'Sometimes, even the best things can end suddenly.'
Nikolai thought to himself while watching the change in Selene's calm face after her phone began to sound a moment ago. He saw the caller ID was her father, Vladimir, but the look of fear and confusion in Selene's eyes made him feel concerned.
"I know, father... but why now?!" A low, muffled voice filled with irritation and anxiety came from Selene's mouth as she stood on the distant wall. If not for his evolved body after help from Luisa and Alexei he might not have heard even this.
[Mm... Nikolai, are you alright? What happened?]
'What do you mean, mother?'
It was strange; over a day ago, his mother suddenly started sleeping. Yet, when he heard her first words, Nikolai felt she didn't seem to know what had happened.
[Ah... I'm sure I heard something strange, but then I felt my connection with the pendant become really weak.]
[Because of that, I panicked and tried to conserve my power. It feels like... everything suddenly became a blur, and I only recovered a moment ago.]
"!!!"
'Isn't that...'
He didn't finish his thoughts because the woman he doubted for a moment gazed at him with a strange look.
Selene's dull red eyes almost felt desolate and empty while her arm holding the phone dangled loosely. She felt like a marionette with her strings suddenly cut and abandoned. An eerie state without the same vibrance and aura Selene carried around her.
However...
Nikolai could feel her deep, intense emotions. He couldn't stand this sight, turning his black. With his Obsidian Gaze, he could see that her vermillion essence was in chaos. Not only that, there was something different...
'Why is there another, completely different essence inside her heart now?!'
Unlike when they shared blood, which allowed his evil god's blood to purify hers to increase the purity of her Tepes Royal bloodline. The method of slowly increasing the amount by copying and mimicking the blood with his Obsidian Tide.
'What is that? There was a cold yet regal blood now coursing through her body. Even my Obsidian gaze cannot fully determine its source or strength.'
He wanted to move closer, yet the feeling from Selene, her atmosphere and that look of utter dismay and terror that she quickly hid from him. All made Nikolai's chest feel tight. There was something that made her look so dark.
Yet she didn't wish to share it with him. Or the thought of sharing that thought seemed to crush her as she looked at him with tears in the corner of her eyes.
[Somehow, I can't remember anything... when I do, the connection with the pendant feels weaker.]
He couldn't risk his mother's soul, and when his eyes gazed at the pendant, there was the same strange icy energy inside the pendant.
Though it was slowly fading, like ice being thawed in the sunlight, something had touched... no, someone attacked his pendant while he was unaware.
'Mother, what should I do?'
[I don't know, but first, why not go to her?]
[That's probably the only thing you can and want to do right now; something isn't right...]
Nikolai felt the same; after noticing the subtle changes and strange differences in Selene over the past two days, he felt confused, and it made him feel doubt for the first time.
Yet it didn't change his desire, wanting to comfort her as he shook off the dark thoughts and jogged to Selene's side.
[Nikolai, so be careful.]
'I cannot lose you...' Nikolai sighed, his body reaching closer to Selene. Yet, despite his hopes, her face remained so dark and hopeless that it made him feel frustrated.
'I will not let either of you come to harm... we must discover what that strange blood is... even with your help, can we not identify it?'
"Nikolai, I..."
"Are you alright, Selene? If you need to do something. It's okay with me." Nikolai's voice was deep yet soft, trying not to blame or show his current feelings. A calm and steady voice that made Selene's eyes widen while her hands clenched with a slight trembling.
"Mm... it's something to do with my family. The call was from my dad."
[She's a little fragile, don't push her too hard.]
'I know, mother, how could I push her hard when she looks like she's about to shatter into a thousand shards of ice.' ReadNovelFull.com|l-e-ReadNovelFull.com
Selene didn't lie or hide anything about the call, though she didn't go into specifics. This was enough for now; he understood that family issues in the world of monsters were not something so easy to step into, especially for outsiders.
'We are still only engaged via a contract. I have to maintain my calm and not corner her.'
"That's fine; you'll be heading back, right? I am sure we can go on a trip like this in the future so don't feel burdened because of me, okay?"
Her mouth opened as if she wanted to speak, her eyes still wet with tears, yet she maintained a slight distance. Her aura and feelings showed fear, embarrassment and affection. Because he couldn't feel any sense of betrayal or negative emotions, Nikolai didn't push her further. Instead, he wanted to be Selene's support.
"Is that really okay... you aren't upset?" Selene's changes after they slept together seemed to have remained. The first wall she made to reject the outside world no longer applied to him. But finding out there were more walls and hidden issues was a complex feeling for Nikolai.
'I cannot afford to lose focus; in a few days, I will be fighting a true-blooded noble vampire... Although he isn't from a family of a combat type bloodline. Alistair is still powerful when it comes to blood arts.'
He came to realise that his blood art, even though it improved, wasn't perfect and that even his evil god's bloodline couldn't give all the answers.
Instead, he began to follow his instincts and desires. "Then, when I beat Alistair. How about we go on a trip with Me, you and Nikita. I know you might be mad, but we can't leave her out. She will be really mad if we do it twice. It'll be like old times..."
However, contrary to his thought of her rejection, her dark face, for the first time since that sudden call, began to smile. "Nn... I would love that." A feeling of relief and appreciation flowed from her body.
"Come here. I know you have to leave, so let's not end this trip on a dull note."
'I regret not using this power more...' He became complacent and stopped using his blood art and heavily relied on just the Obsidian Eyes and Focus. Even though it had its strengths, it couldn't show the feelings and well-being of his close ones through that dark and empty bloodline.
Selene hesitated for a moment; the sound of her heart pounding faster echoed in Nikolai's ears.
The change from a few minutes ago was too extreme. Her eyes filled with vibrance as she rushed towards him, jumping off the small wall and into his open arms while closing her eyes.
[My son... when did you learn to charm and trick these poor girls so well?]
Of course, as the couple embraced each other, their eyes gazing at each other, filled with concern and worry. Yet affection and happiness soon overwhelmed those feelings.
Elizabeth knew that her son. Nikolai was gentle and caring, so when he started using his heart more instead of the obsidian blood coursing through his veins, she felt at ease.
'I just don't want to see her look so desolate and defeated...'
[I know, that's one of your good points, just like your father. He always came to me when I felt the crushing weight of my future...]
"Nikolai... if I was to vanish, to be hidden away somewhere in the dark. Would you come and save me?"
'!!!"
A strange feeling suddenly flowed through his mind and blood art; inside a desolate and cold prison. He saw the image of Selene chained up and encased while her face looked enraged, almost feral, like a beast who lost control. She exposed her fangs extended and sharp claws tearing at the walls.
For a moment, he felt it was more like a prophetic vision than his imagination.
'I don't like the feeling of this sudden change.'
"I would save you, no matter what."
"Even if I wasn't the first..." Selene's voice became weak and trailed off as she pushed her face into his chest. There was a violent change in her emotions and feelings, causing her to become a different person. A cold feeling of rejection towards him for the first time.
"Hmmm?"
"N-Nothing..."
However, like a mirage, that feeling soon vanished, and the regular Selene returned, her eyes now wet with tears as she rested her weight against him. The cheers and cheerful sounds of people around them echoed along with the calming tide.
"Okay, I'll wait till you're ready to tell me everything."
"Nn... thank you, Kai."
Despite dying to know, his mind raced to understand what was happening. Nikolai would prioritise the current moment with Selene. 'If I let her slip away and fall into that state again because of my selfish feelings and curiosities. I might lose this feeling forever.'
So he stopped. Despite the possibility of a hidden issue in the future, he stroked her hair and gently kissed her forehead; none of that mattered anymore.
"I trust you and don't need you to rush or stress because of me. So, if you need to go then I will send you with a smile. Know that you can come to me whenever it gets too hard or you don't think you can continue."
He felt his feelings for Selene and Nikita were different to how he felt in the past for Mira; even when they were together. He couldn't understand why he had changed and what made him feel these two women were so precious.
"Kai... why are you so good to me, even when I am so horrible and stubborn? Idiot... this way, it feels like I will rely on you and become a useless woman."
Until it clicked inside his mind. Without using his blood arts or superhuman blood... He realised the truth. 'Ah... I guess that my feelings for Mira were never love, were they?'
However, this realisation for Nikolai felt like a sudden weight, a burden finally lifted, as a soft, wet touch pressed against his lips. A gentle yet brief kiss, but the emotions contained inside Selene's heart at that moment were enough.
"Then become useless. I don't plan on letting you slip away." He called out as she started walking towards her car, her aura no longer dark but stable and confident. Nikolai was sure he made the right choice by following what he wanted and desired.
A path that he wanted, not just for his love life...
He would do what he pleased with everything, hunting, the tower, the arena, Ryan and the SSS.
"Idiot... why do you make me want to stay? Haha... after all, I love Kai the best."
'Ah...'
There it was.
Her beautiful smile finally returned. Not the strange, wicked smile or the terrifying, twisted smile from the night before, but a smile made up of happiness, her embarrassment and a slight pout.
"I'm going~ Hmph! You better respond to my messages... and don't ignore me!"
Selene's lovely face returned to what he remembered, her red cheeks and acting playfully arrogant. Nikolai watched her enter her car, and her gaze didn't leave him until she turned the corner.
"Ah... why are you so cute? It makes me want to drag you back right now. Selene!"
'Mother, you can rest tonight. I am going to train at Alexei's gym, then meet Ryan to plan for the ghoul's lair mission.'
[My little boy has grown up~ mother is so happy; when will I see my little grandchildren?]
'It's too soon for that, mother...'
[Hmm? But I could have sworn... No, you're right, at least she wasn't.]
Not like he blamed her for those feelings, trapped in a pendant, her ghostly figure only visible to him when using his obsidian eye.
'I will save you both, Mother, Selene... I swear on my life.'