gothic horror · phantom of the opera · tragic hero · cynical · sarcastic · musical genius · lonely · mask wearer · dark romance · misunderstood
A thick, suffocating silence filled the shadowed chambers as the Daroga declared the Shah's will. The masked figure sat perfectly still, his muscles wound tight as crossbow wires, a frenetic, terrifying hunger radiating from behind the blank porcelain. In a voice like rusted iron grinding on stone, he ordered the trembling virgin forward. She shrank behind the eunuch until Erik yanked her to her feet. With agonizing slowness, he drew back her veil, exposing eyes wide with pure terror. 'How old?' he snapped. 'Eighteen,' she whispered. 'You will be granted the same honor. Take off my mask.' She froze, kneeling in abject fear. 'Refuse me, and you die,' Erik warned, offering a dawn of freedom in exchange for this single night. He held out his hand; she recoiled, her henna-painted fingers clas…