The city was alive beyond his window — cart wheels rumbling over cobblestones, merchants shouting in competing voices, the clang of hammers from the forge district. The smell of roasted chestnuts and baking bread drifted up to his apartment on the third floor.
Luv sat at the edge of his bed, staring at the faint spiderweb threads that only he could see, each one binding someone in the city to gods or demons above. The hum of mortal life should have been grounding, but inside him, the curse of a thousand trillion souls stirred restlessly, whispering their grief, feeding on his quiet moments.
Then — his phone buzzed.
The sound was sharp, jarring against the city's ambient noise. He glanced down at the screen.
1 new message.
His chest tightened. The sender's name stopped his breath.
Komal.
The girl who had vanished without a word. The girl whose absence had been a hollow echo in his days, an ache he hadn't dared name.
He opened the message.
Luv, I'm sorry. I had to go to the hospital urgently. I didn't tell you because… I didn't want to worry you. I'm so sorry.
The words blurred. His vision swam.
And then it hit him — not just his own grief, but the echo of hers.
The curse inside him awakened, dragging him into her pain. It was as if a thousand phantom blades pierced him, each one carrying her fear, her loneliness, her quiet endurance. His body trembled. The pain wasn't physical alone — it was her heartbeat skipping in panic, her chest tightening in hospital air, the cold touch of antiseptic and the sterile loneliness of white walls.
He had never felt so powerless.
If he did nothing, if he let this go on, she would suffer again… and worse.
His fingers hovered over the screen before he began typing, his breath unsteady.
Where have you been? You didn't tell me you had a problem. At least tell me when you're not going to show up in front of me. How are you now? Is everything okay?
He stopped. But the dam inside him had already cracked.
After you disappeared… I finally realized. I've fallen in love with you, Komal. Deeply. Please, don't vanish on me like that again. If you're anywhere — just tell me.
He hesitated before sending. His thumb tapped the screen. The message went out.
The curse inside him churned with conflicting forces — the warmth of his confession tangled with the ache of those countless souls. But for once, their whispers quieted, as if listening.
Seconds passed.
His phone lit up again.
I also feel the same about you, Luv. You're not the only one who's fallen in love — I have, too.
He stared at the words until his vision blurred again, tears slipping down his cheeks.
The city outside roared on — loud, bustling, indifferent. But in that small room, his world had narrowed to a single voice, a single message, and a single truth.
For all his power, for all the darkness he carried, she could reach him where nothing else could.
And he knew — the next time she was in pain, he would burn the heavens themselves to take it from her.
The world outside had faded into a blur — just the sound of her voice filling his room, filling him.
They spoke for hours.
They spoke about nothing and everything — childhood memories, things they had never told anyone, laughter that felt like a stolen treasure. Every word she spoke seemed to pull the iron weight from his chest.
At last, Komal's voice softened.
"I have to go now… but when you come back home, we'll create the best moments of our lives together."
Her words were warm, but there was a quiet tremor beneath them.
"You don't have to worry about me," she added quickly, "I'm okay."
Luv's throat tightened.
"Okay… then you have to take care of yourself," he replied, letting his tone be gentle, though his mind burned with questions.
"Goodbye, Luv."
"Goodbye, Komal."
The call ended. His phone screen went black — and with a soft, final flicker, it powered off.
Low battery.
He sat there in the sudden silence, the only sound the city's distant hum. His eyes drifted to the spiderweb threads only he could see, stretching and quivering in the air like strands of a hidden tapestry. Komal's thread was faint — a dim pulse of light among the countless others — but he could feel its tremor, feel the truth hidden beneath her words.
She was not okay.
She didn't want him to know.
Luv's jaw clenched.
He could respect her wish… but the part of him that was EL, the part that had walked the highest heavens and deepest hells, refused to sit idle.
He reached inward — past the sealed layers of his soul, past the chains of the thousand trillion cursed voices — and found the two ancient abilities he had claimed long ago:
Blessing of the Living Star — the power to infuse a life with fortune, healing, and protection, bending fate's thread toward survival.
Curse of the Hollow Crown — the power to brand an existence with suffering, stripping away fortune and dragging the soul toward despair.
Two sides of the same coin. Two hands that could shape destiny.
His fingers curled. A faint golden glow began to form in his palm — soft, pure, almost like Komal's smile — while the other hand itched with a cold shadow, black and jagged like obsidian shards.
If you won't tell me, then I'll find my own way to protect you.
The whispers of the cursed souls stirred, curious. Some hissed against the idea, warning him of what tampering with fate would cost. Others urged him forward, hungry to see what path he would choose.
The golden light pulsed once, slow and steady. The shadow in his other hand hissed and curled like smoke.
Tonight, he would decide whether to bless Komal's thread… or curse the one who had caused her pain.
And he knew — whichever choice he made, the gods and demons who had long been silent would feel the ripple.