Vampire Reincarnation

So far, the world has kneeled before me, and I will make sure things stay that way. Only my people deserve to rule over this continent, over this world… I will not tolerate muddy-blooded bastards to have any inch of it!

The city blocks shone with the yellow light of the incandescent light bulbs. Countless buildings, countless windows with countless untold stories. The occasional car passed by the empty road, adding to the weak light of the street lamps, revealing rats scurrying around the cornand er, thrown trash.

There were few people walking on the narrow sidewalks, and those who did weren't the most hospitable looking. Large coats draped their shoulders, hiding who knows what, and big, wide hats covered most of their face.

In this part of the city, where not even cats and dogs walked, two young men with flushed faces and wobbly walks were definitely out of place. They held one arm over the other's shoulder, trying to, and failing, to gain some stability.

One of them was less drunk and tried to help his friend walk straight, though the height difference made it hard. He was two heads shorter than his friend, and probably two or three times lighter. The clothes he wore - a large jacket that had some burn holes, which reeked of cigarette smoke, old pants with patches sewn at the crotch, and a pair of yellow shoes that were once white - were loose and a size or two too large.

His flushed face wore a worried expression, and his pearly black eyes scanned the surroundings with apprehension. "Nathan, we shouldn't be here." The boy whispered as loudly as he dared, so as not to gather attention.

They stopped on the sidewalk, next to a dim light emitted by a street lamp. The boy's black, short hair reflected none of the light, while Nathan's blonde, disheveled hair, alongside his blue eyes, gave him the appearance of a model. They were both young, probably no older than fourteen, but the stark contrast between them was jarring.

Nathan let go of his friend's shoulder and leaned on the pole, throwing up what looked to be fish and pieces of skewered meat. "And you shouldn't have eaten those skewers so fast." The boy chuckled nervously, carefully looking around the area.

"Shut it," Nathan said hoarsely, bringing a sleeve to his mouth. He then turned to the boy and shot him a serious glance, though the drunk factor made it seem goofier than he wanted it to be. "They were the best skewers we've ever had."

"Indeed." The boy nodded in agreement, licking his lips and salivating at the thought. "I can't believe that vendor gave them out for free."

"They weren't-" Nathan interrupted before throwing up another healthy amount of stomach contents. "They weren't free… You little bastard. Don't forget I-, I had to win a drinking contest…. I-" He threw up again, his knees weakening as his stomach spasmed. "Fuck… That old man knew how to drink."

The short boy chuckled and gave Nathan a few pats on the back. "I knew you could do it. You've always been a master at winning."

"Winning bets or races, not getting shitfaced drunk!" Nathan faked rage and lightly punched the boy in the shoulder.

"Ouch," He groaned, and thought to return the favor, but then decided not to, considering Nathan's state. "You recovered pretty fast, though. You went from saying that you love me to punching me in a matter of twenty minutes."

"Pssht," Nathan said, waving his hand. "That's one of my few superpowers, at least. He then looked around, glancing at the dim light and empty streets. "Where are we anyway?"

"We're in Jefferson's." The boy said with a cracking voice. A shiver even ran down his spine as he said the name.

"Jefferson's?… I have a cousin who lives around here." Nathan said weakly, trying to get a sense of direction and footing. "7 Miserpole Street, in one of the apartments."

"I don't know how to get there, we should just head home. I don't like this." The boy bit down on his lower lip, not bothering to hide his apprehension.

"Pfft." Nathan chuckled as he straightened his back. "Scaredy cat."

"I'm not scared, I'm just cautious!"

"You ought to take risks sometimes," Nathan said, placing his palm over the boy's shoulder. "Besides, he's family. This place just has a bad reputation, doesn't mean everyone's a gang leader and mob boss."

The boy wanted to agree, but in the end shook his head and shivered as a cold wind blew past them. "I'd rather be safe than sorry. A-and aunty will kill me if I don't return home. I'm already in big trouble for staying up so late.

Nathan frowned as the boy mentioned the aunt, but he didn't say anything. "Alright, look, just- help me get to my cousin's. I don't think I'm in any state to walk straight."

The boy nodded sheepishly and began looking for street signs or maybe a bus line map. Luckily for them, there were buses even in such desolate neighborhoods, and the boy had a thought to take one to get home. Home… He thought, wondering if such a place even existed.

It took them half an hour to find a bus stop, or what was left of it, and they managed to piece together a map from two torn halves. "Where's Miserpole Street?" Nathan asked, trying to look at the map, though his dilated pupils and blurry vision didn't help much.

"Two blocks away." The boy said, squinting at the map. "I think it's another half hour on foot."

"Damn, we're kinda far." Nathan cursed and sat down, taking a deep breath of chilled air. His flushed face seemed to have gained some color, and his body shivered despite the large, well-fitting jacket. "You should take the bus from here and return home. I think I'll manage."

"Are you… Sure?" The boy asked, his vision switching between the dark corners of the neighborhood and his half-drunk friend. "I think I'd better get you to your cousin."

The wind blew harshly against their skin as the night fully settled, and the moon hung high in the sky, watching over the two. Nathan coughed lightly, the warm air becoming fog as it escaped his mouth. "I'll be fine, the alcohol has mostly left my brain. Your aunt… I'll call her in the morning."

The boy looked at Nathan and nodded softly, sitting down next to him on the freezing bench. "Alright." He agreed, though reluctantly. "I'd still rather accompany you, though."

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

"Eh, I'll be fine," Nathan said as he stood up with a light groan. "Let's just sit here for a bit for my world to stop spinning."

Silence then descended upon the two, and neither the city nor the winds disturbed it. That didn't last, though, as the occasional glass breaking and yelling spooked them. Some cars passed by as well, and each time one did, the boy's heart stopped beating for a moment.

"Alright," Nathan sighed and bent to look at the map. "Miserpole street…Ahh, alright, I can see it now." He pointed it out on the map, and the boy nodded.

"That's it."

"Alright then," Nathan straightened his back and extended his hand, then the boy shook it after glancing at it for a second. "I'll see you Monday?"

"See you Monday."

And so Nathan left, heading into the dimly lit street, darkness swallowing him, while the boy remained at the bus station. The cold bench turned warmer as he sat on it, though the wind sent a cold shiver throughout his body. He had no phone or watch to check the time, but he knew at least that the bus that passed by here would drop him off close to his house. He just hoped that there would be no one checking tickets, as he had none, and no money to buy one either.

Damn, I,t Nathan, how did we even end up here… The boy lamented his situation and thought about his aunt's angry face once he got home from wandering the streets late at night. She'll punish him, though he wasn't sure if he'd get grounded or beaten up. I hope she's sleeping…

Eventually, the bus did come, and the driver greeted him as he stepped into it. The bus was empty, though, and he faked scanning a ticket to the best of his ability, but the driver didn't seem to care about it either way.

He sat at the back in a window seat and watched as the lightless city turned bright as they passed into another neighborhood. The traffic was more intense, with dozens of cars and a few people walking around, holding hands, kissing, or standing side by side. The boy sighed and turned his gaze, unwilling to look at more of the people's smiles, and waited for his stop.

…

Kai's body jolted backward as Lutha's hand landed on his shoulder. "Are you alright, Ichor?" The man asked, looking him up and down. "You've been staring at the statue for a good minute."

"Yeah,h I-" Kai's eyes darted wildly, his mind recovering from the sudden shock. What just happened… were those my memories? Nathan… oh… Nathan… He thought, his heart aching at the long-lost memory of his friend. Nathan… He held back a tear and took a deep breath. So that's what happened before you disappeared…

"Ichor," Yasa's voice fully awoke him from his thoughts. He shook his head and turned to face her, though he couldn't fully hide his distress. She paused for a moment, but continued despite his appearance. "While you were standing there, we discovered a few traces of gobelin trails."

So quick?

"Let's hurry, we need to check out the town hall and the guild. You can keep dreaming after we leave."

Kai nodded and joined Yasa and the others in walking outside the church. As the sun shafts kissed his skin, he received a message from Onyx, saying that it reeks of gobelins near the outskirts of the city.

Which side exactly?

Up? Onyx replied, unsure of what Kai meant.

Ah, yeah… alright. Kai said, making a mental note of teaching him how to locate himself in space. Though not that I know any better. He followed the group toward the town hall and guild headquarters, but the entire city seemed to have been abandoned by both gobelin and man. Kai had a bad feeling about it, and he wasn't the only one.

"It's too desolate," Lutha commented, and the others nodded. They walked around, entering random houses, being met with emptiness, corpses, and more often than not, dried blood detached limbs.

Brower! Onyx called out, doing his best to share the little image he had with Kai through their bond. Kai saw brief flashes from a low angle, covered by leaves and branches. His jaw dropped, though, and his heart began to race. He couldn't believe what he was seeing, and an unfiltered sort of rage rushed through his body.

In a courtyard with targets and dummies, as well as empty sword and bow racks, Totems made out of human remains littered the entrance to a large, base-like house. Limbs, ribs, skulls, and other body parts were tied on a stick and hung in front of the building like warding totems. Even though he wasn't human currently, he was once. Seeing such a morbid display spoke volumes of the gobelin's ferocity and malice.

His change in mood was immediately detected by Yasa, who didn't waste a moment to ask what was going on.

"In the city outskirts… there's… people." He said with some difficulty, trying to put the image into words. Yasa and the others' brightening expressions immediately dimmed, though, as he continued. "Corpses, skeletons tied together on poles."

"What?!" Yasa raged, almost picking Kai up as she grabbed his shoulders. "Where?!"

"Up, I think, in the north."

Letting go of him, Yasa's fury reached a peak as mana seeped out of her body, putting pressure on the other members of her party. Lutha's expression turned sour, and the burly man groaned as he headed toward the general direction Kai had pointed out.

"Are there any enemies?" Yasa asked, tightening the grip on her blade.

"Lots… too many to count. Onyx can't smell them all."

The burly man halted in his footsteps. Dealing with a small army of gobelins was difficult enough as is, but trying to kill an entire nest of them made Yasa do a double take.

"We'll head there and decide what to do when we see it." She declared and started walking toward Onyx's location. Lutha and Jinchevs followed closely behind, and Kai did too while sharing information with Onyx.

"There are a few towers overlooking the forest with ranged gobelins checking all angles. I think there's a mana detection range as well… one of the… totems in the middle lets off a faint aura. Onyx doesn't know how to use magicyessoo he can't tell, but we'd better err on the side of caution."

Yasa nodded and gave Lutha a glance, who then spread out his mana and regularly checked the surroundings.

A bad feeling sprang up within Kai as they got closer and closer to where Onyx was, and he thought of ways to deal with the gobelin nest, but no matter how he thought about it, he couldn't come up with anything. If we kill them, only the others will get powered up. If there are too many red ones, we might be in too much danger, while the purple ones could explode near the green ones to boost their strength.

Maybe casting another Double Phoenix Destruction may work, but that seems too risky. They're inside a building, and if I don't have enough firepower to break past their magical defense, then it's all useless. We were easily overpowered by a couple of them; in comparison, an entire nest would be…

"We've arrived," Yasa said, awakening Kai from his thoughts. He felt Onyx's presence nearby and nodded, though they were a fair bit away. Yasa jumped and climbed a tree, getting a better vantage point. From where she was, she could see parts of the human effigies the gobelins created, and her mana leaked even more.

"Yasa!" Lutha shot her a warning, and she did her best to control her anger.

"They're worse than monsters." She said after jumping down. "I've never seen something like this, it's- I can't even… How did this go unnoticed?!"

"The people in the west don't care for such little parts of the eastern side, you know that," Jinchevs said, shaking his head. "Even if this city were big by this region's standards, it's just a drop in the bucket."

Kai stared at the man with a confused expression, obviously that he was surprised by his assessment. Not because he was right, but because he said it in the first place. I owe you an apology.

Yasa was left at a loss for words and decided that the most important problem right now was to decide what to do. "Do we risk attacking them, or do we report this to the office?"

"We've done what we've come here to do," Lutha said, nervously adjusting his glasses. "Is it worth risking our lives to clean them out, if we can even do that?"

"If we let them go, who knows what would happen? If they've walked as far as Belvit, the cities in the vicinity are in trouble too." Yasa countered, her eyes staring off into the distance. "They might get even more aggressive now that we killed a large number of them."

Jinchevs didn't say anything, and neither did Kai. He would rather not fight the large nest and risk death once again, but at the same time, he couldn't forgive them for doing such a thing to anyone.

Brower, I'veI been spotted! Onyx cried suddenly. Kai jumped, his heart racing, sharing the Obborik's anxiety and distress.

"What's happened?!"

"Onyx is getting chased!"