"As much as I want to go, I can't leave."
The vampire noticed the sadness deepening in Sylene's eyes, it unsettled him—but he continued.
"I've been useless all my life. I can't walk away now—not when I finally have a chance to make a difference here."
The boy tried to speak, to tell Sir Draven he wasn't useless, but the vampire gently stopped him.
"If fate allows, maybe we'll meet again. And next time, you won't have to keep running like this."
He carefully picked up the small leather pouch filled with gold coins and secured it tightly in the boy's pocket, making sure it wouldn't fall out again.
"Besides, I can take care of your sister's remains while I'm here." A rare, slight smile rose on Sir Draven's face. The vampire knew Sylene was reluctant to ask this of him, so he decided to bring it up himself.
The boy nodded gratefully, a faint sign of relief in his wet eyes as they stared intently into the vampire's golden-red gaze.
"I will repay you someday."
The vampire smiled—genuinely, this time—and affectionately ruffled Sylene's silver locks.
"I can always wait for that day. But I'll still be the one to protect you."
"Next time we meet, I'll tell you how I found you. But until then…"
"Goodbye, Sylene."
"Until we meet again."
---
The parting didn't take much time as it happened too quickly. The soldiers were out of the cave, patrolling the area. He even saw some of them yawning lazily.
Soon, a long, heavy train filled with coal arrived, moving a bit slower than the others due to its massive load. Sylene knew this would offer a safer escape than attempting the faster but riskier routes to human territory. With a swift jump, he landed smoothly on the train platform, his fingers digging tightly into the compartment. Thick smoke blurred his view of Sir Draven's silhouette above. Yellow-green eyes gazed quietly down at the train, the scent of blood and roses fading slowly as he chased a fleeting glimpse of his favorite vampire. Amidst the sound of grinding machinery, he saw the vampire's lips move, as if speaking to him.
Live well.
The warmth that once radiated from the vampire had faded, leaving only the cold, unyielding metal of the train roof beneath him. The gentle red aura that had lingered around him dissipated, now encasing only Sir Draven's distant figure. The icy winter wind bit sharply into his skin, forcing him to remain still. As the train plunged into a tunnel, darkness enveloped him completely. Even with supersight, no vampire could see him anymore at that moment.
Now, he was completely alone. A chill seeped through his pocket, where an ice rose sculpture lay quietly, and the faint tinkle of the coin pouch made him linger for a moment—a reminder of who he was leaving behind. One of his fingers grasped them tightly for a mere sign of comfort. When the tunnel ended, he would enter human territory—a city at the border of human and vampire territory: Radscha City.
In the suffocating silence, his thoughts drifted to the torturous life he had endured in vampire territory. Pain and sorrow had defined his existence, except for the moments he'd spent with Sir Draven.
Without him, the place would be nothing but a living nightmare.
The tunnel stretched endlessly, yet it felt as though no time had passed when he emerged into the biting winter air. His fingers, frozen and numb from gripping the train roof, ached faintly, as if reminding him he was still alive. The tunnel's darkness gave way to the crisp, freezing wind of the night sky. As it ended, Sylene lifted his gaze to the silver moon hanging above.
Ahead lay the unknown—a journey into unfamiliar lands, a world far removed from everything he had ever known. It was a realm that had only existed in the books he read, sparking his imagination to wander, much like Alice tumbling through the rabbit hole into a completely new world. Q97 had never interacted with any species other than vampires and hybrids before. And yet, a flicker of hope lingered within him.
Q97 can't. But Sylene can.
Somewhere out there, perhaps, he would find Sir Draven again.
No words could capture the gratitude he felt for the vampire who had saved him. Sir Draven had given him so much—his silent care, his strength, the remnants of Q96, the ice sculptures, the coin pouch, and, most importantly, his name.
Maybe Sir Draven only pitied him, or perhaps he really despised the Rosencraft family so deeply that helping Sylene felt like defiance. Regardless, it was the first time someone had ever shown kindness to a hopeless young hybrid like him—someone so insignificant that the world would easily forget.
A name meant everything. It was a promise, a mark of a new beginning.
No longer a number, a code, the label the scientists had branded him with, Q97 was no more.
Now, he is Sylene—a name bestowed upon him by his savior. A name that held the promise of a life beyond captivity, a life where he could finally exist as something more than a hybrid.
A name that symbolized hope.
The cold was relentless, seeping into his bones like an uninvited guest, yet Sylene's expression remained unchanged. His breath curled in delicate tendrils of white mist, vanishing into the winter night as quickly as it appeared. Snow blanketed the forest beyond the train, a silent expanse of pale indifference stretching to the horizon. The moonlight fell over him with an almost tender touch, blending his silver hair into the frosted landscape, as though the world itself sought to erase him.
A faint crimson glow suddenly flickered across his locks, like a spark catching in the dead of night. The heat stirred within him, coiling through his veins with a deliberate intensity. Sylene tightened his grip on the frozen edge of the train car, his fingers numb and his thumb cracked, a clear sign of frostbite. Pain whispered against his nerves, but he welcomed it like an old friend. It was proof he was alive, that he had escaped.