The night had fully settled, deep and absolute.

  There were no streetmps in the forest, only the moonlight filtering through the gaps in the canopy, scattering across the ground like shattered shards of silver. Saliya sat slumped against a fallen log, her back pressed against the rough bark. Her breathing had yet to find its steady rhythm.

  She hadn't tried to summon the shadows again. What radiated from deep within her body wasn't pain, but a vast hollowness—the deyed exhaustion that follows being utterly drained.

  Ana sat beside her, watching her for a long moment.

  "Can you stand?"

  "I... I can walk," Saliya paused. "But... I’m sorry. I don't think I can call upon the power anymore."

  Ana nodded. There was no reproach in her silence, nor any empty comfort. It was the calm of someone who had anticipated the result.

  "That’s enough. you’ve practiced enough for today," she said.

  After a while, Ana stood up and brushed the dust from her skirt. "Wait for me here. Do not use your power." She added, her tone more of a motherly caution than a command, "And don't push yourself."

  Saliya looked up at her, wanting to ask where she was going, but ultimately just gave a small nod. Ana’s figure soon vanished into the depths of the trees.

  Time became a blurred concept in the stillness of the forest.

  After an indeterminate period, Saliya caught a scent. It wasn't the metallic tang of blood, but a mixture of damp earth, animal fur, and night dew. When she opened her eyes, Ana had returned.

  Dark stains marked the sleeves of Ana’s dress, but her movements remained as crisp as ever, devoid of any fatigue. "Deer," Ana said briefly.

  She held out a small, exquisitely engraved metal fsk. She didn't press it into Saliya’s hand, but held it in the air, waiting for a response.

  Saliya blinked in surprise. "...An animal’s?"

  "Mm," Ana’s voice was faint. "At this stage, this is enough."

  Saliya took the fsk, her fingertips tightening slightly. She didn't open it immediately, but stared down at the container.

  "Isn't this... a waste?" she whispered.

  Ana looked at her. "No," she said with certainty. "It didn't die; I only took what was needed." She sat down beside Saliya, her pace of speech slowing.

  "Sister, a true vampire does not view 'feeding' as plunder. It is a request, an exchange—an act of consent."

  Saliya froze. Ana continued, her gaze fixed on the shifting shadows of the trees rather than her sister.

  "Animal blood is for survival. Human blood, however, is for more than just physical strength." She finally turned her head, looking directly into Saliya’s eyes. "Our kind... we are not entirely the monsters you once believed us to be."

  "Even if our nature has changed, we are like humans; we cry, we ugh, we get angry... and we mourn. If one day you let me drink your blood, it won't be because you 'must,' but because you 'choose'."

  As the words fell, only the sound of the wind remained in the forest. Saliya’s throat tightened. She slowly opened the fsk and took a small sip. The moment the blood hit her tongue, her strength didn't return instantly, but the hollowness was filled, bit by bit, like a rising light in the dark.

  "I... I understand," she whispered.

  Ana said nothing more. She simply reached out and gave Saliya’s back a gentle, reassuring pat. That night, they didn't speak of memories again. Blood was just blood. Power was just power. Certain truths were left for a ter confession.

  As the eastern sky began to pale, the forest mist had yet to disperse. The damp air clung to their skin, smelling of dew and grass. The sisters rested in a derelict but functional cabin in the woods. Saliya sat in an old chair in the living room, hands csped, watching the horizon brighten. When the light grew stronger, she would have to retreat into the windowless inner room.

  Her body had mostly recovered. The hollowness was gone, and the bloodlust had quieted. Yet, a new weight sat in her heart—an unorganized mass of thoughts.

  Ana id out a simple bed in the room, her movements efficient. She didn't hurry her sister or ask questions; she simply gave Saliya the time she needed.

  "Ana," Saliya spoke first.

  Ana looked up.

  "You said... letting you drink should be a 'choice'." Saliya’s voice was steady, devoid of hesitation or emotional peaks. Ana waited in silence. "I want to show you. You’ve returned to my side; I shouldn't hide from you anymore."

  Saliya stood and walked into the room. She paused, as if confirming her own resolve. "You said Blood Memory would help you understand the things I can't put into words. In there... is the answer to why I chose the halberd."

  Ana went still. "...Sister, are you sure? Blood Memory isn't something you can filter. You can't choose what to give."

  Saliya nodded. "I know. That’s why I’m telling you now." She shed her coat and held out her arm, lifting her wrist toward Ana. "I don't want there to be any part of me that you have to guess at. You’ve done so much for me... I shouldn't hide myself any longer."

  She looked at her sister with a gaze that didn't flinch. It wasn't an order or a plea. It was absolute trust.

  The forest fell silent for a heartbeat. Ana stepped closer and stopped before her. She reached out, her fingers cold but gentle. Saliya pced her hand in Ana’s palm.

  "I will respect everything you give me."

  It wasn't a ritual. It was a quiet exchange of souls. And the dust-covered past prepared to be seen once more.

  "I’m familiar with your scent; I only need a little," Ana whispered. Her fingertips gripped Saliya’s wrist, and her fangs brushed against the skin.

  In the next instant—

  The taste of her sister’s blood bloomed in Ana’s mouth. The world flipped upside down. It wasn't an image that appeared first, but a temperature. Blinding, searing heat—as if the entire world had been forcibly ignited.

  Ana reflexively tried to pull back, but found she couldn't move. She wasn't an observer; she was being pulled into that body—pulled back four years, into the body of the girl who was still the "Company’s Weapon."

  [The Blood Memory: Four Years Ago]

  It was roughly 11:00 PM. A shopping mall on the outskirts of the city was cordoned off with yers of barricades. Civilians were kept at least half a block away. The authorities had used a "hazardous chemical leak" as a cover story to disperse the crowd.

  An unmarked van bypassed the barricades and slipped toward the mall’s rear entrance. The back doors swung open, and Saliya jumped out, her expression a bnk mask. She was dressed in bck from head to toe: combat boots, a high-colred sweater, military trousers, fingerless gloves, and a heavy trench coat. The only thing that stood out was her silver-ced bck hair. As she looked at the building, her hand brushed the sheath of the rge Gurkha knife under her coat.

  Kouichirou Yamamoto from Section One stepped out after her. He was there as the commanding emergency medical officer. He looked nervously at the pitch-bck building, the power having been completely cut.

  "Are you sure about this? This is only your second field mission. I heard the targets inside wiped out the teams from Section Two and Section Four before we even arrived." Kouichirou looked at the petite girl with deep unease.

  Saliya didn't speak. She stood straight, her eyes fixed on the rear door. Kouichirou knew what she was, but he found it hard to accept throwing a young girl into a sughterhouse alone—especially one who suffered from selective mutism due to trauma. But as a new transfer to Headquarters, he was lucky to even be the medical lead; no one else would listen to his objections.

  "Alright! The janitor is here. Hurry up, won't you?"

  George, the Deputy Chief of Section Two, strolled over, shouting loudly. He gred at Saliya as if she were a roach or a rat.

  "Show some respect! If your men hadn't bungled it—" Kouichirou started, his temper fring. Saliya pced a gentle hand on his chest and gave a slight shake of her head. Understanding her, Kouichirou fell silent.

  George snorted, his arrogance unchecked. "There’s one vampire confirmed left inside. Try not to come running out crying for help if you can't handle it," he sneered, lighting a cigarette. "And just so you know, to prevent the thing from escaping, we’re setting up high-intensity UV mps outside. If you try to bolt... well, you know what happens."

  Kouichirou shot George a murderous look. Saliya gave them both a small, polite bow and glided through the rear entrance.

  Once inside, Saliya drew a matte-finished Gurkha knife and confirmed the Tracker knife at the small of her back was secure. She methodically searched the first floor.

  There were bodies everywhere—humans and "The Lost." Some were intact; others were scattered like torn ragdolls. Having seen such a scene on her first mission, Saliya reflexively slowed her breathing and pulled her colr up to cover her nose and mouth. She didn't want to smell the blood.

  She finished her sweep of the second floor. As her foot touched the first step of the stalled escator to the third floor, the attack happened.

  The assaint had been hiding beneath the metal maintenance cover of the escator. It lunged the moment she stepped up. Saliya was caught off guard and knocked down, but she was prepared; she delivered a backhand ssh the moment he made contact.

  The wound wasn't deep enough. The vampire perched on the handrails like a grotesque quadruped, gring at her with pure malice. Its eyes glowed with a distinct golden luster.

  Saliya finally understood why she had heard those frantic screams over the radio in the van. The vampire didn't speak. It lunged again like a rabid dog.

  Saliya utilized the results of two years of corporate training. She dodged and sshed again, but the opponent was prepared; he twisted his body mid-air to minimize the damage and retaliated with a heavy kick. Saliya’s slender frame was sent flying through a row of clothing racks.

  "Ugh!" She bit her tongue to keep from crying out and scrambled to reset her stance. This was not a "Lost." It didn't just charge blindly; it knew how to counter her bde and strike back. This was a Gold-eye.

  After ten minutes of brutal struggle, both were covered in wounds. Saliya had nded several deep cuts, but the vampire had inflicted internal injuries and broken several of her bones. A stalemate was useless. Either he would escape, or they would die together.

  Die together?

  Saliya remembered George’s words and looked at her opponent. His clothes were shredded, leaving him almost entirely exposed. Saliya dropped low and charged one more time.

  The vampire let out a battle cry and surged forward, intending to use his superior mass to crush her. At the moment of impact, Saliya leaped behind him. She drove her Gurkha knife clean through his torso from the back. The vampire roared in agony, grabbing the tip of the bde protruding from his chest to stop her from cleaving him in two.

  Saliya immediately released the hilt and drew her Tracker knife, driving it with all her strength into the vampire’s abdomen from the front. While he was occupied with the bdes buried in his body, she seized the hilt of the Tracker knife and the back of his neck from behind, locking him in a death grip. She lunged forward, dragging him through the gss curtain wall of the mall. They plummeted together.

  CRASH!

  They hit the roof of a sedan in the parking lot with a violent thud, the vampire on top and Saliya beneath. The impact crushed the car’s roof inward.

  The standby UV mps ignited instantly. The world turned a searing, blinding white.

  Excruciating pain enveloped them both. It was like being swallowed by a furnace with no way to extinguish the fmes. The vampire shrieked and thrashed, his ck of clothing making him an easy target for the radiation. His flesh bckened and curled almost instantly.

  Even with her heavy clothing, the UV rays penetrated, causing horrific burns to Saliya’s body. Smoke rose from her skin; any exposed areas began to blister with second- and third-degree burns. Yet, she only grit her teeth, ignoring the fact that she was being burned alive along with him. She only wanted to keep him trapped. She wanted to ensure the monster stayed down.

  "That’s enough! Shut them off!! Now!!"

  Kouichirou, seeing the vampire was reduced to mere twitching, didn't care that he had no field authority. He snatched the radio from the Section Two lead’s hand. "Turn off the lights! If you don't shut them off right now, I’ll have your head on a ptter!"

  Seeing the team hesitate, he roared, "Anyone who keeps those lights on is dead to me!"

  Yamamoto sprinted toward Saliya at a speed that would have shocked an Olympic athlete. Without a thought for whether the vampire was truly dead, he shoved the charred corpse aside and gathered Saliya into his arms. Some of her wounds were so deep he could almost see the bone, but she remained silent, too weak to even tremble from the pain.

  He carried her into the ambunce himself, his voice shaking and his forehead slick with cold sweat. Saliya managed a weak smile and gave him a shaky thumbs-up.

  "You idiot... why didn't you call for backup? Do you think you're invincible?" Kouichirou’s heart was breaking as he watched her. "...If something happened to you, how could I live with myself?"

  Saliya spent four full days in the infirmary before she could even leave her bed. The Section Two Chief responsible for the mission "resigned" due to the fallout. Following a report and recommendation from Kouichirou, the organization issued Saliya the 74-kilogram halberd and a trench coat stuffed with protective pting to ensure she never had to resort to such a suicidal tactic again. Though cumbersome, Saliya wore them without a single compint.

  [Present Day]

  Ana snapped back to reality. She released her grip, her breathing erratic. Her fingertips were trembling. It wasn't fear. It was understanding.

  She finally understood. Why her sister always chose the most certain, yet most dangerous, paths in battle. Why her retionship with her weapon was one of respect, not dependence. Why she included herself on the list of sacrifices without ever thinking it was a detail worth mentioning.

  It wasn't bravery. It was a deep-seated belief that she was expendable.

  Ana slowly lowered her hand, her voice raspy. "...Sister."

  Saliya looked up to see her sister’s golden eyes, now bloodshot. She wasn't crying; she was seeing her sister anew.

  "That time... you truly intended to die there, didn't you?"

  Saliya didn't deny it. She gave a faint, almost imperceptible nod.

  Ana took a deep breath, fighting down the surge of emotion. "...I see." She didn't scold her, nor did she say "don't ever do that again." She simply sat down beside Saliya, shoulder to shoulder.

  "That’s why I’m going to teach you," she whispered. "Not how to be strong. I’m going to teach you how to stay alive."

  A cool breeze rustled through the trees. Ana knew now with absolute crity: that halberd was more than a weapon. It was the physical weight of someone’s sincere wish for Saliya to survive.