Vampire Reincarnation

Kai opened his eyes, a bright and warm light greeting him as he struggled to awaken. Intense, sharp bursts of pain appeared all over his body as he tried to get up. He sighed inwardly as he saw the foggy image of his familiar ceiling. Inhaling deeply, the smell of burnt flesh and fabric inundated his nostrils, and he coughed lightly.

Hastened footsteps rang in his ears, and his parents’ blurry figure appeared in his vision. He blinked rapidly a few times as his sight became clear, an angry expression obvious on their faces.

What happened? He did his best to remember what happened, vague images of a blue fire explosion flashing in his mind. His pupils constricted as the memory of the incident became fresh in his mind.

“Why didn’t it work?” His thoughts escaped his lips, and his father’s scoff resounded in the room. “Because you’re an idiot,” Ray answered, a hint of fury clear in his voice “Why would you do something so reckless?”

Elena stood quiet by the side, sighing as he healed Kai just enough for him to get up. He immediately saw Ray’s angered face, who looked at him with crossed arms.

“I thought you knew better than doing that. It could have gone a lot worse, what were you thinking?” His imperative tone , his stoic face and piercing gaze giving Kai goosebumps all over his wounded body.

He avoided Ray’s gaze, instead staring at the hardwood floor as he said with a trembling voice “I was annoyed I couldn’t hit the target, so I thought that-”

“You thought that a bigger fireball would make it easier to hit? Have I not taught you well enough? I said that infusing too much mana into a spell will make it unstable, and the caster will experience dire consequences, didn’t I?!”

Ray cut him off, his words digging into Kai’s soul. He bit his lower lip and clenched the sheets, his blood flow becoming turbulent. He gave his father a quick glance, immediately avoiding his burning gaze. “Answer.” He demanded, his deep voice sending shivers down Kai’s spine.

“Y-y-yes…” His lips trembled as he answered, tears threatening to flow from his reddened eyes, which he subconsciously shut, his muscles tensing up as memories from his soul flashed into his mind.

He saw a huge, imposing fist fly toward him, its thick and hairy fingers descending upon him, causing his mind to shudder, and a wave of inner turmoil washed over him as the fist was within inches of his face.

Then, he opened his eyes. He saw his father’s tender expression before he found himself being hugged tightly, a warm hand ruffling his hair as he felt the rapid beating of a heart, one that was not his but it was much too familiar.

His eyes widened as his father hugged him, and he endured the pain that appeared all over his body, waking up from the living nightmare he just experienced.

“Dad…?”

He asked, unsure of the reality before him, his father’s warm body pressed against his made him realize that this wasn’t a dream. He returned the hug, wrapping his scorched hands around Ray’s neck as tears dripped down his cheeks. “Dad!”

“Kai, you stupid boy, I’m so glad you’re alive… the scare you gave me at that moment- if you hadn’t been breathing… you… I…” His father’s voice was shakier than his, and he could feel warm tears drip down his neck.

His mother’s quiet sobbing rang in his ears, all the tension up to that point was broken by his father’s gentle hug, and Elena couldn’t hold back the despair she felt anymore. Her red eyes glowed under the light of the chandelier, and streams of tears ran down her cheeks as she sat next to Kai, whispering softly as she tried to calm down. “My baby…”

…

The starry night watched over the entirety of the bustling city, countless stalls and shops were open, advertising their products with bright, different-colored light stones.

The infatuating smell of freshly cooked food lingered on the busy, cobblestone-paved road. Food and barbeque stalls, shops with wooden or plush toys, hunting equipment stalls, clothing, and bookstores, were open on both of its sides, stretching as far as the eye could see.

Vampires, demihumans, lizardmen, and some lesser demons manned the stalls, selling all sorts of various, exotic or weird food such as fried snake tongue, HoneyBread Bat legs, the pickled horns of a horned rabbit, or skewers fried on the antlers of a double-headed deer.

One shop stood in a remote corner of the city, surrounding it were a few worn-down buildings and poor-looking shops.

In contrast to them, this shop was brightly lit up by a few light crystals, its walls were covered in some vine-like plants, small violet flowers sprouting from them.

The shop had a large window lit by a couple of fire stones. A dozen exquisitely crafted wooden wands were put on display, each of them adorned with small crystals of different colors.

Three people stood in front of it, staring at the displayed goods as they talked. The smaller of the three was Kai, who has grown taller in the three years since the incident. His features developed to become more like his father- small eyes with long eyelashes, thin lips, and a nice jawline began to take shape.

His long silver hair reached his chest, tied in a ponytail- as per Elena’s suggestion. On the other hand, she and Ray never aged a day, their youthful looks remained untouched by the river of time, and not even a wrinkle appeared on their pale skin.

“Now that you’re close to a Two Star magician, you will need a wand to continue training.” His father explained as they looked at the different wands on display.

“See all of those different crystals and woods? Just like you used a fire stone as a catalyst to control fire magic, the wand will act as a catalyst for multiple elements, not only that,” he said as he pulled out his own wand.

The crystals on it were six crystals of two different colors - red and black, three fire crystals, and three dark crystals. They shone with a mesmerizing light as they reflected all the light around them.

“With a wand, your spell will deal greater damage depending on how many crystals you have, and even your accuracy will increase slightly. Isn’t that right?”

Ray finished his explanation and asked, seemingly to no one. A low and sharp screech rang in Kai’s ears, and he looked around, confused and unable to find its source.

“It’s my wand.” His father said before putting it back in his spatial ring. “After a certain point, some wands gain sentience, which increases your control over mana, reducing the time to cast a spell.”

Huh? How do inanimate objects even gain sentience? What the fuck… Kai’s inner voice questioned the concept that his parents seemed to have so easily accepted.

He turned his attention toward the wands on display, signaling to Kai to come closer to the window. “Close your eyes and tell me what you feel.”

Kai did as instructed, and his eyes snapped shut. A few seconds passed, and he couldn’t feel anything besides the wind running through his air. “Dad uhh… I don’t think this is working…”

Ray let out a soft sigh “Send your mana toward the wands, dummy.”

“Huh? How was I supposed to know that?” Kai snapped back as his father finished the sentence, his face reddening slightly.

He controlled the mana inside his mana core, moving it outwardly, penetrating the glass, and touching the wands. The moment his mana made contact with them, a wave of negative emotions bombarded Kai’s mind, sending him tumbling backward, cold sweat dripping down his forehead as he inhaled with difficulty.

What the fuck was that?! So many emotions, so… such intense hatred and regret, the agony!

His mother helped him up, shooting an angry glare at Ray, who did nothing to protect their son’s mind. “Are you alright?” she asked as she brushed the dust off his clothes.

“Yeah, I… I think, what was that?”

Ray also helped clean some of the dust off as he explained - “That’s what happens to wands once they are abandoned or lose their owner. Just like humans who lose their loved ones, they become bitter with hatred, anger, agony, and grief.”

Elena inhaled deeply before she sighed, urging Kai and Ray to enter the shop faster, afraid that her husband may implant some other weird thoughts in their son’s head.

The shop wasn’t too big, but it was spacious enough for several people to stare at the multitude materials on the shelves, which were filled with different colored wood, crystals, and powders, as well as magic stones. Books, weird colored liquors, and a lot more unidentifiable objects and animalistic body parts.

At the back of the shop stood a stall, on top of which was a scale, a few empty bags, and some lifeless wands. Behind it was a shopkeeper, his natural gray hair and wrinkled face giving away his age. He wore a simple linen shirt and pants, and a green vest embroidered with dark threads adding to his merchant aura.

He was short and chubby, his dark and dead eyes lit up for a second, and a wide smile manifested on his face when he saw Kai and his parents enter.

A wide smile manifested on his face as he greeted them in an excited tone. “Ray, Elena, you brats, when were you thinking of visiting me?” He waved his hand, revealing a long and deep scar on his forearm.

“Gramps, it’s been too long since last time, how have you been?” Ray hugged the man tightly, causing the old shopkeeper’s face to turn slightly blue.

Finally, Ray let go, and the old man coughed lightly “Rascal, you still won’t let it go?” he asked as he adjusted his posture, and, without waiting for Ray to answer, he turned his attention toward Kai, who was sitting quietly behind his mother.

“And I assume this is your kid?” The old man caressed his dirty beard while observing Kai, a hint of surprise appearing on his face, “What’s your name?”

Kai stepped forward, shaking the old man’s hand as he greeted him. “My name is Kai.”

“Haha, good, good.’ The old shopkeeper shook Kai’s hand rapidly as he said “So young yet already a One Star Large Core Mage, so close to a Two star Mage! You taught him well!”

“Aye, you flatter me…” Ray smiled and laughed proudly, in contrast, Kai was visibly shocked. How does this old man know my exact rank?

“I was talking to Elena…” The old man quickly rectified, not wanting to let anything fuel Ray’s ego. “I can already tell what you’re here for, tell me, child, what elements do you have the best affinity with?”

Kai glanced at his parents, who nodded approvingly. “I uhm… all of them..” he said, feeling slightly embarrassed.

“All of them… I see, I see… ALL OF THEM?!?” Shock and amazement manifested on the old man’s face, his mouth staying agape as the last words left his mouth. Not even The King, the strongest man to ever live on the continent had so many affinities at birth… is this kid a monster? Even his mother only had four, and that is already extremely rare…

The old man glanced at Elena and Ray, unable to believe Kai’s words. They nodded in response, barely able to contain their pride.

He fixed his clothes and straightened his back, clearing his throat with a light cough, he said “It will take me a while to make it… maybe three or four weeks, perhaps even more, let’s talk about the details. Usually, magicians only have one to two elements, the most gifted ones can even have four but I’ve never heard of anyone having all of them… not naturally anyway.”

He walked back behind the counter, rummaging through the shelves before saying “I assume you want a wand with all six elements, regardless I must have you pick two elements for the choice of material.”

Kai inhaled deeply and thought carefully about which of the elements he’d like or even need the most. Fire seems like a pretty good choice, it’s versatile enough and easy to use, and it also looks the coolest… for the second element… I’m not sure, eh… does it really matter?

“I want fire and dark elements,” he replied nonchalantly, but his father’s face lit up immediately, leading Elena to roll her eyes.

The old shopkeeper's eyes shone with enthusiasm, smiling lightly as he said “Wonderful, then give me a little bit of your hair, that way the wand will recognize you as the owner. I will send word once it’s ready and you can come pick it up, you should already be a Two-Star Mage by then.”

“Thanks, Gramps, we owe you one!” Ray said as he plucked a strand of Kai’s hair, a soft wince escaped his lips.

“What can you owe an old man like me? Just pay up, you brat, you’re not getting away this time!” The old man berated Ray, and a low giggle escaped Elena’s lips.

“Thank you grandpa, make sure you stay healthy, alright?” she thanked him and they left the store quietly, the old man’s gaze lingering on the trio long after the doors closed.

A six-element wand was only made once, by The King, the ruler of the Old World. He unified all races during his reign, imprisoned us, and ruled the whole continent as one country, and even then, he only acquired his sixth element… This will be my magnum opus!

His mind raced with ideas as he mumbled to himself, opening a door just behind the stall, entering the room it hid.