BCN | Temptation in the Dark | Chan x Reader (female)

Chapter 18

"Chan... no, wait..."

But Chan was already vaulting down from his horse's back, his eye widening as soon as he spotted Gilles.

"...Gilles." - "Chan!"

The look on his face tells me this guy really is Gilles de Rais. But...

"Here we are, reunited at last! Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting for this day?!" - "What are you doing in this time, Gilles?"

Gilles' eyes shone with a feverish light, almost manic in a way, and the look on his face made me instantly uneasy.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm here to see you! And I'm here to fulfil your wish." - "My... wish?" - "Yes, of course! Chan... you wish to return to the time we lived in, and end your life there, don't you? You wish to stand on that wooden platform, and welcome eternal sleep, non?"

I caught my breath at his words, my unease turning into full-fledged panic.

"How did you know-..." - "So I'm right."

Gilles lifted his gaze to the night sky, and a fond smile spread across his face as he stared at something only he could see.

"We had so much fun back then, didn't we? Rushing into battle together, always knowing we had each other's backs. The days ran red with blood, but I was happy. I was happy, Chan... because you were there at my side."

Chan's expression was stiff, but something seemed to stir in his gaze as he stared at Gilles' smile.

"I know you were troubled by your differences, but I always believed they were a gift given to you by God. When you swung your sword in battle... when you prayed for the souls of the dead... you were sublimely angelically beautiful. No one in the world was more beautiful than you, and it was a joy and an honour to stand at your side."

Gilles seemed almost in trance as he spoke rapturously of their past, and the look in his eyes sent a chill down my spine.

I forgot to even try and free myself as I watched and listened, and then suddenly his gaze went dark.

"But those Elysian days didn't last! They ended far too soon! The enemy stole you away, claiming you were a heretic, and burned you at the stake!"

Chan stood silent, listening as Gilles ranted on and on, but I couldn't tell what he was thinking. And that scared me.

"Chan... I tried desperately to save you, right up until the day they murdered you! I tried everything I could! I begged everyone I knew, used up all my goodwill! I didn't care what it cost me - I had to bring you home! But it was all in vain. Even as I was begging for help, they tied you to that stake, and the flames of hell swallowed you whole!"

Gilles' hands were trembling, yet he seemed unaware of it, or didn't care, and his eyes shone with a strange, chilling urgency.

"After you were lost to me, I started to ask myself... what had I actually done for you while you were alive? And in the end, I realised... I hadn't done a single thing for you!" - "Gilles..." - "My world lost all colour, all meaning. Living in a world without you was nothing but agony. It was unbearable. I was full of fury and anger by the time death came for me. But at that moment, someone spoke to me... a voice said 'do you want to be reborn, so that you can save Bang Chan'?" - "Who was it, Gilles?! Who said that to you? Was it a man with golden eyes who brought you back?"

Of course he'd think it was Namjoon... I mean, I did, too.

"Chan... it wasn't Namjoon who brought Gilles back!" - "How can you be so sure?" - "Because I asked him about Namjoon, and he looked genuinely confused!" - "But if it wasn't Namjoon... then who-..." - "I don't know any Namjoon. But who cares who brought me back!"