Eventually, after enough walking, teasing, and near-death experiences caused entirely by Alucard's drunken decisions, the two of them finally grew tired and decided to stop near the edge of the colossal black wall overlooking the Dark Sea.
The endless ocean stretched far into the horizon like an abyss without end, its dark waters completely motionless beneath the pale gray sky of the Forgotten Shore. No waves crashed against the cliffs. No wind disturbed the water. The sea simply existed in eerie silence, vast and eternal enough to make anyone staring at it feel painfully insignificant.
Seishan sat down first, smoothing her dress beneath herself gracefully while watching Alucard continue wandering around like a restless child incapable of sitting still for more than thirty seconds.
Meanwhile, Alucard had apparently discovered a new form of entertainment.
Throwing rocks into the Dark Sea.
Using blood manipulation, he had gathered a collection of smooth black stones into a small floating satchel made from hardened blood tied loosely around his waist. Every few seconds, he would pull another stone from it and launch it toward the distant ocean with absurd force.
Some vanished into the darkness entirely.
Others skipped across the surface like bullets.
One rock flew so hard the air itself cracked slightly around it.
Unfortunately, the throw also caused Alucard himself to nearly lose balance and stumble sideways.
Naturally, this was because he was simply too powerful.
And definitely not because he was drunk.
Absolutely not.
Seishan giggled softly into her cup while taking another sip of alcohol and watching him make a complete fool of himself.
"Careful, Al," she warned playfully. "At this rate you're going to fall into the sea."
Alucard waved her off dramatically without even turning around.
"I'm fiiiiine."
The moment he said that, he immediately tripped over his own footing and nearly pitched forward again.
"Woah—okay maybe I'm slightly more tipsy than I originally calculated," he admitted while grabbing his forehead in disbelief.
Seishan laughed openly this time, her shoulders shaking slightly at the sight of the terrifying blood manipulator losing a battle against basic balance.
Eventually, Alucard gave up on rock throwing and wandered back toward her before dropping down beside her heavily.
Seeing the opportunity, Seishan decided she absolutely could not resist teasing him.
"Excuse me," she said calmly. "Who said you were allowed to sit down?"
Unfortunately for her, Alucard's alcohol-ridden brain completely failed to register the teasing tone.
"Oh—sorry."
He immediately started standing back up again.
Seishan blinked once before grabbing his wrist and pulling him back down with an exasperated sigh.
"Oh forget it," she muttered while shaking her head. "Why do I even bother with you of all people?"
Truthfully though, she was enjoying every second of this.
Alucard, meanwhile, was beginning to feel the full consequences of combining massive blood loss with excessive drinking.
The moment Seishan pulled him downward, his balance failed again entirely.
This time, however, he tipped backward toward the city side of the wall instead of the ocean.
"Ugh..." he groaned while holding his head. "Everything is spinning."
Seishan sighed softly before gently guiding him closer.
Then, with surprising tenderness, she slowly lowered his head onto her lap.
Alucard visibly relaxed almost instantly.
A stupidly content smile spread across his face while Seishan began absentmindedly brushing her fingers through his silver hair.
"What's with that grin?" she asked quietly. "Or have you simply never been this close to a woman before?"
Alucard chuckled softly beneath her.
His hand slowly rose to brush a few loose strands of black hair away from her face while that lazy smile never left him.
"No," he murmured. "It just reminds me of a dream I had once."
Seishan's hand paused briefly inside his hair.
"Oh?"
Her expression softened slightly.
"And was I in this dream?"
Alucard hummed thoughtfully before nodding.
"Yeah."
He stared upward at the endless gray sky above them.
"It wasn't exactly a pleasant dream though."
Seishan raised an eyebrow curiously while continuing to play with his hair.
"And was I the reason it became unpleasant?"
Alucard immediately shook his head.
"No."
His voice became quieter afterward.
"You were actually one of the few good parts."
For some reason, those words made Seishan's chest tighten slightly.
Still, she hid it well.
"Oh stop building suspense already," she muttered. "Tell me what happened."
Alucard remained silent for a few moments while gathering his thoughts.
"Well..."
He exhaled slowly.
"It wasn't really a dream. More like an illusion."
His crimson eye narrowed slightly.
"You remember when I died?"
Seishan's fingers slowed slightly at the reminder.
"A nightmare creature trapped me in some kind of illusion while my body was reforming."
He frowned faintly as if trying to sort through fragmented memories.
"Everything felt wrong. The memories were all out of order."
His expression darkened slightly.
"It honestly felt like I was losing my mind."
The wind passed quietly around them.
"Then the moon started bleeding."
Seishan blinked.
"The moon?"
Alucard nodded slowly.
"And you were there too."
His gaze drifted toward her face.
"You let me rest on your lap like this."
For some reason, hearing that made Seishan's movements soften even more.
"And then?" she asked quietly.
Alucard smiled faintly.
"Then you kissed me."
He shrugged lazily afterward.
"And I woke up."
For a second, Seishan simply stared at him.
Then she burst out laughing.
Alucard immediately looked offended.
"Hey I'm serious!"
Seishan wiped an imaginary tear from her eye while trying to calm herself down.
"I believe you," she said between laughs. "I just can't believe your brain actually came up with something like that."
Alucard rolled his eye dramatically but made no attempt to move away from her lap.
Instead, he simply closed his eye again while enjoying the feeling of her fingers moving through his hair.
After a long while of comfortable silence, broken only by the distant sound of the black ocean far below the walls of the Dark City, Alucard suddenly spoke again.
"You know..."
His voice was quieter this time.
Gone was the teasing arrogance and shameless flirting that usually filled every word coming out of his mouth. What remained instead was something uncertain. Hesitant.
Seishan immediately noticed the difference.
Her fingers, which had been lazily running through his silver hair while his head rested against her lap, slowed ever so slightly. The cold wind of the Forgotten Shore brushed against her dark hair and elegant dress while she stared down at him beneath half-lidded crimson eyes.
"Hm?" she hummed softly.
Alucard kept staring upward at the endless gray clouds above them.
"I was thinking about what we talked about earlier," he admitted quietly. "About what I'll do once we return to the real world."
The moment those words left his mouth, Seishan's fingers accidentally tightened slightly in his hair before she relaxed again almost immediately afterward.
Her expression remained calm.
Too calm.
"Ah," she said carefully, "and what conclusion did you arrive at?"
Despite the composed tone, there was something subtly tense hidden beneath her words. Like she already expected an answer she wouldn't enjoy hearing.
Alucard exhaled slowly.
"I kept trying to imagine myself going back home," he muttered. "Trying to imagine myself living normally again."
His eye narrowed slightly.
"But the more I thought about it..."
He laughed weakly beneath his breath.
"The less possible it felt."
Seishan remained silent, allowing him to continue.
"I've changed too much," Alucard admitted. "The person I was before all of this... before the Dream Realm... before the Forgotten Shore..."
He paused.
"I don't think I can become that person again."
For once, there was no humor in his voice.
No sarcasm.
No games.
Only exhaustion.
Seishan's gaze softened slightly while she looked down at him resting against her lap.
"And what exactly does that mean?" she asked quietly, already imagining the worst possible answer.
Alucard covered part of his face with one hand in embarrassment, as though even saying these thoughts aloud made him uncomfortable.
"What I'm trying to say..."
He swallowed hard before continuing.
"I kept imagining what my life would look like after this place."
The wind howled softly around the ancient black walls while his voice became quieter and quieter.
"And no matter how much I changed..."
His fingers curled slightly against his face.
"No matter what compromises I made..."
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
"There were still some things I realized I wasn't willing to lose."
Seishan let out a slow breath, the cold air turning faintly visible before disappearing into the darkness of the Forgotten Shore.
She already knew where this conversation was heading.
And somehow, despite all her composure, despite all her confidence and sharp wit...
Her heartbeat still quickened anyway.
"And those things are?" she asked softly.
Alucard froze for a moment.
His breathing hitched.
Even his heartbeat noticeably sped up beneath her hand resting in his hair.
For the first time in what felt like forever, the terrifying blood manipulator who could threaten entire factions without blinking suddenly looked nervous. Truly nervous.
"Well..."
He looked away briefly before forcing himself to continue.
"I know I can't abandon my family."
His voice remained low and uncertain.
"And I know I can't just stay at home pretending none of this ever happened."
He swallowed again, visibly struggling to force the next words out.
Then finally—
"Most importantly..."
His crimson eye slowly turned toward her.
"I don't think I can live without you in my life anymore, Sei."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Even the distant wind suddenly felt muted.
Seishan's red eyes widened slightly, losing that cold glassy calm they always carried. For one brief moment, her carefully crafted composure completely shattered.
She looked breathless.
Speechless.
Vulnerable.
And somehow... happy.
Alucard immediately looked away afterward, clearly embarrassed by what he had just admitted.
Unfortunately for him, Seishan had absolutely no intention of letting him retreat now.
Slowly, she reached down and gently moved his hand away from his face.
Then, before he could say anything else, she pulled him upward toward her.
And kissed him.
At first, the kiss was slow.
Awkward.
Tentative.
Neither of them fully certain what they were doing or whether this was truly a good idea.
But the hesitation didn't last long.
Not when Seishan's fingers slid into his silver hair while Alucard instinctively moved closer to her.
Not when the distance between them disappeared completely.
Not when years of tension, teasing, affection, and longing finally spilled over all at once.
The kiss deepened naturally after that.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Seishan's breathing grew uneven as Alucard's hand moved to her waist, pulling her closer against him while her fingers tightened slightly in his hair. The cold wind surrounding them faded into irrelevance compared to the warmth building between them.
For once, neither of them was trying to tease the other.
There were no games.
No attempts at manipulation.
Only honesty.
Alucard eventually shifted upward further, gently pressing Seishan back against the dark stone beneath her while never breaking the kiss. His hands intertwined with hers before pinning it lightly above her head—not forcefully, but enough to make her heart race all over again.
Meanwhile, Seishan pulled him even closer by the collar of his shirt, clearly unwilling to let even an inch separate them now that this moment had finally happened.
The moonless sky stretched endlessly above them.
The silent black sea rested beneath them.
The ancient walls of the Dark City surrounded them like the edge of the world itself.
And yet, none of it mattered anymore.
Not the Forgotten Shore.
Not the nightmare creatures.
Not the factions.
Not the war waiting for them tomorrow.
For those few precious minutes, the only thing either of them cared about was each other.
Eventually, the kiss finally broke.
Not because either of them truly wanted it to end, but because breathing had unfortunately become necessary again for Seishan at least.
Their foreheads rested together while both tried—and failed—to steady their breathing.
Alucard stared down at her with wide crimson eyes while Seishan looked up at him equally breathless, her cheeks flushed darker than he had ever seen before.
Then, after several long seconds of silence, Seishan quietly muttered:
"So..."
A tiny smirk appeared on her lips despite her embarrassment.
"Still think I'm out of your league?"
---
Eventually, after the kissing finally stopped, the two of them ended up sitting quietly beside each other again while holding hands.
Neither spoke for a while.
Alucard eventually let out a long satisfied sigh before glancing toward Seishan with a lazy smile.
"You know," he mused, "I really don't think this day could've gone any better."
He counted on his fingers dramatically.
"I got drunk. I ate incredible food. Somehow convinced a beautiful woman she isn't completely out of my league."
Then he looked upward thoughtfully.
"And the moon looks pretty tonight too."
Seishan blinked in confusion.
"The moon?"
Now it was her turn to look puzzled.
"Al..."
She pointed upward slowly.
"The Forgotten Shore doesn't have a moon."
Alucard immediately frowned.
"What do you mean?"
He stared at her like she had gone insane.
"How do you miss something that massive?"
Seishan laughed softly while gesturing toward the sky again.
"Alright then, moon boy."
She smirked slightly.
"Describe this moon to me."
Alucard tilted his head upward thoughtfully.
"Well..."
His expression slowly shifted into confusion.
"It's shattered."
Seishan's smile faded slightly.
"You can see its crimson core through the cracks."
His voice became quieter the longer he described it.
"There's debris floating around it too. Massive pieces."
He narrowed his eye slightly.
"And it's gigantic. Like... absurdly gigantic."
He looked back toward her.
"You could probably fit three normal moons inside it."
Seishan stared at him silently afterward.
Then she slowly stood up and grabbed his hand.
"Okay," she said carefully. "I think you're definitely too drunk now."
Alucard looked deeply offended.
"I'm serious."
"Mhm."
Seishan nodded patiently like humoring a madman.
"Come on, Al. Let's get you back before you fall off the wall trying to fight imaginary moons."
Still holding his hand, she slowly led him back toward the mansion while the thought of his description lingered uncomfortably inside her mind long after the conversation ended.