without you ; norenmin [ON HOLD]

29. The Necklace and an Endless Fall

TIME & DATE - 4:53 AM, 15th May
PLACE - Jeju Apartment
CHARACTER(S) - Huang Renjun, Drake

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Renjun woke up from his sleep rather abruptly. He didn't know why but a feeling of panic rushed through him, something at the back of his mind telling him to go to the kitchen.

Thinking that he just needed some water, Renjun went to the kitchen. He filled a glass of water and stood near the sink, gulping it down in one go. He glanced out the window over the sink. It faced a small stream behind the apartment which looked like it was straight out of a movie during the day.

As expected, the night was dark and silent but that didn't mean no one was around. Two figures caught Renjuns eye near the stream. He couldn't see much in the dark but the initial sense of panic filled him again. 

He placed the cup down and fled to his room as quietly as he could. Renjun crawled under his covers and breathed heavily, managing to fall asleep with panic still in his system.

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Renjun woke up again but this time, he wasn't in his bed. Instead, he was standing in the old library. He felt-- No, he knew something was wrong. It was in the air, the warning signs were screaming at him to turn and run. 

He didn't want to move so his body moved for him, guiding him to the section he was last in earlier that evening. There was the past version of him there, standing still with the green book in hand. Renjun took this chance to take the book from him.

The page was turned to the one with the drawing of the necklace on it. "Sanguis Monilia," he read softly.

So that's what the necklace is called...

According to the book, the necklace was passed on from person to person. It was commonly owned by people with Cerritulus blood, a special type of blood that was well known for its healing powers.

People with this blood were said to be God's favorite. Yet they found it more of a curse rather than a blessing. If one was to drink this blood, they would be free from any sort of illness or curse or spell that had been cast upon them. 

However, if a person with Cerritulus blood was to be wounded, making them shed blood even in small amounts, their heart will automatically stop pumping blood. Those situations would often result in death if not brought to a witch doctor within the first hour of blood loss.

The Sanguis Monilia or Blood Necklace is used to protect people with Cerritulus blood. Its magic is able to cover up the smell of the person's blood, making it unidentifiable to predators. 

Renjuns face scrunched up in confusion. "Could this mean--" He reached for the necklace around his neck, only to find out that it was no longer there.

A maniacal laugh echoed through the library, making Renjun turn. He was now standing face-to-face with past Renjun but instead of looking normal, past Renjun had a cynical smile on his face, a thick black liquid frothing from his mouth, nose, and eyes.

The library turned dark. Everything was normal at first until Renjun heard the wind whistling in his ears and felt the temperature drop. He then realized that he was falling.

He looked up and saw white dots that resembled stars. The situation felt all too familiar to him.

"And so we meet again, little one."

Drake, as Renjun recalled, wasn't alone this time as there was another figure behind him. They seemed to be floating in the air instead of falling like Renjun. Drake saw Renjun peeking. "Oh don't be shy darling, show yourself," he commanded the figure. 

The figure obeyed, stepping out from behind Drake. The lights that the dots emitted were enough for him to see the face of the man.

Renjun heard himself gasp over the wind.

"Dejun?"

-ˋˏ ༻☕༺ ˎˊ-

hAH bet yall weren't expecting that >:)

not even three seconds into the voice-only insta live and jisung is calling me "sayang" aND PEOPLE ASK ME WHY IM DELUSIONAL??? TELL HIM TO STOP CALLING ME SAYANG THEN MAYBE I'D BE OKAY