Vampire Reincarnation

Ray and Elena sat down on a white carpet around a small, brown coffee table, where Kai was struggling to write using weird symbols. He lifted his pen from the paper, and his father picked it up in that same instant, his face beaming with joy as he read the text.

“Haha, our Kai is so smart he can already write a letter by himself!” He laughed loudly as he said in a deep voice, Elena nodding along as she said “Of course he is, he is my boy after all.”

“Hehe, it’s not that amazing…” Kai laughed awkwardly as he scratched the back of his head.

“Nonsense! Look at how beautiful your handwriting is, I will frame it and hang it on the wall!” Ray praised Kai a little more as the latter dropped his head in embarrassment.

“Nonsense Kai, your birthday is coming up soon. We’ll have to celebrate, and I’ll make sure to prepare lots of sweets just for you.”

He nodded excitedly, his long, silver hair jumping up and down as his sharp, crimson eyes sparkled with anticipation.

“Look at how handsome he is! I don’t think I need to dress him up for the celebration.” Elena hugged him tightly, as she took a break from praising him. “Anyway, Kai are you ready for your birthday? Next week’s a big day…” She added while pinching his cheeks. “Oh you’re so handsome, I want to eat you right up.”

“Of course he’s handsome, he’s our son after all!” his father erupted into laughter while messing up Kai’s hair.

Kai smiled brightly as he felt his parents’ endless love for him, and his face turned as red as a tomato; a wide smile plastered on his face gave away the happiness he felt in his heart. Is this what a true family is like? He asked himself as memories of a cold hand and hateful glare appeared in his mind.

“Kai!” his father’s voice rang in his ears, distracting him from the painful memory. “We will go out for a bit, my friend, Tom, is going to come over and look after you again. He’s bringing his daughter with him so get along, okay?”

“Yes Dad, don’t worry.” he nodded as he replied with a smile. However, a small question nagged at him... How come the two of them are leaving at the same time?

Although Tom babysat him now and again, his parents had never actually left at the same time. He put this puzzling thought to the side, and instead, focused on a more important matter. This gives me the chance to see what’s hidden behind that door!

He bolted to the kitchen the moment his parents left and cast his gaze onto the mysterious door. Its appearance was the same as the others in the house, even its brown color didn’t stand out.

He inhaled deeply and readied himself to enter the room, his gut told him that there was something special about it. I never saw them enter, but I’m sure the key is in the drawer… somewhere…

The door had an archaic lock, unfortunately, which all the doors in the house shared.

He rushed to open the drawer and before long the soft jingling of keys resounded in the room, a dozen skeletal keys tied with a metal wire, and they scraped against each other as Kai ran to the door with them.

If I’m lucky one of them will open it… hopefully.

He tried the first key… nothing. The second and third keys had the same result. Oh, come on… He inserted the fourth key and… *Click* Bingo!

The door creaked open and scattered rays of sunlight leaked through the widening gap. So bright! Kai blinked rapidly as the light bounced off his widened crimson eyes, and he flinched at the warm sunlight that slightly burned his skin.

“Woah…” he exclaimed out loud, taken aback by the interior.

The room wasn’t big, it was even smaller than the kitchen but it was different in every way. His fingers ran across the surface of the dark wood wall, and he winced in pain as a splinter pierced his finger.

In the middle of the ceiling hung a chandelier that sparkled with red and white light from a dozen different magic stones, and below it lay a round wooden table surrounded by three chairs.

He approached the table and looked around at the large number of bookshelves filled with hundreds of books of different sizes. The thinnest one was no thicker than his pinky finger and the largest one could fit his entire head inside.

He turned his attention to the large window, which was placed so that the light would only shine on the table but not the bookshelves. He scooted closer to the window, looked outside, and his eyes widened as he took his first look at the new world.

There wasn’t much to see, at least in the proximity of his house. Dark and dead soil surrounded him, and it spread as far as the kingdom lay. Derelict houses littered its surface, and as Kai took a better look, he could see a deciduous forest, with trees so large it was difficult to estimate their size a few hundred meters ahead.

Looking a bit to the left, he could barely see a huge tower far into the distance, surrounded by what looked to be hundreds of houses densely packed together.

His ears twitched as the sound of a singing river rang in his mind, however, he could not see it, regardless of how far he tried to look.

He closed his eyes and let the warm sunlight crash against his skin, enjoying his first time in the natural light. He felt his pores open up… then a sizzling sound rang in his ears as a burning sensation, like an erupting volcano, spread all over his face.

Waves of heat ran across his skin as his whole body started convulsing, and the smell of burnt meat spread in the room. His breathing became ragged and uneven, and very little oxygen reached his brain. His veins dried up as his blood felt like it turned into hot mercury, stiffening his muscles as it coursed through his body.

He opened his eyes as his mind started to go blank, and alarms started ringing in his head. His muscles tensed up as he jumped to the side, away from the direct sunlight before he retreated into a dark corner.

What the fuck was that?!

His heart threatened to jump out of his chest as the burning sensation on his face slowly faded. He inhaled deeply as he did his best to calm down, his mind slowly returning to normal. Was it because of the sun? He rapidly came to the only logical conclusion as he recalled the intense pain he experienced a few moments ago.

Hard mode, huh? He sighed and chuckled at the same time as he recalled what the Goddess had told him. And here I thought my life was going to be simple… but how can my parents leave during the day?

He shrugged off this thought as he retreated further away from the window, his body shivering at the idea of going into the sunlight again. He turned towards the closest bookshelf and scanned the few books in front of him.

They were in alphabetical order, with subjects ranging across the whole spectrum of knowledge. He saw texts in every subject he could think of, including biology, history, math, linguistics, and of course, magic.

Looks like they are arranged depending on the subject… He picked up a book from the magic section, its cover was old, void of any text, and dusty with burnt and torn corners.

Dust flew everywhere as he flipped it open, and he coughed lightly as he read the text on the yellow, water-damaged page. <>

I can’t even read the title but I’m guessing it has something to do with magic…

He flipped over a few more pages, his eyes tearing up as the dust forced its way into his lungs. After a few minutes, Kai closed the book as he came to a jarring conclusion. I don't understand anything, what are Inkos and Onkos? Seven Star? Big core?

He put it back and moved towards the beginning of the shelf, from where he picked up a thinner book. Its pages were white and the smell of fresh ink still lingered on it.

The title of the book was written in black ink on a brown cover with sloppy handwriting, making it difficult to read. Kai squinted his eyes to read the title and began to slowly recognize the handwriting.

<>

This title and handwriting… it couldn’t be. He inhaled deeply as he sniffed the book, as is customary with a new one. Definitely fresh off the printing press…

The pages fluttered as he flipped it open, his fingertips pressing on the fine pages as he read its contents.

<>

Kai stared at the first page with bewilderment, and his open mouth let out weird sounds as he tried to think through the shock. No way… Dad actually wrote this?

He continued reading, and the second paragraph was written differently from the previous one, the style and handwriting changed and Kai immediately recognized it. Did Mom write it as well? Why are they even writing it, are no books on the market?

<

By using it, anyone can become stronger, faster, tougher, more resistant to the elements, and many more such things. Those spells are called Inkos because they happen inside your body and affect you directly.

There are also Onkos spells, which are performed similarly to Inkos spells except that they manifest outside your body in a multitude of different forms. Fireballs, earth walls, wind spheres, and many more such spells can only be performed via a catalyst, a magic stone, or a magic crystal, usually embedded in a wand. The people who can use those spells are called ‘Magicians’>>

Kai blinked rapidly as he suddenly understood a bit of what that old book said, he raised an eyebrow at the thought which appeared in his mind. Why haven’t I felt any mana yet though? Am I… … what’s the word?

He shook his head before he continued reading, hoping to find an answer to his dilemma.

<>

Kai facepalmed after he finished reading the sentence, feeling more stupid than down. Just keep reading next time!

<

The colors only show how fast mana can be purified and controlled, so even if your mana core isn’t the best quality, you would only advance a bit slower.

If you don’t have mana veins there is a way to artificially create them, however, Onkos spells would be out of the question until you reach a higher rank.>>

Do I have mana veins then, how do I know? Sweat dripped down his forehead and into the book as the new thought tormented him.

<

It is recommended to use this simple spell to expel the mana as well, as unpurified mana is poisonous: Focus on your mana veins and imagine the mana leaving them, and guide it by saying “Ieafael”.>>

Huh? Is it that easy? But didn’t she say that I wouldn’t be able to feel mana without a mana core? Or did she mean the mana outside?

Putting the book down, he followed the instructions and almost immediately he could feel tiny particles moving about in his body in an uneven line.

Is that mana and… my mana veins!

He smiled with excitement as his heart raced in his chest, and immediately tried performing the spell as indicated. A sharp pain spread throughout his mana veins as the mana within them circulated backward, and his body shivered as he felt the mana leave through his five extremities.

So cool! Speaking of… I wonder what color my core will be. Green? Blue? maybe even… white!

Picking up the book again, he wanted to continue reading; however, in his excitement, he forgot about one thing.

“Kai! Are you there!?” A deep yell rang in his ears and he jumped up, visibly anxious. Crap! I forgot about that!

He hastily placed the book on the shelf, not bothering to arrange it properly as he rushed out the door before locking it. Then, he threw the keys in the drawer and ran to the living room, where Tom and his daughter waited for him.

“Hello Uncle Tom, sorry for the wait, I was uh… upstairs.” He quickly made up a lie as he greeted Tom, his dad’s friend.

He was tall, very tall, taller than his father by about two heads. His hair was short and black, much like his father’s except that Tom had a cleanly shaven face. He wore simple linen clothing that hung loose around his thin but muscular body and he also had a pair of crimson eyes, although their hue was a bit muddier.

“No worries.” He said as he ruffled Kai’s hair, before pushing out a tiny girl from behind him. “This is my daughter, Kana.”

Kana walked forward, her head lowered as she fidgeted with her fingers. She opened her mouth a few times, however, no sound came out of it. She had long, blonde hair that complimented her blue dress, and her eyes were of a deep and dark crimson color, in contrast to her father’s.

“Hello…’ Kai greeted them awkwardly, not sure of what to say in front of the shy girl.

Kana nodded in response before hiding behind her father once again. “Haha, excuse her, she’s quite shy. She only turned five last week. Speaking of which, your first Lijgar is coming up soon, right?”

“Yeah, next week actually,” he replied with a faint smile, with excitement plastered all over his face. Lijgar… vampires only celebrate their birthday, well name day in this case once every five years due to their long lifespan… I wonder if all races are like that.

“Come on, let’s sit down then.” he invited Kana and her father onto the couch, and he brought out his writing utensils. Tom taught him more complicated words.

Kana watched from a distance, her eyes sparkling with curiosity as she slowly approached the coffee table, peeking from a hole between Kai and Tom.

“You can write?” her barely audible voice shaking as she asked.

“Yeah, I learned pretty quick…” he replied casually as he finished writing the sentence.

“Can you write my name?” she turned to Kai and asked with a bright smile on her face.

Kai looked at Tom, who only gave a slight nod of approval as he made way for Kana to join them.

“Sure, look, this is how you write Ka and this…”

A few hours later, both Kai and Kana were asleep on the couch with Tom reading a book as he watched over them.