Heems is an energy vampire, a parasite. Working as a doctor on dwarf planet Eris, Heems feeds on xeir unknowing hosts -- Eris's sickly hospital patients -- by draining their energy with a single touch. Caused by a tragic glitch in xeir meatware, the brain implant given to Eris's citizens at birth to enable them to endure the planetoid's high radiation levels, Heems's rare condition doesn't seem to have a cure. That is, until xe tries to make a host out of Shiro, a wily thief who turns out to be the only man on Eris immune to Heems's parasitism. When a mysterious sickness starts to kill Eris's citizens, Heems and Shiro search out the true nature of meatware, setting them on a collision course with powerful organisations desperate to keep hidden Eris's biggest secret: that parasites can be hosts too. 39,788 WORDS ☉ Energy vampirism ☉ LGBT+ romance ☉ Non-binary main character ☉ Cyberpunk Welcome to my ONC 2024 book! This book combines the following prompts: 17. Your curse is to love so much and crave love more than life, but never be loved. Those who dare to love you will be subjected to the worst of fates. 95. I will become as monstrous as I must. 96. Some days I don't exist; my bed becomes a casket. ~~☉~~ Notes on Gender in this Novella: Heems uses xe/xeir pronouns. This book is written in first person so don't worry if you're new to these pronouns since there aren't so many in the book. Content Warning: This book is rated mature. It contains potentially triggering topics such as extreme hunger, chronic debilitating illnesses, suicide ideation, drug misuse, sexual intercourse while under the influence of recreational and medicinal drugs.