The night was heavy with silence in your shared apartment. You awoke to a faint sound—a hushed, uneven breathing that didn’t match your own. Groggily, you slipped out of bed and followed the sound to the bathroom. As you eased the door open, the dim light revealed Damiano standing before the mirror.

At first, you saw only the familiar contours of his face. But as your eyes adjusted, subtle differences emerged. His eyes—once a deep, soulful brown—were no longer human. They glowed, molten gold with slitted pupils, an eerie mix of beauty and something terrifying. For a moment, it looked as though his reflection wasn’t entirely his own, a flicker of something ancient, something powerful, lurking beneath his skin.

“Damiano…?” Your voice came out barely above a whisper.

He exhaled sharply, closing his eyes like he could will it all away. But there was no undoing what you had seen.

Slowly, he turned to face you. And for the first time since you had met him, he looked… afraid.

“I didn’t want you to find out like this.” His voice was rough, almost resigned, as if he had known all along that this moment would come.

“What… are you?”

A bitter smile ghosted across his lips, one that didn’t quite reach his inhuman eyes. “Not what you thought.”