The convoy sped through the dark streets of Asteria City.
Nobody knew how much time had passed.
Without the sun, everything felt wrong.
Morning.
Afternoon.
Evening.
The darkness remained exactly the same.
The only things illuminating the city were abandoned streetlights and the crimson rings hanging above.
The roads looked like scenes from an abandoned movie set.
Traffic lights still changed from red to green.
Store signs still glowed.
A few televisions flickered behind shop windows.
Yet there were no people.
No voices.
No movement.
Only silence.
Trisha checked her phone.
5:12 PM.
It didn't feel like evening.
It felt like midnight.
She looked out the window.
The city seemed endless.
Empty.
Watching.
Every dark alley looked like it was hiding something.
Every building seemed to have eyes.
"How much farther?" Britney's voice suddenly came through the phone call connecting all the cars.
"Five minutes," Liam answered.
"Good."
She sounded exhausted.
"I never thought I'd miss homework."
"You hate homework," Ethan reminded her.
"I know."
Silence.
Then—
"I miss hating it."
Nobody laughed.
Because everyone understood.
They missed ordinary things.
Homework.
Classes.
Annoying alarms.
Crowded hallways.
Things they had complained about only yesterday.
Now those things felt precious.
Liam turned another corner.
Then he stopped.
Royal Crest University stood before them.
Its massive iron gates were open.
The campus lights still worked.
Tall buildings surrounded the enormous courtyard.
The familiar clock tower rose proudly above everything else.
Its giant clock still ticked.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
The sound somehow carried through the silence.
Normally, students would be everywhere.
Walking.
Laughing.
Talking.
Some would be sitting on benches.
Others would be rushing to class.
Today—
Nothing.
The campus was empty.
A cold breeze swept across the grounds.
Dead leaves rolled across the pavement.
"This place suddenly looks creepy," Henry muttered.
"It always looked creepy at night," Grey corrected.
"No."
Henry frowned.
"This is different."
It was.
Everyone felt it.
The university looked exactly the same.
Yet somehow completely different.
As if something invisible had changed.
As if the campus itself knew something terrible had happened.
Liam drove inside.
The other cars followed.
They finally stopped near the administration building.
Nobody got out immediately.
Silence filled every vehicle.
Then Hamim sighed.
"Well."
Nobody responded.
He opened his door.
"If monsters eat me, tell my parents I was handsome."
Britney looked offended.
"That's your final message?"
"I have priorities."
That finally earned a few weak laughs.
One by one, everyone got out.
Standing together somehow made the campus feel less frightening.
Austyn looked around.
"No students."
"No staff either," Gold added.
Hazel frowned.
"Where did everyone go?"
Nobody knew.
The answer frightened them.
Because there should have been people.
Thousands of people.
Royal Crest University never closed.
Yet now—
It belonged only to them.
A loud sound suddenly echoed.
Creeeeak.
Everyone jumped.
The giant front doors of the administration building slowly opened.
By themselves.
Silence.
Nobody moved.
Britney immediately stepped backward.
"No."
"No what?" Ethan asked.
"I'm not entering the haunted building."
"It isn't haunted."
"The doors literally opened by themselves."
She had a point.
The doors remained open.
Darkness filled the entrance.
Almost inviting them inside.
Liam looked around.
Then up at the crimson rings.
He remembered the message.
Seek shelter before midnight.
"This might be the sanctuary."
"What if it's a trap?" Grey asked.
Silence.
That was also possible.
Nobody trusted anything anymore.
Trisha suddenly frowned.
She was hearing something.
A sound.
Soft.
Familiar.
She looked toward the building.
The sound became clearer.
A heartbeat.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
Her breathing hitched.
Not again.
"Liam."
He looked at her.
"What?"
She hesitated.
"I hear something."
Everyone turned.
"What kind of something?" Amazon asked.
"I don't know."
The heartbeat became louder.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
It sounded like something huge was sleeping somewhere inside the building.
The same sound.
Exactly the same.
Her dream.
The golden eyes.
The ancient voice.
Her face slowly lost color.
"Trisha?"
She looked at Liam.
Then toward the building.
"I've heard it before."
Silence.
"When?"
She swallowed.
"The dream."
Nobody spoke.
Even the wind seemed to disappear.
Then Henry cleared his throat.
"Okay. That's terrifying."
Nobody disagreed.
Another sound echoed.
Footsteps.
Everyone froze.
Someone was inside.
A figure slowly emerged from the darkness.
An old man.
He looked to be around seventy years old.
His hair was completely white.
He wore a black suit.
Most importantly—
He looked calm.
Too calm.
As if the world hadn't ended.
The old man smiled.
"I've been waiting."
Nobody moved.
The smile remained on his face.
"Welcome, Heirs of the Blood Moon."
Silence.
Britney pointed.
"How do you know that title?"
The old man ignored her.
Instead, he looked directly at Liam.
"Moon Werewolf."
Liam stiffened.
Then the old man slowly turned.
His gaze settled on Trisha.
The smile disappeared.
For the first time, his calm expression changed.
Shock.
Then disbelief.
Then something else.
Fear.
He took a step back.
"No..."
Nobody understood.
The old man stared at Trisha as if he had seen a ghost.
"It can't be."
"Liam?" Trisha whispered.
He was equally confused.
The old man continued staring at her.
His entire body suddenly trembled.
Then he did something completely unexpected.
He slowly knelt.
Everyone froze.
The old man lowered his head.
His voice became barely a whisper.
"The Vessel..."
Silence.
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
Trisha blinked.
"The what?"
The old man slowly looked up.
His eyes were filled with fear.
And something else.
Respect.
He looked directly into her eyes.
"The Vessel has returned."
The words echoed through the empty campus.
At that exact moment—
DONG.
The crimson rings pulsed.
DONG.
The ground trembled.
DONG.
Every electronic screen on campus suddenly lit up.
Crimson letters appeared.
WARNING.
THE THIRD PHASE WILL BEGIN IN SIX HOURS.
THE HUNTERS HAVE AWAKENED.
PROTECT THE VESSEL.
The words remained.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody even blinked.
Then everyone slowly turned toward Trisha.
Silence swallowed the campus.
And for the very first time since the red moon appeared—
Trisha Hunters became afraid of herself.