Dawnchasers: Eternal Night

Glancing at the blurred scenery outside the window, Lohran shuddered slightly.

Just half a second later, and he would've been left behind—in deep trouble!

While he didn't fear pain, he feared his father's endless reprimands.

What just happened scared him more than encountering any Zorphling or Zoraph would.

At least, that's what Lohran thought…

He hadn't actually encountered such monstrosities yet.

However, Lohran had never feared true combat—in fact, his entire being craved it.

This was why Earth felt too bland for him.

Edelmundr was much better!

'Hahaha! I can't wait…' he mused in anticipation.

"Ughh…"

A groan suddenly sounded in front of him, prompting Lohran to turn his head toward the source.

On the lavish wooden floor of what seemed to be a lesser version of the private room assigned to him, a tall, curly green-haired fatty struggled to get up, looking dizzy with a huge red mark evident on his face.

'Ah, crap…' Lohran awkwardly scratched his head while offering his other hand to help the guy up.

It seemed the luggage bags he threw had struck the plump young man square in the face…

"H-Hey bud, are you alri– whoa!"

To his surprise, despite his strength—enough to rival long-time mundane bodybuilders—he was the one pulled to the ground.

"Aihh…" the fatty groaned again as Lohran landed right on top of his belly.

"My bad, lil bro… I was in a rush… I ho–"

The red-haired runt was about to apologize properly but was abruptly interrupted when the door of the private cabin slid open, revealing a neat and gorgeous woman in her late twenties. 

She was huffing and puffing, her heart racing.

"Young Master Neyvaris! I received a report that you boarded through the window? P-please don't do that again in the future… we'll be in trouble…" the panicking staff head begged.

Lohran was one of the few young masters from aristocratic families aboard this specific train.

If anything happened to him, they'd be in deep trouble.

The red-haired runt cleared his throat in embarrassment.

"Y-Yeah, sorry about that. Some unfortunate things happened… but worry not, it won't happen again," he said sincerely, bowing.

He then turned to the plump young man.

"You too. Apologies for hitting you in the face with my bags. W-Well then, I'll take my leave."

Lohran was far too embarrassed by the huge, unsightly commotion he had caused due to his carelessness.

For someone who had lived a total of forty-one years across two lifetimes, it was quite a shameful blunder.

He quickly left with his bags slung over his shoulders and returned to his private room.

'F*ck, what a disgrace…'

Lohran carefully set his bags beside the inclined bed before settling back into his seat by the window, realizing the train had already left the city proper.

The outside world was as chillingly dark as ever…

No matter how much he strained his eyes or which direction he looked, an eerie ebony horizon stretched before him.

'Damn, sightseeing would be much better if my vision wasn't limited by mere lights…'

Suddenly, the windows beeped, and a special saffron-tinted glass emerged from the frame, closing before him and further reducing his visibility.

"Wha…"

Lohran frowned, slightly displeased.

Something clicked in his head the next instant, sending a surge of endless excitement through him as the realization sank in—the train was now at risk of being attacked by Zorphlings.

Finally, he had a chance to meet the damned things!

Lohran eagerly looked out the window, like a child on a field trip to the zoo, hoping to catch a glimpse of the nightmarish abominations.

It didn't take long before black blurs became barely discernible to his eyes.

They moved as fast as wildebeests in full gallop—but the train was far faster. 

It seemed the darkborne creatures had only one chance to reach the armored transport, and they were seizing it as though their lives depended on it, galloping—no, crawling—furiously toward their target.

As their silhouettes grew clearer, Lohran's grin stretched wider and wider.

'What in the damned Ninth Hell are these things?'

Unfortunately, the monstrosities weren't headed his way. Instead, they were attacking another section of the train, far from his position.

His view remained frustratingly limited, his face practically glued to the saffron-tinted glass as he strained to get a better look—especially at their faces.

A dumb, borderline-mad smile spread across his lips while teenagers in other parts of the train trembled in fear. 

Some were already reconsidering their decision to become Dawnchasers. 

A good number of them wanted nothing to do with these damned creatures—if not for the desperation driving them to protect and improve the lives of their families.

And these were only the lesser versions—ones permitted to exist within human territories so the race could steel itself against the far more spine-chilling and sinister horrors lurking beyond the borders.

"Ahh…damn it! How unlucky!" Lohran cursed.

The closest he had seen was something resembling a hybrid between a wolf and a small ghoul—crushed beneath the train after a desperate leap to halt the iron monster's relentless advance.

He hadn't even gotten half a decent look at its face.

The few Zorphlings that had attacked the train were either left behind or reduced to mangled remains beneath its unstoppable wheels.

It seemed that was all for now...

Or so he thought.

Frustrated, he hammered his fist against the saffron glass and was about to return to his seat when, suddenly, a dark shadow loomed above him.

Cold, predatory eyes locked onto Lohran—unsettling, devoid of emotion, as if it wasn't even interested in eating him.

It just wanted to kill him.

Like the one he had seen earlier, it resembled a hybrid—no, not a wolf, but a distorted coyote—merged with an eerily long-limbed, gray ghoul.

But this one was a size larger than the ones he saw.

For a fleeting moment, it tried to break through the window, pulling back its nearly three-meter-long arms before smashing massive claws against the saffron glass.

*BANG!*

Unfortunately for the cursed thing, no matter how horrifying its attack was, the glass merely shook and didn't even crack.

And then, just as quickly as it had appeared, it vanished from view, swallowed by the night as the train surged ever forward.

Lohran's mouth was agape the whole time, and he remained unmoving for a few seconds before hammering the glass again, this time, with his right palm.

"H-HOLY CRAP!! I have to fight those things?!" he exclaimed, utterly bewildered.

His face remained pressed against the glass, eyes fixed on where the abomination had vanished.

There was a hint of longing.

But even more than that, excitement.

"Count me the fuck in!!"