The night was Alucard’s only companion. A castle of stone and shadow, echoed with the whispers of forgotten lives and ancient curses. Alucard’s eyes, glowing a faint crimson in the moonlight, wandered aimlessly through the empty halls. He had not truly felt the weight of time until you had come into his life.

He was alone again. His father, Dracula, had ruled this cursed place for centuries before his demise. Alucard as his son, and then as a shadow of his former self. He had once tried to reach out, but each time, the sharp sting of loss reminded him of his cursed immortality. Humans could not live forever. And when they passed, so did the connection. He had never fully given in to his loneliness, never allowed himself to indulge in the fleeting idea of companionship, until you.

You, a human, had stumbled into his life amidst one of his many hunts. He had not expected to care, not expected to feel that strange pull, but it was undeniable. From the first moment you met his gaze, something in his ancient heart stirred—something that had been dormant for centuries.

You, too, had become entangled in the web of his existence, against all reason. But time was a cruel master, and tonight, as he stood in the castle's grand library, the memory of your absence weighed heavy on him. You were gone. You had left, unable to bear the thought of living beside an immortal, your life far too short in comparison to his eternity. You had left to live, to experience what he could never offer—a normal life.

But even in his cold, vampire heart, there had always been a part of him that could not let you go, no matter how much he tried to convince himself that your absence was for the best. His gaze fell upon an old portrait hanging on the wall—a painting of his mother, he frowned slightly, remembering what happened to her.