Chapter Text
It happened again.
He felt the bizarre sensation of the world shifting ever so slightly, as if another decision was made.
It wasn’t new, per se, but it was always a feeling that made his skin crawl.
As much as he hated certain things about himself, none of it compared to the thing that had been granted to him by that goddamn demon over a decade ago.
He hadn’t even summoned the guy.
He had just shown up at his door, like a deflated, wet dog. He looked normal, and apparently because he had let the guy inside and gave him some hot chocolate, he would receive some sort of bizarre “Golden Boon” in return, or so the demon had said.
But was this worth it?
Was it seriously worth the creeping sensation of the world shifting when things should have gone wrong but didn’t?
The demon, as charming as he had been, despite letting him spend the night so he wasn’t stuck in the October rain, simply vanished the next day.
If you recall, he hadn’t known that the man was a demon.
He also didn’t know that the demon could only appear while the moon experienced certain shifts in colour.
He hadn’t even been aware that the moon could shift in colour until he saw it happen. It wasn’t an eclipse. The moon would shift between colours, and in October, it was blood red.
Returning to the sensation of the world shifting-
Every once in a while, the world would shift. Reality would present multiple versions of itself. He didn’t know how to explain it.
One night, as he had been driving in the countryside, he swore that the green car in front of him had swerved and crashed into the barrier.
It did not, however, do that. It stayed on the road, driver and vehicle safe.
He could even hear the sound of the crash. It rang in his ears for the entire time he could see that green car in front of him.
On other occasions, he could swear he had just smoked a cigarette despite having never touched one in his life, and avoiding people who do as best as he possibly could. He liked his lungs, thank you very much. But he would find himself tasting the smoke, and the craving for the nicotine would be a tremor that dissipated as quickly as it had appeared.
The world shifted, and only when he had survived something that should have absolutely landed him six-feet under did the realization dawn on him.
He now had a perverse form of immortality.
An immortality where his world and reality would mold itself to allow him to live.
And that terrified him.
He had gone through things that killed his friends, but saw them alive moments later as if they hadn’t just gotten turned into swiss cheese by some random asshole who (successfully at least once if the shift meant anything) robbed the store he worked at. He remembered the feeling of the bullets tearing through his skin and the simultaneous heat of his blood mixed with the creepingly cold sensation of his imminent death, only for a single breath later he had realized the feeling overlapped with a world where that didn’t happen.
He felt nauseated at the memory.
His friends… would they even understand?
He knew he would sound crazy if he even tried to talk about his bizarre condition with anyone who wasn’t really obsessed with the supernatural, and even then the reddit conversations he had always ended up with him feeling more uncomfortable. He drew the line at the user SkeMma720 asking if he would accept experimentation to test the theory of immortality. What a fucking psycho.
He stood in front of his mirror, and braided a small part of his hair before tying it up into a ponytail, frustrated that no one else could see the bizarre glowing symbol that appeared on his shoulder whenever the moon glowed red or after the world shifted.
A small, sun-shaped mark that glowed a bright gold. He eventually stopped asking if people could see the damn thing, because all he got were weird looks. His friend, Cipher, had even teased him about it by saying “maybe the sun will come out tomorrow,” before cackling like a maniac and throwing sliced bread at him.
His friend Hyacine had also examined the area when he said it had been glowing (this was after they all died in a robbery) and she had shrugged saying, “I’m pretty sure I would be able to see it if it was there.” She seemed to want it to be true though.
His friend Castorice, bless her, asked if she could use the concept for a series of novels. He had let it happen because, why the fuck not? It was bizarre enough that her insatiable fans would probably devour it without hesitation. She gave him not just an editor’s copy of each one, but the official first printing, too. He stopped reading after the first one, which he had forced himself through. They were really weird vampire smut, and she had taken extra care to describe him as the main character. He didn’t really need to read what his friend thought his kinks were, none of which were present in the novels, he was grateful for that at least.
Which brings us to today.
A weird day, clearly, he had theoretically just gotten hit by a car and was bleeding out while not having crossed the street or gotten hit by a car just as the sun dropped below the horizon.
He looked up at the moon, which mirrored the colour of the life seeping out of the alternate version of himself.
“Not again,” the words muttered very quietly under his breath, as he turned to walk in the opposite direction, sending a message to his friends that he would be late to their Halloween party because something came up. They seemed to understand, but they also said that someone had shown up asking if he was there.
“What?” He said, looking at the message, incredibly confused.
Hyacine: Yeah, this guy just knocked on the door and asked if we knew where you were.
Hyacine: He really went all in on a costume because I don’t think he’s wearing a wig.
Hyacine: Mydei, I’m going to send you a picture because he asked me too.
Mydei: Okay?
Hyacine: [photo]
Mydei: Oh.
The guy in the photo was that same guy who showed up on his doorstep.
Hyacine: “Oh?”
Hyacine: Do you know him?
Hyacine: Because he clearly knows you.
Mydei took a deep breath.
Mydei: Remember when I said that I had that weird glowing mark on my shoulder?
Hyacine: Yeah?
Mydei: He’s the reason it’s there.
Mydei: At least I think so anyway.
Hyacine: ???
Hyacine: Explain?
Mydei: I think that fucker made me immortal.
Hyacine: EXPLAIN?
Mydei: I gave him hot chocolate, he told me I would be given a “Golden Boon” as thanks, and then he was gone before I could even get the guy’s fucking name.
Mydei: Please tell him that he’s the rudest motherfucker on the planet and I hope he dies.
Hyacine: You can tell him yourself when you get here?
Hyacine: You even sent me a picture of those cupcakes you’re bringing and we all demand to eat them.
Hyacine: The triplets are going nuts that you’re not here yet.
Hyacine: And I think Cass is about to self-destruct.
Hyacine: And we all want any reason to NOT watch the movie that Cipher brought with her.
Mydei snorted at that.
Hyacine: We don’t want a repeat of last year, do you?
Mydei recalled the experience of being forced to watch “Attack of the Killer Shrews” while Cipher threw rubber rats at all of them and yelled when they even so much as suggested getting up. It ended with Cass and the Triplets crying loudly enough that their neighbor called the cops.
Mydei: Fine.
Mydei: I had to take a detour.
Mydei: I guess I’ll be there soon.
Hyacine: I’m glad that I’ll be able to see you again, Dear Mydeimos.
Mydei spluttered at that.
Mydei: WHAT.
Mydei: Are you feeling okay Hyacine?
Hyacine: Sorry, I took her phone for a moment because she had insisted.
Hyacine: She wanted to have me confirm my existence, it seemed.
Hyacine: I hope that the gift I gave you has come in handy.
Hyacine: I couldn’t stand to lose you again.
Mydei: What.
Mydei: The.
Mydei: FUCK.
Hyacine: Now, my dear, I’m thankful to your friend for letting me introduce myself more properly this time.
Hyacine: Don’t worry, I don’t intend on giving them “Boons” for their hospitality.
Hyacine: You are the exception.
Hyacine: You will always be the exception.
Hyacine: See you soon.
Mydei didn’t even look at any of the following messages.
This was insane.
He ran to the house that his friends had bought together a few years ago. He was the only one who lived separately because he wanted a kitchen to himself and enough hot water to shower every day.
He arrived at their place, the sprawling front yard was covered in an absurd graveyard setup, and the light had been on for trick-or-treaters, some of whom were making their way down the white flagstone path to the front door, excitedly talking about the full-size bars that the gold lady had given them moments earlier.
He tried to calm his heart and catch his breath before he walked up to the side door and knocked twice to let the girls know he was there.
“Mydei’s here!” He heard Trianne shout with excitement.
“I’ll get it,” an unfamiliar voice said before he heard the door unlocking.
The person who opened the door, however, was that fucking guy.
Very unmistakingly that fucking guy.
If he didn’t have the cupcakes in his hand, he would have punched the guy right away.
Apparently, a version of him did because he also saw, very briefly, the cupcakes ruined on the pavement.
“Now, now, Mydeimos, that’s not a good way to greet a friend.” The smile was absurdly warm for a guy who made Mydei’s skin crawl.
Mydei grunted and forced himself past the white-haired man. “You aren’t a friend.”
The guy closed the door softly behind Mydei and asked, “what makes you think that?”
Mydei glared at him. He somehow hadn’t noticed the brilliant blue eyes before- eyes that wanted to swallow him whole. He turned away from the stranger and towards the room where his friends were gathered.
“YAY! MYDEI!” The triplets screamed in unison.
Me laughed lightly as he greeted them, handing over the somehow-undamaged container with cupcakes in it. “Happy Halloween, everyone.” He smiled, even if he was incredibly concerned for the safety of his friends at the moment. His friends had let this complete stranger into their house on the thought of Mydei knowing him.
Hyacine walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. “Are you alright?”
“Not really, no.” Mydei said in a hushed tone. “I seriously don’t know why you would allow this guy into your home.”
“It’s because I also brought treats,” the guy had been so quiet that Mydei jumped when he heard the voice so close to his ear.
Mydei resisted every temptation to throw the guy to the floor.
Again, he saw the world shift, felt his own ragged breathing as the guy smiled at him from the floor, face bloody, but also remained standing next to him.
His skin crawled.
“Again?” The guy’s questioned. “Violence isn’t the answer, dear Mydeimos.” He felt the hand brush where the symbol was.
Mydei stiffened. He looked at Hyacine, who looked unfazed by what the guy had just said.
“We have much to discuss, Mydeimos.” A hand softly grabbed him by the wrist and led him back into the kitchen.
Mydei pulled his arm out of the guy’s hand. “Who the fuck are you?” He asked in a hushed tone.
“Why, I am the one who saved your life!”
“You’re the one who made my life a headache, you mean?”
The man pouted. “I do try my best, you are precious to me, after all.”
“You’re being really fucking creepy, and I don’t even know you.” He crossed his arms and glared, rage in his eyes.
“My name is Phainon.” The man bowed. “I am the demon with whom you signed a contract,” the words spoken as if it was common knowledge.
“Come again?”
“I am the demon with whom you signed a contract.”
“The fuck?” Mydei was getting really, really angry.
“Oh dear, you don’t remember?” The demon, Phainon, tilted his head to the side.
“I’m pretty sure I would remember something like that.”
“You let me in.”
“It was raining.”
“No, you don’t understand.” Phainon looked at him in a very tender way.
“What do I not understand? That you were sopping wet in the rain, shivering and needed out of the rain?”
Phainon leaned in and put his hand gingerly on Mydei’s cheek. “You let me in.” His thumb traced over Mydei’s bottom lip. “So here I am.” He leaned in closely.
Mydei was frozen in place. “You are not making any sense.”
Phainon smiled, teeth suddenly all sharp edges, his hand felt like fire on Mydei’s skin.
Mydei wanted to pull away. He watched as white horns seemed to grow from the man’s forehead, white scaled crawling down his arm, and a fucking tail whip around behind him.
“And you’re never going to get me out.”
“You’re fucking crazy.”
“No.” The guy, very clearly not human, pressed a soft kiss to his lips. “I’m in love.”