The next morning (after the events of the first arc)
Uzi woke up to the sound of her alarm. It was 7:30 a.m. She let out a huge sigh while rubbing her tired eyes. The reason for her exhaustion was what had happened the night before: a bloodthirsty monster had somehow become her friend.
She muttered to herself, "Why did I agree to this? I should have just aimed my weapon at his heart and ended it." Then she remembered the words he had said to her and continued, "…but he seemed…"
She dragged her exhausted body out of bed with difficulty, ran a hand through her messy hair, and said, "No. No. We might be 'friends' now, but I'm not dropping my guard around him. If he tries anything, I'll…"
A loud crash came from the kitchen, cutting off her train of thought and leaving her startled.
"What the hell was that?" she whispered to herself.
She grabbed her weapon, left her room, and walked down the hallway while thinking nervously, "Did he follow me here?"
She reached the stairs leading to the first floor and continued thinking, "Impossible. The sun is up. And even if he did follow me, it would have been better for him to finish me off. So why wait until morning? And why the kitchen specifically?"
She descended the stairs while smelling something burnt. She approached the kitchen door, readied her weapon, stepped inside, and said, "Don't move or..."
The sight in front of her actually shocked her. The person standing there was none other than her father, Khan Doorman, holding a frying pan with charred eggs on it. Behind him, several pots and pans lay scattered on the floor.
Khan looked at his daughter in surprise and said, "Uzi, good morning, sweetheart."
Uzi stared in confusion. "Dad… what are you doing?"
"I was trying to make a wonderful breakfast for you and me," Khan replied.
"Breakfast? Why? You haven't done that in forever."
Khan shrugged. "Well… I thought maybe we could eat breakfast together. Wouldn't that be nice?"
Uzi forced a fake smile to hide her irritation. "Yeah… super nice… but you know, I'm already late for school, so—"
Khan interrupted her. "Oh, come on, don't be like that. Five minutes won't hurt anyone." He scraped the burnt eggs onto a plate, poured her some juice, set the breakfast on the table, and added, "So? What are you waiting for?"
Uzi didn't know what to say. On one hand, her father was finally being kind to her and had made her breakfast. On the other hand, he was only being kind after a very long period of basically ignoring her and being obsessed with his work.
With a tense smile, she said, "Okay…"
She sat at the table. Khan sat across from her with a coffee mug that read "#1 Dad."
Uzi asked, "Aren't you eating?"
"Huh… no… I'll just have my coffee," Khan replied.
During breakfast, a strange, awkward silence filled the air. Neither of them spoke; they both just stared off, avoiding each other's eyes.
Uzi thought to herself, "I don't know what's worse, the taste of this burnt egg on my tongue or this suffocating silence. I need to say something. This is getting… somehow embarrassing."
Khan thought while sipping his coffee, "Come on, come on, think of something to say. She's your daughter, for crying out loud… You have to say something or she'll feel even worse that her dad won't talk to her during the first breakfast you've shared in years."
Khan cleared his throat. "Uh…"
Uzi echoed, "Uh…"
They looked at each other, both of their trains of thought derailed at the same moment.
Khan said, "You can go first if you want…"
Uzi replied, "Oh no, you start."
"No, you go ahead. I insist," Khan said.
Uzi paused for a moment, then asked, "So… how's work?"
"Oh, it's good. You know—doors and all that. Security doors, thief-proof doors, all kinds of great doors," Khan answered enthusiastically.
Uzi's face showed faint annoyance. She knew very well how obsessed her father was with doors and how he could talk about them for hours. She thought to herself, "Did I really just ask the one question that would set him off?"
Khan asked, "So, how's school?"
Uzi poked at the burnt eggs with her fork. "Oh… school. Yeah, everything's fine."
"Anything exciting going on at school you want to talk about?" Khan asked.
Uzi looked at him in confusion. "Not really… Everyone، teachers and students، is just preparing for the prom that's happening in a month."
Khan smiled. "Ah, prom! I bet you're excited to go with your friends."
Uzi looked down at the floor in frustration. "Not really. Honestly, I was thinking of skipping it. It's just a waste of time."
The smile faded from Khan's face. "Oh… I see."
Silence stretched between them for another minute before Uzi snapped angrily, "Okay, what is the deal, Dad?"
Khan looked flustered. "Huh… what do you mean…?"
Uzi gestured toward the barely touched plate of burnt eggs. "This! The breakfast, asking about school… You never do any of this. You've basically been ignoring me since… well, you know."
Khan sighed. "Uzi… honey… To be honest, I've been getting several calls from the school about..."
Uzi shot up from her chair. "I knew it! It's because of those idiots at school!"
"Uzi…" Khan tried.
But she cut him off again. "The breakfast, all of this… You didn't do it because you wanted to. Someone forced you."
"Uzi, this is serious," Khan said. "You've been interfering with police investigations. There are multiple complaints from teachers…"
Uzi glared at him. "And why do you care now? You never cared before. You left me alone and cared more about your stupid rusty doors than your only daughter…"
Khan raised his voice. "At least the doors do their job and don't cause me problems!"
Uzi laughed bitterly. "There it is. You said it yourself. You prefer a bunch of rusty metal doors over me. You know, if Mom were here..."
Khan slammed his hand on the table. "If Nori were here, do you think she'd be proud that her daughter causes trouble everywhere she goes because of some stupid ideas about supernatural creatures? She'd be ashamed and embarrassed by her irresponsible, immature behavior!"
Uzi tried to hold back tears. "Well excuse me then. Your irresponsible daughter is going to get ready for school so she doesn't embarrass you any further." She turned and walked toward her room.
Khan called after her, "We're not done talking, young lady. Come back here."
Uzi shouted without turning around, "BITE ME!"
She stormed into her room. Khan rubbed his eyes in exhaustion and muttered, "What am I going to do with her? She's exactly like her mother, never listens."
As he was thinking, his phone rang, interrupting his thoughts.
He answered, "Yes… yes, I'm coming… Don't worry, there were some issues at home. I'm heading to work now."
He went to Uzi's door, knocked, and said, "Uzi, I'm going to work now…" No answer came from inside. He continued, "Listen… we'll finish our talk when I get back home."
As Khan left the house, Uzi sat on her bed, head buried in her knees, full of sadness. She whispered to herself, "Idiot. I don't need you. I don't need anyone." Then, with tears streaming down her cheeks, she added quietly, "No… I don't need… anyone."
That night (exactly one minute after sunset)
In the abandoned facility, the white-haired vampire N woke up. He dropped to the floor, still groggy. What had happened last night was shocking to him, he now had a friend. Not just any friend, a human friend.
He left his room carrying his coat and hat, walked down the corridor, and replayed the events of the previous night in his mind. A bit of anxiety and doubt crept in.
"I mean… V and J won't find out, right? They never pay attention to me anyway. They're always either fighting or insulting me—especially J. Right?" he thought.
He rubbed his head as he walked. "But I still don't understand. Last night she was right there. I could have finished her off and destroyed that weapon. Instead, I spilled my entire heart to her… and now we're friends. I mean, sure, she's awesome and all, but… did I make a mistake?"
He opened his mouth slightly and continued, "But what is this weird feeling I get every time I think about her?" He sighed. "I'm so confused."
He reached the entrance of the facility and noticed he was the first one up. "Looks like J and V aren't awake yet."
Deciding to leave quickly before they woke up, he thought, "If I go now… will I catch her in front of the school before she heads home?"
He spread his wings, took off flying, and said to himself, "Well, no harm in trying. I'm just checking on a friend. That's not wrong."
Copper-9 High School
Uzi stood in front of her locker, organizing her things and preparing to leave, when she heard someone call, "Hey, Zi!"
She turned and saw Thad—a cheerful, confident-looking guy with light blond, short, casually styled hair, bright green eyes, and a wide, friendly smile. He wore a shiny red bomber jacket with yellow sleeves, a black t-shirt with a big white "C" on it, regular blue jeans, and a small red baseball cap.
"How's it going?" he asked.
Uzi replied indifferently, "Nothing new, Thad." She closed her locker and added, "Same miserable, depressing life. Why do you ask?" She started walking down the school hallway.
Thad walked beside her, looking a little worried. "Well… I heard some idiots were harassing you yesterday. You okay?"
Uzi rolled her eyes. "Oh please, those morons are nothing. I handled them my way."
They reached the school entrance. Thad said, "I'm sure you did, Zi."
Then he heard someone calling him from behind. He turned and saw Lizzy.
"Oh, hey Lizzy. Where's Doll? Wasn't she supposed to be with you?" Thad asked.
Lizzy answered, "She got an important call from home. But more importantly, where were you? We agreed to meet here ten minutes ago." She glanced at Uzi and added, "And why are you with her?"
Uzi glared. "Bite me."
Thad quickly said, "Oh come on, Lizzy, don't be like that. Uzi's my childhood friend. I was just checking on her, some idiots tried messing with her yesterday."
Lizzy smirked. "Oh right… but that's not what the rumors going around her today are saying."
Both Uzi and Thad said at the same time, "Rumors?"
Uzi narrowed her eyes. "What rumors?"
Lizzy said mockingly, "I'm surprised you don't know. Are you even living in the same world as us?"
"Bite me. Just tell me the rumors," Uzi snapped.
Thad tried to calm her. "Whoa, easy Zi."
Lizzy continued, "Well, from what I heard, the emo girl at our school has a tall white-haired knight who saved her yesterday… So, Doorman, do you have a boyfriend now?"
Uzi blushed in embarrassment. "What the hell are you talking about? That guy is not my boyfriend. You're completely wrong."
Lizzy pointed with her finger. "Then maybe you should tell him that."
Uzi turned in the direction Lizzy was pointing and froze. There stood N, right in front of the school.
She thought in panic, "That idiot... what is he doing here? Why now, of all times?"
Thad said in surprise, "Whoa… Uzi, I didn't know you..."
Uzi cut him off and hurried toward N. "He's not my boyfriend…"
N saw Uzi approaching with an angry expression, but he still waved cheerfully. "Hi…"
Before he could finish, Uzi grabbed his clothes and hissed, "Shut up and follow me."
She dragged him away from the school at top speed.
After walking for a while, Uzi snapped, "What the hell are you doing here, you moron?"
N answered nervously, "I… I came to see you…"
Uzi put her hands over her eyes and sighed. "Look, I'm not in the mood for games. Just tell me what you want—quickly."
N looked disappointed. "I… I don't want anything. It's just that…"
"Come on, speak. I don't have all day," Uzi said.
"I just wanted to pass by, say hi, and see how you're doing today. That's all," N explained. He rubbed the back of his neck, his voice tinged with sadness. He felt like he had come at the wrong time and caused her trouble. He remembered how J always called him annoying and useless, and added quietly, "Sorry if I bothered you. I didn't mean to."
Uzi was surprised by his response. This was the first time someone (other than Thad, who was just naturally nice to everyone) had been genuinely kind to her. She felt a bit of guilt and embarrassment for how harshly she had acted toward him moments earlier.
She looked at the ground and mumbled, "I'm… fine… thanks for asking, I guess."
N's face lit up with a goofy smile. "You're welcome!"
Uzi crossed her arms. "Okay, there. You asked, I answered. What else do you want?"
N hesitated. "I was thinking… maybe we could… you know, hang out together?"
Uzi stared at him in disbelief and thought, "Is he serious?"
She replied, "Sorry to disappoint you, but I have to go home now. It's getting late. Bye."
She turned and started walking, thinking to herself, "Hang out? Together? Does he think I'm stupid enough to agree and spill all my secrets? No way. I'm not falling for any tricks. Besides, no one asks about you just because they care. There's always some angle, some benefit."
N said softly and sadly, "Okay… uh, I'll go now… sorry again if I caused you any trouble earlier."
He felt hurt, but this was what he expected. This was always his luck, no matter how hard he tried, he was never accepted. He hadn't been accepted by his teammates, so how could he be accepted by the girl he had tried to kill just two days ago? Still… this time there had been a tiny spark of hope. Maybe, just maybe, he could find someone who would accept him in this world. But it seemed he was wrong again.
Uzi sighed. "Ugh…" She turned back to him and said, "Listen… I'm taking the bus. You can 'hang out' with me until we reach the stop… or whatever."
N's face brightened instantly. "Really? Sure!"
Meanwhile, Uzi was mentally cursing herself for feeling sorry for him and saying that. She thought, "Let's just get this over with."
N walked beside her, smiling. After a long silence turned his smile into nervous tension, he tried to think of something, anything to say. But he realized he had nothing interesting to offer. Unlike V (cool and bold) or J (organized and smart), he was the least remarkable one. He was bad at his job, felt overwhelming guilt whenever he hunted, and the only thing he was good at was chopping up the bodies his teammates caught, which wasn't exactly the first thing to say in conversation material.
After thinking for a while, he finally said, "So… how are you…?"
Uzi snapped, "I'm fine. Fine! Can't people just understand that I'm fine and stop interfering in my life for once?"
N flinched. "Sorry… I didn't mean to upset you."
Uzi saw the sadness on his face and softened slightly. "Don't apologize. It's not your fault. It's just that everyone around me either ignores me or meddles, thinking I'm some crazy girl with mental issues because I'm apparently in an 'unstable teenage phase'."
N looked at her. "Yeah… I get what you mean."
Uzi raised an eyebrow. "Really? How?"
N explained, "Well, like I told you before… my teammates J and V always either ignore me, mostly V, or insult me, especially J, because I don't do my job properly. Every time I try to talk to them, they walk away. They think I'm just an annoying embarrassment."
Uzi asked, "Isn't there anyone else you talk to? Another vampire or…?"
N shook his head. "No. No one."
Uzi looked at his gloomy face and realized she hadn't expected this bloodthirsty vampire to have a social life as lonely as hers. She got rejected by people around her; he got rejected by the only two people he knew in his entire existence. The difference was that she could at least in theory find humans who cared if she looked hard enough. For N, there was no one else.
She asked carefully, "N… I have a question. It might be a bit personal, but if you don't want to answer, it's fine…"
N replied gently, "No, it's okay… you can ask me anything."
Uzi continued, "You said that J punishes you, right?"
"Yeah… she does it whenever I don't do my job perfectly or slack off. Honestly, sometimes she hits me even when I didn't do anything wrong just because she's in a bad mood or needs to vent. But I don't blame her. She just wants what's best for me."
Uzi was stunned. "Wait doesn't that make you angry? That's not 'wanting what's best.' That's straight-up bullying. She's turned you into her personal punching bag. You should stand up for yourself and..."
N interrupted quietly, "But… I think… she's right."
Uzi blinked. "What?"
"Yeah," N said. "As you can see, I'm a failure. An idiot. Trash. I deserve every bad thing that happens to me, every insult. After years of being hit and insulted… I just got used to it." He gave a weak laugh and continued, "You know, yesterday before the night I attacked you when I got back to the mansion, J asked if I had any success. When I said no, she didn't hit me. She just looked at me and said… 'Why don't you just die and save us the trouble?'"
Uzi's mind went blank for a second. Then she said, "Then why don't you leave?"
N looked surprised. "What?"
"Yeah," Uzi pressed. "Why don't you leave? What's keeping you there when no one wants you around?"
N answered, "It's not that I don't want to leave. Believe me, I've thought about it. But the real question is… where would I go? There's nowhere for me."
Uzi didn't know what to say. Before she could respond, N pointed ahead. "Look we've reached the bus stop. And just in time. The bus is here."
The bus pulled up. Before she got on, N said softly, "Well… I guess this is goodbye. Sorry again if I bothered you."
Uzi hesitated. "Listen… N…"
He turned to her in surprise this was the first time she had called him by name.
She finished quietly, "See you later… I guess."
N's face lit up. "Yeah! See you later, Uzi!"
Uzi added quickly, "But next time you come see me, don't stand right in front of the school. Got it?"
"Got it!" N said happily. "Oh and if you ever need any help, just ask. I love doing anything!"
Uzi boarded the bus. "Yeah, yeah, I'll keep that in mind."
The doors closed and the bus pulled away. Uzi put her hands over her face in frustration and sighed. "I said way too much. I hope this doesn't come back to bite me. Will he think I'm easy prey now?"
She leaned her head against the window and thought, "But… I didn't feel anything bad toward him. He was completely harmless."
When Uzi reached home, she tried to unlock the door and realized it was already open. She froze. "Is someone inside?"
She considered calling the police, but they knew her face and would never believe her—they'd think she was making it up. And her weapon was still inside the house; she had left it there that morning.
She looked around, found a stick, picked it up, and muttered, "Better than nothing."
She entered cautiously. When she reached the living room, she was shocked to see her father sitting on the couch with a box beside him.
"Dad? What are you doing here?" This was the first time in a long while that Khan had come home before her.
Khan said, "Uzi, I came because I want to talk to you."
Uzi headed toward her room. "Well, I don't want to."
"I know what I said earlier was awful… I'm sorry. I know you're angry, and you have every right to be. I won't take much of your time. I just want to give you this." He gestured to the box next to him.
Uzi frowned. "You want to give me your toolbox?"
"No, no this isn't my toolbox. This box belonged to your mother."
Uzi's eyes widened. "My mother? What's inside?"
"I don't know," Khan admitted. "But she told me to give it to you when you were older. And… here you are. It's yours now." He took a key from his pocket. "I'll give you the key, but first—promise me you'll be more careful from now on and stay out of trouble, okay?"
Uzi rolled her eyes. "Yeah, whatever. I promise I'll stay out of trouble if it keeps you out of my business. Happy now?"
"Very happy, sweetheart," Khan said. He handed her the key, checked his watch, and added, "Well, I should get back to work."
Uzi raised an eyebrow. "But you just got home."
Khan joked, "Oh Uzi, doors don't have set working hours." He left, leaving Uzi behind feeling disgusted by yet another door-related joke.
After her father left, Uzi turned her gaze toward the box and said, "Great… so what am I supposed to do with you now?"
She carried the box to her room. Fortunately for her, it wasn't large—it was actually quite small, which made it easy to carry.
Once inside her room, she tossed the box onto her bed, took out the key her father had given her, and thought to herself:
"Why did my mother leave this box for me? Did she really go through all that old drama just to make Dad give it to me?"
Then she spoke out loud: "Well… there's only one way to find out."
She inserted the key into the lock and turned it.
The moment the lock clicked open, Uzi heard whispers in the air. The sound startled her a little. Those weren't the noise of wind—they were something else, deeper, almost like words being spoken, but incomprehensible.
Uzi pulled herself together, steadied her breathing, and slowly lifted the lid of the box to see what was inside.
But all she found was:
a plain white sheet of paper and an old necklace with a skull symbol on it
and a black-covered book with nothing written on the front—just a strange purple emblem that looked like three equal-length arms (like spears or arrows) connected at a small hexagonal center, resembling a simple three-pronged star or a triskelion-like symbol.
Curiosity burned stronger and stronger inside Uzi. She thought:
"Why did Mom leave me this book?"
Despite the earlier chills and tension still lingering, her curiosity overpowered everything else. She decided to open the book and see what was inside.
The instant she touched the book with her right hand, a sharp, burning pain shot through it—as if her hand were on fire.
She immediately dropped the book to the floor and hissed,
"Damn it… damn it! What the hell was that? It hurts like hell!"
When she looked down at the book, she saw the emblem on the cover beginning to glow. Then letters appeared above and below the symbol.
A minute later the glow faded, and with it, the pain in Uzi's hand disappeared.
She stood frozen in place, completely bewildered. This kind of experience would be enough to make most people throw the book straight into the trash. But not Uzi. Instead, the strange event only made her more determined to read it.
When she cautiously picked it up again, there was no pain this time. Relieved, she focused entirely on the words that had mysteriously appeared on the cover.
Above the emblem it now read: Journal of Shadows
And below the emblem:
"Authored by the Sisterhood of the Night: Nori, and ____, and ____"
Only her mother's name was visible; the other two spots remained blank.
Uzi frowned and muttered, "Why is Mom's name the only one showing? Does she have some connection to this weird book? And what even is this 'Sisterhood of the Night'?"
She spoke aloud again: "Alright… only one way to find out."
She tried to open the book, but it wouldn't budge. Surprised, she grumbled "Come on, you stupid book—why won't you open? There's no lock or anything!"
After many failed attempts, she slumped into her chair, sighed heavily and said,
"What's wrong with this thing? No matter how hard I try, it just won't open. Is it cursed or something?"
She flipped the book over to look at the back cover and muttered "Maybe it needs some kind of key… or a magic phrase…"
Suddenly the book glowed again. This time, a block of text appeared on the back cover:
"You who read these words… you denier, you ingrate… You who scorn the blessing of ignorance and choose instead the hell of awareness… You whom curiosity has slain in search of answers… You who rummaged through the nights to find what is most precious… Know that in your pursuit of the forbidden... You must find the accursed key...Pay the page with your wretched blood ...To be guided to the accursed treasure... But beware, you doomed soul… beware… beware
Of the cursed voice ... Lest it lead you to your fated doom... Beware the hounds…
For they are extensions of what lies beyond the shadows... And beware the one who died in oblivion…"
Uzi couldn't understand most of what was written on the back cover. She stared at it for a long time, trying to make sense of anything. Then she repeated one particular line out loud:
"Pay the page with your wretched blood… to be guided to the accursed treasure…"
She whispered to herself, "The page… blood…"
Realization hit her. Without hesitation she rushed to the plain white sheet of paper that had been inside the box.
She unfolded the paper, placed it on her desk, picked up a pin, and said,
"Okay… I hope I don't regret this."
She pricked her finger, squeezed until a round drop of blood fell onto the pure white paper, staining it.
The paper absorbed the drop instantly. Faint lines began to appear from nowhere—simple, barely understandable marks at first.
Uzi realized she would need to give more. She kept pressing her finger, letting drop after drop fall. Each one revealed only tiny, almost meaningless lines.
She sighed, understanding that the paper was demanding much more blood.
With a look of grim determination, she took a deep breath, grabbed a small scalpel from her room, and sliced across the palm of her left hand.
Strangely, in that moment Uzi felt almost no pain. The mixture of curiosity and desperate eagerness had completely drowned out the sensation of pain.
She pressed hard on the cut, letting a steady stream of blood pour onto the paper.
Only then did the lines finally connect and complete themselves. A map of some area appeared, and above it, in clear writing, were the words:
( Manchak Swamp )