Apocalypse ✦ Nomin

05

⊱ ───── { Jeno } ───── ⊰

"You are wasting time, my son. The longer you prolong the inevitable, the less time we have to spend in strengthening your powers," Jeno's father calmly lectures him.

"I'm not ready for that yet, father. I'm still trying to plan how to capture an angel and..." Jeno trails off as he realizes, yet again, he has to sacrifice an archangel to break the barrier holding the demons in Hell back from breaking loose, "I can't focus on that right now. I need time."

"You don't need time, you are using it as an excuse to put off shedding the last of your humanity!" his father hisses, "What still holds you back? That filthy angel that betrayed you? That turned you against me? The one that caused you nothing but suffering under the guise of love?"

"No! Absolutely not!" Jeno argues, feeling his heart sink as he utters these words, knowing deep down that it was something of a lie.

"Then why postpone it?" his father bellows.

"Because I am not ready for it! Allow me to take this on at my own pace! Unless you want me to fuck things up!" Jeno screams back at the top of his lungs; his fists are clenched and eyes are completely blackened. His father sits back in his throne, jaw clenched and nostrils flaring as his own black eyes pierce daggers into Jeno's soul.

"Then get out of my presence," his father growls, waving his hand as Jeno is engulfed in thick black smoke.

When it disappears, Jeno finds himself in the middle of a random hall in an unknown corridor. His father had sent him away to an area that could be anywhere in his never ending mansion.

Jeno growls out loudly in anger and punches into the wall to his left. The plaster breaks, leaving behind a fist-sized hole in the wall. He looks down at his knuckles and finds they're dusted with white powder and already beginning to bleed. Despite the pain he feels, he does not react to it. Instead, he waves his uninjured hand, causing a roll of bandages to appear in his palm. He begins wrapping his wounded knuckles as a sudden, echoing voice comes to him.

"Master," the voice speaks, causing Jeno to grunt. He twirls his hand and becomes engulfed in the same black smoke once more. As it clears, he gathers that he's in the middle of one of the larger, padded rooms: one which blocks sound from traveling. The room is barren of all decoration and furniture; all except for one light hanging above a boy that is restrained to a pathetic wooden chair by thick rope. A velvet red cloth is shoved into his mouth, as if doing so made much of a difference in keeping the still barely conscious boy silent.

"I have found the boy," the voice remarks, clearly pleased with himself.

Without looking at the tall man, Jeno speaks to him whilst he continues to gaze at the one sitting in the chair, slumped over with his head hanging.

"Where did you find him?"

"Outside the house of a boy named Renjun," the man answers, "He screamed his name when I grabbed him."

Jeno purses his lips, feeling bitterness settle in at this statement.

"Does anyone else know he's here?" Jeno inquires emotionlessly.

"Not a soul, Master. I wanted you to see before your fa-"

Still refusing to look at the man, Jeno flicks his wrist, causing a loud snap to fill the room as the boy in the chair groggily opens his eyes and attempts to lift his head. Jeno points to the body lying on the floor, igniting it into flames as he steps closer to Jaemin.

"You couldn't just stay hidden, could you?" he mutters, "You had to leave safety and be caught by Johnny...So tell me...why risk getting captured just to visit your friend?"

Jeno places his hand over Jaemin's forehead, allowing flashes of memories to fill his mind. First is a flash of Jaemin at Renjun's door, then Renjun and Jaemin speaking as Renjun holds back tears, then...

A kiss...

Jeno withdraws his hand as if he had touched a hot stove, horrified as his mind refuses to wrap around the memories he had seen. No...Jaemin wouldn't do that...

Would he?

So soon?

Jaemin struggles to keep his eyes open as he tries his best to stay conscious. Jeno yanks the cloth from his mouth, tossing it to the ground as he lifts Jaemin's chin in his hand to force him to look at him.

"You couldn't even wait a day?" Jeno hisses as he tries to conceal his pain with anger; doing his best to convince himself he was angry more so than heartbroken, "But that's fine. Kiss anyone you want, fuck whoever you want, date anyone you want: I don't care. In the end, your heart belongs to me, anyway."

Not for long...you'll...break...soulmate...bond...

Jaemin was unable to speak, but his drowsy thoughts come to Jeno in a weak whisper.

Jeno clenches his jaw tightly as he exhales deeply, trying his best to control himself. He didn't like being challenged by a drugged up smart ass and being called out for his flimsy threats. Keeping each other as soulmates would prevent Jaemin from being with Renjun, but it would prove to both him and his father that he still cared for Jaemin. No... Trying to selfishly keep Jaemin to himself would make things worse. The satisfaction he would gain from knowing Renjun could never truly take Jaemin from him was not worth ruining Jaemin's life and making his inevitable destruction more difficult for Jeno to handle. If he kept him as his soulmate, it would continue to make both of them miserable. Unfortunately, both options felt like a sword piercing through him and cutting up his insides. No option felt right. He was fucked either way.

Jeno leans in and softly pecks Jaemin's forehead.

Why couldn't he have been a demon, too? Why was their love doomed like this?

He hated caring. He hated feeling his heart constantly pang, even after swearing off love. He hated being weak. Hate hated fate for putting them in this situation and forcing them to be against one another. But most of all, he hated that he didn't hate Jaemin. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't.

"Stop putting yourself in danger. I'm tired of saving your ass," he whispers in a low voice.

At that, Jeno waves his hand, and the barely conscious Jaemin vanishes in a cloud of smoke, leaving Jeno by himself in the vacant room.

Jeno frowns deeply, feeling conflicted and confused by his thoughts and the aching in his chest. He did not know what to think, anymore.

He plops down onto the floor and sits, staring at the now empty chair as he faces an internal battle of trying to determine which statement he made to Jaemin gave him the most grief and regret ever uttering.