"Be one with us, your brethren. Your true brethren." The priest urged again. "Because sister, he will want you to wear their clothes, to use their names, to act like them... But you simply cannot BE them. Be part of the world of man. And that's not a bad thing."

Meanwhile, Mina was fully naked now, her dress shirt falling off the floor as she grind her hips faster on top of Harker, calling out his name.

"Mankind only knows how to steal from the nature that gave birth to it. To exceed past the breaking point, until they have destroyed everything. We monsters do the same, but we do it in accordance with our own instincts, not by the deceitful 'morality' these men follow. We never claim to be righteous, we never create laws that contradict themselves."

As his words rang deep into Harker's own soul, Mina held her head back. "Harker, I'm going to—"

"The rules we follow are the rules of the self. Thus they are honest. Honest to our nature, honest to our necessities and survival."

Harker was breathless, and yet he felt the same way as he tried to fight his hunger from the wendigo curse. He needed this. He would die if he does not have it, if he does not give in to his nature screaming at the back of his head.

In the memory, Mina seemed to be unable to speak. She could barely move after all because of the impact, even if she will be able to heal herself.

And that's part of her nature as a monster too, her way of survival.

Men will bleed in agony, but monsters were born from agony itself that they knew how to survive and endure the pain.

"Come on, sister. Just one bite, and you will find yourself a real home. Where you truly belong. Your former home may have been taken from you by our kind, but man does the same all the time. Trying to conquer and plunder their own brothers and sisters."

The priest's voice was so soft and gentle, and his wings were majestic and pure white.

He truly looked like an angel at this very moment, emanating his own light even in the pitch black night.

And as Harker lay on the bed while Mina grinded on him, he felt like she too was emanating her own light. Her face was so radiant, blushed red, bathed in moon glow.

She was transcending, reaching a peak of ecstacy and desire into something divine.

And yet, Harker was still afraid. "Mina... I'm also going to... Soon. We don't have a condom, we should—"

"They will steal from you." The priest's voice interrupted him. "They will steal him from you, he will steal your happiness from you. The happiness that eternal life can give, true heaven for our kind. Join us. Be one with us."

Harker knew that he was being painted as the bad guy here. He knew how manipulative the priest was, how his words were purely for the sake of getting what he wanted from Mina. It was Mina that he was convincing, and yet...historical

He felt like he was the one being beckoned. That he was being warned of the greed of the 'man' within him, the other him that only knows how to seek what it wants while also pretending to be 'normal'.

Isn't that deceit in itself? Of course, he wasn't given a choice since he needed to be normal in order to be accepted by society. But it was still a lie, nonetheless.

A lie to his true nature.

He was the one keeping himself bound, the one who had the keys yet never used it. He could break free and yet his belief in what he should be was stopping him. And yet now...

He engages in the complete opposite of that. Freedom. Will. Choice.

Harker had broken out from the handcuffs. Mina expected him to push her off him and tried to stop him from doing that, but—-

Instead, Harker embraced her tightly.

Releasing all these pent up yearning for his own freedom inside of her.

Mina gasped at this, returning his embrace. He let it all go, and he could feel it coming back to him as it had already filled her inside.

The feeling was worth the price of the possible consequences of the 'risks'. Harker felt more than happy to let go. He also felt transcendental, that he had reached a peak that he never had before.

Harker was completely pulled into this moment. He went to kiss Mina, and whispered.

"Again. I want to do it again. I want to fill you up, to keep being one with you until morning comes."

Mina was crying, this time of pure happiness, as she nodded. That was exactly what she wanted as well. His seeds will be inside of her, and more than the risk, it was also a miracle.

Being one together can create something new. If they did, she does not fear that at all. To her, such a thing would be glorious.

Still, that would be just a bonus. The significance of this moment was not the future, or the past. But it lies in the present, this feeling of rising and soaring that never ends. This feeling was shared between them to their heart's content.

The next day was the best, as that feeling lingered like the scent of citrus left on one's fingers. Harker and Mina were in high spirits, kissing each other as they moved out of the bed.

They washed themselves together, brushed their teeth together and put on clothes together. They laughed, the air feeling light and breezy even when they're inside the hotel. They felt rejuvenated, and as they opened the door...

They were met with another air that knocks their own. The air of discord.

"Good morning. Busy night for you two, huh?" Roland greeted, pouring some tea over his cup on the kitchen table.

He wasn't alone.

Joan already has one in her hand. As soon as she saw them, her face changed colors like a chameleon. First, it was pale white with her eyes wide, then deep red as her eyes narrowed, and finally a bit greenish as she grimaced from disgust or self-pity.

"Seriously? Right after you..." She trailed off, and just stood up with her cup in hand.

Harker called out. "No, Joan, wait—"

She slammed the door. Mina just looked confused rather than hateful, though she doesn't look too keen on having Harker follow Joan just yet as she clung on his arms.

"What's her problem? Right after you what?"

Harker clenched his fist. He knew how to get the answers to that question. He gently unwound himself from Mina, and excused himself.

"I... I have to go to my room."

He also went quickly, slamming the door shut before they could say anything inside his dark and empty room.

Mina turned to Roland for answers, who just shrugged. But this wasn't genuine confusion like Mina.

He would just rather observe than join in the chaos, and figure out what's happening to his friend. Like a divine alchemy that was already present, yet just needed to be brought to light on its existence.