Chapter 1 — A Momentary Death

Chapter 1 — A Momentary Death

Annesa ran.

Or at least, she tried to keep running.

The cream-colored dress that had once been so beautiful was now nothing more than a crumpled, bloodstained piece of fabric. Its hem dragged across the snow, growing heavier as it soaked up the cold moisture and the blood dripping from her body.

One hand remained pressed against her neck.

The wound there felt like it was burning.

Blood continued to seep between her fingers.

Every time she drew a breath, pain spread all the way down to her chest.

But Annesa didn't dare stop.

Not now.

Not after what the Vampire King had just done to her.

His face continued to haunt her mind.

Those cold red eyes.

That faint smile that held no trace of mercy.

And the words that still echoed in her head.

"From tonight onward, you are no longer human."

Annesa bit her lip to keep herself from crying.

She didn't know which hurt more—the wound on her neck or the realization that the person who had handed her over to the Vampire King was her own father.

The father who was supposed to protect her.

The father who was supposed to love her.

Yet for the sake of power and wealth, he had turned his own daughter into the price that had to be paid.

Annesa quickened her pace.

Or tried to.

Her legs felt as though they no longer belonged to her.

The snow was growing heavier.

The night wind pierced through her skin.

Her breath came out in increasingly shallow clouds of white.

"No..."

Her voice trembled.

"I have to get away..."

In the distance, she finally saw something.

The kingdom's gates.

They weren't far.

Only a few dozen meters away.

A small glimmer of hope appeared in her eyes.

If she could make it outside, perhaps the Vampire King wouldn't be able to find her.

Maybe she could hide.

Maybe...

Maybe she could still become human again.

Annesa ran toward the gates.

But her body was growing weaker.

One drop of blood fell onto the snow.

Then another.

And another.

A trail of crimson formed along the path she had taken.

Annesa didn't notice.

Or perhaps she simply no longer cared.

She only wanted to get out.

When she finally passed through the kingdom's gates, Annesa almost cried with relief.

But there was no safety waiting for her.

Only a forest.

A vast, dark pine forest covered in white snow, making the entire place look like a world devoid of life.

Annesa looked back.

There was no one.

No guards.

No Vampire King.

For a few seconds, she felt safe.

Then—

Crack.

A faint sound came from somewhere in the distance.

A branch breaking.

Annesa froze.

Her heart pounded violently.

She turned around.

Nothing.

Only the tall trees swaying in the wind.

But her instincts told her otherwise.

They were still looking for her.

Annesa immediately ran into the forest.

Farther.

Deeper.

She didn't care where her feet took her.

All that mattered was getting farther away from the kingdom.

Far from the Vampire King.

Far from her father.

Far from everyone who had betrayed her.

But after only a few steps, her vision began to blur.

The trees around her started to look like dark shadows.

The falling snow appeared like tiny points of light spinning through the air.

Annesa grabbed onto a tree trunk.

"No..."

Her body trembled.

"I can't fall yet."

She tried to straighten herself.

But her feet moved again.

One step.

Two steps.

Three steps.

Then the world around her began to spin.

Annesa didn't realize that she had wandered too close to the edge of a gentle cliff.

When her foot landed on a fragile layer of snow, the ground beneath her shifted.

"Ah—!"

She lost her balance.

Her hand desperately reached for something.

There was nothing.

Her body began to fall over the edge.

But before she could hit the ground—

A hand grabbed her by the waist.

Annesa stopped.

She felt herself being pulled upward.

Then a pair of strong arms caught her.

Annesa slowly opened her eyes.

Everything was blurry.

Very blurry.

She saw someone standing among the snow.

A man.

Tall.

Dressed in long black clothing that almost blended into the darkness of the night.

His hair was being blown by the wind.

His face was difficult to make out.

Only a pair of eyes faintly reflected a crimson glow beneath the shadows.

Annesa tried to move.

But her body was too weak.

"Who..."

There was no answer.

The man simply stared at her.

His expression was impossible to read.

It wasn't like the Vampire King's gaze, filled with authority and dominance.

This man's gaze was far calmer.

And yet, somehow...

more frightening.

Annesa tried to pull away.

But the man's hand held her firmly, keeping her from falling.

"Don't... touch me."

Her voice was barely audible.

The man remained silent.

Annesa looked at him once more.

For a moment, she saw something in his face.

Something resembling an old wound.

Like anger that had been buried for years.

But before she could see it clearly, her vision blurred again.

"Are... you one of them?"

The man finally spoke.

His voice was low.

Calm.

Yet it sounded like the voice of someone who had lived with darkness for far too long.

"No."

Just one word.

Annesa struggled to remain conscious.

"Then... who are you?"

The man didn't answer.

He only looked at the wound on Annesa's neck.

Then at the blood staining her dress.

For the first time, his expression changed.

Only slightly.

Almost imperceptibly.

As though something in Annesa's blood had awakened an old memory within him.

Annesa grew weaker.

"I... have to go..."

"You aren't going anywhere in this condition."

Annesa shook her head.

"They'll find me."

The man looked toward the forest.

Suddenly, the wind stopped.

The surroundings became so silent that the sound of falling snow could be heard clearly.

Then the man spoke softly.

"Not tonight."

Annesa stared at him.

For a moment, she felt safe.

A strange feeling.

Because she didn't even know the identity of the man holding her.

Annesa tried to see his face one more time.

But her eyelids were growing heavier.

"What's... your name...?"

The man remained silent for a long moment.

Then he leaned closer to Annesa's ear.

His voice sounded like a whisper carried by the night wind.

"Sleep."

Annesa could barely keep her eyes open.

"They won't find you here."

And before her consciousness completely faded, Annesa felt something cold touch the wound on her neck.

Then...

darkness.

----------------------------------------------

Several moments after Annesa lost consciousness, the man remained standing in the same place.

He stared at the trail of blood left behind on the snow.

Then he turned toward the kingdom.

From somewhere in the distance came the sound of approaching footsteps.

The guards were searching for her.

The man smiled faintly.

It wasn't a friendly smile.

It was the smile of someone who had been waiting a very long time for the chance to watch that kingdom crumble.

He lifted Annesa into his arms.

Then he walked deeper into the forest.

Before disappearing among the mist and trees, he whispered to the unconscious girl in his arms—

"You don't yet know who you've just met."

And that night...

the fate of two vampires who should never have met began to intertwine.

Unbeknownst to Annesa, the mysterious man who had saved her life was not a hero.

He was someone the Vampire Kingdom itself had once tried to imprison—and erase from history.

Annesa held her breath.

Then another sound came from outside the cave.

Chik... chik... chik...

The sound of a small animal moving through the bushes.

Then came the sound of light footsteps upon the snow.

Tap... tap... tap...

A rabbit darted between the trees.

Annesa froze.

She could hear its claws touching the surface of the snow.

She could even hear the small creature's breathing.

Then came the sound of something digging into the earth.

Scratch... scratch... scratch...

A mole moved beneath the layer of snow.

Annesa stared toward the mouth of the cave, her eyes widening.

How had her hearing become this sharp?

She could hear things that were dozens of meters away.

But then her sense of smell caught something that made her throat burn.

Blood.

The scent of blood.

Very close.

Annesa suddenly swallowed.

Her eyes widened.

There was blood somewhere nearby.

Very close.

Her throat burned.

Her body felt both hot and cold at the same time.

A sudden thirst attacked her so fiercely that her entire body tensed.

She had never experienced thirst like this before.

It wasn't thirst for water.

It was something far more terrifying.

Her teeth began to ache.

She tried biting down on the piece of wood between her teeth.

Crack.

The wood split slightly.

Annesa stopped.

Her eyes slowly changed.

Red.

She didn't know that a pair of fangs had begun growing behind her lips.

All she knew was one thing.

She was desperately thirsty.

Thirsty in a way she had never experienced before.

Annesa pulled at her chains again.

This time, out of fear.

CLANG!

"Mmhh!"

She writhed.

She closed her eyes and tried to calm herself.

But the harder she tried to ignore it, the stronger the scent of blood became in her mind.

Her fangs ached.

Annesa touched her lips with her tongue.

Then she felt something sharp.

Fangs.

She froze.

"No..."

She was beginning to understand what was happening.

Her body was changing.

And the transformation wasn't over yet.

Suddenly—

Tap.

A footstep echoed from the cave passage.

Annesa immediately opened her eyes.

Tap.

A second step.

Closer.

There was no sound of hurried breathing.

No heartbeat.

Only calm footsteps and the faint sound of long fabric occasionally brushing against the stone walls.

Someone was approaching.

Annesa pulled at her chains.

CLANG!

A figure dressed in black emerged from the darkness.

He wore a hood that concealed most of his face.

The man stopped several meters away from Annesa.

For a moment, they simply stared at each other.

Then the man spoke in a low, calm voice.

"You're awake?"

Annesa stared at him suspiciously.

The man stepped closer.

"Relax. I won't hurt you."

Annesa made a muffled sound because the piece of wood was still between her teeth.

The man noticed the restraint.

"Oh... right."

He knelt before Annesa.

His hand slowly moved toward the rope.

Annesa immediately tensed.

The man stopped.

"If I remove it, don't bite me."

Annesa's gaze sharpened.

The man smiled faintly.

"All right. I'll take that as an answer."

He removed the rope from Annesa's mouth.

The piece of wood she had been biting fell to the ground.

Annesa immediately drew in a deep breath.

But before the man could move away—

Annesa suddenly lunged forward.

The chain around her wrist went taut.

Annesa took a deep breath.

But the scent of the man's blood immediately overwhelmed her senses.

Her eyes turned an even deeper crimson.

The man noticed.

His smile disappeared.

"So... it has already begun."

Annesa stared at him in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

The man studied the green veins spreading across Annesa's arm.

"You don't know what's happening to your body?"

Annesa shook her head.

The man remained silent for several moments before finally speaking.

"Then you have a lot to learn."

Annesa glared at him.

"Who are you?"

The man slowly stood.

For the first time, he pulled back his hood slightly, revealing more of his face.

A pair of crimson eyes stared at Annesa.

"I am Eryx."

He paused.

"And you?"

Annesa swallowed.

"Annesa."

Eryx gave a faint smile.

"Annesa..."

He repeated her name as though trying to remember something.

Then his gaze shifted toward the wound on Annesa's neck.

"A name the entire kingdom is hunting."

Annesa froze.

Eryx turned toward the passage.

But before disappearing into the darkness, he said,

"Rest."

Annesa stared at his back.

"Why did you save me?"

Eryx stopped.

For several seconds, he didn't answer.

Then, without turning around, he said,

"Because someday, Annesa, perhaps you will be the one who saves this kingdom..."

He continued walking.

"...or destroys it."

His footsteps slowly disappeared into the dark passage.

Annesa remained silent.

For the first time, she realized that perhaps her escape from the Vampire King was not the end of her suffering.

It was only the beginning of something far greater.