The tale is taken back 800 years. Somewhere in the Siberian cold, the legend of a reaper who terrorized a village was prominent. At that time, the now King Zedic was just a prince, in the throes of his teenage years, enjoying blood-boiled authority and mischief. The young prince Zedic wandered the wild for sport and fun. Immortality was truly a gift from heaven for such a wicked teenager. The power of a ring, which conquered the sun's curse, granted him the cure for fear, yet the unknown still lurked behind his mind.
As he ran wild in the snow, a figure emerged from the dense fog. A big black cloak and black boots, which left a trail of cold blood on the pristine snow, kept the air vicious. His face was red with frozen blood, just like his hands and boots. The prince turned to look, and he saw a figure, more like a dead body frozen to death. An aura was surrounding him; the smell of death permeated the air. He kept his path, looking for more blood.
"Hey, you there, the village is this way," a man called out from behind, pointing his direction to the fog. Zedic turned and looked again at the man who called him, and gave a cold stare.
"Oh, come on, old man, there's no need to be so cold," the young man said.
"Who are you exactly? A flesh should know his foot," Zedic replied.
The young man stood out in the snow. He was wearing a classic shirt and pants with some Jordans—Jordans in the 1100s. To be clear, he was sitting there as if waiting for a sunset. For a human to go so far...
"Zedic, Zedic Embridge," he introduced himself with a polite royal manner, while wiping the blood off his lips.
"Zedic, mm, ancient and modern. You truly are a King," the young man replied.
Zedic lowered his eyes and took a deep breath, and started where he had left off, "You're not supposed to be here. Meddling with our kingdom is a red line for you people. That's what you came up with 1000 years ago. Why bother breaking?"
"I'm not from the original family, nor am I what you thought I am. I'm just an ordinary human who wants to protect his people." Zedic's assumption was wrong; he appeared to be an unknown, which Zedic feared the most.
"But even so, I can't comprehend how a human could say so many things about me and my people, to be specific, and even stand in this snowstorm. Lying isn't my forte," Zedic said.
"Well, then I will be leaving. Dipping my dick in this shit is a little bit risky, who knows what it will do to the space-time of this universe? Just forget about all this nonsense." The young man started to hurry up and leave into the snowstorm.
"Universe, what's that now?" Zedic's interest was piqued; he felt a spark in his heart.
The young man kept his pace toward the village, but Zedic didn't let him go. Zedic stood in front of him and challenged him. "We are not done. You're pretty normal for a human, but from what my senses say, I guess you're one. A duel would be nice. After all, I set out to fight the strongest there is. You're indeed strong, young man." His blood-boiled nature didn't want any wisdom; the fist did more for him than any words could.
"A duel, ha? I guess that's not bad. If you lose, you're heading right back to where you should be, the kingdom, I mean." Both took a deep breath. Zedic was overwhelming with bloodlust, while the young man stood like a calm river flowing to infinity. His composure made him the victor even before the match began.
All it took were a few moments. Zedic stood on his knees, coughing up blood, bleeding from his nose and ears. He had lost his composure; he started to panic. The blood drops started to turn red as they appeared. The wounds took more time to heal; he felt true fear, the fear of death for the first time in his never-ending life. On the other hand, the young man stood there with a kind smile.
While sweating like a pig, Zedic mumbled, "What kind of demon are you?" His worry was over the life he had taken as if it were a feather all along these years.
"What matters is our duel's outcome. Now you have lost, you must do what needs to be done." The young lad stood firm on his words and actions; the river didn't gain any momentum.
"That's right, I have lost a battle for the first time. My pride has been shattered. I, Embridge Zedic of the Embridge royal family, hereby accept my defeat." He knelt before the human and kept his head low. His priority was his life; the words didn't help him; the aspects of fear ate away his wisdom.
"Oh, come on, you did your part as a vampire. There's no need to go any further. Get on your feet, old man. I'm no god to be kneeling." Humility after humility, the young lad kept his low profile.
Zedic got on his feet and asked, "Where did I go wrong? I thought I could protect if I'm the strongest there is. Where did I go wrong?" His reasons started to surface. The instinct for survival had faded away; the hard-boiled blood had already started to kick in.
"Quit whining, get a hold of yourself. Did you forget you're a man who sought to protect a nation? Everything you did is a part of who you are. Now, try to be the man who you're meant to be. Protect what is meant to be protected; it's what a king must do." The young man walked off saying that.
"Hold there, who are you? How do you know I'm gonna be a king?" Zedic demanded, watching the boot marks quickly fade into the snow.
The young man turned back, a calm smile on his face. "You will be a king, Zedic. You will be the greatest of the kings that has ever ruled your land. And you were right from the beginning. I'm neither human nor a vampire; I'm something that's beyond your calculations. I'm something you call a celestial being. Call me Alex... The name's Alexi Hristolian. Alexi would be good, I guess." His easy-going nature shined through his words, a stark contrast to the power he wielded. He faced his opponent with kindness and a sense of pure morality.
With that, Alexi turned and walked away. The snow covered his tracks, making it seem like a past that was never meant to be told. The very air, once filled with the scent of death and fear, now carried the aroma of a billion lives moving together. He faded into the snowstorm, vanishing as if he had never existed at all.
(To be continued)