Chapter 20: Predator, Not a Pervert
After what seemed like an hour of running—despite only being a few frantic minutes—the sun was hot on their trail, its blinding rays spilling like molten death behind them, chasing them through the thinning shadows of the forest.
Every passing second was life or death.
Then—they arrived.
Corven and Rose crashed into the cave, stumbling past the rocky threshold just as sunlight burst fully over the horizon. A blinding spear of light pierced the dark entrance, halting just inches from their feet.
Corven collapsed to the ground, his chest heaving, palms digging into the gritty dirt floor. The adrenaline surged through his veins, his heart pounding like war drums against his ribs.
A wild laugh broke from his lips, a rare crack in his usual cold, pragmatic shell.
"Holy shit—I almost died!" he gasped between ragged laughs, the chaos and thrill finally catching up to him.
Rose wasn’t much better. Breathing hard, she leaned against the cave wall, eyes wide from the near-death experience—but her lips curled into a grin nonetheless.
"You’re quite happy, though," she said, laughter bubbling past her own exhaustion, her nerves still buzzing like live wires. She slid down to the floor beside him, laying flat against the cool earth, letting the stone ceiling wrap around them like a shell.
"Of course," Corven panted, pushing himself upright and brushing dirt from his blood-slicked arms. "For someone who barely had fun before becoming a vampire, this kind of fun is addicting."
He scanned their surroundings. The cave stretched deeper into darkness, jagged rocks framing its narrow maw like the ribs of some long-dead beast.
’Is this my another-world cave adventure...?’ he thought, amused, letting out a breathy chuckle.