All of us light up a room, some when they enter, others when they leave.

Gene's response to having a complete stranger she barely knew for a day was actually normal. "How the hell did you get in here?"

"The window."

"But I left it closed."

"As if that could stop me," thinking that sounded hot.

"But how did you get," tongue toiling to figure out what the best thing to do in this situation would be. "Why are you even here?"

"I said I was gonna keep that little incident under wraps. I never said I wasn't coming back."

"Oh," getting excited over concern. "Couldn't you just tell me you were coming back?"

"No, that wouldn't be fun enough."

"It's kinda creepy though."

"You mean a King doing anything for his Queen? Maybe that means his hard work should get rewarded."

Instead of kicking him out, that lingering thought finally kicked in. "Strong, sexy, takes off their shirt, really really strong...Xotic, you're a vampire!"

The moment after, that cocky grin of his disappeared while Gene rushed to the lights and turned it on, only for nothing to happen.

"You're not?"

"Of course not. And if I was, you could've killed me with that!" His voice echoed into the room. "You want me dead or something?"

"What no, of course not."

"Then-what are you?" There was no way he could just break a car window with that and have no blood or marks on his hands.

"A Therian."

She blinked. "A dreamy man?"

"No. Well, I am, dreamy and irresistible of course. Ther-i-an."

"So you're a monster?"

"Yes, and no. I'm still human. How do I explain it? I'm sort of an amalgamation. I'm part werewolf, fairy, vampire...basically, I'm sort of undead," while taking off his leather jacket.

"Aren't you like, um super strong, really old, super powerful, and like immortal," getting naturally concerned.

"Well yeah," kissing his biceps she tried not to think about drooling his biceps under.

"Well what do you want with me," slightly concerned.

He sighed. "You remember what I said earlier. That I needed you?"

She nodded.

"That wasn't a lie. I'm dying."

Fear transformed into concern. "Wait, what?"

"I told you before, my mother's in a coma and my dad beat me, right?"

She was a bit too caught up back then to remember though remembered enough for her to nod and felt bad. She thought maybe acted the way he did because of that instead of questioning if that was an excuse for his violent approaches to solving conflicts.

"There's a bit more to it than that. It's because of them I'm in this situation."

She tightened the towel more and asked him to explain more.

"It all begins with two deities. Jahat no Luci and Keadilan ga Tama." Her face screamed, "I can't say that," so his response was just to call them Luci or Tama. "The Light of Justice and the Wicked Darkness."

"They're both gods?"

He shook his head. Tama was the devil. "For every god, there must be a devil. Originally it was just Luci, but they're from the same realm."

"Another world?"

"Sort of. How was the world created?"

"Either by God or the Big Bang?"

"It was both. The energy of both a deity and the creation of the universe didn't just create other planets and galaxies. The rest of it formed a new reality and gave life to other creatures. All those myths and supernatural creatures that different cultures and worlds created are real. Through prayers and condemnation, those beings can even accept our world, but it takes an immense amount of power to do so. Luci was one of the first."

"So those Yeti snow things, vampires, werewolves, mermaids, zombies, that's where they all live now?"

He confirmed it. "And Jahat is one of the strongest deities. But it fell in a battle with Tama."

"How?"

"Jahat was summoned into the world around the time I was younger. My family made me join a Junior Youth Movement and it was part of this big organization. They made us along with other families, and interacted with the rest of the community. I didn't want to join, but father insisted and I was only twelve years old at the time. All the families got involved so that our society would be pure, free, and to protect one another. To keep us safe and secure from any evils in the world."

"Like a war or something?"

"You could say that."

"So you joined, but what does that have to do with your parents?"

"Urgh, fine. We thought we were worshiping God, but apparently there was someone in our town who used the our's events as an excuse to join, and wanted to summon Jahat," crumbling his fists as he spoke, "for their own cruel purposes. They sowed hatred, distrust, and manipulation to weaken the bridge between worlds for Jahat's arrival. And once they arrived, they infected them with their poison."

This was getting too heavy for Gene, shaking and imagining this as some video game she could play. Before he continued, she asked if she could let him change.

"I'll only look if I see you have something worth taking," raising his eyebrows with a smile.

On one hand, she wouldn't mind the audience. On the other hand, it was a bit weird. Then again, she affirmed in her mind that she wasn't like other girls. No guy was going to intimate her. She dropped the towel and tried to remain composed, changing into pajamas while wondering about how Alpha's was probably in some slutty outfit she'd pass off and bought online with her parent's money, something Gene would never get away with, and immediately asked Xotic to continue to keep her mind off things.

"So Jahat was poisoned. And then what, Tama came to finish him off?"

"No. That person's desires were a pollution to our cause, and Jahat was forced to split itself into two parts. Jahat and Tama fought for control of its influence and control but left both of them injured. Jahat's disciples used their virtuous goal in order to save them by offering their life force in exchange for the power to hunt down Tama's creator."

"Yeah, but it's just one person. They couldn't be that hard to beat, right?"

"No, idiot. Tama only had one worshipper. Their creator used it's wicked powers to raise chaos in this town and hunt down Jahat's followers, slaying the connections between the prayers and the god."

"So what, it's not like they were killing people, right?"

Xotic stood silent. His eyes gave her a straight answer.

"Oh. Oh shit," putting the pieces together. "And you-"

"Lived through it. But it hurt not just me, but my family."

"So your dad beat you and your mom?"

"Worse," without changing a single inflection in his body. "My dad joined Tama."

Gene gasped. "Why?"

"The follower corrupted him and stole him from us. It broke my mum's heart. She did everything to keep him with us and tried to fight it, but he refused. We resorted to force to free him, and well," shaking. "He-he-hurt us."

She tried to console and caress his face but he smacked her hand away. "Spare me your pity. Weakness is for pussies."

She scratched him like a cat. "Meow, jerk." He felt nothing, and she pouted. "You could be a little nicer. So what happened next?"

"Well, the town found out, and assumed we converted with him after the fight. Mum did whatever she could to save us, but it was too late. The town already decided what our fate was, and the last thing I saw was the gun that ended me."

Gene gulped at such a horrific story, understanding why he acted the way he did.

"So how are you alive right now?"

"Well, Jahat. They heard my final pleas to save us both, and granted me a chance to live, if I fulfill certain conditions. That's why I've got my powers. The fairy power of immortality, the strength from vampires, and the werewolf's powers of-"

"Giving you good looks and inability to keep your shirts on?"

He shortly paused. "-a healing factor. Granted it has it's limits so I don't have all their traits. Sun just burns a but, but it gets the job done. There's just a catch."

"And if you don't do it, you'll die. See, I'm smart. What's the condition?"

"Well to restore my and my mum back to normal, I had to sacrifice my humanity to gain this power. My heart has been wrapped in pain, torture, agony, and deceit for years. I told you I was looking for a queen, right?"

She nodded.

"Well that's the condition. To free myself from Tama's influence, I need to override her wickedness with love to make myself whole. Someone who can free me from the burdens of hatred, misery, pain and deceit that the Wicked Darkness cursed me with. And I only have about a few weeks left."

"And that person is, it's me?"

He nodded, and slid his hands around her whole neck. "You are the only girl I've met who challenges me, who makes me question things. That drive makes me want you more. The more you push back, the hotter you get, the more it makes me want to fight back, and take you as my own! You're not like other girls."

Gene got caught up in her desire to be and feel special, her heart racing and her mind wondering what was going to happen next, but pinched herself to ask a question. "Wait, doesn't that mean you don't like me unless we're fighting? That doesn't sound pretty fun."

"You're the exception to that rule."

"I dunno, do you have to be so...headstrong about it?"

"Headstrong? I'm just trying to protect you. Especially from Tama."

"What do you mean? Didn't Jahat defeat them?"

"No. Their origin and my father left, but Jahat warned me in the future that they would return."

"But why? It's not like all of that took place-wait, everything you said, that happened here?"

"Yeah. That's why I'm back. Tama's descendants might have an heir that stayed in the town, and might be sowing chaos within the town. Turning people against one another, feeding off negative emotions, all to fuel its power and resurrect them into the real world."

"And if something like the Wicked Darkness emerged as this giant deity-"

"-Then that would spell disaster. Jahat chose me, and gave me one more chance. If I can fill my shattered, broken soul with the love and passion of the chosen one who can save me with the innocence and purity Jahat wants for everyone in this world. Genesis, your body, your power, will be the origin of Jahat's savior. Can I trust you?"

Gene was taking her time to process everything. All of this was just coming to her out of the blue.

"Well if I could bring you back to life. But fine. Can I just ask a few things?"

The blank slate of his face that showed the slightest bit of emotional desire dropped in disgust. "What?"

"Why do you have three middle names?"

"Jahat gave me three opportunities to revive myself, but it was limited each time. I never knew if people would figure out my identity in a past life, so I kept switching out and altering my physique. My first resurrection, I was Ryland. My second, Hardon. Before now, Yungkidd."

"And you're really part Korean," she asked, skeptic, yet agreeing with Zhang that it was weird.

"Partly, Jahat also granted me the power of another deity."

"Who?"

"Sumyeong-Jangja. Don't worry, I just get to look like this," shifting his face into that of a young Korean appearance.

"As for Ryland, let's just say mom had other means of coping when dad abandoned us for that heathen."

"Urgh, she sounds like a whore."

Xotic dropped his arms and sighed. "You really have a thing for hating other women and sex, don't you."

"That-that's not true," trying to defend herself and looking away. Her conversation with August about sex started to ring into life and let her empathy take over for a change. "She just felt abandoned and lonely, right?"

Xotic shook his head, slightly letting his vulnerabilities out for once. "She didn't deserve to go through that to begin with, but I can't fault her. Forgetting what that man did to us after all those years-she had every right to absolve herself and her memories of his flesh. If you can really help me become human again, with my power, I can sacrifice my powers to heal my mother and free her."

"I get it. Okay, I'll do anything. Wait, does that mean we're a thing?"

Her cheeks blazed red as he began taking off his shirt and leaned in.

"What do you think? Now," licking his lips. "I'll make sure after tonight, you'll never be able to talk to any man ever again. Let's get to work."