Bloodbound
CHAPTER 2
The bearer lost himself. Control was gone.
Two teens tried to escape, but slipped in before the door could shut.
The screams only lasted a few minutes.
Then everything fell silent.
He had finished them off swiftly.
This… was the bearer's second task.
And when it ended, he dropped to his knees. The mask glowed. His heart stopped. His soul was dragged into hell.
A pitch-black, empty plane.
He returned here after every mission.
But this time, someone was waiting.
A woman emerged from behind a veil of black silk… She approached silently. In her eyes were pain and wisdom.
She was the first sealed soul.
She touched his forehead.
"You're no longer alone," she said. "I am with you. We'll become one."
Then, she pressed her lips to his.
And suddenly… slit his throat.
Blood sprayed skyward. There was no fear.
The woman sliced her own wrist and poured her blood into the bearer's open throat.
A red mist rose.
And the fusion was complete.
When the bearer returned to the world... he was no longer alone.
Now, within him, there was a woman's soul filled with knowledge, sorrow, and darkness.
His skin was still wounded. But his muscles had hardened, his tone darkened. Black energy coiled at his fingertips.
The mask was invisible, but his face… was different now.
Sharper than before. Stronger. Yet something human still lingered.
This… was the Shadowseal's new gift:
Invisibility.
Now, people would see him as an ordinary man. Those who looked into his face would see the version he used to be.
But the truth… was hidden beneath the flesh.
He walked into a convenience store. No one looked his way. The cashier didn't even greet him. That was impossible before.
As he walked out, an old man smiled at him.
"Late nights aren't kind to young men."
The bearer simply nodded.
And thought to himself:
"If they saw my real face… they'd scream."
He kept walking.
His mind, as if pulled by a string, led him to a distant town. He didn't know where he was or why he was going but the people were strange, their clothes even stranger. It felt like a different realm altogether.
Then he saw the flyer pinned on the school wall: a Halloween party.
He realized he could move more freely here.
Everyone wore masks.
But the real mask… walked among them.
In the crowd, one girl caught his eye.
Pale skin. Long hair. Eyes full of innocence and emptiness.
"Nice costume," she said. "Looks real."
The bearer replied calmly, "Thanks."
The mask whispered:
"One on the list."
The bearer wasn't surprised.
But he knew he had to spend more time with her. So he invited her for a drink. She hesitated… but said yes.
They went to the town's bar. Shared drinks.
There, the mask whispered again:
"Your blood… in her veins. A few drops."
Beneath the table, he quickly cut his palm. Then asked her to dance.
"Would you dance with me?"
She smiled and nodded. As she stood and turned away, he dropped his blood into her drink.
Just as he was about to hand it to her, someone on the dance floor bumped into him.
The drink spilled.
He snapped. Punched the man hard. Before things escalated, the girl grabbed his arm, and they ran out laughing.
They sprinted through the night until they reached an abandoned building. Inside, the bearer pulled her close and kissed her. She kissed him back, then pulled a tiny stolen bottle from her pocket.
She offered it to him. He took it. While kissing her, he slipped his own blood inside.
They drank. She took the first sip.
The mask reacted. Her eyes widened. Her body trembled.
But… she survived.
She was marked now.
Why?
"Why did you do this?" she asked.
"I don't want to be alone."
She fainted.
The bearer had made his choice.
This girl wouldn't be a sacrifice.
He would keep her close.
Maybe one day… she would be his successor.
But for now, she was only a seed.
And the demon… watched her grow.
She opened her eyes.
The bearer told her she was now bound to him and could never escape.
And the girl, seeing no other choice… stayed.