Vol 1: The Weird Building of Misty City
Chapter 1: The Weird Building & Non-Human Roommates
The fog in Misty City was thicker than ever, clinging to Leah's skin like a cold, damp blanket. She dragged her broken suitcase up the stone path, the wheel squeaking mournfully—one more thing that'd fallen apart in her life. Three months unemployed, dumped by her boyfriend of three years (who cheated with his cousin, of all people), she had 500 yuan in her pocket and a flyer she'd torn from a telephone pole: "8th-floor room for rent, 500 yuan/month—no fuss, no questions (if you mind 'special' roommates, keep walking)."
She'd thought "special" meant night-shift nurses or conspiracy theorists. How wrong she was.
The old wooden door creaked open before she knocked, releasing a bizarre mix of sandalwood, saltwater, and damp earth. On the faded velvet sofa sat a man with golden hair and eyes like molten amber, sipping from a crystal goblet filled with scarlet liquid. He wore a tailored black suit, his skin pale as moonlight, and regarded her with a look that said "you're not supposed to be here."
"Human?" His voice was cold, sharp enough to cut through the fog. "This building doesn't rent to normies."
Leah froze. Before she could stammer out a response, a fluffy blur darted past her, snatching the whole-wheat bread from her jacket pocket.
"Hey! That's my last meal!" She chased it to the corner, where the thief skidded to a halt. It was a boy around 17, with messy brown hair, pointy wolf ears, and a bushy tail tucked between his legs. His big brown eyes were filled with guilt.
"Sorry! So sorry!" He bowed repeatedly. "The full moon's tomorrow—I can't control my hunger! I'll buy you ten loaves to pay you back!"
As if that wasn't enough, a pair of shimmering white mermaid tails popped out from behind the kitchen door. A woman with seaweed-like hair leaned out, grinning. She wore a top made of iridescent shells, and water dripped from her hair onto the floor.
"New human sister!" She waved enthusiastically. "I'm Mila! Just caught fresh fish—want some? I'll steam it for you, extra ginger!"
Leah stared at the vampire, the werewolf, and the mermaid. She pinched her arm hard—yep, this was real. She took a deep breath. When life hits rock bottom, might as well dive into chaos.
"I'm Leah, a manga artist." She held up her suitcase. "I can pay three months' rent upfront. Please—let me stay."
The golden-haired man set down his goblet. "Kaelen. Landlord. Rules: no garlic in the kitchen, no prying into others' business, no screaming at 2 a.m. when Lucas's ears pop out. Got it?"
"Got it!" Leah nodded frantically.
Lucas bounced over, his wolf ears twitching. "I'm Lucas! Drummer extraordinaire! I'll protect you from zombies—promise!"
Mila slithered over, her tail leaving tiny puddles. "Come on, I'll show you your room! The top floor has the best view of the fog—great for drawing!"
As Leah followed Mila up the creaky stairs, she glanced back at Kaelen. He was already scrolling through his phone, but she could've sworn his lips twitched into a faint, annoyed smirk.
Maybe this "haunted house" wasn't a curse. Maybe it was the adventure she'd been needing.
Halfway up the stairs, a bloodcurdling wail echoed from the fog below. Mila froze, her smile fading. "That's a Xiangxi zombie," she whispered. "They've been wandering the streets lately. Kaelen says they're hunting… humans."
Chapter 2: The Vampire's Sunlight Phobia & a Manga Emergency
The fog that had clung to Misty City like a damp blanket for decades lifted at dawn, leaving the sky a harsh, pale blue—something Leah had never seen in the month she'd lived in the ivy-shrouded building. She stared at the sunlight slanting through the window, panic flaring as she grabbed her manga portfolio. The annual Misty City Comic Con was in two hours, and her final draft was due to the editor by noon.
"Kaelen!" she banged on the vampire landlord's door, her knuckles rapping against the dark oak carved with strange runes. "I need to leave—can you unlock the front gate? The fog's gone, and the bus stop's a ten-minute walk away!"
There was no answer, only a faint, pained groan from inside. Leah twisted the doorknob—Kaelen never locked his door, a quirk of his centuries-old arrogance—and pushed it open. The room was draped in heavy black curtains, but a sliver of sunlight slipped through a tear, hitting Kaelen where he lay on the velvet couch.
He was curled into a ball, his pale skin blistering faintly where the light touched it, his usually sharp red eyes dull and half-lidded. His black coat was thrown aside, revealing a silver chain around his neck with a tiny jade talisman—a Chinese charm, Leah realized, something the previous tenant must have left behind.
"Kaelen?" she knelt beside him, her voice soft. "What's wrong?"
"The fog is the barrier," he muttered, his voice raspy. "It hides us from the sun's true glare. Without it… my body can't stand even this weak human sunlight."
Leah's mind raced. She'd seen Kaelen step outside on foggy days, never fazed, but she'd forgotten vampires' most basic weakness—sunlight. She glanced at the talisman on his neck, then at the portfolio in her hand. Her manga was her ticket to getting out of the cramped studio she rented in the building, but she couldn't leave Kaelen like this.
"Lucas! Mila!" she yelled down the hallway, her voice echoing through the empty building. "We need help!"
The werewolf drummer skidded into the room a minute later, his shaggy brown hair sticking up in all directions, a half-eaten bag of chips in his hand. "What's up? I was practicing my new drum solo—oh shit, Kaelen's burning!"
Mila followed, her iridescent tail swishing as she glided across the floor (she'd taken to wrapping her tail in a silk skirt to move around the building). Her big blue eyes widened when she saw Kaelen. "The sunlight! We have to shield him!"
Lucas tossed his chips aside and rummaged in his backpack, pulling out a pair of knitting needles and a ball of gray yarn. "I'll make a sunhat! My grandma taught me to knit for the pack's pups!" He began clicking the needles together furiously, but the yarn slipped through his clumsy fingers, resulting in a lopsided mess with more holes than fabric.
Mila hurried to the kitchen and returned with a bucket of seawater, which she splashed into the air. A thin mist formed, but it evaporated almost instantly in the sunlight, leaving water stains on the floor. "Oops," she said, wringing her hands. "Freshwater doesn't work as well as saltwater for my mist magic."
Leah's gaze fell on the jade talisman around Kaelen's neck. She'd seen old Chinese movies where talismans ward off evil spirits—maybe it could ward off sunlight too? She carefully peeled it off his neck and pressed it to the blister on his cheek.
A faint golden glow emanated from the talisman, and Kaelen's hissing stopped. The blister faded, and he blinked up at her, his eyes clearing. "That… works," he said, surprised. "Where did you get this?"
"Found it in the junk drawer by the front door," Leah said, relieved. "Can you stand if I hold the talisman over you? I need to get to the comic con, and I can't leave you here alone."
Kaelen nodded, and Leah helped him to his feet, holding the talisman above his head like a tiny umbrella. Lucas handed over his failed sunhat anyway ("It's the thought that counts!"), and Mila stuffed a water bottle full of seawater into Leah's bag ("For emergencies!").
The walk to the bus stop was surreal. Kaelen hunched under the talisman, his long black coat flapping in the breeze, while Leah dodged pedestrians who stared at the strange pair—a girl with a manga portfolio and a pale man hiding from the sun. Halfway there, Leah noticed something odd: the stray cats that usually lounged on the sidewalks had sprouted tiny bat-like wings, their eyes glowing green.
Kaelen followed her gaze, his jaw tightening. "The barrier's weakening," he said, his voice low. "The fog isn't just hiding us from the sun. It's hiding Misty City's supernatural secrets from the human world."
Leah's heart skipped a beat, but she pushed the thought aside—she had a comic to deliver. When she reached the comic con venue, she handed her portfolio to the editor, who flipped through the pages with a smile. "This is great, Leah! The story about the supernatural roommates is perfect—wait, what's this?"
Leah leaned in and saw it: faint silver runes had appeared on the edges of her manga pages, glowing like the ones carved on Kaelen's door. Runes she'd never drawn.
She looked back at Kaelen, who stood in the shade of a lamppost, the jade talisman still glowing in his hand. The sunlight glinted off his fangs as he met her eyes, and Leah realized she'd stumbled into something far bigger than a quirky roommate situation.
Misty City's fog was gone, and the supernatural world was about to spill into the open—whether humans were ready for it or not.
Chapter 3: The Werewolf's Full Moon Curse & a Drumming Disaster
The full moon hung low over Misty City that night, a glowing silver orb cutting through the thin wisp of fog that had started to creep back. Leah sat at her desk in the ivy-shrouded building, touching the glowing runes on her manga pages when a crash from the living room made her jump. She grabbed a baseball bat (a gift from Lucas, who insisted it was for "supernatural self-defense") and hurried out into the hallway.
Lucas's door was wide open, and the sound of whimpering came from inside. When Leah peeked in, she froze—instead of the lanky werewolf drummer she knew, a tiny fluffy gray puppy with bright amber eyes was circling an overturned drum kit, yipping frantically. Its paws were too small to reach the drumsticks scattered on the floor, and every time it jumped, it tripped over its own tail.
"Lucas?" Leah set down the bat, kneeling to hold out her hand. The puppy skidded to a halt, tilting its head before padding over to nuzzle her palm. Its fur was warm, and when it licked her fingers, she could see tiny fangs peeking out from its mouth. Definitely Lucas.
A splash of water made her turn—Mila stood in the doorway, her tail flicking nervously as she held a bowl of seawater. "I heard the noise," she said, setting the bowl down. "Is that… Lucas? The full moon made him transform, but he's supposed to turn into a giant wolf, not a puppy."
Leah picked up the tiny werewolf, who wriggled in her arms and let out a high-pitched bark. "The fog's still weak," she said, remembering Kaelen's warning earlier that day. "Maybe the weird sunlight messed with his transformation."
Just then, the sound of stiff shuffling echoed down the hall. Lin, the thousand-year-old zombie king who lived on the top floor, rounded the corner, his gray robes swishing. A yellow talisman was stuck to his forehead (the only thing keeping him from turning into a mindless zombie), and he held a plate of glutinous rice balls—his favorite snack.
When he saw the puppy in Leah's arms, Lin's blank eyes widened slightly. "Wolf cub," he said, his voice flat. "Full moon curse, altered by fog magic. Need glutinous rice to calm him." He held out a rice ball, and the tiny Lucas lunged for it, sinking his teeth into Lin's finger instead.
A small white mark appeared on Lin's cold skin, and the rice ball fell to the floor, sticking to the talisman on his forehead. Lin froze for a second, then his arms and legs locked into a stiff position, like a wooden puppet. "Talisman… stuck," he muttered, trying to lift his hand but only managing a jerky twitch.
Mila giggled, clapping her hands. "That's what happens when rice sticks to a zombie's talisman! He'll be stuck like that until we get it off."
Leah sighed, holding the squirming puppy close. "First Kaelen's sunlight phobia, now Lucas's mini transformation and Lin's stiff curse. This building is never boring." She glanced at the clock—midnight, and the full moon was at its peak. "We need to find a way to turn Lucas back. Kaelen said the basement has old supernatural relics—maybe there's a cure there."
Kaelen appeared in the doorway then, his red eyes scanning the room. He'd recovered from the sunlight earlier, but his face was still pale. "The basement is warded," he said, crossing his arms. "Only supernatural beings and those bonded to them can enter. But the relics might help—if we don't get caught by the hunters patrolling the streets."
Leah's stomach dropped. "Hunters? In Misty City?"
"They've been tracking the barrier's weakening," Kaelen said, his voice sharp. "They think the supernatural creatures here are a threat to humans. We'll have to be quiet."
Mila used her seawater magic to free Lin's talisman (the rice ball slid off when she sprayed it with saltwater), and the zombie king bowed stiffly in thanks. Then the group—Leah with the tiny werewolf in her bag, Kaelen leading the way, Mila and Lin trailing behind—sneaked down the creaky stairs to the basement.
The door to the basement was made of dark wood, carved with the same silver runes as Kaelen's door. When Kaelen touched it, the runes glowed, and the door creaked open. Inside, shelves lined the walls, filled with dusty books, glowing potions, and strange artifacts—a silver wolf's tooth, a mermaid's comb, a vampire's fangs encased in glass.
On the far wall, a large stone tablet was etched with names, each one written in glowing script. Leah stepped closer, and her breath caught—Lucas Howl was written in bright gold, with the words "Last Guardian of the Wolf Clan" underneath it.
"Lucas is the last of his pack?" she whispered, pulling the tiny puppy out of her bag. It whined, nuzzling the tablet as if it recognized the name.
Before Kaelen could answer, the sound of boots scraping against concrete echoed from the stairs. "We found them!" a gruff voice yelled. "Supernatural freaks hiding in the basement!"
Leah's heart raced. She grabbed Lucas and ducked into a wooden wardrobe in the corner, pulling the door shut just as the hunters burst into the room. Their flashlights swept across the shelves, and Leah held her breath, pressing the tiny werewolf to her chest.
Inside the wardrobe, something hard dug into her back. She reached behind her and pulled out a small metal badge, engraved with a crescent moon and a wolf's head—the same symbol as the one next to Lucas's name on the tablet.
Lucas sniffed the badge, then let out a low growl, his amber eyes glowing in the dark. Outside, the hunters' voices grew louder, and Leah realized they weren't just here for any supernatural creature—they were here for Lucas, the last wolf clan guardian.
The full moon shone through a crack in the basement ceiling, and the tiny puppy in her arms began to shake. Leah clutched the wolf badge tight, wondering if this was the night Lucas's true curse—and his true power—would finally be unleashed.
Chapter 4: The Mermaid's Freshwater Trouble & a Pearl Secret
By the time the hunters left the basement empty-handed, the full moon had dipped below the horizon, and Lucas was back to his lanky human form—though he complained for hours about a "puppy-sized stomach ache." The wolf badge now hung around his neck, a silent reminder of his hidden heritage, and the stone tablet's secrets lingered in Leah's mind like a puzzle she couldn't solve.
A week later, Leah sat at the kitchen table, sketching manga panels of her roommates' chaotic adventures when Mila burst in, her scales glistening with panic. The mermaid's usually vibrant tail had turned a pale, almost translucent white, and she was clutching her arm where a patch of scales had fallen off.
"Leah! Help!" Mila cried, collapsing onto a chair. "I touched the tap water—accidentally! I was trying to wash your paintbrushes, and I forgot to use seawater first!"
Leah dropped her pencil. She'd heard Mila complain before about freshwater being toxic to mermaids, but she'd never seen the effects firsthand. The fallen scales on the table glinted in the sunlight, and to her shock, they began to melt—then solidify into tiny, glowing white pearls.
"Whoa," she breathed, picking one up. The pearl was warm to the touch, and it emitted a soft blue light that matched Mila's tail. "Your scales turn into pearls when they touch freshwater?"
Mila nodded, her lower lip trembling. "It's a curse from my ocean clan. If I touch too much freshwater, all my scales will fall off—and I'll turn into a human permanently. I can't go back to the sea if that happens."
Kaelen, who'd been reading a leather-bound book on the couch, looked up. His red eyes narrowed at the pearls. "Those are Moon Pearls. They're rare—even in the supernatural world. They can strengthen barriers."
Leah's eyes widened. "Barriers? Like the one protecting Misty City?"
"Exactly," Kaelen said, standing up. "The barrier's still weak. If we can collect enough Moon Pearls, we can fix it. But Mila can't keep losing scales—we need to find a way to reverse the freshwater effect."
Lin, who'd been silently stirring a pot of rice porridge, spoke up. "There's a spring in the Misty Mountains. It's mixed with seawater and moondew—only water that can heal mermaid freshwater wounds. But the spring is guarded by a water spirit. She doesn't like humans."
Leah glanced at Mila, whose tail was fading more by the minute. "Then we'll go. All of us."
The trip to the Misty Mountains was a disaster from start to finish. Lucas got lost chasing a rabbit (and turned into a puppy halfway there, forcing Leah to carry him in her backpack), Kaelen almost got burned by a stray ray of sunlight (Leah had to shield him with her manga portfolio), and Lin wandered off to inspect a pile of ancient bones. By the time they reached the spring, Mila was barely able to move.
The spring was hidden in a cave, its water glowing with the same blue light as the Moon Pearls. A woman with hair made of seaweed and eyes like crashing waves stood at the edge— the water spirit. She crossed her arms when she saw them, her voice like the roar of the ocean.
"Leave," she said. "This spring is for supernatural beings only."
"I'm a human," Leah said, stepping forward. "But my friend is a mermaid, and she's dying. We need your water to save her. Please."
The water spirit studied her. Then her gaze fell on the Moon Pearl in Leah's hand, and on the runes glowing faintly on Leah's manga portfolio. "You carry the mark of the building's guardian," she said, surprised. "The one who made the original barrier."
Leah blinked. "The building's guardian?"
"Kaelen's ancestor," the spirit said. "He made the ivy building a sanctuary for supernatural beings. The runes on your portfolio—they're his mark. You're bonded to the sanctuary."
She waved her hand, and the spring water began to glow brighter. "Take the water. But be warned—fixing the barrier will come at a cost. The hunters are getting closer, and they have a weapon that can kill all supernatural beings in Misty City."
Leah filled a bottle with the spring water and poured it over Mila's tail. Instantly, the tail glowed, and the faded scales began to regrow. The Moon Pearls on the table floated into the air, merging with the water in the bottle to create a bright blue liquid.
As they walked back to the city, the bottle glowing in Leah's hand, Kaelen spoke up. "The cost the spirit mentioned… it's you, Leah. The barrier needs a human bond to stay strong. If we fix it, you'll be tied to the building forever. You won't be able to leave Misty City."
Leah stopped walking. She thought about her manga career, about the life she'd dreamed of outside the foggy city. Then she looked at her roommates—Lucas chasing a butterfly (still a puppy), Mila singing happily as her tail glowed, Kaelen rolling his eyes but smiling faintly, Lin munching on a rice ball.
This was her family now.
"I'll stay," she said.
That night, they poured the blue liquid over the ivy building's roof. The ivy glowed, wrapping around the building like a protective blanket, and the fog of Misty City returned—thick, warm, and full of secrets. The runes on Leah's manga portfolio glowed brighter than ever, and she realized the water spirit was right—she was the new guardian of the sanctuary.
But outside the building, a hunter watched from the shadows, a silver weapon in his hand. He smiled, and the fog around him twisted into the shape of a shadow demon—Leah's ex-boyfriend.
The real battle was just beginning.
Chapter 5: The Shadow Demon Ex & the Final Barrier
Weeks passed, and life in the ivy building settled into a fragile peace. The barrier was stronger than ever, the fog hiding Misty City's supernatural secrets once again. Leah's manga about her roommates had become a hit online, with readers begging for more stories about the vampire landlord, the puppy werewolf, the mermaid fishmonger, and the rice-obsessed zombie king.
But Leah couldn't shake the water spirit's warning. The hunters were still out there, and they had a weapon that could destroy everything she'd come to love.
Her fears were confirmed when her ex-boyfriend, Ethan, showed up at the building's door one rainy night. He was no longer the charming man she'd dated—his eyes were black, his skin was cold, and shadows twisted around his body like living things.
"Leah," he said, his voice like gravel. "I've been looking for you. The hunters told me you're the new guardian of this sanctuary. Give me the barrier's core, and I'll let you live."
Leah stepped back, her heart racing. "The barrier's core? I don't know what that is."
Ethan laughed, a harsh, cold sound. "The Moon Pearl. The one that's bonded to your manga portfolio. It's the heart of the barrier. Give it to me, and I'll use it to kill all the supernatural freaks in this city. Then we can be together again."
Kaelen stepped in front of her, his fangs bared. "Get out. This building is protected."
Ethan waved a hand, and shadows shot forward, wrapping around Kaelen's legs. The vampire stumbled, his eyes widening as the shadows began to burn his skin. "This weapon was made specifically for supernatural beings," Ethan said. "It's useless against humans—but you, Leah, you're the key. If you give me the pearl, I'll spare your friends."
Leah glanced at her roommates. Lucas had turned into a giant wolf, his teeth bared at Ethan, but shadows were wrapping around his paws. Mila was shooting jets of seawater at Ethan, but the shadows were turning the water into steam. Lin was throwing rice balls at the shadows, but they just passed through.
The Moon Pearl in her portfolio glowed, warm against her chest. She thought about the water spirit's words—the cost of fixing the barrier. She was tied to the building, to her roommates. She couldn't let Ethan destroy them.
She pulled the portfolio from her bag, opened it, and held up the Moon Pearl. The pearl glowed brighter, and the runes on the pages began to swirl around her. She felt a surge of power, warm and strong, flowing through her veins.
"I'm not giving you anything," she said, her voice louder than she'd ever heard it. "This is my home. These are my family."
She threw the Moon Pearl into the air. It exploded into a shower of blue light, and the light merged with the ivy building's ivy. The ivy grew, wrapping around the building and extending into the fog, creating a barrier so strong that even the shadows couldn't penetrate it.
Ethan screamed as the light hit him, the shadow demon inside him burning away. He collapsed to the ground, human again, his eyes filled with regret. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "The hunters made me do it."
The hunters burst into the yard then, their silver weapons raised. But the ivy's light burned their hands, and they fled into the fog, screaming.
Leah fell to her knees, exhausted. Kaelen knelt beside her, his hand brushing her hair. "You did it," he said, his voice soft. "You saved us."
Lucas turned back into a human, grinning as he ruffled her hair. "You're the best guardian ever!"
Mila hugged her, her tail wrapping around Leah's waist. "We're family now! Forever!"
Lin handed her a rice ball, his blank eyes softening. "For you. Guardian."
Leah looked at her roommates, at the ivy building glowing in the fog, at her manga portfolio lying on the ground with the runes still glowing. She smiled.
She'd lost her old life, her old dreams. But she'd gained something better—a home, a family, and a purpose.
The fog of Misty City swirled around them, thick and warm, hiding their secrets. But inside the ivy building, the lights were on, and the laughter echoed through the halls.
And somewhere, in the depths of the basement, the stone tablet glowed, Leah's name now etched next to the others—Leah, Guardian of the Supernatural Sanctuary.
The end.