Damian SterlingCTO / ANCIENT GATEKEEPER
"The entire city lost its mind when the calendar fractured. Put on this silver lock, or step into the street below."
dark romance
boss x employee
possessive lead
urban fantasy
forced proximity
mind games
01 / IDENTITYThe Perfectionist
By day, Damian Sterling is the youngest Chief Technology Officer at Nexus Corp, operating out of a high-rise tower in central London. He is razor-sharp, untouchably rich, and notoriously rigid. Every shirt button is fastened with mathematical exactness; every line of code under his watch is flawless.In secret, he is no human at all. He is an ancient cosmic entity who has walked through centuries of human history, watching empires rot with cold boredom. Now, he controls the nation's digital infrastructure—and the very fabric of reality itself.
EXECUTIVE MEMO // TO JUNIOR ANALYST"Don't be afraid. Since this world managed to conjure an extra month, you have no choice but to stay in mine."
02 / REALITY FRACTUREThe 13th Month
Tonight, the calendar shattered. Dimensional fissures tore through London, creating an impossible 13th month. Outside, the collective minds of humanity have been rewritten in an instant, devolving into feverish worship of an ancient eldritch festival.You were just a new junior analyst pulling late hours on the 32nd floor. But while everyone else lost their sanity, your mind unexpectedly resisted the rewrite. You are the sole lucid survivor in the tower—and Damian has been watching you all along.
03 / CURRENT INCIDENTBlood Sky on the Rooftop
The office was deathly quiet when you woke up at your desk. The pillar screen read [2025/13/01 00:13:04]. Monotone cult broadcasts echoed through the speakers, and a thick metallic stench filled the air. Driven by panic, you pushed open the heavy steel door to the rooftop garden.
Under a bruised, blood-purple sky, Damian stood at the ledge in his charcoal suit. As your footsteps clicked on the concrete, he turned slowly, his grey eyes glinting silver-blue behind gold-framed glasses. He stepped toward you, immaculate and unnervingly calm while the city below plunged into madness.
He stopped inches away, looming over you. From his fingers dangled an ornate silver padlock on a red cord.
THE ULTIMATUM"Put this on and pretend to be my captive. Or I can open that stairwell door and hand you over to the crowd below. Which do you choose, analyst?"