Warm Eyes | Hyunchan ✅

XXVI [Cursed Bonds]

Christopher blinked his eyes open, his surroundings slowly coming into focus. He was in a dark chamber, the air heavy with the scent of old blood and decay. Candles flickered along the walls, illuminating arcane symbols drawn on the floor. His heart pounded as he realized what the room was meant for-a sacrificial altar.

Across the chamber, Master Gillet was preparing something at the altar, murmuring incantations under his breath. On the altar itself, Hyunjin lay unconscious, bound with ropes similar to those that had held Christopher earlier, his face pale and still.

Christopher's eyes widened in horror as he pieced together the twisted scenario unfolding before him. He yanked on the chains that still bound his wrists, the silver burning into his skin, but he didn't stop. His mind raced with thoughts of Hyunjin-he had to save him, no matter the cost.

"Ah, you're awake," Master Gillet said without turning around, his voice cold and casual. "Just in time."

"Let him go!" Christopher growled, his voice low but fierce.

Master Gillet finally turned, his face illuminated by the dim candlelight, a sinister smile playing on his lips. "You don't understand, do you? This has been in motion far longer than you've been in the picture, vampire."

Christopher glared, still struggling against his restraints. "What are you talking about?"

Master Gillet waved a hand, and a gust of wind snuffed out several of the candles. His voice echoed eerily as he began to explain. "The king is a fool. He believes I am serving him, helping him achieve ultimate power. But I never intended to hand that power to anyone but myself." He gestured toward Hyunjin. "Your little friend here is the key."

"Samuel has nothing to do with this!" Christopher barked, the fury in his voice rising.

Gillet's eyes gleamed with dark amusement. "Oh, but he does. You see, Hyunjin is from the future, not of this world or time. His existence here is the result of a spell I carefully crafted. I needed someone with a very specific essence, someone untouched, pure, and with the blood of a different time coursing through their veins."

Christopher froze, the weight of Gillet's words sinking in. "Hyunjin... he's from the future?"

Meanwhile Hyunjin stirred, his body heavy and weak. His mind was foggy, but as consciousness returned, so did the voices-faint at first, then clearer. He remained still, eyes half-closed, listening to the conversation between Master Gillet and Christopher.

"Hyunjin... is from the future," Master Gillet's voice hissed. The words sent a jolt through Hyunjin's spine. *What?*

He fought to stay calm as the truth unraveled around him. His whole life-his arrival here, his bond with Lord Nicholas, everything-had been manipulated by Master Gillet. And the revelation that he wasn't even from this time, that he was some kind of *sacrifice*, shattered the very foundation of his reality.

"Exactly." Gillet's voice was filled with twisted pride. "It was no accident that he found himself here. I manipulated the very threads of time to pull him into this era, creating the perfect sacrifice. Unfortunately, the spell had some flaws. When he arrived, his body reverted to that of a child, and we had to wait for him to mature-back to his late teens."

Gillet chuckled, a low, sinister sound. "But now the time has come. He's near twenty, and I believe still... pure. It's time for the ritual. And with his sacrifice, along with the core of your vampire heart, I will gain a power that surpasses even the gods."

Gillet's voice dripped with malice. "He's pure, untouched, and from another world. The perfect offering. His blood will unlock a power beyond imagining."