Kaiden slowly awoke, his head heavy as if shrouded in fog. He opened his eyes to nothing but darkness, pierced by a faint glow from a lamp hanging in the corner of the stone room. The air was cold and carried an ancient scent, as if no one had inhabited the place for ages.
He sat up with difficulty, reaching out to feel the rough wall beside him. Before he could fully comprehend his surroundings… his breath caught.
A few steps away stood a girl with wheat-colored hair cascading over her shoulders and eyes glowing red like embers in the dark. She wore a black dress that flowed lightly with her movements. She stared at him silently, a gaze so steady he could not tell whether it was curiosity… or a threat.
A mischievous smile played on her lips, one side curling as if she enjoyed some secret. Her voice was calm and confident:
— "Finally awake… I was wondering how long you'd stay lost in sleep."
Kaiden tightened his chains and glared at her.
The girl replied with a sly tone:
— "I am the one asking the questions here. Garin brought you, unconscious, and told me you were hiding among humans."
She smiled again, wider this time, her red eyes gleaming in the dark as if she could hear what was left unsaid.
Kaiden spoke hesitantly, his voice trembling as he stared at her:
— "Who… are you? And where am I?"
She gave a faint smile and leaned slightly, observing his features:
— "The more important question… is who you are and why you were hiding among humans. Was this a task assigned to you by some master?"
Kaiden, in a low, uncertain voice:
— "Hiding… among humans?! What do you mean?"
The girl chuckled softly, stepping closer:
— "Feigning ignorance… fascinating. I thought Garin exaggerated when he said you hadn't awakened yet."
Kaiden glared at her nervously:
— "I don't understand anything you're saying. Who are you? And what do you want from me?"
The girl raised a hand slowly, placing a finger against her lips as if ordering him to be silent:
— "Hss… too many questions are unfit for one who lacks strength. What matters now… is how you managed to live among humans all this time without being discovered."
Kaiden grew more unsettled, clenching his fists as he whispered:
— "I… I'm human, like them. I've hidden nothing."
The girl chuckled softly, tilting her head slightly, the smile never leaving her lips:
— "Human? Oh, dear… if you were truly human, you wouldn't be alive after Garin's strike. You should have shattered… that's what Garin said."
Kaiden muttered, finally understanding that the terrifying man's name was Garin.
She continued, watching his expression as if savoring his fear:
— "You are like us… your blood is not human. And the darkness you try to escape… has lived within you since birth."
Kaiden struggled to breathe, his voice uncertain:
— "What do you mean… like you?! I am not—"
She cut him off sharply, her tone cold and precise:
— "Stop denying what flows in your veins. Humans do not rise after Garin's strike, nor do they have eyes that flash as yours did when you tried to resist."
Kaiden's eyes widened, and he raised a trembling hand to them:
— "My eyes…?"
She stepped closer, gently lifting his hand from his face to look directly into his eyes:
— "Their color does not lie. Your blood does not lie. The truth is clear… you are one of us, Kaiden. A vampire, whether you accept it or not."
She leaned closer, almost touching his face:
— "Then… let me show you the truth you fear."
She slowly placed her cold fingers on his forehead. Suddenly, Kaiden felt a strange heat surge through his veins. His heart pounded violently, his vision blurred. His eyes widened, then his pupils glowed a crimson red, reflecting in the darkness like faint flames.
Kaiden, terrified, raised a hand to touch his eyes:
— "What… what have you done to me?! My eyes…!"
The girl smiled mischievously, stepping back slightly as she observed him with delight:
— "I only removed the mask you hide behind. This is your truth… your blood speaks louder than any denial."
Kaiden recoiled, gasping, half-shocked, half-terrified:
— "This… is impossible…!"
The girl laughed softly:
— "Impossible… is thinking you are human any longer."
Kaiden panted, pressing his trembling hands against his eyes, but the crimson glow did not fade. He grew more frantic as he saw his reflection on the broken glass in the corner, catching a demonic glint staring back at him.
Kaiden, voice trembling:
— "No… this isn't me… this cannot be me!"
The girl tilted her head slightly, her eyes sparkling with delight:
— "But it is you. There's no point in running now."
The door creaked open slowly, and Garin entered with steady steps. He stood in the shadows, his features barely visible, but the gleam of his eyes betrayed him.
Garin, low and sly, as if judging Kaiden:
— "Ah… your blood begins to awaken… I wasn't wrong when I caught you."
Kaiden lifted his head toward him, anger rising despite the fear:
— "Why?! Why me?! What… what do you want?!"
Garin approached slowly, placing his heavy hand on Kaiden's shoulder, while the redness in Kaiden's eyes intensified.
Garin, mysteriously:
— "You will understand soon… if you are strong enough to survive until that moment."
The girl smiled mysteriously as she watched, as if she knew more than she let on. The air was thick with silence, broken only by the furious beating of Kaiden's heart.
Garin stepped closer to Kaiden, his gaze cold and deadly. His voice filled the space with weight as he said:
— "Now, you have only two choices. The first is to die here, as all those who denied the truths humans refuse to face have done. The second… is to accept your true self, to live among us, and to prove your loyalty to vampires."
He paused, studying every tremor in Kaiden's body, then added:
— "Choose wisely… opportunities like this don't come every day."
Kaiden trembled, his voice rising in panic:
— "L… live with you??? After everything you've done? You killed people… took villages… destroyed everything… innocent people!"
The girl beside him smirked mischievously, her red eyes glinting with irony. Garin responded slowly, as if explaining a truth Kaiden had never understood:
— "We killed people? Took villages? Is that what you know of us?"
He gestured to the darkness around them, as if the very place itself spoke of history:
— "Those villages… they were ours from the beginning. The entire North was under our control for a century. Vampires were the rulers all these years. But because of human corruption… because of their betrayals, we were killed and driven out, leaving our numbers few."
He stepped closer, his voice calm yet more dangerous:
— "What you believed to belong to the 'good humans'… was always ours. Everything you considered an achievement of humans… was merely remnants of our blood, our power… and we are still here, steadfast, waiting for someone to rise with us."
Kaiden absorbed these words, his mind teetering between anger, shock, and fear, yet something inside him stirred—a strange feeling that the truth he had never known all his life was finally revealing itself.
The girl tilted her head, smiling slyly:
— "Now you know the truth. Your life among humans was a cage, and now you can choose freedom… or die like the weak."
Kaiden stared at them, eyes wide open, his blood burning hotter, the redness in his eyes intensifying…
He sat in silence, his red eyes glowing faintly, his mind drowning in conflicting memories. Images of his father appeared before him, words of humans—both kind and cruel—screams, insults, rejection… All these voices clashed in his head, each memory pulling him toward a different path. His heart raced, and he found no words to express his inner struggle.
The girl noticed his prolonged silence and smiled wickedly, her red eyes fixed on him:
— "I think humans have corrupted you with their words… made you question, hesitate, struggle with yourself. You have the freedom to choose and think… but know this, we do not give this chance twice."
She stepped closer, her voice more serious, yet still carrying a touch of mockery:
— "The choice is clear… either live with your own kind, accept your blood and your true power… or remain loyal to the rebellious, corrupt humans, who have done nothing but cage you your entire life."
He breathed slowly, the room heavy with silence. Every word felt like a weight on him, every thought a wound. He watched the girl and Garin, feeling the gravity of the decision before him—torn between his painful human past and an unknown future that promised power and freedom.
The girl tilted her head again, her voice soft but sharp:
— "Time is limited. Choose now… the life you knew among humans is over. Your blood now belongs to you… and to us."
Kaiden closed his eyes for a moment, a violent inner struggle shaking him. Everything around him fell into a heavy silence as he pondered: would he remain a prisoner of his human past, or accept his true power and begin a new life as a vampire?