Being met with a gray sky and an unsettling silence as soon as he opened his eyes, Yixing hoped for his dear soul that this would be the last time that he’d question what godforsaken world he was in.

He hoped that this would be the last time he would have to search for him.

The slider slowly stood up, noticing he was lying on the paneled roof of a building. “I must’ve fell and landed here…” He muttered, rubbing his sore sides. He stepped towards the edge of the roof and peered down, taking in a whole city below him. However unlike the home he was used to, there were absolutely no cars running on the streets. There were no flashing lights, no noise, and no people. It was an absolutely barren place.

He had to find Myungsoo in this modern wasteland, in a place where only the two of them existed.

But where would he start? Even going down the building’s elevator, he saw there were countless of vacant floors and countless more buildings and venues to file through. And shouting his lover’s name constantly in the empty streets wouldn’t be as effective as he hoped; his voice could only go so far.

Once he reached the ground floor, Yixing thought hard about his lover’s whereabouts. If he were Myungsoo, where would he go in world like this?

The first thought that came to mind was ‘home’. The city was a carbon copy of his dimension, only more desolate. Their house should be in its exact spot.

He set course and began to stride in the general direction of their apartment. While doing so, Yixing soon realized the gravity of the situation; Myungsoo could be here, in this cold and miserable place, all by himself. He could've been waiting here for someone for god knows how long. The younger male must have felt completely lost and lonely without anyone, and it was all Yixing's fault. He failed to rescue Myungsoo immediately, and now it was going to be the slider's fault if anything happened to him. 

So he had to find him quickly. 

After a long while, Yixing saw their apartment complex within his line of sight. This time he ran, as fast as his legs could take him, past the front doors and up the three flights of stairs. He ran down the hall, and only stopping at their door—which was open. 

Unlike every other door he ran past, theirs was open, technically. There was hole where the doorknob was supposed to be and the actual door was on the floor across the hall. It left their apartment open for entry, and of course Yixing took it upon himself to walk in.

"... Myungsoo-ah?" He called hesitantly, eyes open for any signs of the other. Aside from the totaled doorway, there was nothing out of place. The rest of their furniture was there, just how they left it. Everything else was the same, except for the smashed mirror in the middle of the kitchen. 

Shattered shards were sprawled out on the tiles, reflecting sunlight against the ceiling. Yixing was about to inspect the mess when a door opened behind him, letting out a long creak.

The slider turned, immediately coming into contact with his eyes; those scared, nervous, yet familiar chocolate eyes. "... X-Xing...?" He croaked, slowly stepping out of the washroom. "Is th-that really you or am I hallucinating again?"

As if to answer his prayers, Yixing ran and wrapped his arms around Myungsoo, tightening his grasp and never wanting to let go. "Myungsoo," he breathed, running fingers through the younger's hair. "Myungsoo, Myungsoo..."

Myungsoo could only take his shirt in fists as he let out quiet sobs. Yixing's heart hurt to hear him cry, so he could only hold him in his arms, whispering gently that everything was going to be alright and that he was so, so sorry. 

--

"... So you're a slider?"

The two of them were strolling down the sidewalk, in the empty city where only they existed. The sun was setting now, but they continued to walk slowly, hand in hand. 

Yixing nodded, letting out an embarrassed laugh. "It... Sounds weird when you say it out loud," he admitted. "But yeah, I can teleport to other dimensions if I think about them. It's unreal."

Myungsoo looked at him, the usual aloof expression plastered on his face. "Is that what happened when we got separated?"

There was a hint of hesitation, but Yixing nodded again. He suddenly stopped walking and stood in front of his lover, lips pursed in a guilty fashion. "Myung-ah... How long were you here? By yourself..."

"I don't know," the other shrugged. "Three weeks, I guess? I couldn't really tell."

"I... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to leave you here. I really tried hard to look for you, Myungsoo, I really did. I'm sorry I left you here all alone..."

He felt a soft hand pat his cheek and looked up, lip quivering at the sight of Myungsoo’s even softer smile. “Don’t beat yourself over that Xing… You found me, right? That’s all that matters.”

“… You believe me?”

The younger male neared, and pressed their lips together in a slow, gentle kiss. When he stepped back, Myungsoo linked their hands together again. “You didn’t lie to me yet,” he said.

And that was all Yixing needed.

“So when do you want to go back?” Yixing asked after a moment, as they neared their apartment.

Myungsoo looked at him and tilted his head a bit. “Go back where?”

“Back home,” he replied. “You know, where everyone else is. If we go back know, only a few hours would have passed since we last left. Time goes by differently in each dimension.”

The younger stared for a moment. “… No,” he finally said. “Let’s stay here.”

“Are you sure?” Yixing blinked in slight confusion. “Let’s go back, Myungsoo. There’s nothing here.”

“We’re staying here.”

A short silence passed by them; in that moment, Yixing felt a chill run up his spine. “… What’s wrong, Myungsoo-ah?”

Myungsoo narrowed his eyes at him. “The effect must’ve worn off.”

“Huh?”

“The effect wore off,” he repeats evenly, stalking closer to Yixing by the second. “You’re not listening to me. You’re questioning me. You never question me—”

“Myungsoo, please—” The slider interjects, voice cracking in panic. “Tell me what’s wrong. You’re acting strange.”

“I am not acting strange—” Myungsoo pauses, and then curls his lips up into his usual soft smile, but something told Yixing that it was short of kindness. “… Come here, Yixing.”

Usually he would run right up into the other’s arms, but this time, he hesitated. “… W-Why?”

“Just come here. It’s just me.”

“BUT WHAT PART OF YOU?!”

Another silence envelops the two; Yixing didn’t know what caused him to shout, or exactly why he was so afraid right now. But Myungsoo was acting weird, different from his usual self, a different color in his eyes.

“I just need to bite your neck.”

“… What?!” Yixing looks horrified. “Why would I let you—?”

“It’s okay, Yixing. I’m not going to your blood or anything.” Myungsoo steps forward, Yixing steps back. “I’m not a vampire. I just need to put my venom in you and everything will be okay.”

Part of Yixing’s memory comes flashing back at him and he winces. And he remembers, but suddenly his back hits the wall, leaving him nowhere to run. He glances back at his lover who was coming close. “Myungsoo—”

“It’ll be alright, Yixing.”

“If you don’t tell me what you are, so god help me, I will kill you and then kill myself.”

Myungsoo lets out a sigh, and steps back. “Okay Yixing… Just remember, you asked for it.”  Suddenly, his face began to stretch outwards, skin being pulled apart to make gruesome ripping sounds. The flesh of Myungsoo’s body shed to reveal a horrible gray color underneath, dirty and veins popping. Yixing could only stare in utter terror as his Myungsoo changed from a human to something else entirely.

By the time the minute was up, Myungsoo was no longer standing there. No, it was a thing; a thing with sickly gray skin without hair or a face, or anything that would recall its humanity. What face it had looked like it was chiseled in with a knife, misshapen and warped. It had rows of sharp teeth, nothing short of a vicious piranha. But this thing; it wasn’t a piranha, it wasn’t any type of animal or human, and it surely wasn’t Myungsoo.

“Yixing?” It spoke, in a voice much raspier and lower than what Myungsoo could ever speak in. “Are you alright?

“… Wh-What are you? What d-did you do to Myungsoo?!”

Its face, or lack thereof, seemed to distort awkwardly, as if to make a sad look. “Yixing… I am Myungsoo. I’m a siren. This is the real me… You just didn’t know it.”

But Yixing didn’t listen. Tears stung his eyes as he tried to pull his voice from his throat. “N-No, you’re not Myungsoo. The Myungsoo I know, I— I spent years with him!”

“Yixing…” It sighs. “We’ve only known each other for a month. When I first met you, I injected my venom into your body. It makes you… Blinded. It makes you listen to my every beckoning, under the illusion that you’re in love with me. That’s why you can’t remember anything about your past… You think that we spent several years together, but that’s only because you can’t remember the first time we met. We met a month ago, and this is me.”

“… N-no, no, no, no…” The slider cried, sanity leaving him each passing second. He couldn’t believe anything that thing was saying. Were his feelings artificial then? Did he really love Myungsoo because of some poison?

“But Yixing, even if I’m not human, you aren’t either.” It says, with a hint of earnest in its wretched voice. “When I found out you were a slider, I was elated. Neither of us is human, we’re practically the perfect match. We can be together Yixing, and I won’t bite you anymore.  Your feelings will be real… You just have to accept me the way I am. And if it helps—” Suddenly, the grey skin turned back into flesh, its distorted face morphing back into Myungsoo’s. “—I’ll stay in this form. Please accept me, Yixing…”

Yixing, voice lost, could only cry. He couldn’t believe this. His life was a lie.

A complete, and utter lie.