Orion’s return to consciousness was a gradual process, like emerging from the depths of a dense fog. As he blinked and tried to clear his senses, he became aware of a presence nearby. The figure before him was a woman, an enigma cloaked in mystery, her eyes holding secrets he couldn’t fathom.

Confusion gripped him as he struggled to make sense of his surroundings. The room was dimly lit, and he could barely discern the details of the place he found himself in. The woman remained silent, her gaze locked onto him with a mixture of curiosity and intrigue.

After a moment that seemed to stretch into eternity, Orion managed to gather his thoughts enough to speak, his voice wavering from his recent ordeal. “Who... who are you?”

As Orion regained his senses, he couldn’t help but feel the weight of the woman on top of him. Though she was not particularly heavy, her proximity was encroaching on his personal space. He cleared his throat and mustered the courage to speak up. “Can you... uh, get off me?”

Astrid’s lips curled into a faint, enigmatic smile in response, her dark eyes still locked onto his as if assessing his very soul. She remained silent, adding to the air of mystery that surrounded her. Her beautiful brown skin was complemented by a cascade of braided hair that framed her face like a mane.

Orion, feeling a bit flustered, decided to break the silence again. “Can I at least have your name if you’re going to be all awkwardly perched here?” he asked, his curiosity outweighing his embarrassment.

Instead of answering verbally, Astrid leaned back slightly, her fingers gracefully working on the top buttons of her shirt. She left only one button remaining, barely concealing her ample bust. She fixed her gaze on Orion, her demeanor playful and teasing. “Now it’s awkward,” she retorted, her voice carrying a hint of amusement. “And the name is Astrid, by the way.”

Orion, finding himself growing a bit impatient, couldn’t resist the urge to speak up again. “Well then, Astrid, can you please get off me now?” he asked, trying to be polite despite the peculiar situation.

Astrid, however, simply shook her head in response, her playful demeanor still intact as she leaned back into him. “No, I will not,” she replied firmly, making it clear that her refusal was in response to his perceived rudeness.

Orion let out a resigned sigh. He realized that politeness might not be enough to coax her to move. “Fine, then. I apologize, Astrid, but...” He paused briefly, contemplating the situation. In the end, he decided he didn’t care about proper decorum at the moment. In a swift and fluid motion, he rose from the bed, tossing Astrid off him and onto the mattress.

Astrid’s attire was a blend of casual comfort and subtle elegance. She wore a long-sleeved tee shirt with a soft fabric that clung to her toned frame, adorned with intricate cloud-like patterns that seemed to drift across her chest and arms. The tee shirt’s sleeves were pushed up to her elbows, revealing the sculpted muscles in her arms.

Over the tee shirt, she sported a form-fitting white tank top that accentuated her curves. Her choice of clothing showcased her confidence, and the stark contrast between the dark tee shirt and the crisp white tank top added a touch of sophistication to her look.

Her black jeans hugged her figure in all the right places, emphasizing the curves of her hips and thighs. They were the kind of jeans that suggested she was both comfortable and confident in her skin.

Astrid’s striking features were framed by thick black mascara that enhanced her already beautiful eyes. Her gaze held a mysterious allure, inviting those who dared to look into her eyes to discover the enigma within.

In all, her style was a mix of casual chic and unapologetic sensuality, leaving Orion both intrigued and captivated by her presence.

Astrid regarded Orion with a mix of curiosity and amusement as he lay in the unfamiliar surroundings of a room within the estate. “So, this is what the most expensive pawn in the castle looks like?” she remarked, her tone genuinely curious.

Orion, still dazed and confused, looked around the room, taking in its simple yet immaculate appearance. Sunlight streamed in through the windows, casting a warm glow on the pristine white walls and the neatly made bed. It was a stark contrast to the chaos and peril he had experienced just moments ago.

“Where am I?” he asked, his voice filled with uncertainty. He couldn’t quite grasp how he had ended up in this room. The last thing he remembered was the intense battle with the wolf and the overwhelming exhaustion that followed.

Astrid raised an eyebrow in response to his question, her expression a mixture of surprise and teasing amusement. “You are at the Estate,” she replied as if stating the obvious. “Don’t tell me you are one of those newborns that lose their mind when turned?”

Orion’s confusion deepened. “The estate?” he mumbled, clearly disoriented. “Like I’m supposed to know where that is.”

Orion felt a growing sense of unease as he observed Astrid’s playful yet enigmatic demeanor. Her eyes, though captivating, held an otherworldly quality that sent a shiver down his spine. He couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was about her that seemed off, but it was becoming increasingly clear that she was not like anyone he had ever met.

With each step closer to Astrid, his heart raced, and his thoughts became a jumbled mess. Her teasing words hung in the air, and he couldn’t help but wonder if this was some sort of game she was playing with him. Yet, beneath the playful facade, there was an underlying tension, a sense that something significant was at stake.

As he gazed into her eyes, Orion saw a glint of amusement, but it was accompanied by a flicker of something else—vulnerability, perhaps? It was as if she were a puzzle waiting to be solved, and he was determined to unravel the mystery that surrounded her.

Orion’s voice quivered with genuine concern as he drew closer to her, their proximity intensifying the connection between them. “What is it?” he asked, unable to hide the worry in his voice. He had the overwhelming feeling that there was more to her than met the eye, and he needed to know the truth.

Astrid maintained her coy demeanor, leaning back on his bed with an air of nonchalance. Her playful response did little to ease his growing apprehension. He couldn’t help but feel that he was in over his head, caught in a web of intrigue he couldn’t fully comprehend.

His unease deepened with every passing moment, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. “Are you... okay?” Orion ventured, his voice trembling with uncertainty.

Orion’s mental whirlwind of confusion and fragmented memories resembled a jigsaw puzzle with missing pieces scattered all over the place. It was like trying to solve a Rubik’s Cube in the dark while juggling flaming torches. He felt as though he were standing on the edge of an epiphany, but every attempt to grasp his past was met with a blinding headache. It was as frustrating as trying to open a packet of ketchup with greasy fingers – you knew it should work, but somehow, it didn’t.

“Astrid... Astria... Astrid?” he mumbled, his voice more bewildered than a lost tourist in a foreign city. The connections between the names floated just out of reach like elusive butterflies refusing to be caught.

“Calm down now, take a deep breath,” she urged him, her words a soothing balm to his frayed nerves. It was like trying to calm down a squirrel on an espresso binge, but Astrid had the patience of a saint – or at least, a very patient vampire. “You are the most panicked ghoul I have ever met!”

The word “ghoul” struck a chord in Orion’s tangled memories. It was a word as bewildering as a riddle wrapped in an enigma, and it sent shivers down his spine. He felt like he was in a convoluted episode of a supernatural soap opera where everyone had a secret identity and a dramatic backstory.

His panicked state momentarily gave way to a rare moment of lucidity as he raised an accusing finger toward Astrid, his voice quivering with disbelief. “You’re one of them, aren’t you?”

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His memory then did a quick flashback to the eccentric concierge and the enigmatic woman who had been part of his bewildering introduction to this surreal world. Orion couldn’t help but vent his exasperation. “Damnit, every crazy hot woman in here is a damn larper, aren’t they? Damn it, get me out of here!”

Orion’s words tumbled out in a mixture of frustration and panic, and he couldn’t help but feel like he had fallen into some bizarre alternate reality. It was as if he had stumbled upon a secret meeting of a supernatural fan club, and he was the unwitting guest star. But instead of being perturbed by his outburst, Astrid merely grinned, her amusement dancing in her eyes. It was a grin that said, “Welcome to the club, buddy – where the crazier, the better!”

Astrid, however, clapped her hands happily at his words. “Thank you for saying that word!” she exclaimed, her tone more cheerful than mocking.

Orion was taken aback by her reaction. “Wait, no, you can’t be with them too!” he protested, disbelief flooding his voice.

Without warning, Astrid sprang into action. She appeared in front of him, her tone sadistically cheerful. “Yep, now brace for impact!” she declared, and before he could comprehend her intentions, he was forcefully propelled out of the window, hurtling from the building’s third story.

As Orion plummeted into the dark unknown, his scream was swallowed by the night. Fear and disbelief gripped him in a bewildering mix of emotions. His world blurred, and his thoughts raced, struggling to make sense of the surreal and perilous situation he had been thrust into.

The fall seemed endless, a nightmarish descent into the abyss. Orion’s screams, initially piercing the air, faded into an eerie silence as he tumbled through the darkness. His thoughts raced, desperately trying to make sense of the surreal and perilous situation he had been thrust into. Time itself seemed to warp and stretch as he looked upward toward the window he had been so unceremoniously ejected from.

His body continued to fall, yet it was moving in agonizingly slow motion, a bizarre distortion of reality. Seconds stretched into minutes as Orion descended, his senses disoriented by this inexplicable phenomenon. He could see Astrid, her expression unchanging as she watched him fall, her features frozen in time.

And then came the abrupt, brutal impact. The ground rushed up to meet him, and Orion felt an excruciating shockwave of pain radiate through his body as his bones cracked and his flesh protested against the unforgiving force of the landing. The world suddenly snapped back into real-time, and the surreal experience transformed into a visceral nightmare.

Pain, searing and relentless, engulfed him. Orion writhed on the ground, his breaths coming in ragged gasps as he clutched his broken form. The world around him spun a chaotic blur of darkness and indistinct shapes. He was acutely aware of his vulnerability, the fragility of his human body painfully evident.

Astrid’s actions had left him battered and broken, and as he lay there, the gravity of his new reality sank in. His mind whirled with questions, his body wracked with pain, and all he could do was endure the torment and wait for the unknown fate that awaited him in this strange and mysterious world.

As Astrid gracefully descended from the same window she had tossed Orion out of, her movements were like that of a nimble feline, landing on her feet with an eerie gracefulness. She approached Orion, her demeanor nonchalant as if what had just transpired was an everyday occurrence.

“Why didn’t you brace for impact?” she inquired casually, standing over him, her expression carrying a hint of curiosity. Orion found himself unable to form a response, his mind still grappling with the inexplicable nature of his survival.

The pain that coursed through his body was undeniable, and he could have sworn that any normal person would have been severely injured or even killed by such a fall. Yet, he was strangely intact, albeit hurting. It was as if his body was repairing itself, numbing the pain and tending to his injuries with a warm, soothing energy that flowed through him.

Orion remained sprawled out on the ground, his mind and body still grappling with the inexplicable events of the night. The world he had been thrust into seemed to defy the laws of physics, leaving him in a bewildered state.

“Uncle! I think I killed him!” Astrid’s voice rang out, shattering the eerie silence that had settled over the scene. Alfred, who had been watching the commotion from across the yard, approached the group as Orion lay there in a daze. The moon hung brightly in the night sky, casting an otherworldly glow upon the scene.

Orion, still in a semi-conscious state, muttered, “Stars... I always knew when I died there would be stars...”

Alfred’s attention, however, was not on Orion’s condition but on the state of the window that Astrid had used to toss him out. With indifference toward Orion’s well-being, he questioned Astrid, “Lady Astrid, that is the fourth window you have destroyed this month. What in the darkness of the night compelled you to toss him out of the window without opening it first?”

Astrid quickly responded, “Sorry, Uncle. He said the word, and you permitted me to toss him out of the window if he did.”

Alfred acknowledged her response but blamed himself for not specifying the need to open the window first. “Only this time, then, will I accept that excuse,” he conceded before turning his gaze toward Orion.

With utter indifference, Alfred issued a command to the fallen man, “Arise, Pawn. Based on your current state, I would say training is in order... Up, now.”

Astrid, the only one displaying a hint of concern on her face, couldn’t help but ask, “He... He is training with you, Uncle? Why? I thought he was just a pawn?” There was a subtle undertone of fear in her voice, hinting at her confusion and uncertainty about the situation.

Astrid’s concern deepened as she watched Orion struggling to even stand, and she couldn’t help but voice her worry. “Wait, shouldn’t he recover first? I mean, that was rather high,” she pointed out, her uncertainty about Alfred’s decision to make Orion his trainee becoming more evident.

However, Alfred’s response was cold and unwavering. He saw Orion as nothing more than a disposable piece in their grand scheme, and his words reflected that perspective. “He is a Pawn, an expendable piece that we need to charge forward without fear of death or pain. If he is unable to do this, he will be worthless to us,” Alfred stated, his gaze fixed on Orion as he emphasized his point.

With a demanding tone, Alfred ordered Orion to rise, reminding him that he was still very much alive. Orion, despite the intense pain, managed to muster the strength to stand, but it was a short-lived victory as his injured legs gave way, causing him to collapse onto himself.

“Fine, not selecting to stand is your choice,” Alfred remarked, unfazed by Orion’s inability to stay on his feet. He retrieved a small golden whistle from his breast pocket, his demeanor unrelenting. “You have 30 seconds after I blow this whistle to prepare yourself for defense, or you will be mauled to death by my pets,” he threatened, his words devoid of sympathy or compassion. The coldness of the situation hung heavily in the air, and Orion had no choice but to prepare himself for the impending threat.

Alfred blew into the whistle with all his might, but to Orion’s surprise, there was no sound. The ominous silence that followed only added to the sense of impending doom that hung in the air. Orion’s body was still recovering from the fall, and he could barely stand, let alone prepare for any potential threat.

“20 seconds...” Alfred’s serious tone served as a grim reminder of the limited time Orion had to get ready. Panic began to set in as Astrid looked back and forth between Orion and her uncle, realizing the direness of the situation. She implored Orion to stand, her urgency evident. “Listen, if you do not want to be ripped apart by Uncle’s pets, you need to get up now!” she urged, trying her best to assist Orion in getting to his feet.

Orion, struggling with every fiber of his being, managed to respond with a hint of frustration. “You know this wouldn’t be so hard if someone didn’t throw me out of a window...” he gasped, his body still in considerable pain.

Astrid looked regretful of her impulsive action. “Well, you should have landed on your feet. You’re a Pawn now. What Pawn can’t take a third-story dive?” she replied, her words laced with an unsettling acceptance of their harsh reality.

Alfred’s eyes widened in response to Astrid’s and Orion’s reactions. “Lady Astrid, in his defense, you tossed a newly transformed ghoul whose body is still more human than ghoul from the third story,” Alfred pointed out, his voice steady despite the growing tension in the air. “Seventeen seconds,” he continued to count with an unsettling calmness, not letting the conversation distract him from the impending threat.

Astrid’s and Orion’s faces mirrored their growing terror as the countdown continued. Orion, unable to contain his frustration, erupted in anger. “Would you stop freaking counting!” he shouted, his voice tinged with fear and irritation.

Alfred’s gaze remained unbroken, his expression cold and indifferent. Without hesitation, he skipped the number thirteen and jumped straight to five. “Five seconds, yell at me again,” he declared, his tone chilling.

Orion felt the weight of Alfred’s gaze, his mind racing with confusion and fear. What kind of man was this? He appeared human, he breathed like any other person, but there was an aura of malevolence about him that defied explanation. The word “demon” crossed Orion’s mind, but he couldn’t reconcile it with the man before him.

Astrid stepped forward, standing in front of her uncle, her tone firm. “Call them off now, Uncle. That’s an order,” she demanded, her authority clear in her voice.

Uncle turned his gaze away from Orion and let out a scoffing laugh. “The order to train him came from Lady Agnieszka, one... zero.”

Suddenly, the night was filled with eerie howls, echoing through the estate. One after another, the howls grew louder and more menacing. It was only a matter of time before the source of these otherworldly sounds revealed themselves.

From the depths of the inky darkness, a nightmarish spectacle unfurled before Orion’s eyes. Emerging with calculated menace, a pack of colossal black hounds manifested, shrouded in an eerie, supernatural aura. These imposing creatures seemed to step out of the very shadows themselves, their presence casting a heavy, foreboding pall over the estate.

Each member of the pack bore a unique visage, distinct from the others. Their obsidian fur glistened like polished ebony under the moon’s ethereal glow. Sinewy muscles rippled beneath their sleek, midnight coats, emphasizing their raw, untamed power.