Rain’s hands lightly shook, trying to clench something that wasn’t there.

  His heartbeat raced — not out of anger that he hadn’t received anything, but because he was scared.

  While everyone else was enjoying their deepest desires, Rain hadn’t even had one.

  He thought back to what the Architect had said — that the desire had to follow the rules of the Tower. Rain wondered if his deepest desire hadn’t been accepted by the Tower.

  Or if possibly… he didn’t have a deep desire at all.

  Ashlore spoke again in a deep, commanding voice.

  “I will return tomorrow. At that time, I will choose the two who will enter the second floor.”

  Everyone listened to his words, but Rain listened more closely. Perhaps because everyone else was so focused on what they had received that they could barely even process what Ashlore had just said.

  Rain wanted to speak out, to ask something like, “Why didn’t I receive my desire?”

  Or something along those lines.

  But Ashlore left immediately after he spoke, teleporting away like drifting dust.

  Rain swallowed the words he was about to say. He sat against the white wall close to Roxy, who was still holding her stuffed animal, likely remembering the past connected to it.

  Rain sat in silence.

  For a while, he barely spoke. His thoughts weren’t only on his deepest desire, but on everything — the vampirism, the Tower, the first floor. Back then, he hadn’t even had time to sit with his thoughts and truly process how insane this entire situation was.

  As time passed, Rain started to look at everyone — their smiles, their tears. It didn’t make sense to be happy in a Tower like this.

  It almost felt like they were hypnotized.

  Now that Rain was thinking more deeply about everything… something else bothered him.

  Why would the Architect apologize?

  Who even was the Architect? A god? The creator of this Tower?

  And if he was… why would he feel sorry over a mistake?

  It didn’t make sense for a stronger being to gift something to a lesser one. There had to be some kind of scheme behind it.

  The same being who had likely brought all of them here… the one who said, “Accept the invitation to the Tower of Thyriss, or die.”

  That same being was now apologizing… and giving gifts?

  It felt deliberate.

  It felt like the Architect wanted everyone to see him as kind. As fair. As someone who admits fault. Someone who rewards.

  But it all felt wrong.

  If Rain were a god, he wouldn’t apologize to a lesser being. It simply wouldn’t make sense.

  As time passed in the white room, everyone grew tired. Some people lay down on the hard floor and fell asleep.

  Others followed. Even Roxy and Light began to drift off.

  Rain sat down as well… but he didn’t feel tired at all.

  He felt mentally exhausted — slightly fatigued from the previous fighting — but it wasn’t the kind of tiredness that made him want to sleep.

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  Rain tried multiple times to lie down and close his eyes. No matter how long he waited, he simply couldn’t fall asleep.

  After an hour, he stopped trying.

  For the next eight hours, he didn’t sleep at all. While everyone else rested, Rain simply thought.

  He missed his world… but not in the same way the others probably did.

  They likely missed their families — their parents, their siblings. They probably missed everyday things like school, talking to friends, or other normal routines.

  But Rain didn’t have family to miss.

  He didn’t have friends either.

  He just missed food… sleep… and television.

  Then something else occurred to him.

  He wasn’t hungry.

  Not in the normal sense.

  His entire body craved blood — regrettably so — but he didn’t feel hunger. He didn’t crave pizza or any of the food he used to eat.

  Was that normal for a vampire? To not want food at all?

  Then again… none of the other fifty-plus people had mentioned hunger either. Maybe they weren’t hungry.

  Ashlore had never given them water or necessities like food.

  So maybe… they didn’t need it.

  Throughout the eight hours, Rain mostly thought about his vampirism—the skills he had received, and the supposed second floor the two people would face later.

  He wondered if he was the only vampire among all these people… or if becoming another race was more common than he thought.

  Rain wasn’t stupid enough to ask anyone if they knew anything about vampires.

  He was certain that if someone found out what he was, that would be the moment everything went downhill.

  Who would trust a vampire? Someone always hungry for blood… always tempted.

  Even though Rain had only been an awakened vampire for a short time, he had already realized a lot about what it meant. His personality had changed.

  Before, Rain was always stressed. Even in casual conversations, he used to second guess words, constantly worrying about what to say next.

  Now it was different.

  A strange confidence had settled into him. His heartbeat didn’t waver when he spoke to Roxy or Light. It remained steady… calm… the way it should be.

  There were many advantages to being a vampire, it seemed. The sudden confidence. The new skills he had been gifted. The heightened awareness.

  Those were all good things.

  But the blood…

  The blood was the worst part.

  Ever since he drank the goblin’s blood, it lingered in his mind. It felt stained onto his soul, like a mark he couldn’t wash away. Like a mouse trapped in a cage, pacing in circles.

  He wanted it so badly.

  And yet, deep down, he knew it was wrong. Inhuman. Disgusting. Vile.

  The feeling was similar to committing a sin you knew you shouldn’t have.

  Like lust.

  Or like committing a crime.

  Even though he didn’t know Roxy and Light that well, he couldn’t stop wondering what their reactions would be if they found out he was a vampire.

  Would they be scared?

  Angry?

  Disgusted?

  It had always been hard for Rain to guess other people’s emotions. Understanding what others were truly thinking was never easy for him.

  But he knew one thing for certain.

  He had to hide his vampirism. No matter what.

  He had to control the bloodlust.

  Rain recalled very clearly how he had acted when he was injured and starving.

  He had become… unorthodox.

  Or rather—

  Stupid.

  As time passed, everyone started to wake up from their sleep. Roxy and Light did as well.

  Roxy seemed much more energetic now that her mana had returned. She was able to move freely without Light’s help.

  Rain briefly looked at Light. Throughout the entire night, Light had held his deepest desire—the necklace—tightly in his palm.

  Like it was gold he was afraid someone would steal.

  After watching him clutch it for hours, Rain’s curiosity grew, and he finally spoke.

  “Why is that your deepest desire?” Rain asked in a curious tone, pointing at Light’s left hand, which was still clenching the necklace.

  Light opened his palm, almost as if he hadn’t realized how tightly he had been holding it.

  He chuckled lightly, lifting it up like a trophy.

  “It was my mother’s,” Light said calmly.

  “Or really… it was my father’s too. My mother and father were both jewelers.” Light smiled as he looked at it, occasionally glancing at Rain.

  “That’s how they met. This was the one and only necklace they ever worked on together. And it was my first gift.”

  “When I was younger, I used to play with it, throwing it around like a toy. But as I grew older, both of my parents passed away.” He spoke not with sadness, but with acceptance.

  “I lost the necklace when I was still a child. As I got older, I realized I didn’t have a single gift that truly reminded me of them—for who they were. For the jewelers they were. For the thing they both loved.”

  Rain listened, but he didn’t fully understand.

  Not because Light was using difficult words. That wasn’t it.

  It was simply because Rain had never been in Light’s position. He had never had something to remember his parents by. He had never even wished for something like that.

  Rain couldn’t help but think Light’s deepest desire was slightly… unnecessary.

  Couldn’t he have wished for anything? Anything in the world, as long as it followed the Tower’s rules?

  Rain felt like it was a waste—for a piece of metal that hung around someone’s neck.

  And it was most likely just a copy. Would it even be possible for the Architect to go down to Earth, find the exact necklace, and bring it to Light in an instant?

  It was probably just a cheap replica.

  Rain didn’t bother asking Roxy about her deepest desire. She had held hers all night as well—the giraffe stuffed animal. He could already guess the story. It was probably something tragic. Maybe her family had given it to her. Maybe she had lost it and missed it.

  Even though Rain didn’t particularly care about her story, she suddenly spoke out in a restored energetic tone.