'Was that… his hand?'
While shifting through her wardrobe, searching for clothes, Agatha couldn't shake the memory. That moment played again—the naked woman pulling her back. And then she had seen it.
A handprint.
An unmistakable red imprint on the woman's soft breast—two fingers, clear as day, marked into the skin on either side of her nipple.
A grip too tight to be accidental. Something that should have hurt.
But the woman hadn't looked pained at all. She wore Lecan's loose silk shirt, her body so bare, so effortless in that apartment. That handprint didn't look like violence. It looked like belonging.
'She must be his girlfriend.'
That thought anchored in her mind.
'But… he never mentioned anyone.'
Still, something bloomed in her chest. A strange, flickering sensation—tingling and gone too soon, but undeniable. And as she finally pulled out an outfit and stepped out of her apartment, her mind still circled that image, that woman, that mark.
In the hallway, she saw him.
Lecan, crouched down, wiping blood from the floor with quiet precision. His crimson eyes narrowed, focused, his dark hair fluttering slightly as he moved. He wore an apron over loose black jeans—clothes that didn't fit him quite right, but somehow made him look... effortlessly striking.
She didn't say anything. She just walked past and knocked gently on the closed door, clothes in hand.
But her gaze lingered.
His arms were defined now, his shoulders broader. His jawline carved like something purposeful.
'He... looked better before.'
That was her first thought. Not that he looked bad now—but he didn't look like her Lecan anymore. He didn't look soft. He didn't look safe. He looked like someone the world would want.
And that realization did something to her.
Something unspoken pulled tight within her chest—
'Is this what being left behind feels like?'
It wasn't envy. Not really. She just hadn't noticed how she'd grown possessive—quietly. Unconsciously. Like all humans do.
They say they want happiness for the ones they love—but what they really want is to be that happiness.
Humans are the creatures who, before making excuses to others, make one to themselves just to keep themselves together and believing in the things they see around.
Humans don't want completeness. We want fulfillment. Even if it means pretending it's love when it's just... fear of being forgotten.
But inside her, another thought flickered:
Maybe... when she is gone, he would be able to live a life she wasn't able to.
And that strange duality—grief and hope braided together—went unnoticed by her own heart.
The door opened with a click.
"Oh, is that your cloth, human?" Velmira's voice was cool, curious. Her sharp eyes flicked to the fabric in Agatha's hand, then followed her gaze back to Lecan.
Agatha blinked, startled, and nodded. Velmira took the clothes and turned, stepping inside. Agatha followed, still dazed, her mind elsewhere.
As she entered, her eyes met Lecan's again—just briefly.
He smiled. Soft. Familiar. Yet something about it felt... sharper now.
And in that instant, she realized something that lodged deep in her chest:
'I'm going to lose that smile.'
Whether by dying from the sickness or marrying the man she didn't love—either way, she wouldn't be by Lecan's side anymore. But she had to protect that smile. At any cost.
"...Hey." Her voice was firm. Unusually so. Her determination to speak surged through her limbs.
She turned to face the strange woman. The one who might be holding Lecan's heart.
"Hm? What?" Velmira stopped, turning back. She ruffled her hair lazily, her bluish eyes locking onto Agatha.
A subtle shift.
To Velmira, the human girl's scent changed. Not just tension—judgment, suspicion. Negative emotions her sharpened senses caught in an instant.
Still, she waited.
"He is a kind boy," Agatha said. "You might think he's handsome now. And kind—I've said that already—but don't use him. He's strong. And... and..."
Her voice began to waver. She'd started with conviction, but as their eyes met, her courage flickered.
And then it happened.
Something inside her dimmed. Her heart beat faster, not in strength—but in hesitation. Her breath caught. Her thoughts scattered.
The words melted away.
'Why... can't I say it?'
For the first time in her life, she stood across from a predator. A being not just stronger—but older. Not by age, but by memory. By soul.
And her human self, with all its lovely rationalizations and illusions, could not stand in that presence.
Humans—those without awakened Kundalini—hit a limit when they encounter the supernatural. Their minds numb. Their senses deny. Their thoughts dissolve.
And now, Agatha's inner fire—her shakti—was being crushed under the weight of Velmira's cage. A presence that stilled her very soul.
'What... is this feeling?'
Her fingers drifted to her forehead, right between her brows.
A tingling.
A tingling that any human could feel just by bringing their finger above their middle brow where sleeps an energy far dormant in their soul at the point called—Ajna chakra.
One of the seven chakras the human body possesses.
Subtle, but sharp.
A movement within—a sensation she'd felt before, but never like this. It was as if something inside her was about to awaken.
Then—
"Stop it now, Velmira."
Lecan's voice cracked through the air like thunder.
His hand landed firmly on Agatha's shoulder—and just like that, the sensation vanished.
She gasped quietly as the strange weight lifted. Lecan's presence, calm but sharp, cut through whatever Velmira had been doing. His gaze carried a silent threat, one that Velmira read clearly.
They stared at each other for a long, frozen moment. Then Velmira turned, uninterested now in "helping" this human awaken.
An awakening Agatha wasn't ready for.
Not yet.
Every human carries that seed—buried deep in soul memory. Most just forget. Some call it superstition. But it waits. Always.
"Are you alright?" Lecan asked gently.
He didn't push. Just watched.
Agatha nodded slowly, blinking as the pressure between her brows faded.
'I feel... clearer,' she thought. 'Sharper. Like my body saw something my mind missed.'
But that clarity faded just as quickly as it came.
"Yes... I—"
Before she could finish, her knees gave way. Her head swam.
Everything blurred.
"Hey!"
Lecan caught her as she fell, steadying her gently, his arms around her shoulders. She couldn't speak anymore. Her eyelids fluttered.
And then... she surrendered to darkness.