Following Len's sharp inquiry, Kayra's lips remained sealed. Her pupils dropped strictly toward the ground, releasing zero vocal responses to his calculation.
Accelerating the velocity of her boots from the rear quadrant, Liana closed the separation within moments, aligning her trajectory directly adjacent to Len and Kayra. She moderated the atmosphere in a calm frequency, "Nothing... merely when we traversed this coordinate a short while ago, the lifeless frame of a uniformed vampire hunter occupied this concrete surface. His presence is eradicated now—presumably his allied units evacuated the body from this sector."
Executing a brief pause, Liana anchored her gaze onto the top of Kayra's head, adding in a reassuring cadence toward Len, "Kayra registers internal worry very abruptly over elementary parameters... you possess full consciousness of her nature."
Len shifted the vector of his neck slightly, scrutinizing Kayra's countenance with precision. Despite Liana's logical explanation, the structural tension across Kayra's eyebrows and her lowered gaze explicitly validated that the wave of anxiety remained active within her system.
Len permitted zero disruption to the continuous momentum of his boots.
Maintaining absolute neutrality across his facial contours, he delivered a flat token, "Very well..."
Without encountering alternate obstructions, the trio navigated past the terminal boundary of the ruined, collapsed city. The concrete debris gradually receded behind their coordinates as the unpaved trail guided their steps toward the boundary of the vast forest ahead.
Following extended hours of uninterrupted displacement, the scent of pulverized concrete vanished from the drafts entirely.
Their frames arrived directly adjacent to the primary perimeter of the dense forest—where massive tree trunks, elevated thickets, and dense foliage obstructed the sunlight from penetrating the ground.
The trio halted briefly at the threshold of the woods before tracking the established trail deeper into the shadows of the canopy.
Translating their strides through the atmospheric depth of the forest, they systematically arrived adjacent to that familiar, ancient tree—the exact static coordinate where all four of them had spent their time and rested the previous day.
Len's golden pupils initiated a systematic sweep of the surrounding perimeter. His gaze halted briefly upon the stagnant surface of the pond, before shifting toward the massive structural trunk of the adjacent tree. After executing a precise scan of the atmosphere, he projected his proposal in a steady, calm frequency:
"What if the three of us diverge into separate vectors to search for Eric? That framework will enable us to locate his coordinates much faster."
Liana tilted her chin downward in immediate consensus. Without wasting additional tokens, she adjusted the trajectory of her boots and advanced swiftly along the dense pathway directly ahead.
Kayra permitted zero delay. The microsecond Liana's strides initiated movement, Kayra tracked directly behind her along the exact same path in complete silence. Retaining his static coordinate, Len monitored both sisters as they receded into the distance along a single vector.
The absolute microsecond the acoustic vibration of their boots dissolved into the foliage, Len executed one final scan of the surrounding sector. Zero mechanical sounds occupied the forest drafts save for the rustling of leaves.
Rotating the alignment of his frame toward his right quadrant, he calibrated his heading and initiated direct forward translation along that rightward vector with measured steps.
After translating his frame across a short distance, Len's boots arrived at an abrupt, static halt. At that exact coordinate, the natural acoustic vibrations of the forest dissolved completely—replaced by a heavy, terrifying, and absolute stillness across the drafts.
The golden shade occupying Len's pupils began to vanish rapidly. His black pupils expanded exponentially, completely engulfing the sclera of both eyes under a deep, abyssal layer of pitch darkness.
Simultaneously, dense black vapor materialized through the air directly ahead, rotating rapidly in a precise circular vortex. The swirling smoke gradually condensed, transforming into an expansive, lightless black hole within fractions of a second.
Zero hesitation or fear manifested across Len's facial contours. Permitting zero disruption to his movement, he advanced his boots forward and stepped directly into the churning void. His entire physical frame was completely absorbed into the layers of that dark vortex.
The absolute microsecond his terminal foot cleared the threshold, the black hole initiated a gradual collapse. Within seconds, the final trace of dark vapor vanished into the drafts, restoring the surrounding forest atmosphere to absolute normalcy and stillness.
On the alternate side, within that ethereal and vast structural space—Eric sat fully relaxed upon a luxurious sofa.
While the surrounding walls and upper ceiling remained fully intact, the front horizon was entirely open—as though the front elevation of the structure ceased to exist.
The external view projected an extraordinary scene; clean white clouds drifted continuously across the open sky, appearing as if suspended in mid-air directly in front of the elevated edge of the building.
Eric's crimson pupils remained locked strictly onto the alternate sofa positioned directly opposite his coordinates.
A young woman sat occupying that opposite seat. Her long, expansive hair spilled across the velvet upholstery of the sofa. Her gaze remained anchored onto Eric without blinking, yet a sharp irritation and suppressed fury were explicitly written across her pupils—as though a severe wave of rage was surging within her system.
Two arms were securely locked around the young woman's neck from the rear quadrant.
Sylvia was positioned directly behind that sofa. Tilting her frame fractionally forward over the backrest, she had anchored both of her hands and arms tightly around the young woman's neck, constraining her movement. A sweet, yet sinister smile floated across Sylvia's facial contours.
Introducing an exceptionally affectionate and soft cadence into her voice, Sylvia articulated:
"Sister... kindly cease scrutinizing Eric through those intimidating and horrifying eyes..."
Eric disengaged his crimson pupils from the tight, anger-filled face of the young woman, shifting the vector of his gaze strictly onto Sylvia stationed directly behind her. Locking his cold pupils onto Sylvia's smiling facial features, he delivered a direct inquiry:
"By the way... what parameters are prompting her to stare at my frame in this manner?"
In response to Eric's abrupt and direct inquiry, the subtle smile across Sylvia's lips expanded fractionally. Without relaxing the physical constraint around the young woman's neck, she delivered an effortless response:
"Zero necessity exists for you to register concern over this parameter... her internal rage is directed toward an alternate entity, yet she is merely projecting that intensity through her gaze toward your position."
Eric contracted his eyebrows slightly.
Scrutinizing Sylvia's facial expressions, he shifted the vector of the dialogue, "Regardless, what parameters prompt you to continuously address my frame through formal tokens like 'Aap' (You)? According to my calculations, you are biologically older than me... my current age is merely fifteen years."
Sylvia dropped her eyelids fractionally, introducing an apologetic yet playful expression across her countenance as she articulated, "Kindly pardon me... regardless, it constitutes a long-standing habit of mine. I frequently address my brothers using formal tokens, which is why it automatically manifested through my vocal frequency."
Reclining his frame against the backrest of the sofa, Eric articulated in a flat cadence, "However, I do not constitute your biological brother... therefore zero requirement exists for you to execute such formal protocols while interacting with my system."
Executing a brief pause, he re-aligned his pupils strictly onto the tense face of the young woman once more, repeating his inquiry:
"Fine, elucidate this parameter... toward whom is her internal rage directed? And if her anger belongs to an alternate entity, why is she projecting that terrifying stare strictly at my coordinates?"