~Leo~
Leo's eyes snapped open, and he let out a loud gasp. His chest heaved, and his lungs burned as if he'd been underwater too long. Cold stone pressed against his back, etched with glowing runes that pulsed like neon under his palms.
Three pairs of eyes stared down at him, and he gasped, sat up immediately, his heart racing, then froze when he saw his hands. They were pale, almost translucent, covered in shimmering runes, and the light on the runes was in sync with his heartbeat.
He traced the light to a warm golden glow pulsing in his chest, and when he touched it, he expected pain, but it was only warm. "What the actual hell?" His voice echoed higher than he remembered, and he grabbed his hair.
It was long, white, silky, spilling past his shoulders. His hoodie and brown pants were replaced by a flowing tunic of silver-threaded fabric that shimmered faintly. "Who… " He scrambled to his feet, legs wobbling, and took in his surroundings, his eyes meeting those of the unfamiliar strangers.
The men didn't move, just stared at him, and as he looked around, he noticed he was at the center of a massive stone circle, runes carved deep and glowing with the same eerie light as his hands. Beyond it, towering spires of crystal jutted from the earth. It looked too real, too perfect, like a game to him.
He ignored the men and scratched his head, letting his gamer brain kick into overdrive. "Okay, okay, think. Are you alive? VR glitch? Modded server? Freaky coma dream?" He pinched himself and winced at the sharp sting. It wasn't a dream.
The runes on his hands flared brighter, sending a jolt of heat up his arms, and he stumbled back, nearly tripping over the edge of the stone circle. "Am I in heaven?" He placed a hand on his racing chest. He'd played many games about reincarnation, and he thought he was assuming, but then he paused again. "Isekai'd? No way. No way," his pulse raced, and memories of the lightning strike flashed back.
He'd been dying, hadn't he? So why was he here, in some fantasy LARP gone wild? And three men were staring at him.
He pressed a hand to his chest, where the glow pulsed stronger, and heaved a deep sigh. "If this is a game, where's the tutorial? The HUD? Come on, give me something." But there was no health bar, no quest log, just the hum of the runes beneath him.
Was he thinking too much? He groaned, ran a hand through his hair. He had no idea where he was or why his body felt so wrong. All he knew was he needed answers, and he needed them now.
Suddenly, one of the men clapped his hands and cleared his throat. Leo turned and faced the men he'd been ignoring, thinking they didn't exist, and one by one, he took in their appearances. As their eyes met, he was hit by a wave of scents, extremely overwhelming.
Pine and storm, smoke and iron, amber and spice. They hit him all at once, making his knees weak. His eyes widened, and he stumbled back, overwhelmed. Pheromones, his instincts whispered, though he didn't understand how he knew. His new body was reacting to them, and it terrified him.
The first man, cloaked in dark fabric that rippled despite the still air, had sharp features and molten eyes. He had jet-black hair cropped short, streaked with red. He carried the pine and storm scent that commanded attention.
The second man was lean, muscular, and towering, but not as much as the first. His tousled brown hair fell into azure eyes. Like his eyes, he wore shimmering black and azure robes and held a jaded sword. He carried the smoke and iron scent.
The last man, who carried the amber scent, was as tall as the first, with lean, muscular features and beautiful amber-gold eyes. His obsidian curly hair was as long as Leo's. Unlike the other two, he wasn't looking at Leo, instead fixing his eyes on the stone.
Leo's body shuddered as he realized what they were. Alphas. Somehow, he knew, just like he knew about pheromones. "Hey, uh…" his voice cracked. "What are you guys? Cosplayers? Comic-Con nearby?" He forced a laugh, but it was out of desperation.
The cloaked man's brow furrowed as his eyes met Leo's. "Cos…players?" He sighed. "You speak strangely, omega, and why are you shouting?"
The tousled-haired man chuckled. "Leave him alone, Kael. Look at him," he turned and faced Leo. "How did we even get fated with this omega? Ryn, or what was his name again?"
Leo's eyes widened in shock at the name, and his body nodded in agreement to it. Ryn, that was this body's name. "Shouting? I just got zapped by lightning!" he snapped, and just then, the marks on his body started glowing. He looked at the men and noticed they had the same marks. "What's with these marks? Why do you have them too? And why am I…"
The man with tousled brown hair chuckled. "Oh, omega, you sound so innocent."
"Veyr, now's not the time to talk about that," the third man with obsidian hair said, pointing toward the runes surrounding Ryn. "We were summoned here for a reason," he revealed his hand, showing a large circular mark glowing, matching the shaped rune in Ryn's chest.
"What's this? Where am I? And why do I…" He cut off, blushing as the heat in his core surged under their gazes. Their scents were too much, clouding his thoughts.
He heaved a deep sigh, rubbed his hands together, and looked from one man to another. "This has to be a game," he slapped his face and looked at the three men, who stared with confusion etched on their faces.
The man named Veyr, with brown hair, touched his neck and groaned. "Sylas is right. We were called here for a reason, and that's him. Those are Aethermarks," he muttered.
"Aether-what?" Leo's head spun, and he chuckled, waving a hand at them. "Look, I don't know who Ryn is. I was just getting tacos, then bam," he paused, clapping his hands together. "Lightning struck, and now I'm here. Someone explain, please! Is this the afterlife?"
Kael stepped forward, his cloak brushing the rune-covered ground. "I don't know what you're trying to do, omega, but you summoned us here, and now that the aether has claimed you, you're bound to us. Get your act together, especially since you're in front of three alphas."
Leo's stomach twisted at Kael's harsh tone. The way he spoke sent shivers down his spine, forcing him to submit to his tone.
Omega? Alphas? He had no idea what that meant, but he knew he wasn't supposed to be there. He didn't know these guys, this place, or what was happening to him. "Look, I didn't sign up for this…" He paused as his chest burned, and he screamed. "Screw this," he pushed past Kael and bolted.
He sprinted out of the stone circle, dodging crystal shards, and found himself in a courtyard with people surrounding him.
The world blurred as he looked around and he heard the Voices calling out.
"Isn't that Ryn, the omega? What's happening to him?"
"Oh, I heard he became a rune bearer!"
"He has Aethermarks now and is bound to alphas."
"Has he gone insane? Why is he running like that?"
Leo ignored everyone and ran as if his life depended on it. The runes on his chest and hands grew hotter, and with each step, he felt the burn. He had no idea where he was running, only that he couldn't stop, and soon he found himself in a bustling market, stalls overflowing with glowing herbs.
The world was a blur, and he could barely see anything, yet he pushed past people. Too many faces blurred together, too many fingers pointed, too many voices spoke at once.
He tried to speak and ask questions, but suddenly his legs grew heavy, and he was unable to move. The crowd closed in, their voices louder in his ears.
He groaned, covered his ears as the world tilted, and then his body gave out, and he fell to the ground.
The last thing he saw was a sea of faces, and then everything went dark.