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“As in…?” I discreetly point up and he nods, making me frown.

“So let me get this straight… I’m the Demon King of all things Lust.”

“Correct.”

“You’re the serpent that made periods happen…”

“Somewhat correct…”

“And that blind bat is the great commander and the big man upstairs’ favorite archangel, Michael…”

“It would seem so…”

“And we’re all just walking around on earth all willy-nilly?”

“Hmm… I wouldn’t say willy-nilly. There are restrictions in place to prevent the world’s destruction for now… but…” he looks me up and down curiously. “I see that those restrictions are quickly tumbling down, so I guess it’s a good thing I’m starting my newest endeavor before hard times strike.”

“New endeavor as is Illicit?”

“Correct… a world like this one, where miasma is low, is a perfect place to create a nice and safe feeding ground…” he smiles while my brain is moving a billion miles a millisecond.

I knew there was something odd about this place… but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but now…

“Who are the clients here?”

“The clientele? Well, now that you’ve manifested, let’s go take a look with your eyes wide open…” he tells me as we exit the Staff door I came in through, and we venture into the Sinners’ side, and from the moment I enter, all movement stops, and everyone stares…

My body hums and my dick throbs, leaking pre nut. This place is riddled with lust and desire… I feel my body thumping as if my entire being is a heart.

“Ooooo, your presence alone is drawing attention as I knew it would,” Venom states, and I feel dazed as my eyes flicker looking around and I’m almost shocked to see creatures who just a second ago looked like humans, now turned to predators slicked in blood, sex, and desire. The girl dancing in the cage above the bar? Her eyes are completely black and her mouth is full of huge sharp teeth with a long tongue that slithers out of her wide mouth.

I grit my teeth, and my lungs burn as if the air is laced with acid. The lights flare and shadows shift. Something wild and hungry brushes against my soul, gnawing me from the inside, and aburst of energy release from me, thick and red. Suddenly, the person nearest me drops to the floor moaning.

“Uggnnnnnn!! Akckkk!” They clutch their neck, twitching, and Venom snaps and someone comes over and stabs the guy with a syringe. He sits up, dazed with wet pants, still shuddering and Venom chuckles.

“Damn… you really don’t have control over that power, huh?” he shakes his head. “This is going to be great for business.”

“What?” I shake my head dizzy as fever spikes in my body, not even on my skin, but inside. I can feel it behind my eyes, beneath my skin. My bones ache. My vision tunnels.It’s happening again.The same sleep-like collapse that overtook me the first time I shifted… I feel it as I turn and stagger from the room while Venom watches me.

“Why don’t you come back some other time? When you’re a bit more stable… if you keep walking around like you are, the pillars that keep this earth from premature destruction will collapse. My advice is to find out more about your origins, get some miasma in you, and stabilize that power… you’re going to destroy all the fun at this rate,” he sighs, shaking his head, and I pant, blinking suddenly tired.

I stumble into a hallway, gripping the wall, teeth clenched and I text the only person I can think of that would know about this shit.

Frankie : What the fuck is going on with me?

Her reply is instant…

Mother: Get to me as soon as you can and I’ll tell you…

Mother: You need to go to hell.

Mother: Your body is demanding miasma. If you don’t inhale enough of it soon, your power will rip you and those around you apart.

I pant, staring at the phone, annoyed. The shit I didn’t want to do is now staring me in the face…I’m going to have to leave Jessica’s side… fuck…

I’m halfway to the exit door of Illicit, when I hear the doors of the Sinners side open followed by boots echoing against obsidian floors. The being passes me without a word, but when its smell hits me, I go stiff.

Thick. Rancid. Rot…stained with something older than time. Death, and not the clean kind. Not the kind that comes with dignity and silence. No, this one’s foul and cloying. Lingering like decay that refuses to die.