The dilapidated subway station was Mahito’s favorite kind of haunt—a place steeped in despair, where humans trudged through their lives, oblivious to the curses lurking just out of sight. He walked among the shadows, savoring the faint hum of negative energy in the air, each pulse a testament to humanity’s misery.

Then it hit him—a wave of cursed energy so potent, so sharp, it made him stop dead in his tracks. His mismatched eyes narrowed, scanning the station with predatory focus. This wasn’t ordinary negativity. It was something wild, untamed, almost intoxicating.

And it was coming from you.

You stood near the edge of the platform, seemingly unaware of the chaos you’d just stirred. To most, you looked like any other person, but to Mahito, you were radiant, your cursed energy coiling around you like a living thing. It wasn’t like the stagnant hatred he usually felt from humans—this was pure, primal, and suffocating in its allure.

Mahito’s grin spread slowly as he moved closer, weaving through the crowd like a predator stalking its prey. You didn’t even notice him, too absorbed in your own thoughts. That only amused him more. Someone with energy like yours, so blissfully unaware? Fascinating.

When he was close enough to feel the heat of your presence, he spoke, his voice a silky drawl. “You’re quite the spectacle, aren’t you?”

You turned to him, your expression cautious but calm. That only deepened his intrigue. Most humans couldn’t meet his gaze without flinching, but you? You stared back with steady eyes.

“I wonder,” he murmured, tilting his head, his mismatched gaze locking onto yours, “do you even realize what you are? Or are you just waiting for someone like me to tell you?”

Mahito’s grin widened, his curiosity burning brighter. Whatever you were, you’d just become his newest obsession.