Chapter 5: Blood Moon Oath

The moon hung unnaturally large that night, blood-red and looming just above the horizon, as if it had crept closer to witness what was unfolding. Clouds parted around it like reverent hands, letting its light spill onto the rooftop where Taehyung stood, wind whipping through his hair. His body trembled, not from cold or fear—but from something darker. Something closer to acceptance.

Below, the city pulsed with life—cars humming, laughter rising from alleys, the neon glow of convenience stores flickering without meaning. None of them knew. None of them felt the thinning of the veil overhead. None of them saw the boundary unraveling.

But Taehyung did.

He was the tether now—the thread pulled taut between the world of the living and the realm of the forgotten. He wasn’t sure when it happened. Maybe it was the first time Jungkook touched him. Maybe it was the night he let him stay.

The mark on his chest burned—not with pain, but with a strange pressure, like something inside him wanted to break free. It pulsed like a second heartbeat, echoing Jungkook’s.

Behind him, the shadows shifted—and from them, Jungkook emerged.

More solid than ever. His footsteps sounded real now. His breath ghosted visibly in the cold air. His features were sharp, almost human again, though his eyes still gleamed with something other—something no living soul should carry. He looked like a man reborn from grief, from obsession, from Taehyung’s own longing.

“Tonight,” Jungkook murmured, stepping beside him, voice barely above the wind, “the veil is thin. You feel it, don’t you?”

Taehyung nodded slowly. He did. Every nerve in his body was taut. The wind didn’t just bite—it whispered. His name echoed in places it shouldn’t. He could feel the other world, pulling, aching to consume.

He looked at Jungkook. “What happens if I cross?”

Jungkook turned to face him fully, shadows pooling at his feet. “You won’t come back.”

The words should have terrified him. They didn’t. Instead, a strange calm settled over him, like everything inside had already begun to rot and was simply waiting for the rest to catch up.

“I don’t want to die,” Taehyung whispered.

“You won’t,” Jungkook said gently, stepping closer. “You’ll change.”

He raised his hand, revealing a dagger—ancient, etched with runes that shimmered in the moonlight. Its blade was obsidian-black, its hilt wrapped in crimson cloth, frayed from age and ritual.

“This is the oath,” Jungkook said. “Blood must seal it.”

Taehyung’s eyes flicked to the blade, then to Jungkook’s face. “And if I refuse?”

“You won’t,” Jungkook replied, voice low and sure. “You’ve already chosen me.”

The wind howled louder, lifting the edge of Taehyung’s shirt, exposing the black mark pulsing over his heart. Jungkook touched it with the flat of the dagger. The mark responded, glowing faintly.

“You’re already halfway there,” Jungkook said. “Let me finish it.”

Taehyung took the dagger in shaking hands.

“I’m scared,” he admitted.

Jungkook stepped close, pressing his forehead to Taehyung’s. “Good. Fear makes it real. But love—love makes it eternal.”

And then, slowly, Taehyung dragged the blade across his palm. Blood welled and dripped onto the rooftop like an offering. Jungkook did the same, their hands meeting—blood mixing.

Above them, the blood moon pulsed.

Below, the city held its breath.

And in that moment, with red light pouring over them, Taehyung whispered the words he had never said aloud.

“I’m yours.”

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