MY GOLDEN BLOOD - JossGawin FanFiction

CHAPTER 29: VEIL OF SECRET

Tong woke to the cool darkness of the crypt, the stone walls casting faint shadows in the dim light from a single lantern Mark had left beside him. He blinked, momentarily disoriented as the events of the last day came rushing back. The safe haven, Mark's protective embrace, the lingering taste of that strange elixir on his tongue—all felt like fragments of a dream.

But he didn't have long to dwell on the confusion. Mark's figure emerged from one of the crypt's shadowed corridors, his expression guarded but his eyes softening when he saw that Tong was awake.

"Did you sleep well?" Mark asked, his voice low.

Tong nodded, sitting up. "Better than I expected to in an old tomb," he replied with a hint of a smile. The atmosphere was surreal, but somehow, with Mark here, it didn't feel as unsettling as it should have.

Mark watched him carefully, a slight frown forming between his brows. "We'll need to stay here a while longer," he said. "But... there are things I should tell you. I can't keep leaving you in the dark. Not anymore."

Tong felt his heart quicken, a mixture of anticipation and anxiety swirling in his chest. He had waited so long to understand, and now, finally, it seemed the veil was about to be lifted."I'm listening," Tong said, meeting Mark's intense gaze.

Mark took a deep breath, his shoulders tense. "The past isn't as far from us as it seems," he began. "It's what led us here—to this moment." He paused, as if deciding where to start. 

"Centuries ago, before I became... this, I was born into a family tasked with a responsibility that goes back even further than I do. We were the keepers of something ancient, something others wanted but couldn't control."

Tong leaned forward, hanging on to Mark's every word.

"My family was wiped out because of what we knew. I was spared, but only barely. And in the chaos that followed, I was transformed into what I am now—a being tied to the night, haunted by eternity. They believed it would prevent me from passing on what I knew, from using the knowledge that runs through my blood. But they were wrong." Mark's voice grew colder, his eyes distant as he spoke of the centuries-old torment.

"Then, I met Aeon." His expression softened, a hint of warmth in his gaze. "Aeon was unlike anyone I'd ever known. He was a healer, a light in the darkness I'd come to accept as my existence. I found solace in him, something I hadn't thought was possible. But even then, there were those who feared the power we shared—who saw us together as a threat."

Tong listened, heart aching at the pain in Mark's voice. He could feel the weight of the centuries pressing down on Mark's shoulders, the scars of countless battles fought and losses endured.

"The ritual of the Moon Drop," Mark continued, his tone darkening, "is one of the oldest of our kind. It binds us to certain... rules, boundaries that are meant to keep our existence secret. But when Aeon and I drew too close, those boundaries were broken. Kael was there, watching. He knew how to kill Aeon. And one night, while I was away, they struck. They broke every rule of our existence just to destroy him, to break me. And they succeeded. I was left with nothing but my curse."

Silence settled between them, heavy and thick. Tong looked down, piecing together what this meant, the realization dawning that he was somehow connected to all of this.

"But why am I here now?" Tong whispered, his voice barely audible. "Why did you come to me after all this time?"

Mark's eyes softened, and he reached out, taking Tong's hand. "You're more connected to this past than you realize, Tong. I saw something in you—a part of Aeon, a fragment of the light he carried. At first, I tried to deny it. But every time I looked at you, I felt it. You're bound to this history, to me."

Tong's heart thudded in his chest, the weight of Mark's words settling over him. He couldn't fully understand it yet, but he felt the truth in Mark's voice, a truth that went beyond explanations and reason.

"That's why I have to keep you safe," Mark murmured. "Kael and the others know this connection as well. If they discover who you really are to me, they won't stop until they finish what they started with Aeon."

Tong swallowed hard, feeling the depth of the danger they were in. "Then what do we do?"

"We stay hidden," Mark replied. "As long as it takes, until I can find a way to break this cycle. I won't lose you again."

They sat in silence for a moment, Mark's hand warm in Tong's, grounding him amid the tumult of emotions swirling inside him. 

Finally, Mark pulled him into an embrace, his lips pressing softly against Tong's forehead before he let him go.