Lavinia quietly closed the bedroom door behind herself.
Click.
The sound was barely audible.
She leaned back against the door and let out a slow breath.
"...Haa..."
Silence settled around her.
Violetta wasn't wrong.
Feeling closer to other vampires wasn't inherently dangerous.
If anything...
It was comforting.
The ease with which they laughed together.
Teased one another.
Played.
Supported each other.
None of that threatened humans.
It simply...
Made vampires feel like family.
Still...
One thought lingered.
If what Violetta suspected was true...
Then meaningful conflict between vampires had become even less likely than before.
Lavinia honestly struggled to imagine intentionally harming another vampire now.
Even when Rosaline had irritated her.
Even when Valerie relentlessly teased her.
Even when Evangeline deliberately embarrassed her.
She never truly wanted to hurt them.
That realization felt...
Pleasant.
And vaguely unsettling.
Lavinia pushed herself away from the door.
She stretched.
Both arms reached toward the ceiling as her back arched.
Her joints gave several soft pops.
"...Mmm..."
She lowered her hands with another sigh.
Being a vampire had changed many things.
One of the stranger adjustments...
Was time.
Or rather...
How much of it she suddenly had.
Night belonged to her.
Every instinct inside her awakened after sunset.
She felt energetic.
Focused.
Comfortable.
Then morning arrived.
She didn't dislike the daytime.
Not exactly.
It simply...
Wasn't hers anymore.
She could remain awake.
Move around.
Read.
Watch television.
Talk with the others.
Yet somewhere beneath all of it lingered a persistent feeling that she ought to be sleeping instead.
It wasn't overwhelming.
Merely...
Suggestive.
Lavinia wandered over to the couch.
She settled into one corner.
Pulled both legs toward herself.
Curled sideways.
Half sitting.
Half lying down.
The television remote rested on the table.
She picked it up.
Click.
Morning programming.
News.
Cooking.
Drama.
Nature documentaries.
Another news channel.
She flipped aimlessly between them.
Every station discussed the same thing.
The Second Divergence.
Maps.
Road reconstruction.
Government statements.
Supply routes.
Wildlife.
Satellite imagery.
Over and over again.
One thing did stand out.
Despite the Earth itself changing...
Communications remained remarkably stable.
The internet still functioned.
Satellites still transmitted.
Phones still connected.
Some outages had occurred immediately afterward.
But remarkably...
The global communications network had survived.
Lavinia found herself oddly grateful.
She wasn't entirely sure why.
Perhaps because losing the internet alongside everything else would've felt...
Lonely.
She stopped on an action movie.
A gunfight filled the screen.
Characters dove behind overturned vehicles while explosions erupted around them.
Lavinia watched quietly.
Then...
She chuckled.
"...Right."
Her gaming account.
She'd almost forgotten.
The one she'd been permanently banned from after the First Divergence.
For several moments she simply stared at the television.
"...Maybe..."
She murmured.
"...I could stream."
The thought amused her.
She tilted her head thoughtfully.
Streaming during the day.
Talking to people.
Playing games.
It would certainly help pass the hours until sunset.
She imagined opening a broadcast.
"Hello everyone, I'm a vampire."
She snorted softly.
The viewer count would probably explode.
Not because she possessed extraordinary talent.
Because she possessed fangs.
That alone would attract attention.
Her amusement gradually faded.
"...Or."
She rested her cheek against one hand.
"...it'd become exhausting."
Recognition worked both ways.
People interested in vampires would arrive.
So would people who hated them.
Arguments.
Accusations.
Conspiracy theories.
Endless debates.
She didn't particularly mind criticism.
At least...
She didn't think she did.
Still...
Why invite unnecessary trouble?
She could simply...
Not.
Lavinia picked up her phone instead.
She began absentmindedly scrolling.
Gaming clips.
Artists.
Musicians.
Travel videos that suddenly felt strangely outdated.
Streamers adapting to the newly expanded world.
Someone attempting to map a new forest.
Another discussing wildlife.
The world had changed.
Online had changed with it.
Several minutes slipped by peacefully.
Then...
Footsteps.
Lavinia's crimson eyes lifted from her phone.
She listened.
Soft.
Measured.
Flowing.
Almost no sound at all.
No heartbeat.
No uneven breathing.
A vampire.
Humans moved differently.
Shoes scraped.
Fabric rustled more noticeably.
Their hearts beat steadily beneath everything else.
Even from another room...
The distinction had become effortless.
A gentle knock never came.
Instead—
The door quietly opened.
Rosaline stepped inside.
Her crimson hair caught the soft lamplight.
She smiled immediately upon seeing Lavinia.
Without asking...
She crossed the room and dropped comfortably onto the couch beside her.
Lavinia raised one eyebrow.
Rosaline answered before she even spoke.
"I'm bored."
Lavinia looked at the clock.
"It's been almost four hours since sunrise."
She looked back toward Rosaline.
"The others aren't sleeping because they're tired."
"They're bored too."
"So they went to sleep."
Rosaline leaned backward dramatically.
Her head rested across the back of the couch.
Long red hair spilled over the edge like a crimson waterfall.
"I know."
She rolled her empty red eyes.
"Sleeping is just easier."
Silence settled again.
The movie continued playing unnoticed.
After another minute—
Rosaline asked quietly,
"Do you miss the sunlight?"
Lavinia slowly turned her head.
She stared at Rosaline with complete deadpan seriousness.
"...Why would I miss the hot sun?"
Rosaline laughed.
"I walked into that."
"You did."
Rosaline grinned.
"Were you someone who never went outside as a human?"
Lavinia looked almost offended.
"I went outside quite a bit."
She folded her arms.
"Which is exactly why I know the sun is hot."
She looked toward the tightly closed curtains.
"It was hot even during fall."
Rosaline chuckled.
"I suppose that's fair."
Neither spoke afterward.
The television continued filling the silence.
Rosaline watched absentmindedly.
Lavinia shifted slightly.
Several loose strands of golden hair drifted into the corner of her vision.
She casually brushed them behind one pointed ear.
Rosaline's eyes followed the movement briefly.
Then she asked,
"What are we doing tonight?"
Lavinia laughed.
"I have no idea."
She looked toward Rosaline.
"Why are you asking me?"
Rosaline blinked.
"...You don't realize it?"
Lavinia tilted her head.
"What?"
Rosaline smiled knowingly.
"You've become the center of the group."
Lavinia immediately shook her head.
"No."
Rosaline waited.
"Any of the others could take my place."
Rosaline slowly raised one eyebrow.
"...Do you really believe that?"
Lavinia didn't answer.
Instead...
She looked toward the television.
Rosaline sighed dramatically.
Then...
Reached over.
Grabbed Lavinia's foot.
And pulled.
"Hey—"
Lavinia slid several inches across the couch.
Rosaline continued holding her ankle.
"You ignored my question."
Lavinia sighed.
"...I'm not ignoring it."
"You absolutely are."
"I just..."
She searched for the words.
"...don't think I'm particularly special."
Rosaline remained silent.
Lavinia continued.
"I know everyone sort of acts like I'm important."
"But..."
She shrugged.
"Anyone else could do what I do."
Rosaline interrupted immediately.
"What do you do?"
Lavinia opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
Rosaline waited patiently.
"...See?"
Lavinia frowned.
"I'm not downplaying myself."
She smiled faintly.
Though there wasn't much humor behind it.
"I'm just..."
She looked toward the television again.
"...like everyone else."
"I don't know what I'm doing."
"I'm uncertain."
"I'm trying to figure things out."
"Same as all of you."
Rosaline quietly released her foot.
"I never said you had everything figured out."
Lavinia looked back.
Rosaline smiled warmly.
"I said you've become our leader."
Lavinia rolled her eyes.
"I'm terrible leader material."
Rosaline waited.
"I'm confident about my appearance."
Lavinia admitted.
"I think I'm pretty."
Rosaline laughed softly.
"But leading people?"
She shook her head.
"I've never done anything like that."
"I don't even know why everyone keeps looking at me."
Rosaline gently twirled one long lock of crimson hair around a finger.
She shifted until she faced Lavinia directly.
"No matter what you think..."
She smiled.
"...you're the center."
Lavinia groaned loudly.
"Please stop being so mushy."
Rosaline immediately laughed.
"If I woke everyone else up right now..."
She covered her smile with one hand.
"...every single one of them would agree with me."
Lavinia rolled her eyes so dramatically they almost disappeared beneath her eyelids.
"...Traitors."
Rosaline giggled.
Lavinia responded by lightly kicking her.
Rosaline caught the foot effortlessly.
"Too slow."
Before Lavinia realized what she intended—
Rosaline's fingers danced across the sole of her foot.
Lavinia jerked violently.
"R-Rosaline!"
Rosaline only laughed harder.
"You really are ticklish!"
"No I'm not!"
"You absolutely are."
"I object!"
Rosaline ignored the objection completely.
Her fingers continued mercilessly.
Lavinia twisted across the couch trying to pull her foot free.
She failed.
"Rosaline!"
She laughed despite herself.
"Stop!"
"No."
Rosaline replied cheerfully.
"You kicked me."
"It was retaliation!"
"So is this."
Lavinia tugged harder.
Still nothing.
"You've become stronger."
"I've become motivated."
Rosaline corrected.
Lavinia covered her face with one hand while helpless laughter escaped her.
"I regret everything."
"I know."
Rosaline said happily.
"And you're still the center."
Lavinia groaned.
"...You're impossible."
Rosaline's smile softened.
"I know."
For a moment...
Neither of them spoke.
The television continued playing in the background.
Outside...
The eleventh day carried on beneath a bright autumn sun.
Inside the safehouse...
Two vampires sat together on an ordinary couch, one still holding the other's foot, laughing over something as simple as playful teasing.
For all the uncertainty the Second Divergence had brought...
Moments like these reminded Lavinia that life had not stopped.
It had simply become different.
And perhaps...
That difference did not have to be something to fear.
...
Rosaline had fallen asleep.
Lavinia wasn't entirely sure when it had happened.
One moment Rosaline had been laughing while stubbornly insisting Lavinia had become the center of the group.
The next...
She'd gradually grown quieter.
Her breathing had slowed.
And now she rested comfortably against the couch, one arm loosely folded across herself, crimson hair spilling over the cushion.
Lavinia smiled faintly.
"...You really were bored."
She reached for the remote resting beside her.
The television was already fairly quiet.
She lowered the volume another few notches until it became little more than a gentle murmur filling the room.
Rosaline didn't stir.
Not even slightly.
Lavinia wasn't surprised.
She'd noticed it after becoming a vampire.
When awake...
Their senses bordered on absurd.
She could distinguish footsteps from another room.
Differentiate vampires from humans by movement alone.
Hear distant conversations through closed doors if she concentrated.
Smell the others individually without trying.
But...
Sleep changed that.
Drastically.
A sleeping vampire perceived remarkably little.
Enough to wake if someone shook them.
Or made a genuinely disruptive amount of noise.
Beyond that...
The world faded.
Otherwise...
Sleeping would've been impossible.
If their senses remained fully active while unconscious...
Every distant conversation.
Every passing vehicle.
Every bird.
Every creaking floorboard.
Would constantly wake them.
Lavinia glanced at Rosaline again.
It was...
Dangerous.
If someone truly wanted to attack a sleeping vampire...
They would possess a tremendous advantage.
Fortunately...
Vampires almost never slept alone.
Whether by instinct...
Habit...
Or simple preference...
They naturally gathered together.
And when they didn't...
They chose secure places.
Somewhere another vampire would likely be awake or somewhere humans couldn't easily reach.
But surrounded by other vampires...
Sleep became almost comforting.
Normal.
Lavinia looked back toward the television.
The near-silent news anchor continued speaking.
"...Authorities confirmed today that the suspect arrested earlier this morning has confessed to four murders believed to have occurred shortly after the First Divergence..."
Lavinia frowned slightly.
The report continued.
According to investigators...
The killings themselves had happened nearly eleven days ago.
Immediately following the First Divergence.
But...
Amid the confusion...
Emergency services.
Governments.
Police.
Everyone had been overwhelmed.
Entire departments had been reorganized.
Resources redirected.
Witnesses displaced.
The suspect had slipped through the cracks until now.
"...Delayed investigations continue nationwide..."
The anchor moved on.
Lavinia remained thoughtful.
Even without vampires.
Without werewolves.
People still murdered each other.
The reminder felt strangely grounding.
Humanity hadn't suddenly become dangerous because monsters now existed.
It had always possessed darkness.
The monsters had simply...
Joined it.
She muted the television completely.
Then picked up her phone again.
"...Werewolves."
She realized something almost embarrassing.
She actually knew very little about them.
She'd seen several.
Spoken to some.
She had known they transformed into wolves just due to scrolling.
That they were physically powerful.
Fast.
Pack-oriented.
Beyond that...
Not much.
Typing the word into a search bar produced thousands upon thousands of results.
Unlike vampires...
Information about werewolves was plentiful.
They walked during the day.
Held interviews.
Appeared publicly.
Some had already become minor celebrities.
Lavinia began reading.
"...Wolf ears."
She nodded.
"I've seen those."
"...Tail."
Also familiar.
Nearly every werewolf photograph showed the same unmistakable combination.
Distinctive ears.
A tail matching their hair color.
Gold-green eyes.
The similarities largely ended there.
She continued scrolling.
Pictures filled the screen.
Men.
Women.
Tall.
Short.
Dark skin.
Pale skin.
Curly hair.
Straight hair.
Freckles.
Scars.
Unlike vampires...
Werewolves varied tremendously.
They still looked...
Human.
Just...
Wolf-like.
Vampires didn't.
Every vampire she'd met possessed almost impossibly flawless skin.
Identical crimson eyes.
Perfect hair.
The same small frame.
Different colors.
Different personalities.
Different clothing.
Yet unmistakably...
Cut from the same cloth.
Werewolves felt...
Broader.
More individually recognizable.
She continued reading.
"...Transformation remains possible at will..."
Lavinia stopped.
Then laughed softly.
"...Wardrobe malfunction."
Apparently...
Transforming into a wolf instantly destroyed clothing.
Or at the very least...
Required removing it first.
Public transformations therefore remained uncommon.
Most werewolves apparently avoided shifting unless absolutely necessary.
"...That sounds so inconvenient!"
Lavinia murmured.
She looked down at herself.
Vampires certainly had their own inconveniences.
Sunlight.
Deep sleeps.
A need for blood.
But...
Their clothing healed with them.
Even their wings somehow emerged through their dresses without permanently damaging anything.
She smiled.
"...I'll take wings."
Another article discussed physical abilities.
Lavinia read carefully.
Stronger than humans.
Faster.
Enhanced smell.
Enhanced hearing.
Powerful regeneration.
She nodded.
That all seemed consistent with what she'd already observed.
Then...
Wolf form.
Lavinia pictured it.
A large wolf moving at tremendous speed.
Armed with claws.
Teeth.
Four legs.
Much lower to the ground.
"...That..."
She admitted quietly.
"...would be annoying."
Against a humanoid opponent...
She instinctively felt she held the advantage.
Vampires were simply...
Ridiculously fast.
Graceful.
Precise.
But...
A wolf presented different problems.
Biting.
Grappling.
Constant movement.
Four points of contact.
A body naturally suited to chasing prey.
She honestly wasn't sure she'd enjoy fighting one.
Fortunately...
She hoped she'd never need to.
More posts filled the screen.
Someone had uploaded photographs from a werewolf community gathering.
Another showed several werewolves helping clear fallen trees after the Second Divergence.
Others simply documented everyday life.
Cooking.
Working.
Walking dogs.
Lavinia paused.
"...Walking dogs?"
She blinked.
"...Do their dogs know?"
The thought amused her far more than it probably should have.
She quietly giggled to herself.
Further down...
Someone had posted a comparison between vampires and werewolves.
Advantages.
Weaknesses.
Strengths.
Disadvantages.
Comments rapidly devolved into arguments.
Some remained surprisingly civil.
Others...
Less so.
Lavinia continued scrolling.
"...At least..."
She smiled to herself.
"...we don't have to worry about exploding out of our clothes."
She imagined suddenly growing into a wolf while wearing formal attire.
"...That would get expensive."
The comparison really highlighted how different the two species appeared.
Werewolves retained tremendous human diversity.
Different heights.
Different builds.
Different facial structures.
Different proportions.
Vampires...
Didn't.
The resemblance between vampires wasn't identical.
No one would mistake Rosaline for Cordelia.
Or Valerie for Gwendolyn.
Yet...
There remained a distinct sameness.
As though whoever—or whatever—had created vampires had begun with a single ideal before changing superficial details.
Hair.
Skin tone.
Personality.
The foundation remained.
She scrolled further.
A popular discussion thread caught her attention.
Can we please ban vampires and werewolves from competitive human sports?
Lavinia laughed.
"...That's one solution."
She opened the comments.
The very first reply read:
No. Let them compete. It'll be entertaining.
Thousands of likes.
The next comment disagreed.
The original poster has a point. Professional competition is supposed to be between humans.
Replies exploded beneath it.
Create separate leagues.
Just let everyone play together.
Skill still matters.
Imagine trying to tackle a werewolf.
Imagine racing a vampire.
Honestly I'd watch that.
Lavinia chuckled.
Then one particular comment caught her eye.
Nah, let the human athletes compete and show the vampires and werewolves who's superior!
She burst into quiet laughter.
"...Confident."
The replies beneath it were exactly what she'd expected.
True!
You're getting folded.
Humans built civilization!
And? They can still lose a sprint.
The skull emoji is optimistic.
I believe in humanity!
I believe in physics.
Another person replied:
A vampire runs over one hundred miles an hour. Good luck, champ.
Someone else immediately argued back.
Professional athletes train their entire lives. You're underestimating humans.
That, naturally, started another argument.
Some replies were laughing.
Others genuinely offended.
A few insisted strength wasn't everything.
Others countered that strength mattered quite a bit in sports.
Lavinia smiled.
People really would argue about anything.
Even the end of the world hadn't changed that.
Oddly...
She found the thought reassuring.
The Second Divergence had doubled the size of Earth.
Entire forests had appeared overnight.
Civilization faced decades of rebuilding.
And yet...
Someone, somewhere, still had enough free time to argue online about whether vampires should be allowed to compete in the Olympics.
Humanity...
Really was remarkably consistent.
Lavinia locked her phone and leaned back into the couch.
Rosaline remained peacefully asleep beside her.
The safehouse was nearly silent.
Outside, the world continued adapting to impossible changes.
Inside...
She simply listened to the quiet.
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter