“—What’s next?” Ana asked suddenly.

  Saliya turned her head, looking at her sister with confusion.

  “...Next?” she repeated, pausing as she searched for the right words. “Aren't you taking me back to—”

  Ana raised a finger, pressing it gently against Saliya’s lips with a pyful, knowing smirk.

  “I only promised them I would go out and find you,” she said slowly, as if weighing her own thoughts. “I never said I’d bring you back right this second.”

  Ana paused, a helpless smile flickering on her face as if she had been infected by her sister’s lingering humanity.

  “Besides... you still have things you want to settle, don’t you? I can see it. Asking you to abandon the human world right now would be too much.” It wasn’t a question or an interrogation. It was a simple statement of fact. “If you want to stay in this world for a while... at least let me stay with you. Until you can take care of yourself.”

  Her gaze drifted away, her voice dropping to a whisper. “I won’t force you... but if that day ever comes, at least promise me you’ll stay in touch—”

  Before she could finish, Saliya’s arms were around her. The embrace was light, but the intent was absolute.

  “I do have things I can’t let go of yet,” Saliya whispered. She pulled back slightly, looking into Ana’s eyes with a newfound resolve. “But I will go with you to see that person.”

  Ana froze.

  “The Blood Memory you spoke of made me realize a few things... including the conversation you had with J on the balcony,” Saliya said, her golden eyes firm. “So—there are things I need to ask that person for myself.”

  She offered a gentle smile—one that hadn't graced her face in a very long time. To Ana, it felt like she hadn't seen that smile in a lifetime.

  “Before that... let’s go home first, okay? Home... and then we face whatever comes next together.”

  A few nights ter.

  “—Maybe we should have asked J to head in a different direction. This is quite the detour... our hometown is exactly the other way,” Ana compined half-jokingly, referring to the man who had helped them cross the border.

  “I’m sor— No, you're right. My mind was completely bnk back then... I didn't think that far ahead,” Saliya caught her reflexive apology halfway and admitted her mistake with a wry look.

  The sisters arrived at a construction site on the outskirts of a city. Far from the crowded downtown areas, it was an ideal hiding spot. The workers had long since gone home, leaving the site with a silence that was almost chilling. The only sounds were the soft clicking of a hired security guard scrolling through his phone and the rhythmic hum of a nearby fan.

  Since neither Saliya nor Ana needed to feed yet, they naturally left the guard alone. They easily bypassed the security office and the camera range, slipping toward the stairs leading to the upper floors.

  As they reached the third floor, both stopped simultaneously. If Ana relied on her vampiric intuition to sense danger, Saliya relied on her years of combat experience.

  “—Who are you?! Stay back!” A raspy scream echoed from below. It was the guard.

  The sisters exchanged a look and peered down from the atrium. The guard was brandishing a pathetically small pistol, his hands shaking as he tried to warn off five approaching figures.

  The figures moved like a pack of wolves, circling the unfortunate man as if waiting for the perfect moment to tear him apart. And they certainly would. Even from the height of the third floor, Saliya and Ana could see the bloodshot, irrational eyes and the glint of fangs.

  Hybrids.

  “—We have to help him,” Saliya whispered. It wasn't about the kill; she simply couldn't stand to watch such a scene.

  “Sister... you know that might expose us, right?” Ana looked back at her.

  “If he’s attacked, the hunters will find this pce anyway. We’ll be exposed either way,” Saliya analyzed the situation calmly. She was right.

  Ana made a face of mock annoyance. “—Fine, have it your way.”

  With one hand, Ana wrenched open the metal safety railing surrounding the atrium—the steel crumpled like wet paper under her grip. Then, she leaped. Saliya followed immediately.

  Both nded silently and steadily on the ground floor, appearing like specters right behind the terrified guard. The five hybrids, startled by the sudden intrusion, froze in their tracks.

  The sisters unched themselves from their nding spots. As they streaked past the guard on either side, Saliya delivered a swift chop to the man’s neck, sending him into a limp, unconscious heap on the floor—for his own safety.

  Ana plunged between two hybrids, her hands outstretched as bdes of shadow erupted from her fingertips.

  Saliya, meanwhile, sent one hybrid flying with a powerful kick and then dropped into a handstand, using the momentum of her spinning body like helicopter bdes to strike the heads of two other enemies. Her force was so immense that one hybrid's head was severed cleanly, as if by a guillotine, sent tumbling across the floor.

  The first hybrid she had kicked let out a roar and charged back, seizing Saliya’s wrist in a desperate, iron-like grip.

  Faced with the crushing strength, Saliya didn't struggle. Instead, she closed the distance. As their bodies neared, she snapped her waist, focusing her entire body's explosive power into her shoulder—a Short-Power (Inch Punch) strike at point-bnk range.

  There was a dull, wet thud as the hybrid’s chest caved inward like it had been hit by a wrecking ball. The shock sent the creature's brain into a momentary void of white noise. His grip loosened, though he didn't let go.

  Utilizing the enemy's stumble, Saliya twisted her body, sliding behind him like a silver serpent under the moon. Before the creature could recover from the concussion, her other hand had locked onto his cold neck with surgical precision.

  With a sickening crack, she twisted, snapping the hybrid's neck.

  Though it wouldn't kill him permanently, it was enough to keep him immobilized for the time being.

  Ana had already finished her side. Beneath her shadow-bdes—which functioned as both whips and swords—the two hybrids had been reduced to fragments. She hurried to Saliya’s side, delivering a final, decisive blow to the two enemies with broken necks after confirming the decapitated one was beyond recovery.

  Saliya cast a grateful gnce at her sister, while gently rubbing the wrist the enemy had seized.

  “—Sister, are you hurt?” Ana noticed the movement immediately.

  Saliya offered a sheepish, bitter smile. “—I’m sorry. I thought I could handle it more easily than that...”

  Ana immediately inspected the injury. Saliya’s wrist was red and swollen. Though not broken, there was likely a minor hairline fracture.

  “Sister, you’re pushing yourself too hard. Those human soldiers with the serum were one thing, but these mongrels—no matter how mindless they are—have an instinctive grasp of their physical power.” Ana began to apply a quick bandage. Even though it would heal in a few hours, she couldn't leave it be. “—They have werewolf blood. No matter how diluted it is, facing them head-on with your bare hands is a stretch.”

  Saliya didn't answer immediately. Her gaze drifted over the carnage on the floor to the shadow-bdes still dissipating from Ana’s hands.

  Clean. Efficient. No wasted motion.

  By contrast, her own attacks felt like a cluttered pile of instincts. She had the speed, the strength, and the reflexes, but she cked a way to focus them.

  She looked down at her bandaged wrist, silent for several seconds. “...I’m not strong enough,” she whispered, her voice light but firm.

  Shortly after leaving the construction site, Saliya’s wrist began to throb with a dull ache. It wasn't the injury itself, but a magnified sense of fatigue. She realized that throughout the fight, she had been forcing her body to endure the strain of her own power.

  “Ana...” Saliya started, feeling a sense of embarrassment, but she forced herself to speak. “If there were more of them, or if they were smarter—” She didn't finish the sentence. “In that fight, my judgment was perfect. The distance, the timing, the angles... they were all correct. If my opponents were human—even enhanced soldiers—that would have been the most efficient way to handle them.”

  She looked up at her sister. “But they aren't human anymore.”

  She paused for a heartbeat. “I’m still using my old habits, my old experiences, and trying to force this new power into them. The result is that I barely won this time. But what about the next?”

  Ana remained silent for a few seconds, weighing the gravity of her sister’s words.

  Saliya took a deep breath, her voice gaining crity. “Ana... teach me. Teach me how to use this power... how to control it... how to use it to protect the people I care about.”

  Saliya turned her head, her golden pupils reflecting Ana’s face. “Not like a human.”

  “But like what I am now.”

  Ana stared back at Saliya for a long time. “...Fine.” She held out her hand, palm up. “But you have to promise me—no more denying yourself.”

  Saliya looked at her sister’s palm and slowly pced her hand upon it. Their palms met, and the moonlight spilled between their fingers like a silver bridge.

  “I promise,” Saliya said softly, but with absolute conviction. “From now on... I will learn.”

  A few hours ter, they reached the edge of a forest. There were no cameras here, no artificial lights—only the moon and the stars. The wind rustled through the tall grass like whispering ghosts.

  Ana led Saliya to a clearing and gestured for her to sit. Saliya sat in a kneeling position.

  “I can’t just ‘teach’ you how to use your power,” Ana said, kicking a fallen log aside. “Because it isn't just a vampire’s power, and it isn't just a human’s. It’s yours.”

  She looked back at her sister, her voice calm but undeniable. “From this moment on, you must learn to control, not to suppress.”

  Saliya knelt in the clearing, her bck hair shimmering with silver light. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “...Alright.”

  Ana nodded. “Start with the basics. Recall the feeling of that night when J pushed you to the brink—the moment you lost control. But don’t release it completely. Make it obey your heart.”

  Saliya raised her hands slightly, attempting to manifest the shadows. The darkness around her rippled like a stone-disturbed pond. A few wisps of bck mist rose like startled smoke, trembling. She frowned, beads of sweat forming on her brow. “...I still... can’t... it won’t listen to me.”

  Ana walked behind her. “It’s not that it won’t listen. It’s that you’re still afraid of it.”

  She pced her hands gently on Saliya’s shoulders. “Remember? When you exploded that night, it was because you were afraid of losing me. Now, you need to let it know—you are no longer afraid of it. You and the power are one.”

  Saliya opened her eyes, her golden pupils reflecting the light. She slowly recalled those moments—J holding the signal fre, Ana’s embrace... those warm fragments of memory wove into her shadows like fine threads.

  “—Come,” she whispered.

  This time, the mist did not tremble. Like a summoned beast, it unfurled from her back, coalescing into a pair of massive, demonic bat wings. The edges were as sharp as bdes, but the frantic madness of before was gone. Moonlight fell across the wing membranes like a yer of thin silver. Saliya gave a light fp, the wind from her wings kicking up debris and letting out a low howl. She felt the power flowing through her—not as a flood, but as a stream, obedient yet immense.

  Ana’s lips quirked upward. “Good. Now, make it listen. Retract it.”

  Saliya closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The shadow-wings slowly shrank, like ink being sucked back into a quill. Finally, only a few wisps of mist remained around her shoulders before vanishing entirely. She opened her eyes, panting.

  “...I... I did it.”

  Ana reached out and tenderly ruffled her sister’s hair. “Very good. Again. But this time, change its shape. Become the form you want to use to protect others.”

  Saliya closed her eyes once more. The shadows responded to her will—but they seemed confused, as if unsure of how to take shape.

  “Don’t think about a ‘weapon’,” Ana whispered, pcing a hand over Saliya’s to guide her. “Recall your most natural extension during combat.”

  Images fshed through Saliya’s mind. She opened her eyes. Bck markings surfaced along her fingers, but they didn't spiral out of control. They wove together, extending and outlining a silhouette before her.

  The curve of an axe bde.The long shaft of a spear.

  The form was still unstable, the edges flickering as if about to dissolve. Saliya instinctively gripped it. The moment the weight settled into her palm, her whole body shuddered.

  “...I see.”

  It wasn't about “holding a weapon.” It was about extending her very self. The halberd trembled in her hand, as if in response. In the next second, the form colpsed, leaving only a faint bck afterimage.

  Saliya exhaled sharply, cold sweat stinging her forehead. As the weapon vanished, she instinctively tightened her fingers, only to grasp at empty air.

  Did I fail?

  Behind her, Ana ughed. It wasn't a comforting ugh, but one of certainty.

  “The direction is right, Sister. It already remembers you. You just need to become more proficient.”

  Saliya tried to stand, but a sudden wave of exhaustion hit her. She had never focused so intensely on her new self. Ana caught her immediately and helped her sit on the fallen log.

  “—You’ve never exerted yourself like this before, so you aren't used to it,” Ana said, rolling up her own sleeve. “Here. In the beginning, you’ll need more nourishment.” She held her pale wrist before Saliya’s face.

  “I’m just a little tired. A short rest—” Saliya began, but Ana cut her off.

  Ana’s expression hardened. “No, Sister. I went through this myself years ago. If you force yourself to avoid blood now, the thirst will be ten times more painful when it finally hits. Survive this transition period. Once you master the power, you won't need to feed every single time.”

  Ana’s expression softened slightly. “—Can I ask? Why did you still choose the halberd?”

  Saliya didn't answer immediately. Her gaze rested on the forest clearing ahead, where the moonlight filtered through the canopy, settling on the ground like a quiet yer of ancient scars.

  “...Because it feels most natural,” Saliya said. She looked as though she wanted to say more, but she stopped there.

  Ana waited for a few seconds, seeing that her sister wasn't ready to eborate. “...Then keep practicing,” she said softly. “Until you can use it to protect everyone—including yourself, and those who are important to you.”

  The moonlight bathed the clearing, illuminating the two figures. The training continued. But this time, Saliya’s shadow was no longer something she feared. It was a part of her—a power that could be gently harnessed.