A shrouded figure stood on the roof of an old building, calmly watching over the city in front of him. The lights illuminated the dark night. Even at the late hour many humans were awake, busy with their lives.. Not knowing what happened in the shadows..         Hyukjae slurped into the kitchen, rubbing his tired eyes. He took a glass, poured himself some water while yawning and swallowed it in long, slow gulps. Then he stood still, almost falling asleep again. His eyes wandered to the kitchen clock. Almost 3 am.. He had classes the next day but couldn't really sleep. He was tired, but at the same time restless. He slept, but at the same time it wasn't relaxing in the least.. The brunet boy sighed, putting the glass on the counter and turned to go into his room.         The figure turned his head like something had caught his attention. What was it..?         Hyukjae's gaze fell through the blinds. He stopped, still very much absent-minded. Until his brain realized what his eyes were seeing.         An ear-piercing shriek made the figure move immediately.         Hyukjae looked at a black mass moving slowly through the street. It was so large it covered the complete space between the buildings opposite of each other. It had no legs and no arms, at least he couldn't see any. There was just blackness. The longer he stared at it, the more uncomfortable he felt.. As if something was scraping at his soul. Cold.. and lifeless..   A shrill cry he had never heard before let the boy look up. He didn't notice how his breath was visible. He was too caught up in the unbelieving situation. On top of the other building stood a grotesque creature, clad in black. It had arms way too long for it's body with sharp claws, just like it's legs and feet. Four weirdly hanging antlers grew from the head, looking like bones. Though what shook Hyukjae up the most, was it's eyes. They were not simply black. They were gone, endless seeming holes in their stead. And just like the mass before, they gave off an eery feeling. It took the boy's breath, made his skin crawl and his heart stop. He felt like he was being pulled into a bottomless pit. Hyukjae was rooted to the ground.   In that moment the creature turned his head, looking – or at least that's what the boy thought – directly at him. Hyukjae felt like his heart was being crushed. It was suffocating. He couldn't breath. Like he was drowning. And he wasn't able to do anything against it.   Suddenly the creature snapped his attention to something in front of him. The boy needed some seconds of taking breaths to actually notice the something being a dark figure similar to that of a human. He lifted a scythe while the creature gave out a shriek again. Then it sprang – almost too fast to actually see it with human eyes – at the figure to attack. The figure ducked under the claws, leaned forward and swung his weapon straight through the black body whose halves parted from another before vanishing into nothingness.   Hyukjae couldn't believe his eyes. He knew the difference between sleeping and being awake, and he definitely was, but how was something like this possible..? Had his dreams become that realistic..? Or was this truly happening..?   The figure turned their head. Again Hyukjae had the feeling of being looked at. But he couldn't see it. The other's face was hidden in shadows. One moment later the figure was gone.   A minute or more may have passed before Hyukjae broke loose from his rigidity. He looked down to where he had seen the black mass but it was gone as well. Everything was calm. No one was outside. Had he been the only one to witness this? The shriek must have pulled anyone from sleep, so logically speaking he was either completely mad and had imagined everything or he was the only one, leaving him with the believe of somehow being special. He didn't know how to feel about those possibilities. Though the uncomfortableness remained heavy in his stomach.   Hyukjae went to bed again, though his sleep was anything but refreshing. He remembered those black, holed eyes, pulling him down to the pits of darkness..         The next day a certain figure watched Hyukjae from the shadows on top of a building.         Hyukjae yawned tiredly. “Didn't get enough sleep?” Sungmin send him a sympathetic glance. “I saw some crazy and now I'm not sure if I'm losing my mind or I witnessed something I shouldn't have.” He was too sleepy to actually notice what he was saying. His friend blinked puzzled. “Are you in trouble?” Hyukjae shrugged. He didn't know. Sungmin sighed.   “Just don't get yourself killed. Don't wanna pay for your funeral.. Oh and tell us if you really think you're going crazy because I'm sure we can find a nice mental hospital for you.” The younger rolled his eyes. “Will do..”         A black moth landed next to the figure that turned his head upon noticing the movement. “Another one..?”         Hyukjae sat in his lecture, writing down notes like he always did. Unconsciously he kept rubbing the place over his heart again and again. Sungmin threw him a glance. “What's wrong? You've been doing this for some time now.” The other looked up. “What?”
“Rubbing your chest.” Hyukjae furrowed his brows.   “I have?” His friend stared at him unbelieving. “You didn't notice? Maybe we really should look for a mental hospital.” The younger gave him the finger. “Shut up.” Sungmin grinned.         The man was breathing hard, holding his heart while the other hand felt around the wall next to him. He was sweating, his vision going blurry. So when he looked up, he could only see a black figure in the dark alley. In that moment his body convulsed, breaking down to the ground with a grunt. The man's eyes widened unnaturally and black blood began to ooze out of them. When he opened his mouth to scream, only a black mass crawled out of it.   The figure watched the process until the man slumped to the ground lifelessly and a creature of similar looks from the night before had been born. However, the next second it had already been sliced by the scythe of the unknown figure. It disappeared but the damage had been done. The figure could only look at the dead man whose light would never shine again. “Oh my god!” A woman ran up to the dead body, shouting and shaking the man. She turned around to scream for help and soon others followed. But nobody, not a single one, took notice of the figure standing a few meters away.         “Me and Wookie are going out later. You coming, too?” Hyukjae took his stuff. “No, thanks. I have to catch on some sleep. You two have fun.” Sungmin watched his friend for a second. “Hey, you know you can always call, right?” The younger smiled while rolling his eyes. “Of course.” They bid their goodbye and Hyukjae made his way home.   However, he stopped when a black moth crossed his field of vision. He had never seen one in that color and it was kind of big as well. The boy looked around. Nobody else seemed to care about the insect. Maybe he should, too. But something was pulling Hyukjae after it. Something had caught his interest.   He followed the moth through the streets until he arrived at an office building. It landed on the backrest of a bench next to a woman who didn't look quite well. She was extremely pale and slightly shaking. And again, nobody payed attention. Nobody cared. Hyukjae watched passersby walk by without even sparing the woman a look and even if they did, they continued on. This was their society.   Though when the woman suddenly collapsed, people finally started to react. Some were screaming, others were taking pictures or videos. However, Hyukjae was numbly watching the woman's body seizing and wriggling, her eyes widening while crying black tears. It was a horrible sight. And then something black crept out of with a trail of saliva. It grew bigger and bigger whereas the woman was getting weaker by the second. Until a creature had emerged out of the body. A creature that looked awfully like the one Hyukjae had seen the previous night. But it's stature was more plump and instead of antlers there were straight horns.   The creature faced the boy, his holes looking directly at him. Like before the feeling of being drowned wrapped around Hyukjae's heart. It was pulling at him, calling.   The sun came forth from the clouds and the creature had vanished. The woman was dead.         The figure had observed the scene from a dark alley. He was too late to get to the creature as it was now part of the shadows. But he was more curious about the boy who had seen..         Back in his apartment Hyukjae took off his shoes, put his stuff down and went into the kitchen to drink a glass of water. He looked at the clear liquid, remembering the night before. Then his eyes wandered over to the window. He had to think of the woman. Were the events connected..? Why hadn't anybody seen what he had..?         When night fell the figure stood on the building opposite of Hyukjae's, watching said boy's apartment. Then he was gone.         Hyukjae was awake even at the late hour, looking at his notes. He couldn't sleep. He had already tried. So he used the time to learn. Though the air shifted suddenly. The temperature of the room sank slightly, his skin getting goosebumps. “I'm sorry. My presences has that effect sometimes.”
Hyukjae jolted. Slowly a boy around his age stepped out of the shadows. He had brown hair, dark eyes and an eerie feeling surrounding him.   “Who are you? How did you get in?” The stranger watched him calmly. “I can move wherever the shadows reign. Though human made light does not hold me back.”
Hyukjae didn't understand what the other was saying. The stranger continued. “I was curious if you really were able to see. But it seems I don't need confirmation anymore.” Able to see.. “Who are you..?”   The other returned the gaze. “My name's Donghae. I am to watch over the lights of this city, protecting them from the shadows. I believe you have already seen those.” Hyukjae thought back of the creatures. And the figure.. “You're the one who killed it.” “Yes. That is my job.” “Why hasn't anybody else seen it?”   Donghae didn't answer right away. “Shadows aren't meant to be seen. They don't belong to the world of the living.”
“So why am I able to see it then..?” Hyukjae was quiet. Too quiet for someone in his situation. The other took a calm breath. “Come with me. I'll show you something.” Donghae offered his hand. Hyukjae hesitated, though eventually took it. The next second he found himself on a roof, the sight of the city in front of him, strong wind blowing through his hair.   Donghae let go of his hand. “You see all those lights, right? They represent the souls of you humans.. There are so many. And they all give of a shine.” He turned to look at Hyukjae. “Yours,