The mountain air was still trembling from what had just happened.
Kiran stood frozen beneath the trees, his breath uneven, his heartbeat louder than the forest itself. The girl had pulled back from his neck, her lips trembling, her gaze shaken in a way that scared him far more than her fangs ever could.
That wasn't hunger alone, he realized.
That was pain…
Her eyes softened for just a second before she turned away from him.
"I didn't mean to…" her voice lowered. "I almost lost control."
Kiran touched his neck. The sting was real. The warmth of blood was real.
So this isn't a dream, he thought.
Then why does it feel unreal?
Before he could say anything, the bushes behind him exploded with movement.
"BROOOO!"
A familiar voice cut through the tension like a lightning strike.
Tumi Chouth came running uphill, breathless, waving a phone flashlight like a sword.
"I followed your GPS—why the hell are you in a horror movie location at midnight—"
His words died in his throat.
The girl turned slowly.
Red eyes.
Pointed ears.
Moonlight framing her in silver.
Tumi's soul visibly left his body.
No.
No no no no no.
This is not how I die.
Tumi turned around with terrifying calm.
"I respect your personal space," he said quietly. "Please continue whatever forbidden romance ritual this is."
Then the world shattered.
The air ripped open.
Light and shadow twisted violently around them, dragging the forest itself into a spiraling blur.
What—
Before Kiran could even fall, the ground vanished.
---
The next moment—
They were somewhere else.
A massive courtyard bathed in moonlight. Traditional wooden architecture mixed with foreign elegance. Tall pillars. Lanterns floating mid-air. Mountains still beyond the walls… but not the same mountains.
This isn't Nepal, Kiran realized instantly.
This place feels… older.
A man sat calmly at the center, sipping tea.
Tall. Sharp eyes. A smile too confident to be human.
Beside him sat a small silver-haired girl, swinging her legs innocently.
"Ah," the man said pleasantly. "Welcome."
The vampire girl stiffened.
"Father."
Kiran finally understood.
This isn't just one vampire.
This is a family.
The man's gaze slid toward Kiran's neck.
"You drank my daughter's fate tonight," he said lightly. "How admirable."
Kiran didn't understand the words.
But his chest felt heavy.
"You tasted his blood, didn't you?" the man continued at his daughter.
Her face flushed instantly.
Tumi collapsed to the floor.
"So this is hell," he muttered.
---
Later, chaos replaced shock.
Maidens appeared from nowhere, dragging Kiran and Tumi down endless hallways.
The house felt alive.
Walls whispered.
Lights followed their movement.
This place isn't just a home, Kiran thought.
It's a living domain.
They were thrown into separate rooms before Kiran could even process what was happening.
---
In the courtyard the next morning, sunlight clashed violently with the darkness of the previous night.
That was when Kiran saw something he never expected.
Tumi standing stiff as a statue.
Beside him—
A tiny vampire girl drinking juice through a straw.
"Papa said you're mine now," she said with absolute seriousness. "You'll take me to eat donuts, right?"
Tumi's face drained of color.
"I HAVEN'T EVEN HAD MY FIRST LOVE YET—"
Kiran watched from beneath a tree.
Silent.
Still.
Unmoved.
Once, such a scene would have made him laugh.
Now—
Nothing stirred inside him.
So this is how broken I've become, he realized.
Chaos happens… and I feel nothing.
From the window above, the vampire girl watched him quietly.
Her eyes lingered not on Tumi.
But on Kiran.
—
That night, Kiran stood alone on the balcony.
The moon felt closer here.
Too close.
You're still watching me, he thought.
Even after everything.
Her presence approached behind him.
"I almost killed you last night," she whispered. "Why weren't you afraid?"
Kiran answered without turning.
"I forgot how to be."
For the first time—
Her silence felt heavier than his.
—
And som
ewhere deep within the shadowed world of the vampires, something ancient stirred.
Because the boy who had forgotten how to feel—
Had just entered a world that would force him to remember.