From the cracked stone windowsill, I crouched and stared inside her room.
Seishan was there — her gray skin glimmering softly under the moonlight that poured through the stained glass. She wore a thin nightgown that clung to her body, the fabric pale and near transparent. Every slow movement of her breathing made the light catch along her curves.
She froze, sensing me. Her expression twisted between irritation and something that looked like resignation.
Her lips parted. "Please, Alucard… you've got to stop coming into my room unannounced in the middle of the night." She sighed, her voice hushed and melodic. "What if I was changing?"
I leaned lazily against the frame, smirking.
"I'd die a happy man, Sei."
My grin widened. "Anyway, how about you invite me in? Sitting on this ledge is killing my back."
She sighed again — longer this time — and sat down on the edge of her bed.
"You're invited inside my room, Alucard."
Before she could blink, I pushed off the window, flipped backward through the air, and landed flat on her mattress with a heavy bounce.
"Thank you," I said, lacing my fingers behind my head and closing my eyes.
I reached into my armor and placed a metal bucket near her nightstand. The dark liquid inside rippled faintly under the candlelight.
"Your supply," I said. "Freshly harvested. Don't drink it all at once."
Her eyes softened for just a second.
I'd become her supplier — the one who kept her alive. There was something faintly satisfying about that.
I stretched, sinking into the soft sheets, and continued talking.
"Sooo… Sei, about that payment for the meat I brought to the castle — and the blood I gave you." I peeked one eye open, grinning like the devil himself. "If you don't have the memories to pay me with, you could always pay in another way."
Her skin darkened, almost black, and she turned her face away, muttering under her breath. I caught something about a "handsome bastard." No idea who that was.
"As you requested, Alucard," she said finally, her tone edged with irritation. "I have your memories."
I sat up immediately, catching her cold hands in mine. We were both blood-born — no warmth, no pulse — but there was something faintly alive in her touch. A subtle heat that wasn't physical.
"Then how about we make the transfer?" I said quietly. "Crossbow and arrow memories are preferred."
Seishan hesitated for a heartbeat, then looked me directly in the eyes. The connection snapped like a current — bright and cold.
The air filled with a whisper from the Spell:
[You have received a memory: Swift Crossbow]
[You have received a memory: Piercing Arrow]
[You have received a memory: Double Shot Arrow]
"Perfect," I said, grinning. "Sei, I could almost kiss you."
She opened her mouth to reply — but I was already gone.
I vaulted through the window, my cloak flaring out like a shadow given wings.
"See you again for our bedtime activities!" I called, laughing as I fell.
The castle wall rushed up fast. I sliced my palm mid-air, letting blood spill freely. It shaped itself into a crimson spear, which I hurled downward. The spear pierced the wall, slowing my descent as I caught it and slid the rest of the way down.
When I landed, Beast was waiting — crouched low, its eyes glowing like dying coals. It growled softly in greeting.
"Miss me?" I asked. It tilted its head. I took that as a yes.
I absorbed the blood spear back into my hand with a faint hiss, then began walking. The moon hung low and fat, bleeding light over the ruins.
I passed a familiar hole in the outer wall — and there she was.
Aiko.
Still short, still hunched over a desk surrounded by flickering candles. Her small hands moved rapidly as she counted soul shards, muttering numbers under her breath. Cute in a gremlin sort of way.
I chuckled and flicked a soul shard through the gap, followed by a letter. It landed neatly on her desk. She looked up, startled, scanning the shadows like she might finally catch me this time.
She didn't, of course.
This had become our ritual — anonymous notes, half-mocking, half-helpful. I never signed my name. I'd send her tips: which parts of the Dark City were safe, hat information to sell, what areas the Host avoided. She'd leave letters back, tucked into the wall.
Once upon a time, she tried to catch me in person. Now, she just smiled when she saw the letters.
I lingered for a second longer, watching her face in the dim light — that flicker of peace she got when she worked.
Then I turned, gaze drifting toward the faint glow of the upper district. The home where Effie lived.
My jaw tightened.
I could pay her a visit. Or Kai.
But why would I?
They abandoned me — left me to rot, to be devoured by that fiend.
I could forgive Aiko. Even Seishan.
Maybe, one day, I could forgive Kai.
But Effie… no. Not yet. Maybe not ever.
If she wanted forgiveness, she'd have to earn it — bleed for it.
The wind carried the faint echo of the city's heart — screams, laughter, and the endless hum of nightmares. I walked deeper into it. The streets grew narrower, darker, alive with whispers.
Unseen eyes followed me from the shadows, and somewhere behind me, I heard the faint rhythm of footsteps.
I didn't look back.
If something wanted to follow me into the abyss, then let it.
The city swallowed me whole — and I didn't resist.
I reached the cathedral. Its towers loomed like the ribs of a dead god. I climbed up the side, slipping through a window into my quarters, and fell backward onto my bed.
The silence was almost comforting.
Then — a knock.
Three slow, deliberate taps.
I sat up.
"Have you heard," came an almost familiar, cheerful Irish voice muffled through the door,
"of our Lord and Savior, the Sun God?"