I want both werewolves and vampires.

The lecture hall was unusually quiet, save for the rhythmic scratching of pens across notebooks. Professor Vivian adjusted her glasses as she glanced down at the attendance sheet. "The young lady in the third row, sixth seat." She looked up. "Julian Mitchell. Would you mind standing up and telling us what you were mumbling about in your sleep?" A wave of laughter swept through the classroom. Julian froze. Her heart pounded violently against her chest as she slowly rose to her feet. Before she could say a word, Professor Vivian sighed and waved a dismissive hand. "Try not to sleep during my class next time. And if you absolutely must, at least don't talk in your dreams." The room erupted into louder laughter. Julian forced an awkward smile, but inside, something felt wrong. Her heartbeat refused to slow. It wasn't embarrassment. It felt like... a warning. When the lecture finally ended, students streamed toward the exit. Julian lingered behind, still trying to shake the uneasy feeling in her chest. As she reached for her backpack, another student accidentally bumped into her desk. "Oh—" Her coffee cup tipped over, spilling across her brand-new white skirt. "Oh, shit..." She stared at the spreading brown stain. "Seriously? I just bought this." Normally she would have laughed it off. Today, everything felt strangely off. Back in the dormitory, Julian collapsed onto her bed, hoping to sleep away the unsettling feeling. Before she could close her eyes, her roommate called from across the room. "Julian, have you seen today's news?" Julian frowned. "No. Why?" Her roommate hesitated. "There was a wildfire." Julian sat up immediately. "A wildfire? Which state?" "The western region." Her roommate's voice became noticeably quieter. "...This one was really bad." She swallowed. "They're reporting over three hundred deaths." Julian's face instantly lost its color. "The west..." A terrible thought flashed through her mind. Her hometown. Without another word, she grabbed her phone and dialed her mother's number. The ringtone echoed endlessly. No answer. She pressed the phone tighter against her ear. Please... Please answer... Her breathing grew heavier with every second. She suddenly remembered the morning news report. Three hundred and eleven victims. Her hometown... had only a little over three hundred residents. "No..." She shook her head. "No, that's impossible." The call disconnected automatically. Julian immediately dialed again. Still nothing. A cold chill crept down her spine. Then, without warning, her vision blurred. For just a split second— she saw flames. Towering walls of fire devoured forests beneath a blood-red sky. Then she saw only one thing. A bat. Its tiny body had been burned black, hanging lifeless from a scorched branch. The image disappeared as quickly as it had come. "Julian?" Her roommate hurried over. "You okay?" Julian blinked several times before realizing she'd been staring into empty space. "My family..." Her voice trembled. "They live in the west." Her roommate gently squeezed her shoulder. "Hey... don't panic. The west is huge. Your parents are probably fine." Julian wanted to believe her. She really did. But an overwhelming sense of dread told her otherwise. She quickly dialed her home's landline. Silence. Only silence. Julian shoved her phone into her pocket and rushed out of the dormitory. She had no idea where she was going. The Student Affairs Office. Someone there had to know something. Her footsteps echoed across the nearly empty campus as she ran, her breathing becoming more ragged with every second. "Julian!" A familiar voice called after her. She stopped abruptly. Professor Shelton, her academic advisor, was standing a few meters away. His expression immediately caught her attention. His brows were tightly knitted—not because the afternoon sun was in his eyes, but because he looked as though he were carrying a burden too heavy to speak aloud. "Professor..." Julian's voice came out barely above a whisper. He gestured toward his office. "Come with me." The office was unusually quiet. Professor Shelton closed the door gently before turning to face her. He hesitated for several seconds. Then he asked softly, "Julian... have you seen today's news?" Her heart dropped. She already knew. She just didn't want to hear the answer. Her eyes began to fill with tears. "What happened...?" She struggled to breathe. "...Please don't tell me..." Professor Shelton lowered his head. "I'm so sorry." Those three words shattered the last thread of hope she had been clinging to. "The authorities have confirmed your parents' identities." Julian felt as though the room had stopped spinning. Everything became eerily silent. She couldn't hear the ticking clock. She couldn't hear her own breathing. She couldn't even hear herself crying. Professor Shelton slowly handed her an official envelope. "The university has approved a one-year leave of absence for you." His voice was gentle. "These are the remaining funds your parents left for your education." "And..." He placed another document on the desk. "...their death certificates." Julian stared blankly at the papers. Her vision blurred. A single tear landed on the official seal. Then another. Then another. Before she realized it, she had collapsed into uncontrollable sobs. Professor Shelton quietly stepped closer. Without saying another word, he offered his shoulder. Julian leaned forward, crying harder than she ever had in her life. She was only twenty years old. And now... She had no family left. Several minutes passed before Julian finally managed to speak. "...Was it really just the wildfire?" Her voice was hoarse. Professor Shelton nodded slowly. "According to the police, the fire spread because of the extreme heat and strong winds." "There is currently no evidence of arson." "I'm sorry." He paused before adding quietly, "Sometimes, no matter what we do... nature simply takes more than we're prepared to lose." Julian lowered her head. She didn't answer. Nothing anyone said could possibly make this hurt less. When she returned to the dormitory, she sat motionless on her bed. Her suitcase remained open on the floor. Her roommates exchanged worried glances. No one knew what to say. One of them silently placed a cup of warm tea beside her. Another gently covered her shoulders with a blanket. No one interrupted the silence. They simply stayed with her. Minutes passed. Or perhaps hours. Julian wasn't sure. Suddenly she whispered, "...Stealing souls..." Her roommates looked at each other. "What?" Julian stared blankly ahead. For just a moment— the strange dizziness returned. In the darkness behind her eyes... she saw a weathered wooden sign. Two words had been carved into it. Soul Exchange. The vision disappeared instantly. "Julian?" One of her roommates knelt beside her. "You've been talking to yourself." "What did you say just now?" Julian blinked. "...Do you believe..." She hesitated. "...in anything supernatural?" The room fell silent. Her roommates looked concerned. One finally sighed. "I think you're grieving." "And that's completely understandable." "But please..." She took Julian's hand. "Don't let anyone take advantage of you." "There are plenty of cults that prey on people after tragedies like this." "They'll promise miracles." "They'll promise they'll bring people back." "They can't." Julian gave a small nod. "I know." At least... She wanted to believe she knew. Yet somewhere deep inside her heart, another voice whispered— What if they could? What if there was even the slightest chance... ...to see her parents again? Julian spent the night staring at the ceiling. She never cried again. Not because the pain had faded— but because it had hollowed her out completely. The room felt unbearably quiet. Every now and then, she caught herself reaching for her phone, almost expecting her mother to text and ask whether she'd eaten dinner. Each time she remembered. There would never be another message. Never another phone call. Never another "Come home safe." Morning arrived without her noticing. By noon, her suitcase was packed. Her roommates walked her downstairs in silence. One hugged her tightly. "If you need anything..." Julian forced a faint smile. "I know." Another slipped a folded note into her hand. "You don't have to go through this alone." Julian thanked them, though she wasn't sure she believed it. Some grief was simply too heavy to share. Instead of heading straight home, she found herself standing outside the university library. She wasn't even sure why she'd come. Perhaps because grief made people irrational. Or perhaps because, buried somewhere in the back of her mind, she remembered an old book. A strange one. Years ago, she'd stumbled across it while wandering through the library's forgotten archives. Its pages had spoken of impossible things— souls, forgotten gods, and bargains no sane person would ever make. At the time, she'd laughed. Now... she wanted desperately to read it again. Maybe it could explain why she'd been seeing flames. Maybe it couldn't. Either way, she needed something—anything—to make sense of the emptiness inside her. She climbed the library steps. Only to stop. A bright yellow notice hung across the entrance. Closed Until Further Notice Building Maintenance Julian stared at the sign for several seconds. Then she laughed softly. Of course. Even the library had chosen today to keep its doors shut. She turned away. "What am I doing..." People didn't return from the dead. Books couldn't change reality. Neither could desperate prayers. She was grieving. Nothing more. That's all this was. By late afternoon, the bus pulled into the small mountain town where she'd grown up. Silence greeted her. Not the peaceful silence she remembered. A dead one. The air still smelled faintly of smoke. Entire hillsides had turned black. Trees stood like skeletons against the gray sky. Emergency vehicles had long since disappeared. Only the scars remained. Julian walked the familiar road toward home. Every step felt heavier than the last. When the house finally came into view... She stopped breathing. There wasn't a house anymore. Only ruins. Blackened beams. Collapsed walls. Ashes drifting through the wind. For a long time, she simply stood there. Then, almost without realizing it— "...Mom?" Her voice trembled. "...Dad?" Only the wind answered. The police tape surrounding the property fluttered gently. DO NOT CROSS Julian stepped over it anyway. No one stopped her. The front door no longer existed. She walked through what had once been the living room. She remembered movie nights. Christmas mornings. Her father's terrible singing. Everything was gone. The kitchen had collapsed. The staircase had disappeared entirely. She kept walking until she reached what had once been her father's study. Books lay scattered across the floor, reduced to piles of black ash. Then... Something caught her eye. One book. Half burned. Half untouched. It rested alone in the center of the room. As though someone had placed it there after the fire. Julian frowned. That wasn't possible. She knelt and carefully picked it up. The cover crumbled beneath her fingers. Something slipped from between its pages. A folded sheet of parchment drifted to the floor. Unlike everything else around it... It wasn't burned at all. Not even the edges. Julian slowly unfolded it. It wasn't a letter. It was a map. Across the top, written in dark crimson ink, were six simple words. Exchange a Soul. Come Find Me. For the first time since the wildfire... Julian felt something other than grief. Curiosity. Julian followed the crimson thread in silence. The deeper she ventured into the forest, the quieter the world became. Birdsong faded. The wind died away. Even the sound of her own footsteps seemed to disappear. Ahead, a thick wall of white mist slowly came into view. It swallowed everything beyond a few feet. Julian stopped. Every instinct told her to turn back. But the glowing thread continued into the fog. She hesitated for only a moment before stepping inside. The temperature dropped instantly. The air smelled damp, carrying the scent of moss and old earth. She could barely see her own hands. Still, she kept walking. The crimson thread was the only thing guiding her forward. After what felt like several minutes, a towering pine tree emerged from the mist. Its trunk was wider than a car. Its branches stretched so high that they disappeared into the white haze above. Julian looked down. Beneath the tree... sat a snail. A very unusual snail. It wore a tiny black bow tie neatly beneath its mouth, as though it had dressed for a formal banquet. The snail slowly turned toward her. "Oh?" Its voice was calm and refined. "A remarkably polite young lady has arrived." Julian wasn't nearly as surprised as she should have been. After everything that had happened today... A talking snail somehow seemed almost reasonable. She crouched slightly. "I assume you're here to guide me, sir." The snail extended its neck with obvious satisfaction. "Excellent manners." "It has been quite some time since anyone addressed me so properly." Julian folded the map. "So..." "Where exactly am I supposed to go?" The snail smiled. "If you continue toward the crimson light..." "It will lead you to the place your heart seeks." "My heart seeks?" Julian frowned. "You mean..." "The place where souls can be exchanged?" The snail merely blinked. It neither confirmed nor denied her question. Instead, it bowed politely. "Until we meet again." The moment Julian blinked... The snail was gone. Without a trace. Only then did a faint red glow appear somewhere deeper within the mist. Julian took a slow breath. "If talking snails exist..." "...then perhaps souls do too." She tightened her grip on her backpack. Then walked toward the light. She had barely taken a dozen steps before the ground beneath her feet suddenly gave way. Her right leg sank. Then the left. Julian froze. "...No." She looked down. A swamp. Dark mud was already swallowing her legs. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me." She struggled instinctively. The more she moved... The faster she sank. Within seconds, the mud had reached her waist. Julian laughed bitterly. "Seriously?" "Is this how my luck ends?" She had absolutely no survival skills. No rope. No branch within reach. Nothing. The swamp continued pulling her downward. She stopped fighting. Perhaps... This wasn't such a terrible ending. She closed her eyes. "If I die..." "...maybe I'll finally see them again." A peaceful smile appeared on her lips. She never noticed the weathered stone standing only a few feet away. Its faded inscription read: Once entered, none shall return. The swamp swallowed her completely. Darkness. Silence. Then— Julian opened her eyes. She was breathing. Alive. She was no longer in the swamp. Instead... She stood in the middle of an enormous stone plaza. The place was eerily empty. No buildings. No people. No sky she could recognize. Only endless gray. Julian slowly turned in a circle. "...Where am I?" Before she could take another step— A sudden rush of wings exploded overhead. Dozens of white pigeons descended from nowhere. They circled above her like a storm. "What the—" One of them darted toward her face. A flash of pain— Then... Nothing. One pigeon flew away carrying something red in its beak. Julian instinctively reached for her face. Her fingers touched an empty eye socket. She froze. "...What..." Her left eye... was gone. Yet there was no blood. No pain. Only an impossible emptiness. She staggered backward. The world spun violently. Then everything went black. As she collapsed onto the cold stone ground, a lone figure emerged from the distant mist. A man wearing a black cloak lined with crimson walked calmly across the silent plaza. One of the pigeons landed gracefully on his shoulder. It gently placed Julian's stolen eye into his waiting hand. The man examined it for a moment. Then smiled faintly. "So..." His deep voice echoed across the empty square. "You've finally arrived..." "Julian." Even as consciousness slipped away, one final thought lingered in her mind. How does he know my name? End of Chapter 1