ᑌᑎᗪEᖇᗯOᖇᒪᗪ ᗷᗩᒪᒪᖇOOᗰ

@ｊｉｍｉｎ ᵈʳᵃᵍᵒⁿ ᵖʰᵒᵉⁿⁱˣ ʰʸᵇʳⁱᵈ Malik found himself alone, as he often did, and perhaps as he deserved to be. He wasn’t exactly brave, nor was he the charismatic type who could command a room like others in his family. That lack of outward confidence reflected poorly on him—or so he believed. Darden was often well-liked, more socially adept, and better received by those who wanted to be around them. Malik, by contrast, had spent too much time lost in his own head, his focus often shifting to the darker corners of his mind.

The 25 years he’d spent trapped in that personal hell dimension had changed him—or at least, they should have. But standing here now, in his family’s home with his mate by his side, it didn’t feel like he’d changed at all. He couldn’t even step forward and act like the man he believed he was supposed to be. Instead, he stood back, watching the scenarios around him unfold, always calculating where and how he could . The result was always the same: hesitation.

And so, it had happened again. The God Dragon’s lightning strikes had been relentless, burning and searing, their power a punishment both physical and emotional. He still clutched his chest, feeling the ghost of the impact. If his father hadn’t stepped in when he did, he’d likely still bear the imprint of those strikes across his body—a permanent reminder of his failures.

“Malik,” he muttered bitterly, “you idiot. You absolute fool. How could you not stand up for your mate? How could you just stand there and let your brother tear him down like that? How could you not pull away and fight for him?” His voice broke slightly, anger and self-loathing intertwining. “And your son… you just stood there. Watching.”

He sat down heavily on a small bench by the dark waters of the underworld, his thoughts swirling like the shadows that flickered faintly at his feet. His demonic heritage—the shadow demon blood that should have made him strong—was nothing more than a whisper, a flicker of power he didn’t know how to control. The last time he’d tried to use it, he’d nearly fallen into one of Darden’s black holes, pulled back only by his brother’s intervention.

“What kind of demon am I supposed to be,” he murmured, staring into the depths of the water, “if I can’t even protect the people I love most? My mate, my children…” His voice grew quieter. “The ones who matter more than anything to me?”

His mind wandered briefly to Jimin, his mate, and the unresolved weight of the tension between them. Once, Malik had been able to protect him, to be his shield and his strength. Now, it seemed all he could do was watch as things fell apart. The weight of his 25 years in that personal hell dimension bore down on him like a shroud, suffocating, paralyzing. He had spent so long trapped there, and though his body had returned, pieces of his mind had never left.

Malik’s shadows flickered again, more forcefully this time, as if they, too, sensed his internal turmoil. He let out a long, shuddering breath and glanced at the waters, dark and endless, reflecting the storm in his soul. Somewhere in the swirling depths of his thoughts, a quiet resolve began to form.

“No one gets it,” he whispered to himself. “The others don’t see the pressure I’m under. And I can’t let them see it. I should be stronger than this. I should be better.”

His gaze drifted further into the water, as though it held some kind of answer. He thought briefly of the anime he had watched during quieter moments, of characters shedding parts of themselves—pride, fear, hesitation—to grow stronger. A faint, sardonic smile flickered across his lips as he imagined himself in their place.

“This stubborn pride,” he said softly, his voice carrying an edge of determination. “I guess I’ll have to… get rid of it.”

The words echoed in the silence around him, unspoken but heavy with intent. The shadows at his feet swirled more tightly, as though responding to the decision he’d just made. For the first time in a long while, Malik felt ready—not to fight his family or himself, but to confront the part of him that had been holding him back for far too long.

Welcome everyone! Let's explore the dynamics of our role-play using the equation:
R = (K + O + J + M + Ki + GD + T^5 + X) × U × C