Morning came slowly,
The birds were the first to sense the shift.
From the trees above, strange howling cries echoed through the forest—low, stretched sounds that didn't belong to normal birds. It was as if the forest was warning itself. Leaves trembled, branches creaked, and the air thickened with a quiet tension that pressed against the skin.
Yoon stirred.
Her eyes fluttered open, sharp and alert almost immediately. She turned her head and saw Raven still lying beside her on the grass, his breathing steady, his dark hair spread against the earth like shadows resting on shadows.
For a moment, she watched him.
Then she looked ahead.
The ancient home—hidden behind a living shadow barrier—stood silently in the distance, its presence heavy, ancient, and breathing. The shadow that bonded it looked unnatural, like darkness stitched into the world.
Yoon rose to her feet without a sound.
She stepped closer to the shadow and raised her hands, moving them in slow, deliberate circular motions. Her fingers glowed faintly, tracing invisible symbols in the air. The darkness responded immediately—rippling, bending, folding inward like a curtain being pulled aside.
The shadow split open.
Yoon inhaled sharply and turned back.
"Raven," she whispered urgently.
His eyes opened instantly, as if he had never truly been asleep. He followed her gaze and saw the entrance now standing open, breathing like a wound in space.
He stood up and bowed his head slightly to Yoon—not in thanks, but in acknowledgment.
They entered.
Inside the forest beyond the shadow, everything felt heavier. Sounds were muted. Even their footsteps felt swallowed by the earth. They slowed their pace and hid behind the thick trunk of a large, ancient tree, its roots twisting like frozen serpents around the soil.
From there, they could see the hut.
And at that exact moment—
Something changed inside me.
I was sitting when it began.
A strange pressure built beneath my skin, starting from my hands. I stared down in confusion as my nails began to grow slowly, darkening, sharpening, extending far beyond what was human.
My breath hitched.
I tried to stand—
But a powerful force slammed me back down, pinning me as if the ground itself had claimed me. Pain rippled through my veins. My chest burned. My vision blurred, then sharpened into something cruel and vivid.
My eyes changed.
The world became louder. Brighter. Angrier.
I surged to my feet and rushed toward the door.
It burst open with a violent crack.
The man stood there—and the moment he saw me, he recoiled. Fear flickered across his ancient eyes. He stepped back instinctively, as though standing before something far greater than he had expected.
Behind me, Jan saw everything.
Without hesitation, she turned and ran straight into the hut, her footsteps frantic, her breath uneven.
For a split second, I looked at the man.
Then I looked at the hut Jan had entered.
Something inside me shifted.
I turned away.
My eyes fixed on the forest beyond the clearing.
Slowly, deliberately, I began to walk.
The man followed behind me, silent. When we reached the edge of the clearing, he stopped. His gaze sharpened, focusing on a specific part of the forest.
He raised his hand.
And pointed.
Raven stiffened instantly.
"It's like someone told them we're here," he muttered, his voice low and tense.
Yoon's breath caught.
"She's coming for us."
Fear flickered across her face as she glanced at the sky. "Raven… the sun hasn't set yet."
Raven followed her gaze.
The sky had darkened unnaturally, clouds crowding together like something was forcing them into place. The light thinned, stretched, weakened.
"Oh no…" Raven whispered. "What should we do?"
He clenched his jaw.
"I could jump. I could move through the trees—but not with you. And she might jump too once she sees us."
Yoon lifted her eyes back to the sky, her heart pounding.
"Raven… she's coming closer."
He peered through the branches.
I was moving fast now, closing the distance, my steps unnatural, silent, predatory. The man stood behind me like a servant watching his queen.
Then—
I saw him.
A figure hiding among the trees.
A face I knew.
A vampire.
This is evil, a voice inside me hissed. This must be destroyed.
My teeth grew, sharp and aching. My fingers extended further, claws glinting faintly in the dim light.
I crouched, ready to jump.
Then—
Something splashed against my skin.
I froze.
The sun finally dipped below the horizon.
Pain exploded through my body.
It was instant and unbearable—like fire and ice tearing through my veins at the same time. I screamed silently as my strength wavered, my vision spinning.
Before I could fall—
Something wrapped around me.
A cloth.
Dark, thick, heavy.
Arms caught me.
Strong arms.
Raven.
The world blurred. My body went slack as drowsiness flooded in, pulling me down into darkness.
I dozed off.
Raven didn't hesitate.
He lifted me into his arms and turned, moving faster than the eye could follow—leaping through branches, shadows bending around him like obedient servants.
But before he could disappear completely—
Minho stepped out.
Blocking the path.
Raven stopped.
Behind them, Yoon laughed softly.
"Don't worry," she said calmly. "I can handle this."
Raven didn't argue.
In a blink, he vanished—branches swaying violently as he disappeared into the forest, carrying me with him like a shadow escaping the light.
Minho growled.
His transformation was instant.
His nails grew long and deadly. His teeth extended, sharp and gleaming. His eyes darkened with hunger and fury.
Yoon watched him with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.
"Are you done?" she asked coolly.
Minho lunged.
Yoon raised her hand.
Energy burst from her fingers, invisible yet crushing. Minho froze mid-air, his body suspended as if time itself had betrayed him.
"I would have killed you," Yoon said softly, stepping closer. "But not yet."
She turned and ran.
The moment she released the spell, Minho dropped to the ground, landing hard. He groaned, then pushed himself up, rage burning in his eyes.
He turned sharply to the man who had been watching everything in silence.
"I thought you were ancient wizard ," Minho snapped. "Whatever you are—why didn't you attack him?"
The man looked at Minho calmly.
"I can't attack my master," he replied.
Minho froze.
"Your master?" he asked slowly. "Who is your master?"
The man smiled—an old, knowing smile.
He turned back toward Minho, his voice lowering.
"He is the son of my master—inheritance walking in skin. To hurt him is to bruise the root, to spill the water that taught me thirst."
Minho's breath caught.
"The master of my master still watches through him," the man continued. "Old eyes. Older silence."
Minho stood there, stunned, confusion written across his face.
Then, without another word, he turned and walked away—still glancing back at the man who remained standing, unmoving, as darkness slowly swallowed the forest again.