"So your name is Saoirse?" Zennosuke inquired, pushing a bowl of berries toward her.
She nodded innocently, and he couldn't suppress a giggle. The situation was becoming increasingly intriguing. Zennosuke knew Zero was suffering, yet he couldn't help but be fascinated by the potential outcome if Saoirse and Zero were to end up together.
Vampires are known for their profound devotion, falling in love only once in a lifetime. Zero had found his soulmate in Caoimhe, who tragically met an untimely and brutal end. The question that plagued Zennosuke was whether Zero could fall in love a second time with a woman who bore such a striking resemblance to his lost love.
Zennosuke had to know— such a mosang for a vampire.
"These berries are wonderful!" Saoirse exclaimed, offering Zennosuke a blackberry.
"It's alright. They're all yours," he replied with a smile.
For three nights, Zennosuke had been feeding her fruits, aware of the complications that would arise if anyone saw him cooking. It was an activity he was not adept at, and it would certainly draw unwanted attention.
As he watched her finish the berries, Zennosuke saw his opportunity to ask the questions that had been gnawing at him. He sat on a stool across from her, crossing his arms and legs, and let out a sigh.
"When you first saw us, I sensed a profound confusion in you," he began. "It wasn't the typical reaction we see from the women who have come here before you, whom Ken suspected might be the next savior."
"You've had women here before me?" she asked, her eyebrows arching in surprise.
"Yes," Zennosuke responded thoughtfully. "Each one arrived with a distinct aura, but none quite like yours. You, for me, resembles a lot like the former priestess, Caoimhe. On top of that, I could sense a lot more in you."
Saoirse looked pensive, her eyes reflecting the depths of her thoughts. She's still in daze about what's going on, but with Zennosuke introducing her to the unknown realm, she had slowly adjusted.
Zennosuke continued. "Zero... he has endured much pain. His love for Caoimhe was boundless, and her loss has left a void that seems impossible to fill, then you suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It's as if fate has brought you here to test the limits of love and destiny."
He leaned forward, his gaze intense. "Do you believe in the possibility of love transcending time and death? That perhaps, Zero could find solace in your presence, even if it means confronting the shadows of his past?"
Saoirse's eyes widened slightly, the weight of his words sinking in. "I don't know," she whispered. "But I'm willing to find out."
Zennosuke nodded, a sense of determination settling over him. This was more than a mere curiosity—it was a quest for understanding, a search for the threads that weave love and destiny together in the tapestry of their immortal lives.
"And what about my question three days ago?" Zennosuke, the mosang prince, opened the same topic he kept on opening, indeed, three days ago for Saoirse to calm his soul.
"Oh!" Saoirse adjusted her posture, scratching her cheek with a finger. "I'm not really comfortable sharing this with you since it's quite awkward, but you've been taking care of me since I got here, so..."
Her lips formed into a thin line, and Zennosuke noticed a tremor—was it anger?
"I know someone in my world who looks exactly like you and your snobby twin brother. By some bizarre coincidence, I also existed here in your realm. An ancestor of mine, perhaps? That's what I heard when I got here from that Ken you mentioned."
"Oh, really? That's cool," Zennosuke ventured. "And you're related to this counterpart of ours?"
"Unfortunately," she grimaced. "He's a former lover."
Zennosuke bit his lip to stifle a chuckle. What a bizarre coincidence indeed!
Now that she mentioned it, she had never actually looked at him straight in the eyes, neither at Zero. It all made sense now.
"You didn't end well, I suppose?" Zennosuke's curiosity piqued and Saoirse's expression darkened.
"No, we didn't. It was a tumultuous relationship, fraught with misunderstandings and unresolved issues. Seeing you and your brother here, looking so much like him, brings back memories I'd rather forget."
Zennosuke nodded thoughtfully. "It must be disconcerting to encounter such familiar faces in an unfamiliar realm. But perhaps this encounter is an opportunity for closure, or even a new beginning."
She sighed, her anger dissipating into a weary acceptance. "Maybe. But it's hard to let go of the past when it keeps staring me in the face."
Zennosuke could only giggle. He leaned forward, his demeanor gentle yet probing. "You know, sometimes the past confronts us in unexpected ways, challenging us to reconcile with it. This realm might hold answers to the questions you've carried with you. And perhaps, in understanding our intertwined fates, we can find the peace we all seek."
As Saoirse remained silent, Zennosuke interpreted her response as a tacit acknowledgment. Despite his desire to engage her in longer conversations, he found her presence too intimidating, each aspect of her reminding him vividly of Caoimhe.
He had anticipated Zero'd hostility towards Saoirse over the past few days, given their uncanny resemblance to his lost love. Yet, when Zero glanced at her before leaving, Zennosuke sensed a surge of emotions coursing through him—pain and longing that resonated deeply within himself.
As cliché as it may sound, they're twins. There's a connection between them that goes beyond mere blood ties. One can feel a fraction of each other's emotions.
Zero's enduring love for Caoimhe, despite her betrayal years ago, was palpable. Zennosuke recalled a pivotal moment when he had desperately tried to intervene in a confrontation between Zero and Caoimhe.
•••••
"CAOIMHE! STOP! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
Zennosuke had yelled, frustration and fear evident in his voice as he attempted to breach the formidable barrier she had casted around herself and Zero.
White mist enveloped them, crackling with white electric energy, making every attempt to breach the barrier futile. Kenji, visibly pained by the barrier's purifying effect on their demonic aura, cursed as his attempts to intervene proved futile.
"Fucking hell! How do we break through this?!" Akito's frustration mirrored Zennosuke's own as they gathered around the barrier, helpless to help Zero.
With their father absent and their sister still unconscious, only they could match Caoimhe's power, revealed now as the feared priestess of darkness.
No one understood how it happened. Everything went too fast, they had barely followed it.
Zennosuke's teeth gritted in frustration as Zero remained pinned against the lilac tree, subjected to relentless electrical shocks.
Caoimhe held sacred beads used to annihilate demons and dark elements and was all covered with blood. She's already having a hard time catching her breaths due to the deep wound in her chest, heaven-knows-who did. Blood oozed out, covering the lower part of her body.
"UGH! C-CAOIMHE!" Zero groaned, trying his best to open his eyes and look at her. "W-Why?"
Caoimhe held the beads up and he was once again electrocuted.
"SHIT! STOP IT!" Zennosuke shouted and stroke the barrier again and again despite his demonic aura being purified.
"Zennosuke stop!" Rui shouted and all of them came to his aid, dragging him away from the barrier.
"No! I need to save Zero! I need to save my brother!" He screamed, trying his best to break against their grips but to no avail.
His energy's been drained. The priestess is strong indeed.
"C'mon! We have to save him!" Zennosuke hrowled and tried standing but his legs had already given up.
"Don't push yourself, Zen," Akio whispered, looking seriously at them. "We can do nothing from here. Let's just hope the king arrives on time."
Light sprung on Caoimhe's hand as the beads turned into a bow. She's already gasping, blood trickling on each side of her mouth.
"N-No!"
Everyone gasped when an arrow appeared on her other hand and aimed it towards Zero who was already close to passing out.
Their eyes grew in circles as they watched the arrow slipped through her fingers and pierced against Zero's chest.
"ZEROOOO!!"
Zennosuke's voice echoed as a blinding light from the arrow surrounded Zero and Caoimhe. All of them were left dumbfounded when everything seemed to move in slow motion.
The light spread throughout the place and it felt so oddly warm. The barrier sizzled and slowly dematerialized leaving them a not-supposed-to-be-seen sight.
"I'm sorry."
Zennouske gasped when he saw Caoimhe; she was looking at Zero, tears streaming down her cheeks, and slowly, she fell down cold on the ground.
Just then, the light slowly went out together with the barrier. The others were still covering their eyes which took Zennosuke seconds to realize how on earth he was able to see that scene.
He immediately stood up and ran towards Zero the moment the light completely disappeared. He knelt beside him and noticed the arrow fading on his chest together with his demonic aura.
"What's going on?!" Zennosuke muttered in confusion, looked up and saw the others.
They all looked the same way as he does. They might have sensed it as well.
He turned to look at Caoimhe to where Akito is; he shook his head.
"Her wound is too deep. There's no saving her," Rui said as he sat down beside Zennosuke to check Zero and his brows rose the moment they made contact. "She purified him?"
"But he's still alive, right?" Kenji asked, voice breaking.
"Ha! You're an elemental being, Ken. You can tell that by just looking at him," Akito jeered.
"But I can't sense him at all. His scent is different from before."
"It's because he's no longer a pure-blooded vampire," Rui whispered which was like a bucket of ice poured on his brother.
"The arrow Caoimhe used was intended to purify his entire being which will totally end his life but she didn't," he sought. "Zero is basically a half-human now which means he can no longer inherit the throne."
Zennosuke's lips parted. "W-Why? Why did Caoimhe do this?"
"Who knows."
He looked back at Caoimhe who's already been taken cared of by Kenji and Akio.
Zero wasn't able to wake up for a week after the incident and when he did, Caoimhe was already beyond his reach. That night after she died, her body turned into petals of light and vanished in the wind.
Since then, the book of the blood moon was never seen.
Zero was never like he used to be since then. He solemnly talks and became cold. No one can blame him tho. He was betrayed by the woman he loved and lost the thrown at the same time which made Zennosuke the crowned prince instead.
He never wanted the throne but it can't be passed down to random people, so he has been left with no choice. Zero was fine with it; he never wanted to become a King to begin with.
Zero had been sealed in the demon's dungeon for 10 years after the king found out about what happened.
Both of them were already warned to never make any connections with humans from the beginning since their likes are the ones who killed the queen, but it can't be helped as Zero fell in love and now they've reached the same ground again and worse, they're helping one of their kinds again.
History might repeat itself again— or will Saoirse make a big difference?
"What's your plan, Zen?" Saoirse asked without throwing him a look. "Are we gonna go to that great waterfall you were talking about earlier?"
Zennosuke pressed my lips together.
"Ah—yes yes."
She nodded and crossed her arms. "What are we going to do there exactly?"
"To see the real you."
"Holy heck!" Saoirse winced when Ken suddenly popped beside Zennosuke.
"Can you stop doing that, you woman-looking-man?!" She groaned, nudging her chest in shock.
"If you are just a clone of the late priestess or she's you, I might."
Ken continued and was only shuffling the papers on the table, acting as if Saoirse ain't around so she ended up biting her lips, obviously suppressing her anger.
Zero, Ken, and her were never in good terms the past days. Zero only comes to check if Zennosuke is still alive and wasn't caught yet, but Zennosuke knows those were only his alibis to see his lover's living ghost.
"Is this guy also coming with us? If yes, please no. I feel like I'm gonna die along the journey."
Saoirse jeered and Zennosuke was about to talk when Ken turned around to face her.
"Among the four of us who knows you existed, only I can survive the daylight and the journey towards the Great Fountain will take five days, so if you feel like you're going to die with me, wishing you good luck."
Ken was talking like a robot which made Saoirse look like she haven't actually understood anything and raised her middle finger.
"Thank you for the assurance. I am quite touched."
"You're welcome."
Zennosuke looked at his hand and raised his middle finger as well. That might be a gesture of agreement in her realm, he thought.
He looked up and caught Ken looking at him.
"What?"
Ken's lips parted, Zennosuke almost thought he's going to comment, but be excused himself instead. He bowed and disappeared.
"Tsk! Just what the hell is wrong with the people here?"
Zennouske turned at her when he heard her mumbbling.
"Oh! Except you, of course," she quickly retracted half of what she meant. "I mean, does the two of them hates me, especially your brother of course! He seem to really despise me and my entire existence."
My lips pooched. Well, he does. He obviously wants to get back at you for being Caoimhe's double.
"Ahh—Zen?"
Zennosuke eyebrows rose by her sudden change of tone.
"Yes?"
"Is it true that all vampires have red eyes?"
Zennosuke's lips quivered. He has a bad feeling about the topic. "Ahh—yes but not all," he lied.
"Oh okay," she nodded. "Maybe he's... different."
Zennosuke sighed again. Saoirse must have noticed, Zero's eye color changed into gold when he got purified by the arrow and it never went back to normal.
"Anyway, do not worry. Zero will come with you. He may be a little hard on you but he's kind."
"But he can't survive daylight, can he?"
Zennosuke grimaced mentally.! He tried changing the topic but he only made it worse.
"Anata wa hen'na kōdō o shite iru," she whispered, eyes narrowing at me.
"Pardon me?"
She shook her head and sighed.
"It's been nights and I have never thanked you properly," Saoirse stood up straight, brushed her skirt, and bowed. "Thank you so much for saving me, price Zennosuke."
He smiled and copied her actions by bowing.
"It's my pleasure, Cao—Saoirse."
He immediately stood properly when she chuckled.
"You know, for a vampire prince, you're really innocent."
"And for a human, you're quite intimidating," he rebattled, copying her tone.
"Quite," she repeated, chuckling. "Whatever, I'll just call you Zennosuke tho but you have my respect as me, a normal creature, and you as a crowned prince."