Yuki was still sitting near the small children.
His hand still resting on the little girl's head.
A strange silence filled the cell.
One that felt like the precursor to a coming storm.
Then, from the corner where the other boy stood chewing his bread, a cold and flat voice echoed.
"Do you even know how dangerous that child you were just with is?"
Yuki's hand froze.
He looked up, startled, at the boy.
The boy was still standing like a stone.
But his eyes were now fixed directly on Yuki's.
He took a long breath and continued.
"Shall I tell you something?"
"This boy, whom you care for so much... for whom you are sitting here like a shield."
"He is actually a walking 'warning bell'."
There was no anger in the boy's words, only a warning that sent a shiver deep inside.
Lane, who had been sitting silently until now, slowly lifted his head.
The air in the cell suddenly felt cold.
Yuki tightened his grip, but his mind was now caught in a whirlpool of questions.
Why was this boy saying such things about Lane?
Did this cold-hearted boy know something about Lane that even Luka and Yuki didn't?
The yellow glow of the artificial light now seemed even more sinister.
Yuki's eyes widened in disbelief.
He looked back at Lane for a second and then turned back to the boy.
"How... how can you say that?"
There was an unspoken tremor in Yuki's voice.
"Lane is just a small child. How could he be dangerous?"
Yuki was about to ask more questions, but the boy cut him off.
Holding his half-eaten piece of bread, he spoke in a deathly calm manner.
"I can see things that perhaps you cannot."
He fixed his gaze on Lane's bowed head.
As if peering through his skin into some hidden truth.
"I've been watching him for quite some time."
"He doesn't seem like an ordinary child at all."
"You'd be safer if you stayed away from him."
The boy's voice now sounded heavy, like that of an old man.
"His energy... the power inside him is far greater than any normal child."
"In fact, I have never felt this kind of energy even in a full-grown vampire, let alone a child this small."
Hearing this, the silence in the cell grew even deeper.
Something felt stuck in Yuki's throat.
He noticed the lights in the room seemed dimmer than before.
And an indescribable shadow seemed to loom around Lane.
Whether the boy was telling the truth or just trying to scare him, Yuki's heart began to race.
Yuki was listening to the boy's words.
Yet his own gaze remained fixed on the ground.
Those words echoed in his mind—'dangerous energy', 'stronger than a vampire'.
Could it be true?
Yuki slowly turned his neck and looked toward Lane.
The moment Yuki's eyes met Lane's, he felt a strange flutter in his chest.
His heart began to race.
He thought to himself, "He's just a little child."
"He's probably the same age as my own siblings."
"What is it about him that makes him the most terrifying thing here?"
There was confusion and an unknown fear in Yuki's eyes.
As if he were searching for a monster within that tiny face.
Lane, who had been silently twisting the corner of his shirt until now, felt someone watching him.
He lifted his gaze and looked directly into Yuki's eyes.
Seeing the fear on Yuki's face, a very sweet and gentle smile drifted across Lane's lips.
His eyes held that same old spark.
As if he were telling Yuki that everything was alright.
That smile was so pure and innocent.
That for a moment, Yuki felt the other boy must be lying.
But behind that smile was something that shook Yuki to his core—
A stillness that was profoundly deep and mysterious.
The strange boy was still leaned against his corner.
His jaws moved slowly.
As if he were chewing through Yuki's patience along with that dry bread.
He looked at Yuki with half-open eyes and said with a faint, bitter smile.
"He's quite a handsome child, isn't he?"
His voice was cold and flat, like it was coming from an ancient cave.
"So handsome that anyone would give their life for him."
Yuki wanted to say something, but the boy didn't stop.
He pointed with his finger toward the corner of his own eye.
"But have you ever looked closely at his eyes? I mean... truly closely?"
Yuki's throat went dry.
Despite himself, his gaze shifted toward Lane's face.
"Just once... just once look at the area beneath his eyes and lashes," the boy whispered.
"There are some strange marks there. Like a fine web or a deep pattern..."
"Starting from the corners of his eyes and vanishing somewhere inside."
"Take a closer look, and you'll understand why I call him a 'warning bell'."
Yuki felt his legs going numb.
In the artificial light of the cell, Lane's innocent face now looked like a riddle that might be fatal to solve.
Lane was still smiling.
But behind that smile, that 'pattern' was now beginning to pull Yuki in.
The boy didn't stop after saying his piece.
He narrowed his eyes, seemingly enjoying the confusion surfacing on Yuki's face.
"But I don't think that child will ever let you get that close to his eyes."
He lowered his voice even further.
"Why don't you give it a try?"
"Maybe he'd let your other friend get close... the one who was so dear to him."
He pointed toward the empty passage through which Luka had disappeared.
"I don't think he allows anyone except him to even touch him."
"That boy... what was his name? Luka? Maybe he can help you."
He popped the last bit of bread into his mouth and fixed his gaze back on Yuki.
"You should probably wait for him."
"When he returns, pay attention."
"Perhaps he can show you what I am seeing right now."
Yuki felt paralyzed.
He looked at Lane, who was still wearing that innocent smile.
But now, instead of comfort, Yuki felt an unspoken dread in that smile.
It felt as if an invisible wall had been built between him and Lane.
He began to wonder—does Luka know about these marks?
And if he does, why has he been silent all this time?
In the artificial light, Lane's face looked like a beautiful stone statue.
Within which a very ancient and deep secret was buried.