Never Echoes Back

Lirian spoke first. “You were good tonight,” he murmured, low and dreamy.“It feels just like the early years,” His voice was a thin thread, stripped of its usual theatrics. “Thanks for having my back. Again.” I smiled faintly, but inside something darker stirred. He still thinks I did it out of nobility. On the first year he had been an easy target — scrawny as a girl, fragile, so obviously unequal to the rest of us that he practically apologized for existing. He had dragged his middle-school bullying straight into the Academy. I, meanwhile, had been kept isolated at home while other noble boys were sent off to school. My father’s iron regime was absolute — every day micro-managed down to the minute: forced sleep, specific meals, grueling training, and methodical punishment for the slightest misstep. All that suppressed aggression needed an outlet, and protecting Lirian gave me the perfect legal justification. After all, the Academy’s Code said we had to protect the weak, didn’t it? I enjoyed the violence. The legality of it. The way I could finally let something feral out. Those strange two years were long behind us now. We had all outgrown that shit. Or at least… I told myself we had. I glanced down at the fresh pink skin already forming at my knuckles.

Summary: A mysterious gift appears in Rem’s room on the first day of the new semester. When your best friend thinks you're his knight in shining armor, but you're just using him as a legal outlet for your rabid violence.

Mature BL 18+ / original fiction

If you’re new here — welcome! This is a dark, slow-burn original BL about a cold-blooded prince and a ruthless gang leader in a world of dragons, magic, and brutal court politics. It’s messy, it’s intense, and it’s far from over.

Never Echoes Back Content Note (18+) Mature themes: drug use (alcohol + recreational substances), emotional tension, messy intimacy (kissing, touching, no full sex), references to past consent issues & trauma, Emotional Abuse / Child Neglect(past),  Descriptions of Physical Injuries, Internalized Self-Loathing, Paranoia & Anxiety, Classism (implied)

“See? You’re shaking. Poor boy… You’ve been carrying this fear all alone.” His expression was gentle, almost loving. “Forgive me, alright? Perhaps I misjudged the moment.” He looked straight into my eyes. “Can you forgive me? Can we be friends?” Part of me desperately wanted the conflict to disappear. I didn’t want to be his friend, but I also didn’t want him as an enemy. The seconds of my hesitation stretched unbearably… I didn’t remember deciding to nod. The moment I did, his hand slid down to my thigh — heavier now, no longer pretending to be merely friendly. “Good boy,” he murmured, voice warm with approval.

Summary: Blessed, predictable solitude among books and memories: for the heir of House Veren, there is no greater luxury. But when an uninvited carriage rolls down the driveway, the midwinter peace is permanently stained. A single visitor steps into the light, and Remmel finds his mood—and his entire future—fundamentally altered.

Mature BL 18+ / original fiction

If you’re new here — welcome! This is a dark, slow-burn original BL about a cold-blooded prince and a ruthless gang leader in a world of dragons, magic, and brutal court politics. It’s messy, it’s intense, and it’s far from over.

Never Echoes Back Content Note (18+) Mature themes: drug use (alcohol + recreational substances), emotional tension, messy intimacy (kissing, touching, no full sex), references to past consent issues & trauma, Emotional Abuse / Child Neglect(past),  Descriptions of Physical Injuries, Internalized Self-Loathing, Paranoia & Anxiety, Classism (implied)

I reached my room without speaking to anyone. Closed the door. Locked it. Everything was as I had left it: quills aligned parallel to the edge, inkwell capped precisely in the upper right corner, parchment stacked in descending order of use. The arrangement was not obsessive—not the rigid grid some demanded—but mine: functional, predictable, comfortable. The space where the Veydrin journals had rested—a book left open to a specific page, my notes scrawled in the margins for him—gaped empty. A dark rectangle of polished wood stared back at me, as though the volume had been lifted only moments ago. The absence pressed against my sternum like a physical weight—not pain, exactly, but a sudden wrongness, a hole in the pattern that made the entire room feel unbalanced. They had taken the last thing.

Summary: The adrenaline of the arena has faded, leaving behind only the cold reality of House Veren. While the rest of the cohort celebrates their survival in the polished clubs of Belvel, Rem finds himself trapped between a performance of perfection and the suffocating silence of his father’s house. In a world where every touch is a lesson and every silence is a punishment, Rem discovers that the cost of his "rebellion" is higher than he anticipated. Some things are stolen; others are simply replaced.

Mature BL 18+ / original fiction

If you’re new here — welcome! This is a dark, slow-burn original BL about a cold-blooded prince and a ruthless gang leader in a world of dragons, magic, and brutal court politics. It’s messy, it’s intense, and it’s far from over.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/75388136/chapters/212906026

I reached the gate. Paused. The arena field stretched before me—the same packed sand we’d drilled on for years, now ringed by shimmering containment runes. At its centre the Gravemaw Titan stood shackled in golden chains of force, scales black as obsidian, six limbs shifting restlessly, maw gaping with rows of serrated teeth. Everyone fell silent; only the low, steady hum remained as the great crystal spun slowly overhead, humming with arcanum—the source every student drew from. The creature's growl vibrated through the ground, up my boots, into my teeth. I dropped the cloak. The black fabric fell away—the protective mantle that shielded me from the El Yel’s drain but also blocked my full entry. That alone raised murmurs. What no one expected was what came next: I let the sabre fall too. The  arena exploded; I can only imagine what it did to Father, but I didn’t look. Unarmed, I walked forward, feeling Father’s glare burn into the back of my skull like focused sunlight. Everyone held their breath.

Summary: Midwinter trials at the Academy are a spectacle of blood and arcanum. While the crowd roars for the Veren Spiral, Rem is playing a different game—one designed to spite his father and mask the hollow ache left by a man from the Ember Row. But when the dust settles and the adrenaline fades, a quiet encounter in the showers suggests that some experiments are worth repeating, even if they don't fit the textbook.

Mature BL 18+ / original fiction

If you’re new here — welcome! This is a dark, slow-burn original BL about a cold-blooded prince and a ruthless gang leader in a world of dragons, magic, and brutal court politics. It’s messy, it’s intense, and it’s far from over.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/75388136/chapters/212733161

After being turned away on Tuesday, Rem is determined to cut the thread for good. But as the shadows in Belvel grow longer and the rumors darker, he realizes that some connections aren't easily severed. A warning in the dark, a phantom heat, and the realization that safety is just another word for a cage.

Mature BL 18+ / original fiction

If you’re new here — welcome! This is a dark, slow-burn original BL about a cold-blooded prince and a ruthless gang leader in a world of dragons, magic, and brutal court politics. It’s messy, it’s intense, and it’s far from over.

Never Echoes Back Content Note (18+) Mature themes: drug use (alcohol + recreational substances), emotional tension, messy intimacy (kissing, touching, no full sex), references to past consent issues & trauma, Emotional Abuse / Child Neglect(past),  Descriptions of Physical Injuries, Internalized Self-Loathing, Paranoia & Anxiety, Classism (implied) Chapter 12 Content Note Warnings: Emotional abuse (mentions of), description of blood and physical trauma (aftermath), heavy angst, internalized dehumanization.

After weeks of careful distance, Rem finally tries to bridge the gap with Lirian. The next night, they end up at Gair’s club together. What starts as a casual evening quickly spirals — too much to drink, too many eyes, too many moments that feel like they could tip everything sideways. Rem navigates the chaos with his usual composure… until the night forces him to confront exactly how much he’s changed, and how much he still wants things he isn’t sure he’s allowed to keep.

Mature BL 18+ / original fiction

If you’re new here — welcome! This is a dark, slow-burn original BL about a cold-blooded prince and a ruthless gang leader in a world of dragons, magic, and brutal court politics. It’s messy, it’s intense, and it’s far from over.

Chapter 11 Content Note (18+) Mature themes: drug use (alcohol + recreational substances), emotional tension, messy intimacy (kissing, touching, no full sex), references to past consent issues & trauma. No violence or attempted non-con in this chapter. Please take care of yourself.