The suffocatingly heavy air shifted in an instant.
Gasping, Seiyad sucked in a sharp breath and looked over at Ressas. The deep wounds across his back were healing at an unnaturally rapid pace. It wasn’t an illusion. Natural healing was an ability unique to Guides.
This was… undeniable proof of awakening.
He forced down his confusion and slowly lifted his head—only to meet Ressas’s eyes at once. Though he seemed unable to comprehend what was happening to him, Ressas instinctively sensed Seiyad’s energy wave clinging to him. As if it had been waiting for this moment, that wave surged toward Ressas, suffocating him, forcing him to gasp as he spoke.
“So, this is…”
Seiyad’s energy gave Ressas no time to process what had happened. It thrashed wildly, urging him to throw himself at the life-giving source right before his eyes. There was no room for escape for this innocent Guide, no pause even for a breath. Only a primal instinct remained—a need to devour everything before him.
Ressas looked lost, completely unprepared for whatever was happening. His chest heaved sharply as if trying to accept the overwhelming energy threatening to consume him.
The sight of him, startled like a frightened young beast, left Seiyad equally shaken. Though his actions had altered the past bit by bit, he had never expected Ressas’s awakening to come this soon—least of all while he was with Seiyad.
And what made it worse—insanely so—was that, despite all logic, Seiyad’s instincts were screaming to leap at Ressas. The energy he had kept suppressed was on the verge of erupting.
“What should I do?”
Ressas didn’t let him think. Despite having just undergone a soul-shattering transformation, he acted as if he had been waiting for this very moment.
“I’ll do anything, just tell me.”
The flustered expression had vanished. Leaning in, Ressas whispered clearly, his voice laced with an unfamiliar heat. Those purple eyes, glowing with an intensity Seiyad had never seen before, seemed ready to swallow him whole.
“I’ll even do the impossible.”
Seiyad’s lips parted. This was what he had wanted, yet now that it was actually happening, he faltered. The very existence of Ressas felt abrasive. He was someone Seiyad had spent so long trying to hate—someone he had never wished to exchange a single word with. And now, he had to perform a Purification with him…
“No, let me treat your wounds first. You’re bleeding too much.”
That thin barrier of caution crumbled the moment Ressas carefully reached out and touched his arm. The darkness that had shrouded Seiyad lifted. The lurking pain disappeared instantly, replaced by a madness-inducing hunger.
Rational thought vanished.
With no trace of hesitation left, Seiyad shoved Ressas hard. A strained groan escaped as Ressas hit the wall. Seiyad caged him in, leaving no room to escape, and pressed his lips against the pale nape of his Guide.
“Haa… ha…”
The pulse beneath that thin skin throbbed vividly. A cold breath slipped past parted lips, turning hot as it mixed with body heat. Seiyad poured his turbulent energy into him, a brutal collision with no hint of gentleness—yet it worked.
Ressas gripped Seiyad’s arm, then let go, again and again. He didn’t know how to properly handle the energy, didn’t even know how to touch him right—but even just brushing against him made his head spin in pleasure.
But it still wasn’t enough.
Seiyad bared his teeth and grazed his Guide’s white nape. The sensation against his fangs was sinfully soft—it was hard to stop. He bit and sucked repeatedly, but even that didn’t satisfy him. He grabbed at Ressas’s back. The wounds had already begun healing, and smooth skin peeked through the torn fabric.
“We should… treat the wounds… first…”
Ressas muttered something useless. Despite such an unstable Purification, he had the power to instantly calm Seiyad. Perhaps as compensation for such overwhelming power, he hadn’t been granted the ability to heal others.
There was no time to explain. Seiyad chose the most efficient way to shut him up—and it was something he needed too.
After savagely gnawing on Ressas’s nape for a long moment, he grabbed his chin with eyes unfocused. His pupils were bloodshot with the intensity of his energy, and it should’ve been terrifying—yet Ressas didn’t look away. Instead, as if surprised, he leaned forward and met his lips without hesitation.
Long lashes trembled violently. The moment their lips touched, Seiyad wrapped his arms around the tense body and held him close. He rubbed against the closed lips, unsure of what to do, then extended his tongue and licked them. Just like the gentle scent that had been lingering around him, his lips tasted sweet. Everything about him, right now, was more addictive than anything else in the world.
Seiyad tilted his head to deepen the kiss naturally. As he opened his mouth and leaned in closer, his cheek was suddenly gripped tightly. An unexpectedly strong force managed to push Seiyad away. The pure energy that had been flowing so incessantly was now distant—and it annoyed him deeply. He glared, but Ressas grabbed his shoulders.
“That was my first kiss.”
He took a deep breath, then exhaled hard. Then, pushing Seiyad toward the shabby bed, he forced him down. With a loud thud, the two tall men collapsed into a tangled heap.
“Let me… catch my breath, at least.”
This time, Ressas was the one pinning Seiyad down. Using his full weight, he pinned Seiyad’s arms beneath him. Though his body had always seemed agile, it was surprisingly solid and heavy. Hovering above him, Ressas’s face was flushed. His pale forehead and cheeks were damp with faint sweat.
Outside, a snowstorm was raging. Yet inside, warmed only by a few logs in the fire, the room was stifling with heat.
“I’ll do it.”
Beneath the black hair falling over his forehead, those violet eyes gleamed sharply. He had no idea what he was doing, yet his greed overflowed. But eventually, this was something Ressas would have to learn.
Seiyad responded by grabbing Ressas by the collar and yanking him close.
Any moment spent talking was better spent touching. He wanted to gather every bit of warmth he hadn’t felt in what seemed like an eternity and pour it into Ressas’s hollowed soul.
***
A distant robin chirped faintly. Slivers of sunlight pierced through his eyelids. The cool air inside the cabin roused him.
The moment he opened his eyes, an almost unbelievable freshness flooded through him.
His body felt light. The usual dissonance he experienced upon waking after his awakening—along with the ever-present headaches—was gone. It was similar to how he had felt after receiving purification from Aster, but something about it was fundamentally different.
Even when the pain that had tormented him vanished before, a faint fatigue always lingered. But now, even that had dissipated.
As he slowly sat up, he heard a soft breath beside him.
Ressas lay asleep, both of them sharing Seiyad’s fur cloak. Considering how he had devoured the man’s lips all night before finally letting him rest, it made sense he’d be exhausted.
The first day after awakening was especially brutal, as the body struggled to adapt.
Only after his reason returned did Seiyad become truly conscious of who lay next to him. The fact that it was Ressas—and no one else—with whom he had spent this night brought on a strange wave of self-reproach.
It was a tangled, indescribable feeling.
It was true that he needed Ressas. That he had sought to use his power. But the emotions he harbored toward him were far too complicated.
What had once been affection had curdled into hatred—hatred born from the contempt he felt for everything surrounding Ressas.
And now, after burning away that overwhelming negativity with death itself, what was left had become something shapeless, unrecognizable.
To make matters worse… there were other details that gnawed at him.
Like the fact that last night had been Ressas’s first kiss. Or the fact that he had just come of age—a child, really.
To Seiyad, Ressas felt a full nine years younger than his actual age. It was like preying on a young guide whose downy feathers hadn’t even dried yet.
Regardless of how effective the purification had been, that alone left him with a lingering guilt.
Seiyad gazed down at him in silence.
It felt like he’d pushed Ressas so far that his lips might have bled… but there wasn’t a single mark left. They were clean.
Watching those pink lips quietly part and exhale, Seiyad stood to get a better grasp of the situation.
“…Seiyad.”
Before he could even plant his feet on the ground, Ressas stirred, softly murmuring his name as he woke.
There hadn’t been a single hint of movement. To awaken from such a small motion—it was almost admirable.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Come to think of it, Ressas had been calling him by name this whole time.
Feeling the uncomfortable closeness between them, Seiyad took the opportunity to reestablish some distance by reverting to formal address.
At the word “Your Highness,” Ressas lay still and quietly looked up at him.
His tousled black hair didn’t look unkempt. Rather, it emphasized his already striking features—reminding Seiyad once again just how handsome he was.
No matter the situation, Ressas always maintained a beautiful appearance. That alone had made him famous within the royal palace since long ago.
Since his awakening, his refined looks more than backed up his abilities, and many noblewomen had fallen for him.
And if one really thought about it, there were likely men as well.
After all, Guides were required to learn how to purify Tithers regardless of gender. There had to be nobles who assumed he would accept even same-sex partners.
Feeling as though he was intruding on a private moment, Seiyad averted his gaze slightly.
That’s when Ressas spoke.
“Are you alright?”
It was a very Ressas-like question.
Despite having just awakened, he was already acting like a Guide—checking on someone else’s condition first.
“Yes.”
More than just alright—he felt fantastic.
Though the reply was brief, Seiyad was genuinely surprised.
But Ressas’s expression was hard to read.
As he quietly scanned Seiyad’s body with his gaze, his face turned pale the moment he saw the wounds still visible on Seiyad’s wrist.
“Did I fail to purify you properly?”
Seiyad glanced down at his arm.
The holes left by Vetria’s vines were half-healed.
