Vampire Reincarnation

The sun was still up when Ray and Elena returned with bags full of groceries and party decorations. Kai yawned as he woke up from his nap, and smiled faintly before shaking Kana awake, who was sleeping soundly next to him.

She rubbed her eyes and the foggy surroundings slowly became clear, and she jumped up as she realized that everyone was looking at her.

“Come on Kana, it’s time to go,” Tom called out as he beckoned her with his hand. She immediately jumped down from the couch and ran to her father's side, watching Kai from the corner of her eye.

Ray approached Tom with an amicable smile, his lips parted as he said “Thanks for babysitting, Tom, the shop to get all these was quite further away than we anticipated.”

“Don’t worry about it, at least Kana managed to make a new friend. She is quite shy and no one inside the city wants to talk with her because of that, so I’m grateful as well.”

“Glad to hear that! I hope they become good friends.”

“I hope so too, unfortunately, we have to leave, Isabella should be waiting for us to arrive by now,” Tom said his goodbyes and left, Kana, holding tightly to his arms as the door closed shut.

Kai waved to them as they left, a question popping into his mind as he watched their figures disappear behind the door.

“Mom, why is Kana allowed to go outside?” He assumed he wasn’t allowed to leave because his race was weak to sunlight, but after seeing Kana, a girl only older by a few weeks out in the direct sunlight, he couldn’t help but ask.

His parents gave each other a quick glance, and Ray scratched the back of his head as he said “We’ll tell you at your Lijgar, just be patient until then, alright?”

Kai nodded but he lowered his head in disappointment. It's only a week anyway, I can wait…

Elena picked him up and held his hand into her own “Don’t make that face, let’s prepare you for your birthday,” she said as a smile creased her lips. Kai nodded and put his arms around her neck in a tight hug.

…

As Kai helped his father prepare the decorations, he gave his mother some modern snack ideas. Just like that, seven days passed by in the blink of an eye.

Elena had made a small four-piece black suit with a white shirt for Kai to wear on his birthday, which complemented the black shoes chosen by his father. I didn’t know Mom was so good at sewing, she made such a beautiful suit in a few months!

Kai donned the ebony suit, its black color contrasting perfectly with his long silver hair and red eyes. He inspected the living room, observing the joyous and festive atmosphere in the house.

His father had put up some colorful decorations and his mother hung an elastic, almost solid thread which she then imbued with magic, changing its color to fit the mood.

Kana was as shy as ever as she hid behind her mother, Isabella, whose head was decorated with long locks of blonde hair, and her face with a pair of big, round eyes, and plump lips that formed into a hearty smile.

Kana almost looked like a mini version of her, were it not for her eyes that resembled Tom’s more. Isabella wasn’t as tall as her husband, only reaching up to his chest.

Elena was chatting happily with her, both of them smiling as they looked in his direction. “He’s so handsome at such a young age, I can’t imagine what he’ll look like in ten years!”

Isabella remarked as Elena nodded, immediately agreeing “That’s right, he will need to wear a mask so he doesn’t come home with five daughters-in-law.”

Kai’s nose itched as he saw his mother and Isabella giggling on the side while stealing glances at him. What are they talking about?

He turned his head as he ignored the two, his gaze drifting toward Elizabeth, the elf he saw at his birth. She doesn’t look like she aged one day, she’s still as beautiful as back then.

Elizabeth wore a red dress, which complimented her emerald green eyes and her long golden locks of hair that dropped down past her waist. It wasn’t tied, instead, let loose to hang around her body, however not one hair was out of place, which only served to ingrain her picture in his mind.

She was sipping on a glass of water as she occasionally glanced at Kai, whose crimson eyes lingered on her beautiful figure. Their eyes met, and his heart skipped a beat before he shook his head. She's your mom’s friend, not to mention she’s decades older than you, what are you thinking? He berated himself as he quickly avoided her gaze, turning to walk toward his father.

Elly chuckled as she got up from her seat, smiling slightly as she approached him. It didn’t take long for her to arrive next to Kai, whose body jolted upon looking up at her.

Her huge stature that cast a shadow over him made him gulp as he tried to contain his racing heart. Was she always this tall? Or am I too small?

Elizabeth’s eyes wandered around Kai as dozens of images flashed in her mind, although she hadn’t seen him in a while, she always wondered how that baby that couldn’t even move his body was doing.

She kneeled in front of him and touched his forehead with her index finger, and it glowed slightly as she drew a circle. A bright smile creased her lips as they parted “You have a strong spirit, come to Evicario when you’re old enough, and I’ll take you as my apprentice.”

Elly got up and walked towards Elena, leaving behind Kai, whose eyes were wide open. Did I just get a teacher? His father saw the whole exchange, and he chuckled to himself as he took a sip of red wine.

A few minutes later Elena got up from her seat with a glass in hand, and she turned to everyone present as her lips parted. “Thank you all for coming today, it warms my heart to see so many people present at my son’s birthday.” She rose the glass into the air as she cheered, with everyone following suit.

Chatter accompanied by the sound of clanking cutlery resounded in the living room, where a rectangular table was covered in all sorts of delicacies and everyone took what they wanted to eat, like some sort of all-you-can-eat buffet.

Kai looked at everyone present, Kana and her parents, Elly, and most importantly his mother and father, who had prepared all of this for him. Warmth spread from his heart throughout his body, and a tear dripped down his cheek as he remembered his past birthdays, which weren’t even a fraction as happy as this one.

His mother immediately noticed and hurried to wipe it away as she kissed him on the forehead, signaling with her eyes toward Ray, who immediately got up and rushed to the kitchen.

He quickly came in with a huge, chocolate-looking cake in hand, and Elena immediately turned off the magic stones with a wave of her wand, with only a dim light left to illuminate the room.

Ray rushed to Elena’s side and put the cake down in front of Kai, immediately flicking his fingers where a fire stone resided, lighting up the five candles on top of the cake.

Kai looked at the scene with widened eyes, awed by his parents’ beautiful spy-like performance. Everyone stood up and sang him a song in a long-forgotten language, leaving him and Kana confused.

The birthday ended uneventfully, the kids finished the cake in record time before playing a few games, at which they failed exceptionally. The parents had a fun time as well, but all good things must come to an end as everyone left late into the evening.

After cleaning up Kai and his parents sat in his bedroom, both of them wore serious expressions on their faces, that hid a hint of excitement. Ray flicked his hand and a small vial filled with a crimson liquid appeared in his hand.

Blood? Kai immediately jumped to conclusions once he saw the vial’s dark color.

“Kai,” his mother sighed as she sat next to him. “The reason we didn’t let you go outside was that it would be too dangerous, and we are living in the kingdom for the same reason as well.

Our species is cursed, we are the only ones who can’t live in the sun, and we are the only ones who must feed on blood to survive and live a regular life…”

“Specifically,” his father continued, “it is human blood that is the most effective. Without it, ten minutes in the sun would be enough to turn us to ashes, and two hours under the moonlight would have the same effect.” A sigh escaped his lips as he prepared to continue, however, Elena interrupted him as she added.

“If we drink blood, we can not only reduce or even negate the sun’s poisonous nature, we can also increase our magical and physical abilities. However, not all blood is created equally. Normal animal blood has little to no effect, likewise, the blood of an average human would only reduce the sun’s effect by very little.

Mana-infused human blood is the best and most effective type of blood, as blood from the other races have lots of adverse effects…This is why our species is so hated, we must feed on others to be normal.”

Kai listened attentively, noticing the sadness in his parent’s eyes. “Anyway,” his father broke the awkward atmosphere, and he handed the vial over to Kai as he said, “Drink it, and let us handle the rest.”

“Just like this?” he asked, bewildered.

Ray nodded with a slight smile as he urged Kai to open the vial, which he did. The instant he removed the cap, a sweet, alluring scent bombarded his nostrils, and his eyes started glowing like two stars in the night sky.

His fangs grew longer and sharper and his nails transformed into claws. Drool dripped from his mouth as his vampiric instincts took over his body. He bought the vial to his lips, the infatuating taste caused his muscles to tense up as he downed the blood without hesitation.

It’s sweet! So sweet it’s addictive. The flavor, the taste, the texture, everything about this feels perfect. This satisfaction, this feeling of fulfillment, my entire body feels alive! He yelled inwardly as a euphoric feeling rose up within his body.

Elena touched the mesmerized Kai’s forehead and whispered softly in his ear as her hand shone with a pink light “Kai, I am going to transfer the technique to form a mana core to your mind. It will hurt a bit though, but please endure.”

He nodded subconsciously, his mind still infatuated with this new experience. The pink light grew in intensity as it filled the entire room before it quietly died down.

Ray dashed behind Kai, placing his hands on his back as he said “Use the technique to guide the mana and form the core.” Ray’s voice rang in his ears and the technique became clear in his mind as he slowly woke up from his trance.

This is… the method to form a mana core? He thought, feeling surprised that he already knew how to do it, is this what the pain from earlier was?

Following the technique, he guided the mana from his mana veins in a spherical shape at a spot right next to his heart, with Ray helping in the process to make sure he doesn’t accidentally destroy his heart.

The minutes ticked by, and a small, translucent core slowly appeared next to his heart, pulsating briefly before it stood still, and Kai’s appearance returned to normal. His eyes opened slowly, his dilated pupils reflecting the dim light of the crystals in his room.

“Ha… I’m a magician now…” He chuckled as his mind drifted into unconsciousness and fell in Ray’s arms, lightening the tense mood as his parents’ lips formed into a smile.