'Even if the way you speak has changed, you're still that snot-nosed brat who once wiped his face on my shirt,'
thought Lumino, a smirk tugging briefly at the corner of his lips.
But the humor was short-lived. The information swirling around him was too heavy to ignore.
A war… in the desolate region of Letruish? The world that sparsely populated nowadays? He wasn't sure if it was madness or simply desperation. Either way, it was no longer his fight—not after everything.
"Isn't war… fun?" The voice. That voice again. Whispering like silk, laced with venom.
A low ringing buzzed in his ears, persistent and unnerving. That same disembodied voice, sultry and distant, had been echoing more often lately.
A woman's whisper—Seraphine's, he was certain of it. But now wasn't the time to spiral.
Lumino blinked, forcing his mind back to the present.
Kael furrowed his brow, watching him closely. "You look pale."
"I'm fine," Lumino replied quickly, too quickly.
If he told Kael he'd been hearing the voice of Lady Seraphine whispering warlike temptations into his mind, it would fracture the already fragile trust between them.
After everything, Lumino doubted Kael's loyalty could survive another blow. Worse, he wasn't sure if he himself could.
'There's something missing, in my memory,' Lumino thought quietly.
'Something I've forgotten. Either Caroline stole it, or Seraphine did. But whatever it is… it left a hole inside me.'
A silence stretched until Alira's voice broke through.
"Do you really think they will welcome us when we get there?" Her voice trembled slightly, masking worry with curiosity.
"Of course," Bandi replied, casually adjusting the strap on his arm. "I invited you. No one will question a decision from me."
"But what if they howl at me in rage?" Alira raised an eyebrow, partly joking, partly not.
"We are, after all, bringing Ronovan with us. We just kidnapped their elder, didn't we?" said Kael.
"Why would they be angry at you, miss?" Bandi grinned. "You're the one who managed to steal the mighty elder of the vampire race. That makes you a legend."
"If you put it like that—"
"Wasn't it me, who will make the werewolves angry?" The sudden interruption came from Lumino, sharp and unexpected.
Bandi paused mid-step. He turned slowly, expression darkening. "You're right... Your scent—it's strong again."
Lumino averted his gaze, the muscles in his jaw clenching tight. Seraphine's voice, sharp and bright, cut through the air.
"War is thrilling, isn't it? Seize this chance. Deepen your bond with the Orb Eternum."
"Lumino!"
He snapped out of it. The world came back into focus—the trees, the cracked earth beneath their feet, and the three pairs of eyes locked on him.
Alira's voice was tense. "You're muttering. Are you sure you're okay?"
"What?" Lumino blinked. "Y-yeah. I'm alright."
But he wasn't. Apparently, he'd been whispering without realizing. They'd been walking toward the werewolf encampment for a while, and he hadn't been present in his own mind.
"We're almost there," Alira said nervously. "So I had to check on you."
Being near Alira made his head throb even more. Something about her presence called to him—no, to something within him. From beneath her white coat… a familiar pulse that been calling him.
"Alira," he said, voice more strained than he'd meant it to be.
"Yes, Lumino?"
"How long have you had Lady Seraphine's book?"
--
A chill wrapped around them.
All eyes turned to Alira. Even Kael that still hearing Bandi mid-sentence explaining Leitruish's geography, stopped cold and stared.
"Book? What book?" Kael asked.
"The cursed spell book?" Bandi chimed in. "Is that the one with dark crimson cover, said to hold a hundred forbidden spells?"
'Shit—how does Lumino know?!' Alira panicked.
'Yes, I took it… I wanted to read it, but I didn't tell them because I still can't decipher the spells inside…'
'There's no way I can admit that now!'
But Lumino didn't look away. His stare was fixed, unreadable, but piercing. Alira felt like his eyes were burning holes through her coat.
"I… I did find it," she admitted eventually.
She reached inside her coat and dragged the book free. Its dark crimson cover gleamed under the sparse sunlight piercing through the forest canopy. Bandi gasped, placing a hand over his mouth in awe.
"No way. It's real?" he whispered. "I thought it was a myth."
Kael leaned closer, eyes narrowed in fascination. "This is Lady Seraphine's spell book?"
"I picked it up from Caroline's ashes," Alira admitted. "I thought it might help… with the Orb. Or with the spell connecting Lumino and Kael."
"Connecting?" Bandi's tone sharpened. Bandi was confused, but Alira paid no attention.
"I thought that was the reason why you two pulled me out," Alira said plainly. "To help you two. I wanted to keep my promise. That's why I brought it."
"Would you mind if I... see it?"" Lumino asked, quietly. His harsh look appeared to return to normal.
Alira hesitated, then handed the book over.
Lumino took it gently. His fingers, rough against the worn spine, trembled. He opened it, the dry rustle of pages filling the air, a faint sulfur and herb scent rising.
He flipped, each page thick, ink-stained, until one stopped him. Runes—unreadable, even to him.
'That's why I couldn't decipher it either,' thought Alira.
'Unlike Seraphine's other books… these runes are sealed.'
Lumino's expression changed. He closed the book with a sudden snap and handed it back to Alira. Bandi made a disappointed noise behind him.
Kael had been watching Lumino carefully, his eyes following the subtle movement of Lumino's hand as he gripped the side of his head, specifically his left temple.
Standing close by, Alira noticed something odd. She blinked and rubbed her eyes, realizing his left eye had turned red for a split second. Her breath caught;
something was changing, and it terrified her.
--
"We're here."
Bandi's voice rang out with a hint of satisfaction. He was carrying Ronovan slung over his back. Yet, none of them reacted. He could tell—they were all lost in their own thoughts, each buried deep in silence.
'Seriously? I'm the one who guided them here. I even carried this guy. And they're just ignoring me like I'm not even here?' Bandi sulked inwardly.
He was tempted to hurl an insult right in their faces. From his perspective, it was like they'd all been swallowed by something invisible—the weight of their own minds.
They didn't even look like friends to him. And yet… maybe they were.
'That last incident must've left a weird air between them,' Bandi mused.
He considered himself an observer, and naturally, he picked up on the subtle shifts in energy. Alira seemed preoccupied, chewing on some silent concern. Lumino kept clutching the side of his head, visibly disoriented. And Kael... Kael was staring into space, his gaze blank and unfocused.
'Aren't they the kind of people who are easily misunderstood thing?' Bandi thought. It wouldn't take much to divide them.
"So this is the werewolf den?" Kael spoke up at last.
At least one of them wasn't ignoring him. Bandi had expected the guy to be cold and gruff, given the impression he gave off at first glance. But Kael was surprisingly mature—more so than the other two.
Just like before...
"So you're saying the vampire population has dwindled and split into two factions?" Kael had asked earlier.
Bandi had nodded. That conversation began with Kael inquiring about the state of the world 190 years after the chaos brought by the Cursed Witch.
"You're right. Given how stable things are around here, at least for the werewolves... They hid themselves during the chaos," Bandi had explained.
"So Letruish isn't completely abandoned," Kael murmured, still looking off into the empty air. "Ah... this must be part of my world's system. You probably can't see it."
"I see..." Bandi had thought Kael sounded a little insane for a second. "So you're not from here?"
"No... I'm from Reminvoyage. Alira is the one originally from Letruish."
"What about Lumino? He's not from here either?"
"Yeah... something like that." Kael's eyes flicked to the guy behind him.
"I can't believe the theory about alternate worlds and multidimensional existence turned out to be true," Bandi muttered, eyes wide.
"Yeah, well... it's not like it's a new thing. But people in Letruish are kinda... uninformed. A bit primitive, really."
"You're not wrong," Bandi laughed awkwardly.
"If you'd like, I can explain it," Kael had
offered.
And so he did—laying out how multiple worlds existed, each tucked within different dimensions. His explanation was surprisingly easy to grasp.
'So many dimensions... who would've thought?'
"So you live in one of the worlds under the Reminvoyage dimension?"
"There are three worlds in that dimension. I'm from DF-1."
"What about Letruish? Do you know what dimension this is?"
Kael paused, as if searching through a system only he could access. His eyes glazed again, sifting through unseen data.
"I just found out. My system's only recently recovered... This is the Terafisa Dimension." He fell silent again before continuing. "There are two worlds in this dimension—Letruish and one called Livqas."
Another beat of silence.
"That other world... it's already destroyed. At least, that's what the system says."
A chill ran down Bandi's spine.
'That's terrifying...'
They had continued discussing systems and hunters when Lumino's sharp voice suddenly cut through, asking Alira about the spellbook.
Now, back in the present, it was clear: Lady Seraphine's spellbook was more dangerous than they'd expected. Each of them had become trapped in their own thoughts because of it.
"There's a meeting chamber ahead. Let's head there," Bandi said.
Kael nodded. The group began to follow him deeper into the werewolf den. They passed a training ground where werewolves honed their skills. The moment felt frozen—none of them spoke.
'Just past that area... that's Terasvari's home,' Bandi recalled.
She was the oldest living vampire, her true age unknown. Fierce, temperamental, and relentless, she had raised Bandi in her own harsh way.
'I wonder how she's doing. Did she know I left to spy on Clementine? She's probably still locked away inside.'
Hopefully, she wouldn't show up—especially if she encountered Lumino, who radiated a certain Lady Seraphine-like pheromone. Bandi dreaded what would happen if that woman came crashing into the situation.
Eventually, they arrived at a curtained-off space—the meeting hall.
"We're here!" Bandi announced.
He pushed aside the curtain, revealing Ozrik lounging with his feet propped up on the table.
"Well, well... our hero returns?" Ozrik smirked, eyes glinting with sarcasm.
Then his gaze shifted to the trio entering with Bandi. "And you brought humans too, huh?"
"You're back?" a calming voice joined in—Rodeo appeared, slipping through the other side of the curtain. His presence was calmly to Bandi.
"You done spying?" Rodeo asked.
"Yeah. And I brought this," Bandi said, letting Ronovan's unconscious body slide off his back onto the ground.
Ozrik's and Rodeo's eyes widened in unison.
"This little bastard," Ozrik sneered, grinning wickedly.