it's not over yet

It seemed to Rumi that her whole world had shattered into pieces. Her worst nightmare had come true: Mira and Zoey had turned their backs on her. Worse—they now saw her as a threat. An outsider. Their eyes held distrust and fear. "You’re a mistake! A demon! You’ve been like this since birth! A demon with no feelings don't deserve to live!"The words screamed ceaselessly in her mind. Jinu had said Gwi-Ma’s voice tormented him. Well, the voices of her dearest friends easily surpassed even the Demon King’s horror. Especially since Gwi-Ma was nothing like she’d imagined. Truthfully, Rumi had never cared about the Demon King’s appearance. If she pictured her greatest enemy at all, it was as something abstract—an immense, eternally malevolent fire ready to devour all the light in the world. Now, with the Huntresses disbanded, the honmoon nearly destroyed, and demons poised to conquer the world, Gwi-Ma’s looks meant nothing. And Rumi… She should be dead. Yet she sat in a plush armchair facing a tall man whose hair resembled crimson flame. His appearance was slightly grotesque, like all demons: too broad-shouldered, too muscular… Too composed for someone who was supposed to kill her right now. Beyond the vast window stretched a panorama of lights not belonging to her world. Apparently, demons had their own cities too. Why was Gwi-Ma showing her this? Not that it mattered now. "I’m a mistake," Rumi shattered the suffocating silence. She’d wanted to reach Selene. Maybe her mentor could fix things—or destroy the demon threatening the world. Perhaps Gwi-Ma would do it for her. Instead, he sighed, faintly irritated: "I just showed you a world full of beings like you. They’re fine—and so are you." "I’m a half-blood," Rumi muttered. Gwi-Ma’s hair flared menacingly. "That makes you twice as exceptional as any human!" Rumi bit her lip, fighting back tears. So tired of fighting. "This is a world of monsters. I refuse to be one." Why confess this to the Demon King? Probably because no one else would listen. "The human world is a world of pathetic, pale, weak slugs," Gwi-Ma retorted, unmoved. "We are life’s perfect, supreme form! And you belong with us!" Rumi shuddered, shooting him a venomous glare: "You parasitize humans! What are you without them? What happens when they go extinct?" The flames in his hair dimmed. "Hmm." He shrugged. "Then we ensure they don’t. Remove a few politicians… What do you think?" He tried to catch her eye, but Rumi turned toward the city. She didn't want to argue.How can I defend the whole world when I failed on my own?She was a wretched Huntress. Huntresses didn’t fall into the demon realm and converse with its king. Huntresses don't pour their heart out to him. Huntresses don't bear cursed marks. "Nothing I do matters. I’m a weakling no one needs. Now that everyone knows I’m a monster, I’m alone." "Soulless abomination! Mistake! Demon!" Mira and Zoey shrieked in her mind. Jinu claimed Gwi-Ma caused the voices. Yet when a heavy, inhumanly hot hand settled on her shoulder, they vanished. "You’ll never be alone again." Rumi flinched, meeting Gwi-Ma’s gaze. His frame loomed, radiating heat. Demons were enemies of Huntresses and humankind. Demons didn't act like they wanted to rebuild a shattered world – they are the ones who shatter it. "But don’t you want me dead?" she asked, bewildered. "I’m a Huntress. Chosen to destroy demons. An outsider to everyone." Guilt crushed her. She’d failed them all. Nowhere to turn. Nothing to lean on. Outsider. Unworthy. His grip tightened a little. Gwi-Ma’s voice remained calm. "You were deceived and used—that’s not your fault. Humans rejected you. We haven’t. You’re still ours." Rumi winced—never would she accept being a demon. "ButJinuis a demon. He deceived me too!" Her heart clenched at his name. She’d believed he understood. All lies. She recalled Gwi-Ma compelling demons to do all those terrible things, and she couldn't help but fix him with an accusing stare. He smiled. "He saved you from those who didn’t value you. A little deception was necessary. Wasn’t the truth worth it?" "I’d be human if he’d helped!" Fury burned like the void her shattered team left behind. "These hideous marks… They’d be gone." She hunched her shoulders, hiding skin etched with dark, twisting lines—proof her existence was a mistake. "Everything would be fine." "Would it?" Gwi-Ma’s voice hissed like flame. "You werebornthis way. Can you rip out half your heart? Your organs? Selene couldn’t have known—she’d never tested it. You might’ve died. She gambled with your life, hiding the risks. A fairy tale to control you. Was that fair?" Rumi shook her head, jerking away—not from his touch, but his words. All her life, she’d believed Selene would protect her. That her mentor was infallible. But how could Selene know the marks would fade? How assume Rumi would stay human? Stay… on the right side of th Golden Hanmoon? Her world fractured again. She squeezed her eyes shut against tears. "Selene wanted to save the world," she choked out. "She didn’t kill me as a demon. She believed in me, right?" Gwi-Ma didn't let her escape. Instead, he placed his other hand on her shoulder and gave a strangely soothing squeeze, kneading the tense muscles. "Humans struggle to kill infants—especially a beloved friend’s child. And she had no choice. Three Huntresses per generation. Kill you, and what if no replacement was born?" Rumi sobbed. "I won’t become like you! I don’t feed on humans! Never!" "We consume soul energy—the same energy Huntresses use. We don’teatpeople." "Then the disappearances? The empty train?" "The missing…" Gwi-Ma sighed, and Rumi couldn't tell how sincere his regret was "Starve long enough, and restraint becomes impossible. As a Huntress, you’ve never lacked soul energy. Soon you’ll know that hunger. I’ll teach you how to sate it." His hands stilled. "Still afraid?" Rumi froze under his burning touch. Every one of Selene's lessons screamed in her head:Summon your sword. Kill him. Even if it’s your last act. Her mother died fighting evil. Yet this terrifying demon loomed harmless. His words sounded unsettlingly rational. "I’m a Huntress, Gwi-Ma." Rumi offered a crooked smile. "Huntresses don’t fear demons. They destroy them." She clenched her fists, shuddering at the marks. "Despite weakness. Despite mistakes." Gwi-Ma laughed softly, breath tickling her ear: "You looked terrified when you fell here. And you’re notjusta Huntress—you’re one of us. That’s no weakness or mistake. No need to fight us. Or yourself." His scorching fingers traced the dark lines. "Exquisite… They suit you." Rumi flinched, searching for cover.Hide the marks! Childhood lessons roared back. "Mocking me? They’re hideous. And I feared whatImight do—not you." She recalled her despair, her scream tearing the Hanmoon apart. "They prove I’m monstrous. That I should feel shame.Jinusaid demons… beings like us… are doomed to suffer." "They’re beautiful." Gwi-Ma’s palms pinned her, his voice weaving her shattered world anew. "There’s nothing wrong with them—or you. You’re a remarkable demon: strong, skilled. We value that. My people adore songs now—courtesy ofJinu." He briefly kissed Rumi on the top of her head, smirking. "Do you want a secret? Shame cracks your soul. Lets things slip in… like me. My power brings marks. The voice? My gift to Jinu. Butyourmarks were born with you. That power isyours. Your shame over skin patterns is a choice." His fingers traced a mark, heat searing her. "Humans ink tattoos without shame. Why shouldn’t you?" "I am not a demon!" Rumi protested. "I won’t harm or devour humans! I won’t serve you! My fans will abandon me!" She hugged herself, willing the nightmare away. "Idols can’t have markings… I won’t be a demon—but what Huntress am I now?" "You wereborna demon. Can you change that?" Gwi-Ma’s gentleness unnerved her. "You’ve fed on soul energy all along. Concerts felt euphoric, didn’t they?"Devilishly right.She’d lived for that rush. "We thrive on emotions. Fear, shame, anger—easier to provoke than love. But we’ve found a better way. You can help." His voice hardened. "You’ll hunger soon. I’ll teach you to hide the marks. I don’t demand service—I offer acceptance. Be who you are. Seek those who embrace you, not those who demand you change." Rumi knew not to trust demons. His words surely hid deception, yet she found none. She ached to believe the one who hadn’t rejected her. "So," she said slowly, "if demons feed from concerts… no one gets hurt? Possible? No more war? The Hanmoon… gone? Could I truly do that?" Hope ignited. She was ready. Gwi-Ma nodded. "It’s possible. Jinu proved it—slippery as he is." He embraced her. "We need you. You have the experience. You can save both worlds." His smile deepened. "Even me. See? I demand nothing. I offer." Rumi stared at the suspiciously kind demon. Something fluttered inside—a new purpose, a new world. No pain. No fear. No shame. The marks pulsed, power thrumming beneath her skin, yet it no longer frightened her. "If you’re not lying like Jinu… It would be… wonderful. I’ll talk to the girls. To Selene. They’ll understand."Probably.Doubt flickered, then vanished.It has to work. Hide the weakness. I’ll succeed. "Teach me to hide the marks?"