Her eyes locked onto mine.
Glowing.
Burning.
Familiar.
And suddenly, she remembered.
The way she died.
The way I killed her.
Her expression twisted—hate, grief, rage, all mixing into something inhuman.
Before she could move, the protector stepped forward, pulling down his hood.
"Enough," he said quietly.
His voice was calm, too calm, and the girl froze like someone pressed pause on her soul.
He looked at me with eyes full of warning.
"She is my sister," he said.
"And she shouldn't be here. She should have moved on… but your bite trapped her between worlds."
My jaw tightened.
I took a single step back.
"So you came here to kill me?" I asked.
"No," he said. "I came here to save you."
…Save me?
He nodded slowly.
"Before she destroys you. Before she destroys herself. Revenge will keep her wandering forever. I don't want that for her."
A low hum rolled through the room.
The girl's ghostly form flickered… then vanished.
Not gone—just searching elsewhere.
And then—
THUD.
The restaurant shuddered violently.
The lights flickered.
The floor tilted.
The walls stretched and distorted as if made of liquid shadow.
"It's moving," the protector muttered.
"She triggered it. She's furious."
I rushed to the door—
but it slammed shut.
Locked.
Sealed.
A trap.
Of course.
The restaurant that appears…
also traps its chosen prey.
And tonight, I was the prey.
I hissed and backed into the shadows, hiding myself as the building lurched through dimensions, settling somewhere else entirely.
She would be searching for me now.
A vengeful ghost with the memory of her death burning in her mind.
And I—
I could only wait.