Luka looked into Lane's sparkling eyes, which held the hope of an entire universe.
He took a cold breath and, looking at Haru, said softly, "Alright... I will be your friend."
The moment Luka spoke those words, Lane almost jumped with joy.
His face glowed like a blooming flower.
"Yes! Now we are all friends!" Lane said, clapping his hands.
His voice had that ring which only exists in carefree childhood.
Lane suddenly turned toward Yuki, who was still standing there drenched in sweat and paralyzed.
"Yuki Bhaiya? Won't you be friends with Haru Bhaiya?"
Yuki suddenly realized that everyone's eyes were on him.
Lane's words pulled him back to reality.
Without saying anything, he simply nodded his head in a mechanical 'yes'.
No sound came from his throat, but his trembling neck said it all.
Luka and Lane went back to their spot and sat on that old wooden plank.
Haru was no longer a stranger; he sat on the plank next to them with great grace.
The corner of the cell, which had been terrifying until now, began to feel a bit more alive.
Luka looked at Haru, his curiosity now outweighing his fear.
"Haru... where are you from?"
Haru lowered his eyes and began to gaze intently at the lines on his palms.
"I don't remember exactly where my home is," he started in a very low and steady voice.
"Most of my time was spent in hospitals. If I'm being honest... my parents thought I was mad and admitted me to a mental hospital."
The silence in the cell deepened. A bitter smile appeared on Haru's lips.
"They thought I was losing my mind because I saw things and 'energies' that they couldn't see."
"They thought my brain was broken, so they left me there."
"To be honest, I don't even know where I originally belong."
Yuki looked at Haru's sad face.
He didn't know whether to pity Haru or fear those eyes that saw 'energies'.
The stampede outside had calmed down, but the stories inside the cell were becoming even more haunting.
The yellow light falling on the cell walls cast deep shadows across Haru's face.
Luka's curiosity was not yet sated.
Keeping his voice gentle, he asked, "Haru... who else was in your family?"
Haru took a long, heavy breath.
"There were four of us in total. My parents and my younger brother."
Then Yuki, who had been silent until now, spoke up, overcoming his nervousness.
"But how... how were you separated from your family?"
Haru's eyes began to stare into the void, as if he were re-watching that horrific scene.
"I was in the hospital at the time. My parents had come to visit me."
"But suddenly... everything changed. Screams started coming from everywhere."
"When I stepped out of the room, no one was left alive. There were bodies everywhere."
Haru's fingers tightened on his knees.
"My younger brother, who was standing right by me... then a pack of vampires arrived. They dragged us here."
"Where is your younger brother now?" Yuki asked in a low voice.
"He is no longer alive," Haru said in a flat voice.
A wave of grief washed over the faces of Luka, Lane, and Yuki.
A heavy silence filled the cell.
Yuki felt a pang of regret for his question.
"We are sorry, Haru, we didn't mean to pry into your wounds... but how did that accident happen? How did your brother..."
Before Yuki could finish his sentence, Haru lifted his neck.
His eyes held a desolation deeper than any physical wound.
"I didn't just lose him," Haru said in steady, icy words.
"I killed my younger brother with my own hands."
Time seemed to freeze in the cell.
Luka's breath hitched, and Yuki's face turned white with terror.
Lane, who had been holding Haru's hand until now, loosened his grip.
There was neither a tear nor a hint of regret on Haru's face—
Just a horrific truth dissolving into the air like poison.
Yuki's eyes widened, a layer of sheer terror settling over his face.
"But... why would you do that?" his voice trembled.
"Your own younger brother... with your own hands?"
Not a single crease appeared on Haru's face.
He looked intently at his palms, as if still searching for old bloodstains.
"His energy..." Haru said in a cold tone.
"It had grown far beyond that of a normal child. I saw a strange glow around his body."
"The difference between holy light and Dark Energy was stark."
Haru took a long breath, the scene playing out again in his mind.
"There was blood on my brother's tiny hands and face. His teeth... when I looked into his eyes, they had turned completely blood-red."
"He wasn't a child anymore. He was trying to overpower me, lunging to kill me."
"All I could see near him was one thing—dark, black energy."
Haru's fists tightened.
"When he attacked me, whatever I could find... I drove that sharp object into his head with all my might."
"He dropped dead right there."
The silence in the cell was so deep that everyone's breathing was audible.
Haru continued, "When I stepped out of that room, my parents' bodies were lying there."
"There were deep bite marks on their necks. Their clothes were torn and their hands chafed."
"As if they had been dragging themselves across the floor to save their lives."
"They were trying to escape something, but failed."
He closed his eyes.
"I went back into that room and sat there like a stone."
"But when the screams started again, I looked into the corridor—"
"There were piles of bodies everywhere and a pack of vampires roaming. They caught me."
"Perhaps seeing my silence and helplessness, they didn't kill me."
"But they brought me here and imprisoned me in this hell."
Yuki's throat was parched. He stole a glance at Lane.
Had Haru's brother become something like what Lane occasionally turned into?
Was Haru's story a warning for Yuki?
Luka's face was etched with deep lines of concern.
He leaned in, peering into Haru's eyes, and asked in a low, strained voice.
"Is there... is there anything else you can tell us? Can this ever be undone? Can it be changed?"
Haru slowly lifted his gaze. There was a terrifying stillness in his eyes.
"Luka," he said, his tone dropping to a chilling level.
"Once this energy touches a soul, there is no turning back. It never changes."
He paused for a moment, his eyes flickering toward Lane.
Who was listening with unblinking intensity.
Haru continued, "This power, this dark energy... it is like a poison that slowly consumes one's entire existence."
"You can suppress it, you can hide it, but you cannot transform it."
"It remains inside, always, just waiting for the right moment to claw its way out."
Yuki's body went cold. Haru's words hammered against his ears.
He realized that Haru was issuing a warning—
That the innocence they saw in Lane's eyes was perhaps nothing more than a temporary veil.
The air in the cell grew so heavy it became difficult to breathe.
As if that 'dark energy' had begun to coil itself around them all.
To be continue...