Huge entities with obsidian wings gathered around a single throne where an unknown stone lay sealed. A group of blurred figures stood witness to the ceremony. They bowed and praised the winged beings, celebrating the moment the seal was completed. Laughter, cheering, and dancing echoed across the lonely island. The land was bathed in light and happiness—until someone leaked their location, and the slaughter began.
~~
Tsukia's POV
I woke from the wildest dream of my life. I didn't understand what those images meant, it felt as if I were watching them from a great distance. My body was numb and sore. My eyes burned, my vision remaining hazy, and I found I couldn't move my hands or feet. Worst of all, my memories were a blur. All I knew for certain was that a dragon had died before my eyes. I felt a crushing weight of sadness and anger, as if despair had hollowed out my soul.
Ihadn't even asked for the dragon's name.
As my vision slowly cleared, I saw Nightshade sitting beside me, reading a comic. Noticing I was awake, he immediately reached out to feel my forehead and check my pulse.
"You've been unconscious for three straight days." he whispered. My eyes widened in shock. I tried to sit up, but my legs were still leaden. "For some reason, Jasmia's healing spells aren't working properly on you. We don't know why." he added, gently massaging my numbed limbs.
"What happened?" I asked.
Nightshade only smiled and patted my head. "Nothing happened." he said firmly, though his eyes suggested otherwise.
"I remember the moment the dragon was killed." I said, my mind flashing back to the heat and blood of the lair. "My emotions... they just took over."
"Yep. Then you lost consciousness. We retrieved the egg and defeated the other hunters." Nightshade said calmly, continuing his physical check-up.
A knock sounded at the door. Lori and Jasmia entered, their eyes clouded with worry. As soon as they saw I was awake, they rushed to my side. "How are you feeling?" Lori asked, his hand hovering near my face.
"How is the dragon's egg?" Nightshade asked Lori, his expression turning demanding.
"I put it in a safe place in the basement," Lori explained. "I've been surrounding it with my flames to keep it healthy, It needs the heat."
Nightshade nodded in approval.
I stared at a random spot on the wall, trying to piece together the missing scenarios from the lair. As I strained to remember, my pupils dilated and my head snapped back toward the ceiling. Darkness began to consume my vision. Black veins crawled up my wrists, and a guttural groan escaped my throat. I felt like I was losing control of my own body. I could hear my friends panicking, but their voices sounded miles away.
Nightshade Ash's POV
Panic surged through me the moment I saw Tsukia's state. I jumped in front of her, holding her face and trying to snap her out of it. Lori and Jasmia froze, helpless. To be honest, I didn't know what to do either, I had never seen her like this.
Her powers were strange and terrifying.
I couldn't bear to see her groaning in pain. I didn't know why I had become so possessive and attached to her after I met her, It wasn't just curiosity about her power anymore, it was for her, the person.
Desperate for a solution, I shifted into my vampire form. I knew that through my blood, I could connect to her essence.
"I'm sorry." I whispered. I bit my tongue until the copper taste of blood filled my mouth, then I leaned in and kissed her, forcing my blood to flow into her.
Sub vampire potential: Blood linking
"Hey! What the hell are you doing?" Lori shouted, trying to pull me away, but I resisted. I kept the connection until the magic took hold.
My own eyes turned dark. Black veins mirrored hers on my wrists. I groaned as my senses went blank, and I plunged into the darkness.
I felt as if my inner body or what we called sense had been transported to another dimension, it's like I'm lucid dreaming as I could move freely in this void. In the distance, I saw a black door with a crimson doorknob.
I opened it and stepped through. Inside, I saw a woman with massive wings and a chakra symbol on her forehead. She was kneeling before an empty throne where a glowing stone floated in the air. Driven by curiosity, I tried to approach her, but an invisible force shoved me back. It refused to let me get closer to the winged woman.
Giving up on that path, I saw a white door appear behind me. I entered it and found a room containing a single, massive tree. Thousands of red spider lilies carpeted the floor. At the base of the tree, a small child sat crying.
I rushed to her and held her cheeks gently. "Hey, are you okay?"
"Who are you?" she asked, her eyes pitiful and red from sobbing.
"Who are you?" I asked back.
"I'm Tsukia." she answered without hesitation.
I smiled. I knew then that I was inside her "Will" her core memories.
"I'm someone you know. Let's go!" I said, brushing away her tears and helping her up. "Do you know where we are?" I added.
"I don't know." she whispered, her voice echoing in the vast room.
As another door appeared, red with a golden doorknob. We stepped through into a peaceful, colorful landscape. There was a sea framed by mountains. The child version of Tsukia ran toward the water, giggling as she played in the sand.
"Did you know that I lived here?" she said happily and smiling cheerfully.
My heart raced as I watched her.
"Where is this place?" I asked.
She opened her mouth to answer, but her voice went mute. I could see her lips moving, but no sound came out. The sound only returned once she started laughing again. It was as if a force was preventing me from knowing her full history.
The young tsukia ran toward a small village on the left and I followed. She froze when she saw another huge tree, identical to the one in the previous room. She hugged the trunk and began to cry again.
"What happened?" I asked. Again, she spoke, and again, the world went mute.
This mystery was only making me more eager to understand and know her past. When the sound returned, she was still weeping. Suddenly, a blast of wind heralded the appearance of a violet door. I reached for the child's hand, but she vanished without a trace.
I pushed through the violet door and found the empty throne again. This time, the current, adult Tsukia was standing there, staring at it. I rushed to her side and grabbed her shoulders. She looked at me, her eyes wide with shock.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice trembling. "My mind went blank... then I was here." She added.
"I came after you." I said firmly.
Before she could ask how, a golden door appeared—the exit. I grabbed her hand tightly and pulled her through.
~~
I snapped back to reality, breathing heavily. I immediately checked on Tsukia, she was still unconscious, but the darkness was receding.
"What the hell was that?" Lori demanded, looking like he was about to explode with questions.
"I'll explain later." I snapped, focused only on Tsukia.
After a minute, Tsukia's eyes fluttered open. She gasped for air as the black veins on her wrists faded away. I held her face in my hands, waiting for her eyes to focus on mine.