"May the newlyweds kiss each other."
The words froze in the air.
They were standing at a legendary wedding altar under the watchful gaze of dozens of attendees. Standing there was a man with two horns sprouting from his forehead, and a rebellious third horn that had pushed its way through the middle of his thick hair—looking just like a mobile reception tower! Standing before him was a woman with reddish-orange hair, holding his hand with a cold stare.
{Huh... Where am I? And who is she?}
{This is way too strange.}
A heavy silence fell, broken only by the voice of the priest right beside them, who held an ancient book emanating the scent of incense and ash. He looked at them with furrowed brows and muttered sharply: "Is there a problem with the couple?"
The crowd exchanged looks of astonishment and mockery; the bride and groom hadn’t leaned in for the traditional kiss yet, standing motionless as if they were statues of stone.
But at that exact moment... Michael’s pupils shifted to meet the bride’s eyes. And the bride—or the one who was supposed to be the bride—looked back at Michael.
They both blinked at the very same second... and before either could utter a word, their thoughts intersected in a confused mental ether:
{Am I dreaming? Who is this hot girl?}
{Why am I marrying a man?! Is there something wrong with my dreams? Or do I have homosexual tendencies I’ve been hiding from myself?!}
Their eyes widened and their gazes locked as they realized that the tone of the thoughts penetrating their minds wasn’t unfamiliar at all! Michael knew this voice very well... but he certainly wouldn’t guess who it actually was, because this was definitely a dream!
As for Elliot... he stole a quick glance downward.two impossible curves that looked like the kind one only sees in the pages of manga or on exceptional supermodels!
{...Impossible!}
{...Why do I have a BREASTS! Where is my body and my muscles?!}
{Seriously... is this one of those rosy spring dreams where I end up in the same bed with a beauty?!}
Elliot yanked his hand away from Michael’s, shaking frantically as a jolt of pure terror shot up his spine.
{What does he mean by spring dreams?! Does this bastard want to sleep with me?! I want out of this nightmare right now!}
Whispers cascaded through the audience, and eyebrows raised in disapproval at the bride’s abrupt behavior
"What is going on between them? Don’t they know the rules?"
But Michael wasn’t in his right mind at all; his brain was floating in a galaxy of delusions, believing that everything around him was merely a dream.
{Yes, yes... dreams of conquering and dominating beauties are my favorite type! It seems I can read her thoughts too... The priest said we must kiss... Come to me, my beauty!}
Michael’s hand moved boldly to grab Elliot’s waist. Elliot wanted to resist and throw a punch, but the strange female body was overwhelmed by a shock that paralyzed his limbs. He froze in place like a terrified prey, his eyes widening in horror as Michael’s lips approached him rapidly!
{Nooooo! Am I in hell?! This can’t be! I want to go home! I can handle Michael’s daily foolishness, but I cannot handle this! I am Elliot... the extremely manly Elliot... and this is happening to me?!}
Their lips pressed together! However, the moment the kiss landed, those last thoughts pierced through Michael’s mind like a flaming arrow!
Michael’s eyes snapped wide open, staring in utter shock at the trembling, panicked face beneath him, and at the body breathing erratically in his arms...
"Elliot?!"
Cheers and applause erupted throughout the hall before Michael could even process a thing! The band, which had been silent, burst into loud melodies—a mix of classical music and joyful romantic chants. Elliot opened his eyes as well, only to find Michael stiffened above him as if staring at a ghost.
{Wait... don’t tell me... please, I can’t take this... are... are you...?!}
{Oh my God! Did I just kiss my best friend?! How?! I must be dreaming... this isn’t my reality! What is happening here?!}
Before either of them could respond to the other, two massive men appeared. They were clad in heavy black armor radiating a pulsing heat, their faces covered by terrifying iron helmets resembling dragon heads.
"The wedding ceremony is over! The newlyweds must move to the bedchamber to complete the rites and formalize the alliance between humans and demons... Thank you to all the guests!"
A jet-black cloud rose from the ground, out of which stepped a man with dark reddish-brown skin. Twisted horns protruded from his forehead, and small leathery wings grew from his back, grinning with abnormally sharp teeth.
"Wait... what?!"
There was no time to process. The two giant guards charged like beasts, lifting Michael and Elliot into their steel arms like sacks of flour and carrying them off toward the dark stone corridors.
{What’s happening?! I want my mom!}
{Dude, don’t talk like that while I can hear you! This has to be a trick... maybe a super advanced augmented virtual reality test... yeah, definitely high tech!}
{Hahaha... are you insane?! I know your sick mind very well! You definitely enjoyed that cursed kiss, and now you want to use me to satisfy your desires! I’ll chop it off if you come near me!}
{What?! I thought you were a real girl! Besides, you actually look like one, so you can’t blame me! Who put you in this body in the first place?! And also... there’s a puzzle we need to solve, I’ve read about these plots before!}
{They say the wedding chamber... heh... the wedding chamber! What kind of pervert designed this type of puzzle? And why does it feel so unnervingly cold and painfully real?!}
Michael looked around in disbelief as he bounced with the heavy knight’s footsteps, noticing the massive murals and strange engravings on the castle walls. Suddenly, his eyes locked onto a symbol painted in blood and liquid gold: a six-pointed star bleeding profusely, with a fractured skull at its center.
Cold drops of sweat pooled on Michael’s forehead... This symbol! These engravings! This sick, twisted design!
His mind froze, and his gaze met Elliot’s in mid-air. This wasn’t a virtual reality game... nor was it a novel they had read... This was the cursed novel they had written together just to chase cheap clout!
The novel into which they had crammed every weird, absurd, perverted, and illogical idea just to create controversy among readers!
But Michael wasn’t about to be irrational... He surely wouldn’t jump to conclusions. There are definitely many similar symbols out there!
{Don’t worry, Elliot... I won’t touch you anyway, what happened earlier was just a technical glitch!}
Before he could finish his thought, the knights arrived at a giant wing with an ornate iron door. A servant bowed, and the door swung open. The two knights threw them inside with absolute coldness and indifference, sending them tumbling onto the heavy red carpet.
The guard spoke in a deep voice echoing from behind his steel helmet
"There will be three assessors close to the throne standing inside the suite to monitor the wedding night and ensure the consummation is executed properly. If you attempt to escape or stall, an immediate death sentence awaits you on charges of treason against the alliance! And there are magical marksmen watching the window as well."
The heavy iron door slammed shut with a deafening bang that shook the foundations of the room, shattering all hopes of an easy escape.
Elliot began looking around the wing in paranoia and terror at every piece of furniture, wrapping his arms around his female shoulders as he trembled on the floor, muttering hysterically
"No, no... they definitely don’t mean consummating the wedding night as in... dancing, right? This isn’t virtual reality... Michael! Get me out of here right now! Do something and give me my body back!"
Meanwhile, Michael took unsteady steps toward a huge, ornate mirror framed in black. Two images were reflected back
a gorgeous girl with a terrified face, and a handsome young man with sharp features and solid demon horns protruding from his head. Michael pinched and pulled at his face... he could feel the coldness of his fingers and the warmth of his flesh! Everything was completely real!
Then he lifted his hair at the back of his neck, only to find the cursed symbol stamped into his skin: a bloody star and a skull... the seal of the royal contract!
Elliot kept muttering behind him in fear
"Yes, Michael... this is a trick, no doubt. There won’t be any wedding night... these are just illusions. I’ll get my original body back, I’ll build extra muscles, and I won’t let anyone kiss me again..."
Michael collapsed to his knees in front of the mirror, frantically trying to rub the seal off his neck, but his skin only flared red; the symbol didn’t fade.
"No... it can’t be..."
"Michael? What’s wrong with you? Give me my body back, man! And I won’t ask for anything else!"
"..."
"Elliot... I have really bad news."
"What? Is there no way to escape?"
"I don’t think we’re just in trouble..."
"Are you crazy?! Don’t you see where we are?!... If this isn’t trouble, then what is it?!"
"...We’re in bigger trouble... We are cooked."