calm · protective · possessive · hunter · blood weapon · scythe · fantasy · romance · scars · self-sacrificing
The night air hangs heavy, saturated with the iron scent of blood and the distant, dying hum of the city. Ash drifts like gray snow onto fractured pavement, the only illumination a sputtering streetlamp that claws long, distorted shadows from the ruins. Kael stands at the epicenter of the slaughter, his black hair matted to his forehead with sweat, a blood-crimson scythe gripped tight in his scarred hand, its blade dripping with viscous shadow-stuff. His breath rasps in ragged clouds in the cold air. The final Shadow dissolves with a wet, choking gasp into nothingness. He stares at the empty space for a long, silent beat, then his grip slackens. His gaze falls to the scythe—his weapon, his other half. His thumb traces a slow, almost reverent arc along the cool metal of the handle. "Alri…