The air smelled of brimstone and rain. Kai shivered, the damp night clinging to his thin jacket as he stumbled through the alleyways of the city. He wasn’t supposed to be here—he knew that—but something primal had drawn him to this part of town, where shadows lingered longer and the neon lights fizzled into nothingness.

A sudden gust of wind carried a whisper, soft yet commanding, curling around his neck like a lover’s caress. Kai froze. “Who’s there?” His voice cracked, betraying the fear coiling in his chest.

“I’ve been waiting for you.”

The words didn’t come from the mouth of a man but from the darkness itself. Kai’s heart thundered, and instinct screamed at him to run—but curiosity, or perhaps something darker, rooted him in place.

From the shadows, a figure emerged. Tall, impossibly elegant, with eyes like molten gold that pierced through the dimness. His presence was overwhelming, a gravity that forced Kai to his knees without a thought. He was beautiful. Terrifyingly beautiful.

“I am Luca,” the figure said, his voice silk draped over steel. “And you… are mine.”

Kai’s stomach churned. The certainty in Luca’s claim sent shivers down his spine. “M-Mine? I—I don’t understand.”

“You will,” Luca murmured, stepping closer. The streetlights flickered and dimmed as if the world itself recoiled from him. “You are marked, human. From the moment you drew your first breath, your soul belonged to me.”

Kai’s breath hitched. He’d always felt… different, unmoored from the world around him, as if some invisible tether pulled him toward something he could never see. Could this be it? This presence, this—devil king—was that tether made flesh.

“I’m not… I don’t—” He swallowed hard, words failing him. The warmth emanating from Luca pressed against him even from a distance. It wasn’t human. It couldn’t be.

Luca smiled, slow, dangerous. “You will learn obedience, pleasure, and fear—all at once.” He extended a hand, pale and long-fingered. “Come to me, Kai. Do not resist. It’s futile.”

Kai’s body betrayed him, muscles slackening as he stepped forward, drawn like iron to a magnet. The alley seemed to expand, twisting around them, shadows bending to Luca’s will. When their hands touched, heat flared through Kai like wildfire. Pain? Pleasure? Both. He could not tell.

“You feel that, little one?” Luca’s voice was a rumble against Kai’s chest. “That is your soul awakening. It screams for me.”

Kai trembled. His lips parted. “I… I don’t understand…”

Luca bent closer, golden eyes locked onto Kai’s like a predator savoring its hunt. “You will. And when you do… you will want me as much as I want you. I am your king, your demon, your sin incarnate. You are mine, and you will learn the meaning of desire that burns hotter than any hell.”

Kai’s knees buckled, and he let himself fall into Luca’s embrace. The world spun, dark and dizzying. His heart pounded not with fear but with something deeper, something primal.

Outside, the rain began to pour, washing the streets clean, but the darkness in the alley remained—intensified. And in that darkness, Kai’s fate was sealed.

He had been found.

And Luca—the devil king with the molten gaze and a claim that could not be broken—was already too far inside his soul.

The world blurred when Luca’s arms closed around Kai. His touch was hot—too hot for any human—and Kai gasped as if scalded, though he couldn’t pull away. The alley seemed to melt into something else, stone walls stretching into black marble, shadows bleeding into crimson light.

Kai stumbled back. “W-What’s happening?”

“My realm,” Luca said simply, his voice echoing as though the world bent itself to his will. “I will not have my chosen trembling in filth-ridden alleys. You deserve to be ruined in a palace.”

“Ruined?” The word made Kai’s stomach flip, heat curling in his chest. “I don’t belong here—I don’t belong to you!”

Luca’s lips curled into something between a smirk and a snarl. In an instant, he was before Kai, fingers gripping his chin with sinful precision. “You do. You always have. Your soul carries my mark—no priest, no god, no pathetic human will strip it away.”

His thumb brushed Kai’s lower lip, and Kai felt the electric jolt run down his spine. It was maddening, humiliating, yet intoxicating. He should fight, scream, anything—but instead, he trembled.

“You… You’re a devil,” Kai whispered. “Why me?”

Luca’s golden eyes flared, brighter than flame. “Because even in the abyss, I crave what burns brightest. Your humanity tempts me. Your defiance excites me. You, little human, are the sweetest sin I’ll ever taste.”

Kai’s heart pounded. He tried to wrench free, but Luca caught his wrist and raised it. A chain of black fire coiled around his skin, searing yet leaving no wound. The chain pulsed like a heartbeat.

“What is this?!” Kai cried, struggling.

“My claim,” Luca purred. “Do not mistake it for shackles—it is your truth. With this, you cannot hide from me. Your body may flee, but your soul will crawl back on its knees.”

Kai’s breath hitched, fury and panic swirling in his chest. “I’m not yours. I won’t be.”

The devil king laughed, low and rich, making the air tremble. “Oh, you will. You’ll curse my name while whispering it in the same breath. You’ll despise me while begging for more.”

Luca leaned in, so close Kai could feel the heat radiating from his skin, smell the faint trace of smoke and sweetness that clung to him. “Do you feel it, Kai? The ache inside you? That’s not fear. That’s me.”

Kai clenched his fists, yet his knees weakened. His body betrayed him—his pulse raced, his breath quickened, and the dark warmth Luca stirred threatened to drown him.

“Stop…” Kai whispered, but his voice trembled with something far from hatred.

“Never,” Luca murmured, pressing his forehead against Kai’s. “You are mine, not just in this moment, but until eternity itself collapses. My maddest obsession. My beautiful ruin.”

The chain of fire faded, leaving only the lingering heat on Kai’s skin, as though Luca’s claim had burned its way into his very blood.

And though his mind screamed denial, Kai knew one thing with horrifying clarity—

The devil king was right.

Kai woke to the sound of fire breathing. The floor beneath him pulsed with warmth, black marble veins glowing faintly red. He sat up, dazed, his chest tight. The air smelled of smoke and something sweet, like burnt honey.

He wasn’t in the alley anymore. He was inside Luca’s world—hell itself, or something close.

“Awake at last,” came that familiar voice, smooth as poison.

Kai turned. Luca stood by a throne carved from obsidian, draped in red silk that looked too alive to be fabric. His golden eyes gleamed with amusement as he watched Kai struggle to stand.

“Where am I?” Kai demanded, though his voice quivered.

“In my domain,” Luca said. “Where no mortal breathes unless I allow it.”

Kai’s gaze darted around. Endless arches of black stone twisted into the dark sky, and rivers of glowing crimson light streamed through cracks in the floor. It was beautiful, terrible—otherworldly.

“Send me back,” Kai said firmly, taking a step back. “Now.”

Luca chuckled softly. “You command me, little human?” His tone was a velvet threat. “Do you forget what you are in the presence of your king?”

Kai glared, even as his heart pounded. “I’m not your anything.”

Luca tilted his head, almost fondly. “Then why do your eyes tremble when you look at me?”

Kai froze. He wanted to deny it, but Luca moved closer—too close. Every step echoed like thunder, and with each one, the air grew heavier.

When Luca reached him, his fingers traced the side of Kai’s neck, cold and burning all at once. “You pretend well,” he whispered, “but your soul doesn’t lie. It yearns for its master.”

“I don’t—” Kai started, but Luca’s gaze pinned him, molten and merciless.

“You do,” Luca murmured, voice dipping lower. “That pulse, that trembling—your body remembers me even if your mind refuses to.”

Kai’s knees threatened to give out. “Stop… messing with me.”

“I’m not,” Luca said simply. “You’re the one fighting something you can’t win against.”

The devil’s hand moved lower, stopping over Kai’s heart. “This beats because I allow it. Every breath you take, every shiver that runs through you—mine.”

Kai’s breath caught. “You talk like you own the world.”

“I don’t need the world,” Luca said, leaning closer until their lips almost brushed. “I only want you.”

The words sank into Kai like fire. His mind screamed run, but his body leaned forward, drawn into that impossible heat. Then Luca stopped, eyes dark with amusement.

“See?” he said softly. “You crave what you claim to hate.”

Kai pushed him away, chest heaving. “I’ll never be one of your toys.”

Luca’s smile deepened, dangerous and slow. “No. You’ll be my obsession.”

The ground trembled, as though the realm itself responded to his desire. Shadows danced along the walls, whispering promises Kai couldn’t understand.

Luca turned away, cloak sweeping behind him. “Rest, Kai. You’ll need strength for what comes next.”

As Luca disappeared into the crimson mist, Kai collapsed back against the cold marble. His heart refused to calm, and the echo of Luca’s words haunted him.

He was trapped. And the worst part—some part of him didn’t want to leave.