleplayers who broke into the wrong dorm?"
The man's expression darkened, pain flashing through his eyes before it sharpened into something more dangerous.
"You dare not remember me…"
"Dare?!" Jiang Yue squawked. "Excuse me, tall-dark-and-scary, but if we've met before, I think I'd remember! You've got the whole 'murderous villain from a fantasy drama' look down pat."
The man ignored his protests, stepping closer. Jiang Yue raised the pillow like a shield.
"Don't come any closer! I'm warning you—I've got a… a stapler somewhere!"
The stranger didn't stop. His gaze dropped to the bracelet on Jiang Yue's wrist, and his lips curved faintly.
"So it was you… the seal could only break with your blood."
"Seal?!" Jiang Yue yanked at the bracelet again, his voice breaking in panic. "Great. Just great. Out of all the cursed junk in the world, I had to pick the one with a supernatural marriage contract included!"
The man reached out. His fingers brushed the bracelet, and it pulsed with a deep, resonant glow that filled the entire room. The shadows swelled, wrapping around them both like a cocoon.
Jiang Yue hissed, jerking his hand back. "Take it off! Take it back! I don't do clingy relationships—especially not with creepy strangers who glow red in the dark!"
The man's eyes softened again, but this time the tenderness was edged with steel. He leaned closer, shadows curling up the wall behind him like wings.
"It doesn't matter," he said, voice low and firm. "Seal or no seal, lifetime or another… you are mine."
Jiang Yue gawked. "What kind of stalker line is that?!"
The man ignored him, crimson eyes burning with both pain and fierce devotion. His hand tightened around Jiang Yue's wrist, claiming him with the bracelet as witness.
"This time," the Demon King whispered, his voice a vow, "I will never let you go again."
Jiang Yue groaned into his pillow. "…Fantastic. Out of all the supernatural horror stories, I had to star in the one with a delusional boyfriend clause."
But his wrist burned with the steady pulse of the bracelet, and the crimson eyes before him did not waver.