The Blood Moon.

An event that happens only twice a year.

In a world where Vampires, Werewolves and Mythical Beasts ran rampant, it wasn’t an event that we regular humans could ignore. Twice a year, the full moon that hung over the dark empyrean sky would turn crimson red.

Werewolves and other creatures aside, the Vampires were the ones that benefited the most from this semi-annual event.

On that very night, those notorious creatures of the night, which have already been enhanced through years of evolution, will reach their fullest potential. Their powers would effectively double, and their senses would be heightened beyond any comparison. Even the world’s greatest humans, the hunters of Outer Demons that are said to be the hope and last defence of humanity… Would pale in comparison to those monsters.

Fortunately, with the threat of the Outer Demons that had invaded our world hanging over our necks, humans and Vampires had settled with a peace treaty.

Gone were the days of the inquisition. Humans would no longer hunt Vampires, and the reverse was to be expected.-.

Vampires and humans would stand united to fight back the threat of the Outer Demons, the alien monsters that had invaded our planet through the use of spatial rifts.

And with that agreement came peace. The Night of the Blood Moon was no longer a hunting festival where Vampires ran amok, murdering humans on sight. Some humans had even turned the event into a day of celebration. Couples would take their significant others to nice viewing spots to cuddle and kiss under the enigmatic Blood Moon.

The Blood Moon was nothing more than a beautiful night where lovers could rendezvous and have their little midnight tryst in our modern era.

And yet…

“ARGHHHH!!!”

Lying painfully on my hospital bed, my mouth unconsciously opened up, pushing out numerous agonising groans. I rolled around in the puddle of sweat I’d created, kicking and swearing in excruciating pain. There was an unbearable heat rising from the inner reaches of my body, and I felt as if my limbs were being torn tendon by tendon.

At the same time, an icy chill broke free from my back, making every movement I made feel like a billion frozen needles piercing deep into my shallow skin. My face was flushed, and my throat had turned dry from all the screaming.

Yet, there was nothing wrong with my body on the outside looking in. There wasn’t any blood, and neither was there any skin peeling off. Everything that I was feeling was purely from the inside.

The pain continued on and on for god knows how many minutes. I tried multiple times to call for help, but no one answered. No matter how many times I pressed the button, no one was entering my room.

“N-Nurse… N-Nurse…”

My mind was in shambles. I couldn’t string together a coherent line of thought. I felt my soul being ripped apart, and my body functions were weakening by the second.

Am I going to die?

Oddly enough, the pain disappeared as that final thought came into my mind. No, it didn’t disappear per se. My mind just gained the clarity to ignore the torment that had been torturing me since childhood.

I guess… I have accepted my fate.

If I’m going to die… I won’t die in misery! I refuse to do so!

I’m going to welcome death with a smile!

I turned my head towards the glass window and directed my eyes at the towering red ball that filled the night sky. Like a sentinel, it watched over me all my life. It didn’t matter if I was ten, twenty or twenty-five. It didn’t matter if I was in the hospital or relaxing at home. The Blood Moon would always watch after me.

In a sense, it was a fitting way to leave the land of the living with the one that had watched over me all my life.

‘Ah… It’s hopeless…’

I tried my best to keep smiling, but it proved too hard to manage. My eyelids were gradually turning heavier. The senses that perceived the pain and agony I was in had turned off. Slowly but surely… The life in my soul was being drained out.

It was almost time.

‘Mom… Dad… I’ll be leaving first…’

Just before the last bit of consciousness was about to leave my body, a fuzzy silhouette appeared right before the glorious Blood Moon. My eyes were blurring out, and so I couldn’t make out the shape of that mysterious thing that emerged from the Blood Moon. Perhaps I was hallucinating; maybe I was not. But what I couldn’t deny was the sweet voice that shouldn’t exist in this private hospital room.

“Dear brother… I’m sorry… Leave the rest to me…”

‘Brother? Sorry? What on earth are you talking about?’

Before my soul drifted away, I put on one final show of defiance against the Grim Reaper. I willed myself to consciousness. My heavy eyelids pried half-open, doing their absolute best to defy the fate of eternal slumber. And while my vision wasn’t complete, it did give me one final chance to look at the intruder who had come into my room.

A breathtaking young woman. At least, that was what I could make out with what little vision I had. She had beautiful white flowing hair and an impeccable body. Her skin was pale white, even whiter than the snow that dropped from the heavens.

“My beloved brother… Have a nice little nap… Do not worry about a thing… When you awake, we can finally be together again.”

“…” ????????nr????????????. ????????????

I didn’t know how to react. No, I couldn’t respond. I was already on the verge of death, and I couldn’t compute a single thing the young woman had just said. But as I watched the exquisite woman’s eyes turn the same colour as the Blood Moon that hung beyond her shoulders…

“How beautiful…”

And with that…

The consciousness that I had hung so desperately to…

Faded away.