Chapter 101: Sister’s Absence

Inside Lucian’s house, deep within the basement…

The room was completely covered in darkness, and all the lights were off.

Silence lingered inside the space, wrapping around the walls and the floor.

Everything was still.

And in that dim darkness lay a man with black hair, a thin sheet over him, covering his upper frame.

Lucian.

His eyes trembled, as if caught in a restless nightmare—or as though something unseen in the waking world was disturbing his sleep.

His body shifted uncomfortably against the bedsheet that was laid out on the floor.

“Hm…?”

A quiet murmur slipped from his lips, barely audible.

His voice was rough with sleep as his brows twitched, furrowing together.

Slowly, his eyelids twitched before he blinked his eyes open, staring up at the dusty roof above.

Leaning forward, he pushed himself up, sitting properly upright, stretching his arm faintly.

After blinking a few more times, he turned his head instinctively, tilting to the side.

Despite the darkness that would have made it impossible to see anything at all, his eyes could clearly see through his surroundings.

“Huh…?”

A soft, uncertain mumble escaped his lips as he noticed the empty space beside Seraphina—the place where she should have been lying.

The sleepiness lingering inside vanished, replaced by alertness.

His gaze sharpened, the faint haze in his eyes clearing in focus.

Both of them—Seraphina and Lia—had been sleeping a small distance away from him, careful not to accidentally touch his injuries, especially not in their sleep.

Just yesterday, Lia had accidentally hit her hand against his thigh in her sleep, having drifted that far without realizing it.

Thankfully, she hadn’t woken up, and he had simply moved her back to her spot properly—or she would have spent the entire night apologizing.

Leaving that story time aside for now and returning back…

His night-visioned eyes scanned the entire room, turning his head here and there… trying to find Lia.

But there was no one.

Tension started settling in his chest.

His eyes narrowed as he quickly got up and reached over to Seraphina, resting his hand lightly on her shoulder.

“Mom…”

He gently shook her awake.

Seraphina’s lashes fluttered as she stirred awake, a soft, questioning hum leaving her lips.

“Lia is not here,” he said immediately, speaking the words directly.

Seraphina blinked, her eyes sharpening as the sleepiness slowly vanished.

“What?”

She looked at him, confusion written all over her face.

She turned her head quickly, her gaze shifting to her left—and only then did she notice the empty space beside her, the place where Lia had been sleeping.

Her expression stilled, and the faint drowsiness vanished completely, replaced by concern.

“Did you check the bathroom?” she asked softly.

Lucian paused.

“I forgot. I’ll check right away.”

He instantly got up and rushed over to the bathroom, his footsteps quick with urgency.

Seraphina stood as well, carefully moving through the darkness toward the wall before switching the lights on.

The sudden brightness made her shut her eyes tightly before slowly opening them, revealing the basement with stark clarity.

A few seconds later, Lucian returned, his movements just as rushed and quick as before.

Even as the faint sting in his thigh flared with each step, he completely ignored it.

His focus was on something more important right now.

The moment Seraphina turned to him, their eyes met.

Just looking at his expression, Seraphina understood.

Lucian tensely shook his head.

“She’s not there.”

His words made her pause.

“Where could she have gone right now? And that too, at such a time like this?” he muttered bitterly.

Seraphina didn’t know what to answer.

Her brows furrowed deeply.

Lucian froze suddenly, as a thought occurred to him.

Slowly, his head moved towards the staircase, and his expression darkened in an instant.

Seraphina noticed, her gaze moving along with him.

“Do you think… she went upstairs?” she asked, her words hesitating.

He didn’t say anything and simply moved towards the stairs.

Seraphina followed behind him with a soft sigh.

Each step upward felt heavier, filling the silence with an uneasy sense of foreboding.

Lucian reached the top first.

And the moment he did, his body stilled.

His feet halted mid-step.

His eyes lowered, lingering on the door lock for a long moment.

It was an old, simple design—nothing like the ones used nowadays—with a thick metallic latch that slid into place to secure the door.

Seraphina nearly stumbled into his back before stopping.

Seeing him not moving even after a few seconds had passed, she frowned.

“What happened?” she asked in confusion.

Lucian didn’t answer immediately, making her turn toward the latch, her eyes narrowing slightly in the dim light of the narrow space.

There was nothing weird about it, nothing that would’ve made him stop in his tracks like that.

Lucian kept his eyes toward the lock for a few more seconds.

The latch…

Previously, he hadn’t pushed it in completely.

He had left a small gap—barely more than a centimeter—from fully latching it.

He had done it deliberately, out of calculation, so he would notice if either of them ever went out without him realizing.

And right now… it was perfectly closed, with no gap visible.

That meant someone went outside—someone moved the door lock.

‘Wait…’ His eyes narrowed suddenly.

‘Why is the door locked from the inside if she went out?’

The question came unexpectedly despite the urgency of the situation.

He had almost forgotten that detail.

But just then, his gaze lifted slightly, toward the small opening just above the lock.

‘Right…’ he sighed, noticing that it, too, seemed to be slightly open.

It was like a narrow gap through which letters or mail could be passed—something meant for a normal door, not a basement bunker.

Lucian didn’t know why it was even there, because it didn’t look like it had been made only for paper.

It was large enough for his hand to barely pass through, and with Lia’s thinner hand, she could have managed it.

He wasn’t sure if she had truly done all that… and he really hoped she hadn’t.

Seeing Seraphina’s intense yet confused gaze through his peripheral vision, he broke out of his thoughts.

Without explaining anything, he opened the lock and stepped out, making Seraphina’s frown deepen.

But she didn’t linger on it too much.

Both of them moved through the entire house, quickly checking each room, every corner

Seraphina wanted to stop Lucian from moving so much… since it could reopen his injuries.

Each step of his made her chest tighten even more.

But of course, it wasn’t like Lucian was going to listen.

Especially not when he couldn’t find his sister anywhere in the house.

After a few long—yet somehow short—minutes… they couldn’t find her anywhere in the house.

“She went out…” Seraphina’s voice came out unsteady, the realisation finally breaking past and settling inside her.

‘That stupid girl…’ she thought, closing her eyes in despair.

Lucian’s fingers twitched, his expression faltering as dread filled his chest.

It was still dark outside… and that wasn’t even the main reason they were worried.

After a few seconds of silence, Lucian spoke up.

“I’ll go bring her back,” he said, his expression unreadable.

His thoughts churned, bringing back those memories of his sister, and that only made him more afraid.

“Son, you are injured…” Seraphina said softly.

“You have been moving for a while now. The wounds will reopen once again.”

Her voice was laced with concern she couldn’t hide.

“And Mom, she’s out there, and you clearly know that monsters are roaming outside…”

Lucian’s words made her pause.

She couldn’t say anything about that.

Because he was right.

They didn’t know where Lia had gone, and the outside was the least safe spot right now.𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Lia had awakened, yes.

But that didn’t mean she was some hunter who was capable of doing everything.

Both her and Lia had barely killed a monster, and that too, with the help of Lucian.

Alone, they were useless—that was the truth.

But that didn’t mean she could just let her son—her only child go out—especially when he was injured.

It had been a few days, and his wounds were healing at a normal pace, but—

That didn’t mean he had healed enough to do strenuous activities.

She knew she couldn’t stop him even if she wanted to, so the only option was…

To go along with him.

“I’ll co—”

“No,” Lucian interrupted, not even letting her complete her words.

“I’ll go alone. You stay here.”

The outside wasn’t safe, and there was no way he would let her go out, especially not when they didn’t even know where Lia had gone.

Seraphina’s lips parted slightly, wanting to say something in return.

But seeing his expression, she paused.

The words she was about to say got stuck in her throat.

After a few seconds, she sighed, nodding faintly.

Lucian’s body relaxed a bit, seeing that she wasn’t going to argue.

He really wasn’t about to let her out right now.

Still, seeing her lost expression, he sighed internally.

He closed the distance and lifted her hand before gently holding it against her soft cheek.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be safe,” he said with a small smile.

Seraphina was startled by the sudden closeness, but then, slowly, she nodded.

“Bring her back safely,” she said firmly, holding his hand, her fingers brushing over the scarred wounds on his knuckles.

“And do not do anything reckless,” she added—the most important point to her.

She knew how reckless her son could be, and she had seen clear proof of it multiple times.

Lucian didn’t answer for a second, his hand slipping from her cheek as he stepped away from her.

Then—

“Hmm.” .

He gave her a quiet, noncommittal hum before rushing out of the house in a blur of motion.

Seraphina remained where she stood, her lips twitching faintly as another sigh escaped her.

‘He didn’t even say yes…’ she thought, exhaustion weighing on her—along with a deep, lingering concern—as she stepped forward, reaching for the latch.

She habitually tried to move it, but it was stuck in place.

It didn’t budge.

It seemed Lucian had locked it from the outside, clearly not wanting her to go out at any cost—so she wouldn’t follow him, even if she wanted to.

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