"Tell me about your world...where you learned the dance. The Supernatural World."

White requested, gliding her softly to the side.

She hummed quietly, her eyes peering at him, yet seemingly lost for a moment before they settled back.

"Ayana."

She whispered, and White’s ears twitched, managing to pick up on the name.

"Ayana?"

"Yes. That’s the name of our old world...Ayana."

"That’s...impossible."

The Otherworlder’s voice echoed in White’s head.

"Do you know it?"

White asked it.

"Will explain later. Try prying for more information."

It said to him.

"And by the longing in your eyes, I can imagine a much more peaceful existence. All the Supernaturals co-existing as one."

White said to her, and she chuckled, rolling her eyes.

"I think Supernaturals was a name given to us by the Humans. A name I think we took on too willingly for whatever reasons."

"All I know of Ayana is the Mountain of Virgil. It was home to my pack, The Lunar Pack."

"Don’t tell me you used to be called the mighty Wolf Princess of Virgil."

White teased,

Esmarie responded,

"Actually, that name might be more suitable for my mother."

Her eyes faintly trailed behind White, who leaned closer, whispering,

"Do you mean the beauty with the piercing gaze at the back of my neck?"

"Yes..."

Esmarie whispered.

"It’s exactly that one. Wanna turn and have a look?"

She whispered to White, who quietly shrugged.

"I know I’m done for good. Might as well get used to this feeling before the end comes."

He said, as both giggled, but then the piano quietly came to a stop, and bright white light flickered through the hall once more.

The dance held naturally broke, including that of White and Esmarie, and all attention turned to a circular platform slowly floating down to the ground.

Seven people stood on the platform, the same silhouettes White had seen upon arriving.

There were 4 Supernaturals and 3 Otherworlders.

"Tonight..."

One of them said.

He was a Supernatural with long crimson hair spilling over his shoulders like a waterfall, his beauty almost feminine, while his cold crimson eyes sent piercing red light through the hall.

"We celebrate a major win against our natural enemy, the humans."

He admonished, continuing,

"Aether Beyonders isn’t just any academy. Amongst the ranks of the Humanity academies, their scale of danger towards us has been recorded as the highest."

"They dabbled in an act that is grievous to our Supernatural lineage: Using our own body parts to further their power."

"How many have we lost to their ways?"

"Our relatives, sons and daughters, whose bodies we have found dead, hearts ripped out and used as nothing but experiments."

At this point, White noticed many waitresses around, passing them cups, and one also appeared before both White and Esmarie, passing them cups.

This time...it wasn’t a simple juice.

"Tonight, we don’t just celebrate the destruction of another academy."

"We celebrate the death of a monster that had dealt us grievous harm and could potentially be an end to us."

He said, a cup of red materializing in his hands.

"To Our Victory...we drink."

He said as everyone raised their cups in unison.

White wore no expression, raising his cup and pressing the edge to his lips.

His eyes surveyed, noticing as many drank the blood, including even Esmarie by his side, but he made sure the blood never touched his lips, though none noticed...almost.

"But tonight isn’t just all about the victory."

The Vampire continued.

"In the humans’ own greed for power, they have erred and dragged down upon themselves an enemy and an ally to us Supernaturals."

He said, his hands moving to the side where the three Otherworlders stepped outwards.

They weren’t normal Instructors, that much White could tell.

They were older, much older, and White could easily guess they had to be higher-ups back in the old Aether Beyonder Academy.

The sight of that made his eyes grow cold.

This was how an organization could be made to collapse in an instant.

Capturing and turning its leaders back against it.

There was little doubt that these three Otherworlders, who had seized the bodies of their source souls thanks in part to Aether Beyonder Academy’s lack of understanding, were also behind the academy’s downfall.

"Creatures of the Night, tonight, we celebrate our new bond with them, The Otherworlders."

He said grandly as clapping echoed through the hall.

"They shall follow our path, to the destruction of our enemy, Humanity, aiding us with their Otherworld reality powers."

"Tonight, they become our brothers and sisters in the fight against our enemies, Humanity."

"Tonight...they’re one of us."

The applause was deafening, smiles spreading not only among the Supernaturals but also among the Otherworlders on the stage.

The sight of that solidified White’s conviction.

’The Otherworlders will be erased along with the Supernaturals.’

"They will return with us, to our city, the Ayana City, where they will be made to integrate into our setting, while also being made into an army that will help in the fight."

"May tonight mark the beginning of a string of victories."

"To The Creatures of the Night."

He said, his hand cutting up his skin, leading to blood raining on the stage.

All of the Supernaturals followed, each making a cut on their skin.

"To The Creatures of the Night."

They responded.

"And to the Dark of the Otherworld."

He completed, as all four turned to the three Otherworlders who had also slashed open their hands, both locking grasps.

"And to the Dark of the Otherworld."

For a moment, after the hands touched, White could see the light that bloomed at the back of the Otherworlders’ hands and the Supernaturals’.

"A Binding Oath."

He mused quietly.

"Not just any Binding Oath."

The Otherworlder’s voice echoed in his head, and White turned around.

Surprise filled him when he noticed the anomaly.

It wasn’t just the hands of the Otherworlders and the Supernaturals on stage that were glowing.

Every single Otherworlder in the hall also had their hands glowing with that tattoo of a pitch-black moon.

"It’s a Racial Binding Oath, applicable to all Otherworlders in here."

He said, prompting White to unconsciously look down at his hands.