The sun in the mirror world was not like the one Nyx had known in the human world, it was pale and cold, a dim golden circle that gave more light than warmth. The morning air had an icy bite, and though school was off that day, Nyx found no real comfort in his rest. His nights were full of broken dreams, visions of voices calling to him, faces he half remembered, and the constant tug of a home he no longer had. When Nia appeared at his door with a brightness that seemed to pierce through the gloom, inviting him on a hiking and hunting trip with her siblings, he agreed, thinking that perhaps this outing would give him a momentary escape. The idea of walking amidst mountains and trees, though in this strange reflection of the world, was the closest thing to normalcy he had been offered. He dressed quickly, pulling on his usual loose clothes, baggy enough to hide the truth about his human body, and told himself this would be just another day he needed to survive. Little did he know that this decision would take him closer to a discovery he had not been prepared for.
When the royal car pulled up in front of him, Nyx was struck by its sheer presence. It was no ordinary vehicle but a vintage carriage of black metal and glass, polished to a blinding shine, its design caught between the elegance of old kings and the strangeness of the supernatural world. Its wheels seemed to float rather than turn, and with each blink, the entire car shimmered between visible and invisible, like a mirage. As the doors opened, Nia leaned out and waved with a warmth that instantly disarmed his unease, while her siblings inside looked at him with curiosity and veiled suspicion. Carl, with his golden eyes sharp and searching, gave no words, only a glance that seemed to see beyond the surface. Ziess leaned against the seat with a sly smirk, saying he didn't mind Nyx joining them as long as he knew his place and didn't "mess with him." Rieta, gentler but still probing, told him she wanted to see how good his skills really were. Nyx gave no reply, his eyes fixed on the car itself, both fascinated and unsettled by its vanishing trick. Carl caught his expression but remained silent, as though storing his observations for later, his fingers tightening around the wheel as the car began to hum with hidden power.
The moment Carl set the car into motion, Nyx felt his stomach lurch. The ground beneath them dissolved into air, and the vehicle surged forward like a streak of wind, only to vanish from sight in the blink of an eye. His hands gripped the edge of the seat as the world outside turned into streaks of gray and silver light. The road led them through strange regions, each more haunting than the last. They passed above the Goblin Sea, its dark waters churning with unnatural movements as though creatures below were waiting to swallow them whole. The car itself levitated when it crossed that region, floating weightless in midair, the horizon trembling like liquid glass. Nyx could hardly breathe, torn between fear and awe. Then, as though to break the silence, Ziess leaned forward with a mocking grin, asking why Nyx always wore such baggy clothes, sneering if his feet were deformed or ugly. Nyx froze, his pulse quickening, but before he could stammer a reply, Nia's voice cut sharply through the air, telling Ziess to shut his mouth and behave. Even Rieta sided with her, scolding Ziess with a frown. Nyx exhaled slowly, relieved but rattled, and wondered how long he could continue hiding.
Their journey carried them next through the werewolf lands, a vast stretch of wilderness with dark forests and jagged cliffs. The land pulsed with danger, an aura of something old and untamed pressing against the invisible barrier of the car. Nyx felt the weight of hundreds of unseen eyes on him, and though the car was supposed to be impenetrable, he could not shake the sense that the wildness outside wanted to claw its way in. Trying to sound curious rather than anxious, he asked about werewolves, admitting he had only heard fragments. Rieta brightened at the chance to speak of her studies, her voice calm and intellectual as she explained that werewolves had existed long before vampires, creatures that once ruled the world with their shapeshifting powers. Some could become human at will, some could take monstrous hybrid forms, but after the great curse that fractured the world's balance, they were reduced to beasts of the night. Yet, she added, even now they carried the same strength and ferocity that had once made them kings. Ziess burst into laughter, mocking Nyx for asking too much, and teased that next he would want to know about witches. He claimed he had a thesis on that too, his tone dripping with arrogance. Nyx answered softly that he already knew a little about witches and other creatures, which made Carl narrow his eyes at him. With a low, cutting voice, Carl asked how Nyx knew anything if he was truly a vampire, since even newborns were born with blood knowledge and never had to "learn" these things. The blood injected at their creation carried the truths of their world. Nyx's face paled, the weight of exposure pressing against him, and for a moment, silence hung heavy in the car. Then Nia, calm but firm, ordered her brothers to stop questioning him, brushing it off as Carl's overthinking. Nyx tried to breathe, but the look in Carl's eyes burned into his mind—suspicion had already taken root.
By the time they reached the Voluntira mountains, the cold was unlike anything Nyx had ever endured. The air was sharp, each breath cutting into his lungs, and the ground glittered with frost that seemed alive, crawling across the surface like veins of silver. His human body was not built for such temperatures, and though he fought to keep his composure, his hands trembled, his lips numbed, and his skin shivered beneath his clothes. Every step was agony, but he forced a neutral expression, knowing one slip could destroy his disguise. Still, he felt Carl's golden eyes watching him, unblinking and calculating. Finally, unable to keep the fear from his voice, Nyx asked Nia why Carl always stared at him so strangely. Nia sighed softly and admitted that Carl had sensing powers, a gift of perception, and he doubted Nyx was truly a vampire. The words struck Nyx like ice water, his heart stopping in his chest. But Nia quickly added that the fact Nyx was Jamie's brother made it unquestionable to most—Carl's doubts were simply paranoia. Nyx nodded faintly, forcing himself to stay calm, but inside he was shaking, more from fear than from cold. The bond of blood that linked him to Jamie was his only shield, but it felt fragile, one wrong move away from shattering.
The mountains rose into the sky like jagged spears, their peaks sharp enough to pierce the clouds. Among them stood the Defying Trees, impossibly tall and stretching upward as though they were determined to reach another world. Ziess, restless and competitive, smirked and declared a challenge: whoever touched the sky first would win. With that, he launched upward, his body a blur of speed, and Carl and Rieta quickly followed, leaping from branch to branch with inhuman grace. Nyx remained on the ground, his eyes not on the trees but on the heavens themselves. For he had read in the Book of Blood that in this mirror world, the sky was not true sky at all, but the underside of the human world. Here, vampires could touch it because the laws of gravity bent strangely. He knew if he acted wisely, he could outsmart them. While the others climbed, he inverted himself into a headstand, letting the pull of the human world's gravity tug at him. In an instant, he shot upward like a fallen star in reverse, passing the Mare siblings with startling speed, his body pulled straight to the ceiling of the world. Before they could even comprehend his trick, Nyx reached out and touched the shimmering surface of the sky. Gasps echoed below. When he floated back down, the siblings stared in disbelief, though Ziess quickly scowled, unwilling to admit defeat. He announced a second part to the contest—whoever returned to the ground first would be the true winner.
But Nyx was ready for this as well. Before launching upward, he had prepared his escape, placing a magnetic core beneath the land and aligning its opposite pole with himself. Now, with a flick of concentration, he reversed its polarity. The pull yanked him downward with incredible force, far faster than the others climbing down the trees. His body sped through the air like an arrow, but he adjusted the magnetic intensity just before impact, slowing his descent to a smooth and controlled landing. When his feet touched the frosted ground, he stood calmly, his expression carefully neutral, while above the Mare siblings scrambled to catch up. Ziess landed moments later, frustration written across his face, muttering that Nyx's methods were suspicious, too clever, too unnatural. Carl said nothing, though his silence was louder than words, his gaze sharp and piercing. Nia clapped lightly, her voice warm, telling Nyx that a win was a win, no matter the method. Still, the air between them felt charged, as though they all understood that something about him didn't fit, even if they didn't say it aloud.
The next part of their trip was hunting, an activity that made Nyx's stomach turn. The thought of killing creatures, drinking blood, or tearing into flesh was something his human heart recoiled from. He quickly volunteered for cooking instead, offering to prepare the meal while the others went to hunt. The Mare siblings agreed, with Ziess chuckling that cooking was an easy escape. Left alone in the forest, Nyx set out to gather wood for the fire. His steps carried him further than intended, the mist thickening until he stumbled into a place he had never seen before—the Dimension Loop. The air there felt heavy, charged with energy that hummed against his skin, and the trees twisted unnaturally, their branches forming endless repeating patterns. At first, he thought it was simply eerie, but then he heard it—screams, familiar and agonizing. His chest clenched as he rushed forward, his mind crying that Nia or her siblings must be in trouble. But when he broke through the mist, his heart froze. Hanging from the trees were bodies, swinging lifelessly, ropes tight around their necks. He recognized them instantly—his father, his grandfather, and even his friends from the human world. Their faces were pale and dead, eyes open in eternal horror, and the sight shattered him. His breath left his lungs, and darkness swept over his vision as his body collapsed to the ground.
When Nyx opened his eyes, he was lying on a mat near the campfire, his body wrapped in warmth he did not remember. Above him, Rieta looked down, her expression amused as she teased that perhaps he was low on energy. Carl's voice cut through with sharper words, saying Nyx was not low on energy but rather too high on it, reckless enough to wander into the Dimension Loop, a place even seasoned vampires avoided. Ziess burst into laughter, dismissing the seriousness of it, claiming Nyx had only wanted to escape the duty of cooking. His tone was mocking, light, but his eyes betrayed suspicion. Nia, kneeling beside Nyx, asked softly if he was alright, if he wanted to go home. Nyx forced a smile, saying he was fine, that he had only suffered hallucinations. The word slipped from his lips before he realized it, and instantly the atmosphere changed. Carl, Ziess, and Rieta stood together, their expressions dark and unified, their eyes piercing into him like blades. Ziess snarled the word back at him—hallucinations?—as if it were a curse, his voice filled with anger. The silence was suffocating, broken only by Nia's firm voice, insisting it was just a slip of the tongue, that he had meant something else. Nyx quickly nodded, repeating her claim, but his mind churned with unease, wondering why that single word had provoked such hostility.
As they ate their meal later, the tension had not eased. Rieta, breaking the silence, asked Nyx almost casually if he knew that hallucinations were not something vampires experienced. Her words were laced with meaning, her gaze sharp though her smile remained soft. She explained that hallucinations were afflictions of humans, not of their kind. Vampires, bound by the blood and the curse of their existence, were immune to such weaknesses. She added that vampires despised humans, and should any human dare to enter their world, death would be their only fate. Only witches, she said, brought humans here—using them for conversion, for feeding, or for their own twisted games. Every other creature followed the law: humans did not belong in the mirror world. Nyx swallowed hard, his food tasteless in his mouth, as the weight of her words pressed into him. His secret had never felt more dangerous, more fragile. He laughed softly, pretending not to take her words seriously, but inside, his heart pounded with dread.
When the trip ended and they returned home, Nyx retreated into his room with a heaviness that clung to him like a shadow. His body was weary, but his mind was racing, haunted by the visions of hanging bodies, by Carl's watchful eyes, by the hostility that one word—hallucinations—had drawn out. He realized more clearly than ever that his time in this world was a daily game of survival, one mistake away from exposure and death. Yet, he had also seen the perks of being a vampire—the speed, the strength, the acceptance in this society. If he wished to live here, he could not remain human. He needed to make a choice: become one of them or find a way back. The thought of his dreams, of the voices and visions pulling him toward the human world, only deepened his longing. Desperation grew in his chest, curling into determination. If Jamie could not turn him, then perhaps they could switch places again. And if neither option worked, then there was only one path left—the forbidden power of a witch's portal.