♤From the Journal of Everan Valen♤
I've lost track of how long it's been since I last set foot in Londinium. Time moves differently now, or maybe it's just me.
Tonight, I walked the rooftops again. It's strange—everything's the same, but nothing feels right. The gaslights still flicker like they always have, and the streets still reek of filth and smoke, but something's wrong. Something feels... off.
I can't place it. I've been gone so long, but it's more than that. I feel weaker. Like the hunger's not as sharp as before, but deeper—an ache in my fangs that won't stop.
I touched my chest tonight, half-expecting to feel my heart beating. But there was nothing. I don't know why it still matters.
There was a woman below. She screamed, and a man hit her. The constables didn't care. I could've stepped in. I could've made them remember me. But... I didn't.
I went back to my old place. Everything's covered in dust, but the house hasn't changed. My portrait's still hanging on the wall, like someone else's face.
I sat in front of the fire, and it was like I was a stranger in my own skin. I don't feel likethe man I used to be or the monster.
I've come back to Londinium, but something's different and something seems to be following me.
E.V.