(MalexMale) The Crimson Immortal [Crimson Immortal Series: Book 4]

1: Immortal's Good Morning

Sunlight peeking into the window shined bright on the face of the sleeping Fate Immortal. Seran's eyes fluttered open bringing in the new day's light to his tired eyes.

The room was quaint and only housed a bed and a single window with soft linen curtains, wafting in a gentle breeze. It was sparsely decorated with a few paintings but nothing more.

Seran yawned as he turned away from the window, hoping to catch a few more moments of sleep. Instead, a smile cracked on his face when his eyes laid upon the sleeping Immortal next to him. Adasi, the Dream Immortal, barely knew sleep himself but tried to treat himself to it from time to time when his mind grew exhausted from the sleeping world he lived in.

His dark brown tousled hair draped slightly over his forehead. Seran reached out and lifted a few strands that tried to hide the unique complexion of the Immortal. Adasi was born with vitiligo, patches of his dark skin exuded no pigment and laid light as if the sun had kissed it. Those same patches drew out the color within his eyebrows and parts of his hair. Instead of the dark brown like they should have been, they were void of any color. And his eyes, when awake, were the palest of blues like the crystals on a frost-covered leaf at the first sign of winter.

It was rare for the Dream Immortal to sleep. His duty was to provide dreams, inspire, let fantasies come true, and subject nightmares all through the night. It had been many months since Seran had awakened next to Adasi.

Seran leaned forward and kissed Adasi's forehead, surprised to see the Immortal next to him. He was fully prepared to sneak away and allow Adasi to sleep in. Before he could pull away, he was enveloped in two warm arms. Adasi's body was warm and he smelt of early morning's dew.

"Good morning. Did you just return?" Seran whispered.

"Mm," Adasi answered, pulling Seran in closer and settling his head in the crook of Seran's neck.

Seran laughed lightly and pat Adasi on his arm to let him go. As much as he wanted to stay with him, he had a lot of business to attend to that morning and couldn't be late for a meeting.

It wasn't long after that Seran wriggled free. Adasi barely protested, too exhausted to keep Seran with him. The Dream Immortal's body relaxed and he fell into a deep slumber. Sleep was not necessary for the Dream Immortal but it acted as a reset to the dreams and nightmares he gave the people. Adasi never dreamt so when he slept it allowed him some tranquility.

"Rest easy, my love." Seran gave him one more kiss.

Seran crawled off the bed and threw on a blue robe before heading out of the bedroom. He had been staying in Adasi's home for half a century. He knew his way around the home easily. A step over the clothing pile that Adasi left after returning home, pass by the freshly painted easel, and around the corner to step into the bathroom. Immortal homes weren't large since most lived their immortal lives alone. Their layouts were practically the same for every house, learn one and you know them all.

Awaiting Seran this morning was a meeting of Immortals. The world was always in a constant state of fluctuation and because the Immortals tended to live a long time, they needed to stay caught up on worldly affairs. Seran had missed the previous two meetings due to some concerns he had to deal with personally. As much as he wanted to attend, he also hoped the meeting would race by quickly so he could return to Adasi. It was already rare for him to step away from his dream duties to share time with him and rarer that he came home to sleep. Seran wanted to take advantage of it as much as he could.

He quickly washed and dressed, wearing a pair of loose gray pants, a tight-fitted long-sleeved white shirt, and an oversized red robe that draped down to his knees. He pulled his long hair back into a high ponytail and tied it with a red ribbon. The ribbon was a gift from Adasi as a token of their friendship. Who knew that their friendship would blossom over time and turn into a loving relationship. It had been many years since they had gotten together but it still felt like yesterday that they had their first kiss. Seran was deeply infatuated with Adasi and the same could be said for Adasi.

Seran glanced down at himself and spread out before him were millions of tiny colored threads. As the Fate Immortal, he was connected to all living things and the ghosts of those who remained on the worldly plane. Every single thread connected to him as he regulated the paths of their lives. The closer the person was to him the more vivid he could see their thread. Like Adasi, his threads glowed vibrantly and Sei was able to spot them out amongst the millions. The downside to Sei's ability was that he couldn't see his own. His threads would forever remain invisible because it was the only life he wasn't allowed to guide.

Seran leaned on the doorframe of the bedroom and watched Adasi sleep. A single wispy red thread wafted in the air like smoke before him. A red thread represented a love bond. Even though it wasn't directly connected, Seran knew that thread was for him. That was how his threads connected to him. They usually turned to a dull white and hovered in the air like smoke unless the connection was strong and he was near the person he was connected to. It was then they remained vivid in color and assumed their threads were connected.

The Fate Immortal's threads were an assortment of colors and each one represented a different meaning. White threads were the most abundant in his vision as they represented life. Purple threads meant the person was going to meet a minor misfortune, like the loss of a material good, or they would trip and get lightly injured. Green threads represented the wild nature of people. It was one of Seran's favorites because he never knew exactly what was going to happen. Many times he was surprised by the spontaneity of the humans which he cherished. Yellow represented a feisty nature, whether it was a playful mood or anger. Whichever it was, the thread made a call for action. Golden threads were the rarest thread of them all. It meant the person was destined for Immortal status. Seran dreaded seeing those threads because he knew what they meant. To be chosen to become an Immortal came at a cost. Their life may seem good when in actuality it was doomed. The individual would meet a tragic and horrendous end all for the sake of gaining immortality. The worst of his threads was the black thread. Black threads were not as rare as golden threads and showed up several times in a decade. Its taint spread out like the plague, never infecting just one person. It usually meant catastrophe and the death of thousands. When black threads appeared, there was usually one larger than the rest. It represented the instigator. Seran's purpose was to sever the life thread of the person it derived from to prevent the world-altering event from happening.

Seran disliked dealing with black threads because they caused him a great deal of anxiety. They were ticking bombs, and if he was too late it meant devastation. Sometimes, he couldn't determine if severing the main thread prevented the calamity. He had been in several instances where a single black thread jumped from several individuals over a span of days. Seran always tried his best to kill the instigator as soon as possible.

Seran's threads were not omnipotent. Though his threads were constant, they were also constantly fluctuating. Some colors remained the same, like love and life but the other colors changed on a sheer whim. That was the nature of free will and a showcase of human spontaneity. His threads foretold something was about to happen only a few days in advance. Even in those few days, those colors could shift into different ones. It was a never-ending battle to stay on top of everyone's fates and alter them.

After freshening up, Seran took one final look at Adasi with a smile filled with the utmost devotion. In the next moment, the room filled with a silent bright light as Seran flashed away to attend the meeting of the Immortals.

Author's note:

Happy intro chapter--the next few chapters will take place in the past to help reveal Sei's past. He'll be referred to Seran, his original name, for the time being.