After the blood pact was sealed, Linh Nguyet no longer belonged to her old world.
But she didn't fully belong to the other side, either.
She now stood at the threshold — between light and shadow, life and death — and in that place, she saw only him.
Three days passed.
Since the night the ritual was completed, time inside the mansion had stopped. No chimes from the grandfather clock. No sunrise. Only a heavy mist lingering without end.
Her body began to change.
She no longer felt hunger. No need for sleep. The wound on her arm had healed — but in a strange way. The skin had become translucent, and under moonlight, it shimmered like glass.
She stared at her reflection in the mirror — her face was still hers, but her eyes… had changed.
Deeper. Dimmer. As if another soul had quietly taken residence within her.
That evening, Luc Trac brought her to the grand hall — once the estate's most luxurious ballroom.
Now rotting. Abandoned.
But the moment she stepped through the great doors—
Everything changed.
Chandeliers blazed to life. Crimson drapes billowed down the walls. White petals fell from the ceiling like snow. Music filled the air — though no one played, the melody was enchanting, laced with a haunting familiarity.
"What's happening?" she whispered.
Luc Trac took her hand, his smile soft and spectral:
"A wedding.
Ours."
She frowned. "But we were already married."
"No," he said, voice low and calm. "That ceremony was only a formality. Tonight, your soul chose to stay. This is the true ritual."
At the center of the hall stood a long white-clothed table. No guests. No family. Only a pair of silver rings on a velvet box… and two glasses of wine, red as garnet and thick as blood.
He led her forward, like walking into a dream.
"No priest. No witnesses," he said.
"Just a vow."
He picked up one ring and slipped it onto her finger.
Cold silver — a perfect fit. As if it had been waiting for her for lifetimes.
Her hands trembled as she slid the other ring onto his.
"Do I… have to say the vows?" she asked.
"No," he said. "Because… you already did.
You just forgot."
They clinked glasses.
The wine touched her lips — sweet, but it seeped into her soul like fire. Luc Trac's eyes gleamed, burning with something deep and ancient. As if he had finally reclaimed what he had waited three lifetimes for.
But the moment she placed her glass back on the table—
Everything collapsed.
The ballroom vanished. Lights snuffed out. Petals turned to ash. The music cut off. She fell into an abyss of endless black.
And from the dark came a chilling voice:
"A wedding?
You think vows will save you from me, Nguyet?"
Duong Khai Minh.
A black mist surged in. She was ripped from Luc Trac's arms. She struggled, but the force was overwhelming.
He screamed: "Nguyet! Don't let go!"
She looked back — and all she saw was his eyes, blazing with desperation — before she was pulled into utter darkness.