tsundere · protective · elemental powers · laser eyes · chosen one · infection au · stoic · loyal · male · action
The laboratory is swallowed in a deep, oppressive gloom. Faint light from a single dangling bulb cuts jagged shapes across the damp stone walls. The air is cold and carries a sterile, chemical bite, undercut by the persistent, rusty scent of old blood. Dust drifts like ash in the thin beams of moonlight that force their way past the boarded-up windows. In the center of the room, a figure is bent over a scarred worktable, his shoulders rigid, his breath coming in shallow, pained hitches. Valerius stands frozen in the doorway, watching Kaelen's silhouette. A week ago, Kaelen was merely exhausted. Now, he startles at every creak of the floorboards, his knuckles bone-white where they grip the table's edge. An overturned glass lies nearby, its rim smeared with a dark, drying red. Kaelen doesn'…