Vampire Reincarnation

These lands seem treacherous… even more so than the mountain peaks covered in lava. This forest… even I get shivers as my army marches through its territory. Could it be the Tree of Life, the beasts, or something else giving me this feeling?

Kai let out a heavy sigh and leaned backward on the chair, massaging his shoulders. A smile broke out under his mask, and a light chuckle escaped his lips. On the table before him stood a creation of metal, glass, and engineering.

A makeshift microscope that Kai hoped would help him and Barhm discover the secrets to Darky’s invisibility. He leaned forward and looked at the invention with sparkling eyes, the thing’s shiny surface reflecting in his pupils. It didn’t look professional, like a lab microscope, but it looked better than whatever Barhm made.

“It’s done.” He exhaled and turned toward his lab partner, whose head snapped toward the table, and even jumped from his chair as he dashed toward Kai. Barhm stopped a few inches away and reached with his almost trembling hands, picking up the microscope and looking at it with keen interest. His pupils widened as he inspected it, and placed it back upon the table before putting a small leaf he pulled from who knows where on the glass tray. He placed another glass sheet on top, clamped it down with a piece of steel, and then looked through a metal tube filled with smaller glass lenses.

“Hm? It’s not working?” He said, taking a few closer looks at it and looking through the tube. “What gives?”

Kai chuckled and flicked his wrist, pulling out a small Light Crystal and placing it within a slot on the side. “Well, of course, it doesn’t work… to make an actual microscope we’d need… other stuff.” He hesitated to continue his sentence, fearing sounding suspicious to Barhm, however by now if he didn’t have a hunch then he shouldn’t be considered a genius. “The lenses are there to help, but the Light Crystal will do all the heavy lifting. It’s… complicated, and the reason why it took me so long to make it.”

“Light Crystal? What does that have to do with it? Aren’t those used mainly as a light source?”

“Ah- w-well…” Kai looked away, and quickly tapped the crystal, activating it. “Just try it.”

“Fine…” Barhm agreed, although his voice seemed unsure. He peeked through the metal tube toward the leaf, and his heart skipped a beat as an unbelievable image showed itself before him. A top-down view of a maze-like structure, with interconnected lime-green paths stretching out, seemingly infinitely, surrounded by darker green patches. Its surface was covered with some sort of floating dark dots.

“You… this… How?!” He stuttered as he looked away, unable to see Kai’s smug smile hidden behind his fox mask.

Thank you Rodney for being so smart. He thought and quickly picked up the microscope. “It doesn’t matter how, but let’s go, we need to see how Darky’s blood works.”

“Right- Let’s go!” Barhm said, his voice almost creaking. However, he kept himself composed and walked toward Darky as Kai set up the microscope on the desk.

Upon seeing Barhm approach, Darky immediately stood up with a snarl, glaring at the boy who already held that makeshift syringe of his.

“Stay still, I need a fresh sample.” He groaned, grabbing the almost ethereal creature by the stomach and quickly inserting the syringe. Darky let out a low yelp, causing Kai to click his tongue.

“I think that’s enough, isn’t it?”

Barhm nodded and retracted the apparatus, now filled with blood, and he quickly hurried toward the microscope. Dripping a few drops of it onto the freshly cleaned glass pane, upon which Kai instantly placed the other sheet of glass and secured it in place with a metal clamp.

“Move aside.” Barhm barked and shoved Kai aside, his trembling hands grabbing onto the microscope and carefully observing the liquid as the Light Crystal shone with a faint light.

The blood seemed normal at first glance, at least to Barhm. The red and white blood cells floated in the viscous liquid, although their color seemed to be a little darker, and black spots covered some of the cells. “There doesn’t seem to be any irregularities.” He said, squinting harder through the metal tube.

Just as he said that, however, a sudden change occurred within the microscopic view. His heart skipped a beat and he flinched as he paid extremely close attention to the blood.

“Wh-what happened?” Kai asked, scooting closer and looking at the blood drop, which disappeared right before his eyes. So far, that was normal, but he was more interested in what it was that Barhm saw. “Hey, so what’s going on?” He inquired, patting Barhm’s shoulder.

“Incredible…” He whispered under his breath as he lifted his head. With a look of stupefaction, he turned to Kai with a stupid smile.

“So?”

“Nothing… I couldn’t see what happened exactly, it just vanished like any other time. It’s almost like there’s nothing to observe.” Barhm chuckled and sat on the chair, running a hand through his hair before leaning on his knees.

“What?” Kai took a step back and raised an eyebrow, cleaning out the glass panes and dripping another drop of blood. He pressed his eye against the metal tube and activated the light crystal, then waited patiently. His wait wasn’t long, however, as, just as Barhm described, the blood cells disappeared completely, leaving out a completely clear glass pane that Kai could easily see through.

“What the fuck?” A light curse escaped his lips as he lifted his head, glanced at Darky, and then back at the glass pane. He took it out and smeared the blood on his finger, its sticky texture sending a shiver down his spine, and his head turned hotter. Quickly wiping it off, he looked at Barhm, and he back at Kai. “Well… I-”

“This is amazing! To think that such an advanced lifeform exists in this world!” His excited gaze flew toward Darky, eyeing the poor creature like a hungry tiger. Kai gulped and sighed, looking at the poor thing with pity and regret. He bit his tongue and turned back to Barhm, his lips parting,

“So, what do you mean then?”

“I mean that it’s amazing such a quick transformation is possible! The blood cells turned from visible to invisible in mere fractions of a second! I think it’s even faster than when I first found it.” His speech turned faster the more he spoke, and he even seemed to sweat as Darky listened in on the conversation, its abyss-like fur almost trembling.

Even faster?! Kai gasped inwardly and clenched his fist. Just what is this creature, to be able to naturally turn invisible and get better at it as it grows?

For the first time since he last ‘saw’ it, Kai felt fear when standing near the large creature, who seemed to be getting bigger and bigger with time. He gulped, and shook his head, then sighed. “I have to leave now, I think, I still need to visit the guild.”

“Mhm, alright.” Barhm nodded as he picked up a blank sheet of paper and started writing and drawing on it, leaving Kai speechless at how fast the boy could adapt. “Wait.” He said, ripping out a piece of paper and scribbling down another list on it. “I think I have an idea about how it turns invisible, but I’ll need these ingredients and a very cold freeze- uhm… ice box?”

“Huh?” Kai rubbed his head as he read the list and shrugged. “Sure, I guess? But you know the money I earn is barely enough to buy your supplies.”

“What can I do? I’m poor, and a child.”

“Aren’t you the son of a noble family or something?”

“Uhm, well.” Barhm coughed. “I may or may have not been disowned by the main family for doing a thing or two…”

“Huh? What-”

“Whatever, just leave already.”

“F-fine!”

Well, I better go. He whistled for Onyx and left the room, phasing through the wall and ending up back in the dark alley. God- Goddess, I’m tired of this entrance…

He chuckled at the automatic correction and headed toward the guild. Upon arriving there, he noticed that it was mostly the same as always, a lot of people, very busy, and plenty of new faces to stare at Onyx with curiosity. He stopped in front of the boards, and grit his teeth as he chose another half a dozen of low-ranking tasks, then stood in line for Anna to register them. Or so he thought, as, this time, the person greeting him wasn’t the woman he was accustomed to.

“Hello… sir?” She stuttered, leaning above the counter and saying in a surprised voice. “How may I help you?”

Kai looked at her with similar surprise, not expecting anyone else to be here during the night except for Anna. This woman - her supposed replacement, was just as beautiful as her, however, if maybe even more. Her dark skin almost seemed to sparkle under the light of the crystals, and her beautiful, short orange hair contrasted it perfectly, alongside a gorgeous pair of jaded eyes. A few freckles decorated her face, but they weren’t too noticeable. She wore a soft smile on her lips and quickly waved her hand to raise the ground below Kai.

“Are you here to accept tasks?” She asked, noticing the stack of papers in Kai’s hands.

“Uhm, yes-” He replied almost absent-mindedly. His eyes fixated on her bare skin, and he licked his lips before knocking himself out of his trance. “Please register them, here’s my Guild ID.”

Quickly reading the information on the card, the woman’s eyes widened in surprise, however, she quickly turned away, acting normal and manually inputting the TOIDN into Kai’s folder. As he waited, a set of footsteps that he couldn’t mistake for anyone else’s rang behind him. His heart skipped a beat as he turned, meeting the sight of the much too familiar, much too creepy man.

Raymond… He gulped, and Onyx suddenly stood up, growling at the neatly dressed man. Kai turned to his companion, and a cold sweat began dripping down his forehead. Arranging his tie, the man walked toward Kai with a friendly, yet suspicious smile. He nodded slightly, and his lips parted as he placed his hands on Kai’s shoulders. “Ah… Ichor… What a surprise.” A similar greeting, with an unfamiliar tone. Kai jumped in place, and let out a light chuckle.

“Is it though?”

Raymond’s gaze fell upon him, making him shiver, and, for a second, it seemed like the entire world stopped just for the two of them, deafening Kai and making his body freeze. However, That’s not possible… And truly it wasn’t, as the countless whispers and laughs rang in Kai’s ears once again not a moment later. “Come on, finish what you were doing with Rebeka, don’t mind me.” The man said, his actions creeping Kai out more than usual, however at the same time a pressure that he could not get out of descended upon him.

“R-right.” He stuttered and turned, only to take a step back as Rebeka’s eyes glowed with a faint light. Her face instantly changed, her soft smile morphing into trembling lips. She took a step backward, and then another before she fell to her knees.

Kai watched all this happen in slow-motion, or at least what he perceived it as, before complete darkness surrounded him, and he lost consciousness after feeling a strong hit in the back of his neck.