The Beautiful Nightmare

I stared at the night sky through my bedroom window. The night of the blood moon had passed a day ago, but Kael's shadow still haunted me.

Every word that man spoke, though brief, left a lasting impression and held a mystery. I always felt like he was watching me every moment since last night.

The longer I stayed here, the more I daydreamed. I decided to go to sleep immediately.

I woke up in an old-fashioned room, slightly dusty, with light coming from the fireplace and candles.

My clothes had changed; these were clearly not clothes from my time.

Where was this?

I faintly heard someone reciting a spell. I got out of bed and stepped out of the room.

In front of the room, someone was performing a ritual, standing with their back to me. I widened my eyes as I shifted slightly. Below, I saw Kael, covered in blood and helpless on a ritual symbol.

No! This isn't real! This is terrifying!

The man reciting the spell in front of me fell silent, as if he knew I was there. Kael, lying helplessly, also looked at me.

"Run, Vaelora."

Kael's voice wasn't audible, but I could guess from the movement of his mouth.

The man in front of me turned completely, making me nearly scream. He was a red-haired man with a scar on his face, his eyes glowing red like when he met me in the archive room.

"VAELORA!"

My breath caught, and I woke up in my room again. It was already four in the morning.

Cold sweat poured down my forehead and neck. It turned out that I was having a nightmare that felt very real.

Lucien was injured and was performing a ritual with a man who looked very similar to him.

So they were two different beings? But how could that be? Who were they really, and why were they targeting my family?

More precisely, why did they seem to be targeting me?

•••••

This morning the house is quiet, so I will take the opportunity to go back to the archive room. I will find out what Kael meant about my family being dishonest.

He said there was something he wasn't telling me, but he didn't give me any strong clues either.

I will find out who Kael Morveth is and why my family owes him their lives, why we must give life to that man.

I wonder what that man is doing right now? Does he know that I am thinking about him?

Vael, control yourself. Don't be fooled by his charming appearance, which is just a trap for you!

I stepped back into the archive room, this time making sure to hold the key so that the room could be locked from the inside and I could freely examine the entire history of the Haugen family.

I walked to the end of the room where I found a book with the names of the women in this family, including my mother. I couldn't believe it, the book was still open on the floor, exactly where it had fallen from my hands that night.

Still on the page where my name was recorded and marked.

This is crazy.

If the book was still in the same position, it meant that no one had entered this room for two days.

I picked it up, then sat down on a chair at the far end of the room. Before reading the book again, I opened the warehouse window because it was a little stuffy and the dust was still thick.

That night, I didn't read every page properly because the atmosphere was too tense and the figure resembling Kael suddenly appeared.

But because of last night's dream, I realised that Kael, who met me at the office, was the man in my dream who was performing a ritual with blood all over his body.

Meanwhile, the red-haired figure who met me in this warehouse was the man reciting the incantation with that terrifying gaze.

The disappearance of women from the Haugen family lineage over the years followed the same pattern—every ten years, they vanished. There were no traces anywhere, as if they had simply vanished like dust.

Before my mother's name, there was my grandmother's name, who had passed away when my mother was ten years old.

However, the time between my grandmother's death and the night of the blood moon when she was supposed to be taken was about twenty years.

Why was the time so long? Then there was the word "failed".

The year my mother should have been marked was the beginning of the year, before I was born. January 1999. I was born in September 1999, when my mother was thirty years old.

Then now... am I marked for the next blood moon night, precisely when I turn twenty-six?

What kind of curse is this? Starting from every ten years, now it's every twenty years? Is it because there are no more female descendants from the Haugen family besides me and my mother?

Kael, what kind of creature are you?

I flipped to another page, until I reached the page with my name marked and the date of the next blood moon.

One week left. Oh no, one week left until the total blood moon eclipse.

The next page made me unconsciously read it aloud, "Kaelith Vaeltharion Morveth."

Is this Kael's real name?

A strong wind blew through the window I had left open, startling me. The book I was holding fell again.

Kael stood right in front of me, still with his red hair and captivating hazel eyes.

The wind blew against his face, fluttering his red fringe.

"Looking for information about me, Vaelora?"

I gasped, "Kael?"

"Surprised?"

Kael pulled up an empty chair and sat down right in front of me, our eyes locked.

"I’ve been alive for 400 years. What do you think I am?"

"Impossible..." The words just slipped out of my mouth.

Has this man in front of me been alive for that long? Is he immortal?

Kael smiled at me again, sweetly, making his face look charming. His hand touched mine, cold.

His body temperature still felt cold, but not as cold as the first time, as if something had changed about him.

"Can you say I'm an immortal being? Maybe so, but only as long as the Haugen family exists."

If he were a normal human being, I'm sure he would have a luxurious house, a beautiful wife and cute children, but who would want to marry a 400-year-old man?

Oh my... Why am I thinking such a silly thing at a time like this?! I'm captivated by his appearance.

The wind blew in through the window again, this time not only hitting Kael's body, but also mine.

I could smell Kael's scent, distinctive, as if I had remembered it in my memory.

"For now, I am a semi-immortal being. Perhaps with you, I can fulfil my purpose, so that Haugen's curse ends and I become immortal," he explained to me.

"With me?" I was stunned.

Kael's explanation took my breath away; my name being marked there was no trivial matter. What would happen to me during the total blood moon?

"Yes, with you, Vael."

Kael's body drew closer, his eyes scanning my face. I could see him observing every detail there, his mouth slightly open like a man in awe.