Little Pink Starfish

The world he once lived in appeared before him.

Though he had now lived far longer in this life, and memories of the previous world had gradually faded, this rare encounter stirred something deeply within Eira.

“That’s right… this is what it looked like.”

A world without magic, where electricity replaced so many things. Towering buildings, cafés, convenience stores, cleanly paved roads, bus stops, cars stalled mid-movement. Eira strolled through the familiar yet distant cityscape, until he suddenly stopped. In the shop window’s reflection, his appearance clashed jarringly with the scenery.

“I look like I’m in cosplay.”

Long silver hair, luxurious winter robes—everything about him was out of place. Eira stood still, staring at himself, trying to recall what he used to look like. All he remembered was having black hair and eyes. He’d died just after turning twenty; maybe that was why the image wouldn’t come.

He tried turning his hair and eye colour black using magic. But even like that, he just looked like the same Eira—Duke of Solar—just with black hair. It felt even more alien, so he quickly changed it back.

“This is kinda fun.”

Silver hair matched pretty much any eye colour. He tried shifting his eye colour through the spectrum, and when they turned red, he stopped. The red eyes stared back with a smile curved into them.

“So, one day I’ll look like this, huh.”

Eira had always taken a deep academic and personal interest in his dragon mate. That meant he was naturally curious about what exactly his lover was. Spending wild days and nights with Yanu had also doubled as joyous research time…

The most memorable discovery: dragons could revive their mate by swallowing them once. The revived mate would bear eyes the same colour as the dragon’s. Which meant that one day, when Yanu eventually swallowed him, his pale grey eyes would turn red.

He’d often wondered what it would be like—exploring the inside of Yanu’s stomach, dying and coming back to life. The hungry look in Yanu’s eyes told him the dragon thought about it too. But even with all his licking and nibbling, Yanu never crossed the line. He knew how precious that extra life was to his mate.

Well, as long as I’m Duke, I could end up in danger any time…

Reading people’s minds with telepathy magic had proven beyond useful. Over the past decade, the number of assassins and spies sent from neighbouring territories had become too many to count. If not for the pebble warning him in advance, he would’ve died several times by now. And after seeing that, Yanu had clearly begun suppressing his own desire to devour him.

“But wouldn’t it be okay to poke around just up to the oesophagus?”

Still, Eira hadn’t abandoned his dream of exploring that forbidden place, even though Yanu had firmly rejected it, saying he might not be able to stop himself. As he was lost in those thoughts, staring into the shop window—

“Found you.”

A familiar voice made Eira turn with a smile. The mismatched appearance of the person walking up to him in this world made him chuckle.

Yanu paused a few steps away, eyes resting on Eira’s red eyes.

“You used magic?”

“Mm-hmm. How is it? Do red eyes suit me?”

“They’re not bad.”

Though he said it nonchalantly, Yanu clearly liked it. He glanced around the empty city and asked,

“So where is this? Somewhere on another continent?”

Eira opened his mouth to reply, then faltered. Wait—had he ever told Yanu about his past life?

He’d explained the pebble, but not his reincarnation. With how busy running the territory was, he’d completely forgotten. At last, Eira confessed.

“This is the world I lived in during my previous life. The Labyrinth of Memory pulled it from my memories.”

“Previous life?”

“I lived here for about twenty years before I died and was reborn in Solar. I’m not the only one. Among labyrinth mages, reincarnated people are pretty common.”

And not just reincarnated—some were possessed, even said to be returnees from the future, though that last one was mostly rumours. For most people, that story would be too outlandish to believe, but Yanu took it in stride. Or maybe, Eira thought, his attention was somewhere else entirely.

Like enjoying some quality time with his lover, for example. Yanu’s red eyes slowly roamed from the top of Eira’s head to his toes.

That’s when it happened. Beep beep, a strange sound rang out, and a massive system window popped up in the middle of the city.

Yanu narrowed his eyes. Eira blinked in surprise.

[You Cannot Leave This Room Unless You ○○]

[Fulfil the condition and escape the Labyrinth of Memory!]

Staring blankly at the floating window, Eira burst out laughing. The language and formatting were unmistakably Pebble’s style.

❄

What’s supposed to go in the blank?

Eira pondered for ages, but couldn’t figure it out. Still, he didn’t feel like he was in any immediate danger. Instead, he looked on the bright side. Since he was already in here, he might as well relax and have some fun. If anything did happen, he was sure Pebble would help him.

More importantly, it was a rare chance for a unique kind of date.

Yanu was here—in his world.

Excited, Eira led Yanu to the nearest department store. With no staff or customers, but all the merchandise intact, it felt like he’d rented the whole place out as a billionaire.

He dragged the always-unimpressed Yanu to the formalwear section. Thanks to the labyrinth, every item fit Yanu perfectly. Dressing his broad, muscular lover in crisp suits turned out better than Eira had even imagined.

“God, it looks so good…”

The sharp tailoring wrapped around Yanu’s tall, lean build, but instead of elegant, the look came off wild and dangerous—like a noir movie gangster. Yanu, who didn’t mind scarves, fumbled with the tie in irritation and yanked it loose, which only made him look better.

Even the sleek watch Eira wrapped around his wrist looked perfect.

Yanu glanced at the ticking metal contraption, then at Eira.

“Are you done now?”

“No! Can you act more like a street thug? Like a delinquent in a back alley?”

Eira imagined sunglasses, tattoos, earrings—the works. In reality, tattooing a dragon was impossible, but in here? Anything went.

As Eira contemplated designs, he realised Yanu had drawn close, casting a shadow over his face.

“You want me to act like a thug?”

Yanu smirked.

Eira nodded before he could stop himself.

Yanu seized him by the nape and kissed him.

Reflexively, Eira’s mouth opened, and the long, thick, now-familiar inhuman tongue slipped inside. Just as things got heated, Eira hesitated.

“Yanu, wait a second…”

What if the condition is ‘have sex’?

He’d programmed the Labyrinth to eject participants the moment they fulfilled the condition. He hadn’t even begun to enjoy himself yet. Eira pushed lightly at Yanu’s chest.

But Yanu didn’t budge—like a boulder.

Instead, he grabbed Eira’s hand, pinned it down, and shoved him back against the wall.

“Mm—mmph…!”

Eira twitched as the thick tongue pushed deeper—into his throat.

Even after more than ten years together, he hadn’t had many experiences like this. With Yanu always acting like he’d devour him, he was usually too preoccupied just keeping up.

In fact, he’d probably been eaten more often than… anything else.

This kind of act—forcing a tongue this deep—wasn’t something a human could manage. Eira was overwhelmed. And, shamefully, aroused.

“Gugh—ghk… ngh!”

The tongue slipped past his throat and began pressing down his oesophagus. Humans had gag reflexes. Eira convulsed, struggling for breath. He tried to turn his head, but Yanu’s iron grip on his jaw held him still.

Eira clung to Yanu’s arm, gasping. The red dragon’s thick, obscene tongue moved obscenely as he violated his throat. It was closer to penetration than kissing. Only when Eira’s vision blurred from lack of air did the tongue finally retreat.

Panting, Eira muttered,

“Yanu… I’ve been wondering. Is your tongue an erogenous zone?”

Yanu snorted, then stuffed a bundle of cloth into Eira’s mouth. Before Eira could even understand what was happening, he bound his open mouth tight with the discarded necktie.

“You said you wanted me to act like a thug, didn’t you?”