It took a while before Adrian came to his senses. It appeared that Devon and him are still alive. He could still feel Devon’s warm body behind him and he could feel his hot breath on the skin of his neck. The only reason that drove him into instant panic was that he couldn’t see anything. And it hurts… there was pain everywhere on his body. "What happened? What’s happening?” Adrian started to ask frantically.

"We are inside the painting now,” Devon explained. His voice sounded calm but also sad. “Now you will always be with me. You won’t be separated from me again," he whispered. Adrian couldn’t say anything back to him as he was slowly overwhelmed with pain all over his body. "You are mine now. You are forever mine," Devon whispered again.

Adrian realised that he was crying. His tears were flowing nonstop and his eyes hurt so damn much. "Devon, it hurts,” he said. Even speaking caused so much pain. “It’s so dark," he said again. He was afraid. He was constantly in fear and anxiety. But he couldn’t do anything about it. His movements were restricted. It seemed that he had become a puppet. Only Devon could move and manipulate his body to his heart’s content.

Devon kissed Adrian on one of his wet, tear-stricken cheeks. "It's okay, you'll get used to it. The pain won't end, Adrian. But don't worry. Soon, you'll get used to it,” he said to comfort Adrian. It was akin to him comforting a complaining child. But it didn’t make Adrian feel any better.

Adrian started to cry among his already overflowing tears that he had no control of. Adrian couldn’t see so he had no idea that the tears he was crying were blood red. They were bloody tears. He also had no idea that the same crimson-coloured tears were also overflowing from Devon’s eyes. Devon kept kissing him on his neck and cheeks. "I love you, Adrian. I love you the most in the world," he said the words that he had always said. Adrian couldn’t help but lament that this ‘world’ that Devon talked about is distorted and deranged. This is not love, Adrian thought to himself. But then again, what is love?

Only Devon could understand that love is pain. In the painting, they bled nonstop and they would never run out of blood. They would both be in eternal pain. Devon would cry non-stop, never running out of tears. Adrian would never be able to open his eyes again. Devon could always manipulate Adrian’s movements and took him to the dark room with the bed which was hidden in the painting. It was a room that wasn’t really a room. It was another dimension hiddenly formed for them in the painting. In the room, only Devon is in control. Adrian would forever be blind and unable to move on his own. They were still bleeding when Devon was fucking Adrian on the bed in the room from time to time. Their blood circulated in the painting, never running out and never stopping to flow, giving life to the painting. It was the ultimate price they had to pay for their deals with the devil.

🥀🥀🥀