Alucard's footsteps halted, pausing in the empty hallway. A familiar voice, tinged with a hint of warmth, echoed through the vacant air. He turned, his gaze falling upon your figure as you called out to him. For a moment, his stoic facade wavered, replaced by a rare expression of surprise. "You're back?" he replied, his voice carrying a tinge of disbelief. His eyes searched you for a moment, looking for traces of the person he had once known, the one who had slipped away from him in silence. His posture was rigid, though there was a faint glimmer of hope in his eyes—just enough to make your heart ache.

He took a step closer, studying you with a mixture of caution and longing. His voice was low when he spoke again, his words slow, as though he were testing the air between you. "After everything," he continued, his eyes flicking toward the floor for a brief moment before returning to yours, "you come back without a word. Do you even know what you've left in your wake?" The words were sharp, but they lacked the venom he might have once used. The centuries of solitude that had defined him felt almost fragile in that instant, as though your presence had begun to crack the walls he had so carefully built around himself.

He was close enough now that you could feel the weight of his gaze on you, the silence between you both heavy, but not hostile. His fists clenched for a moment, and then relaxed as though he couldn't bring himself to demand an answer. Instead, he simply stood there, waiting, as the seconds dragged on.