Vampire Reincarnation

Powers have started rising from among the livestock, powers I do not understand. An all-out war is inevitable, how did it come to this?

A large, dumb smile creased Kai's lips as he read the letter from Julie. He hadn't expecter her to go so far just from a piece of paper he ripped from his grandpa's notebook. Though he was glad to hear she went to the Magic Academy, that meant that they could meet again one day. Sverik was there as well, and he guessed that Julie had been welcomed into the same type of program as he was.

In time we'll all be together… Kai thought, giddy at the thought. He then stored the letter into his ring and walked out where Onyx waited for him.

"They've left." Kai said, prompting a nod from the Obborik. Of course he knew, given his superior nose and ears, but Kai felt that telling him anyway wouldn't hurt.

"Let's go visit grandpa."

"Arf!"

…

Kai more or less remembered where his grandpa's camp was located. What bothered him more was its proximity to the Vampire Kingdom.

Though Kai hadn't heard anything about Haniard looking for him, he was sure that he had eyes everywhere. He might even be aware that he went to Lustra and just cannot act outside of his territory.

Either way, Kai had made up his mind to see his grandpa. I'll also visit my parents… there's a lot of things that they need to know. Lots of things have happened.

He wasn't in a hurry to arrive at his parents' grave, though his heart raced and knees felt weak. Kai didn't run or even jog, he just walked silently accompanied only by the crunching of leaves and snapping of twigs.

The familiar envrionement brought him back to the time when he had left. Thinking about it, so much has happened, and he questioned how much he'd grown as a person. Though he couldn't be sure, and it was really hard to say exactly, but he liked to believe that he did grow.

Soon his footsteps halted as he stood before the clearing where his parents were buried. He dragged his feet and slowly made his way in front of the graves. There was no sign of them even being there in the first place, besides the two small mounds, between which was a towering tree.

When he had left, the tree was nothing more than a sappling, and now it had grown to such heights, its roots reuniting his parents even in their death.

For a moment he stood there, thinking about what to say. What words could he utter, what excuses could he make? Had he any right to talk to them without avenging their deaths? Did he? His lips parted and closed, stood agape, and his legs shifted ever so sliglty. Blood dripped from his clenched fists, and he opened his mouth one last time. In the end though, he closed his eyes and turned around, sighing. The Obborik looked at Kai with a confused expression, unable to fully understand the complex emotions coursing through his companion's body.

Your unfillial son will be back soon. He thought as a tear formed at the corner of his eye, which then dripped down his cheek. Just wait for me.

…

Unable to fully shake his ditress, Kai walked toward his grandpa's camp with a sense of uneasiness. That feeling had appeared often lately for him, and it wasn't wrong, not once. With that thought, his stomach sunk and he increased the pace, going as fast as the forest allowed him.

The two arrived at the familliar place within minutes, however his heart sank into his stomach upon seeing the camp. It was completely different from the way he had left it. The smiling children and concerned adults disappeared, the small tents and fireplaces were destroyed. It was as if a wave of ruin washed over the entire place, taking away any and all joy alongside it.

Kai's breathing hastened, becoming heavier and heavier with each passing second. He scanned the area for any signs of struggle or corpses. Dashing toward the middle, he saw the large collapsed tent that his grandpa used to live in, but no sign of anyone or anything.

What happened here? Have they escaped? He asked himself, hoping that it was true. If anyone had found this place they would at least kill some people I'd asume. Nobody transformed though, there are no corpses anywhere, nor any sign of fighting. Just… what…

He found himself standing in the middle of the ruins of a place he once called home. It wasn't the first time, but it was the only time where he could take it in.

Grandpa… where are you?

…

After calming himself down, Kai left the camp and slowly made his way toward Limmin town. The darkness didn't show him much, even with his night vision, but he preffered not to see the details of destruction during the daytime. He wondered if that's how former residents of Lustra felt upon seeing their city destroyed and in ruins, infested by creatures they know nothing about.

That's how Kai felt, except he had a hunch. It told him that Haniard wanted to punish the camp of refugees and clean them out, but his grandpa knew that ahead of time and left. He wasn't sure of the reason as to why Haniard suddenly decided to do that, though he couldn't be sure if it was Haniard in the first place.

Perhaps the local authorities found out about them and called in the inquisitors? No, no, if they did then… Kai didn't even want to think about the lengths such monsters would go to to hunt his kind.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

At that moment he just wanted to rest somewhere. Too many things have happened in such a short amount of time. Even though he knew that he would sleep straight into a nightmare, he had gotten used to them by that point.

Though he wasn't even sure that he would get any sleep that night, if he even managed to find an inn in Limmin town. He was used to sleeping under the open sky, however a nice comfy bed and a warm bath never hurt anyone.

With that thought in mind, he slowly made his way toward the city, trying not to think too much about everything while walking.

…

Onyx's stomach growled after a few minutes, and Kai's followed suit. That awoke him from his thoughts, prompting a light chuckle to escape his lips. "Alright, we can sit down and eat something first." He said, locating a spot near a tree.

Setting up a grill didn't take much effort, besides choosing wether or not to light up wood or use fire crystals. Kai decided that fire crystals were the safest option, though they didn't give the meat the same smokey smell that wood did.

The cooking part didn't take too long either. He grabbed a large piece of meat for Onyx and a smaller one for himself, seasoned it with salt then slapped it onto the makeshift grill. The crystals glowed with a warm light as Kai fed them mana, raising the temperature to an adequate level. A pleasant sound of sizzling juices accompanied the similarly infatuating smell.

Onyx licked his snout as he stared at the meat with a deep hunger, and Kai pet his head as he looked toward the open sky. It began to get colder as the moon climbed higher, but the stars gave him some form of solice. The Obborik cuddled closer to him, practically sitting in his lap, and shrunk himself to a more bearable size.

"You're still heavy, you know that right?"

…

It wasn't long before they began walking again, both of them with happy, filled stomachs and more energy than before. However Kai's mood bled onto Onyx's as well, which made for a quiet, uneventful march toward Limmin town.

Kai had never been there before, only passing it by, but it was close enough to the camp that it was within sight after an hour.

Like the other towns and cities Kai visited before, Limmin had tall walls made of wood and archer towers every few meters. They served as a way to look out for danger and kill threats, though Kai wasn't sure what sort of threats.

There was a single gate guarded by two leather armored men, whose weapon of choice were a large spear and a short sword tied to their waist. Not many people went in and out, and the few that did had their identities checked as thrououghly as a teenager with a fake ID at a bar. That put a sense of unease on Kai, but he wanted to enter to at least get a room for the night.

The guards threw him a frown as he approached with Onyx, who kept his small size and looked more like a dog than a wolf, or Obborik. "Halt!" One of them commanded, his voice coarse. The air in his mouth turned to mist as it met the cold from the outside, and his legs shivered evenwith the leather armor. "State your business."

"I want to get some lodging and food." Kai replied honestly, glancing at the two with cold eyes. If they were part of the people that threw Julie and her mother out, he would be disgusted to show them even a bit of respect.

"Alright then let me see some identification."

Kai pulled out his guild-issued ID card and flashed it to the guard. Upon seeing it, the guard's expression turned more respectful, and he chuckled nervously. "Haha, well if it isn't an adventurer. Please enter then, the local guild headquarters should be able to accomodate you. It may be small but there aren't as many adventurers roaming 'round here."

Nodding, Kai put away the card and walked past the second guard without giving him a second look. After he vanished into the crowed, the first guard turned to the one that talked to Kai. "Hey Johie, who was that?"

"An adventurer. A real one, can you believe it? Do you think something happened for him to show up here?"

"Well… I don't think so? I haven't heard anything since the guards went deep into the forest and found that place."

"Yeah… I guess so. We wouldn't be privy to such information anyway."

"Mhm, but say, what if he wasn't?"

"Hah," Johie chuckle coarsely. "As if. Do you think those guild cards are easy to make? Anyone who tries to show up with a counterfeit gets punished severely."

…

Kai's welcoming image to Limmin town wasn't exactly as he imagined it to be. In comparison to Belvic, Nivero and even Lustra, Limmin didn't have any sort of paved roads. The ground wasn't covered in anything, not even grass, and it reminded Kai of an old western movie, though much livelier.

People and vendors were present, as was the case for the other cities, however they were consdierably less in size, and the people didn't look to be as happy as the rest. Their heads were down, arms in their pockets or holding a bag, and the vendors' yells were rare. Nobody called out for anyone to buy, and the people only bought what they needed.

The houses were also different. Built out of cheap wood and clay, with roofs made of hay and almost non-existent windows, the image it gave was that of a true medieval city unlike any Kai had ever seen.

He got some uncaring looks from the citisens, mostly curious and some frigthened, but no one seemed interested in him. Kai thought it was a change of pace, since he'd get at least a few groups of people staring at him with some sort of negative feeling.

Walking through Limmin's streets at night made him feel like he went back to a village in his old world. Street lamps were few and far between, and those that were had weak, almost used up light or fire crystals that struggled to light up the darkness.

Using his night vision, Kai made his way through the crowd and looked for the guild headquarters, if there were any. Worst case scenario I sleep outside… He thought as he scanned buildings and signs.

Luckily, it didn't take long for him to find the guild headquarters, if it could even be called that. Compared to the one in Belvic, this one was run-down, with faded text and rotting wooden walls. It did have windows, though half of them were broken.

The door creaked loudly as he opened it, and the dim interior revealed that the lobby was more than empty. It wasn't just void of people, but spiders made their webs in every corner they could find. Aside from them, the clerk was missing as well, and the front desk seemed to have been abandoned for a long time.

His footsteps echoed on the creaking wooden floor as he walked around, looking closely at anything he could and trying to figure out if there were any other in the building.

Onyx? He asked, prompting the Obborik to sniff the air, then snort, expelling the dust that invaded his snout. He shook his head, sign that he couldn't smell if anyone was present.

There are candles. Onyx added and walked in front of Kai, leading him to a room within which candles were burning softly. Their flame flickered as the door opened, and Kai was impressed to see a well kept bedroom that had a faint smell of lavander. He whistled, making his way without trying to intrude too much.

It seems like someone is already living here, huh… Kai looked around and noticed that there wasn't even a speck of dust in the place, nor spiders or webs. And the keep everything proper. With a shake of his head, Kai decided to leave, however at that moment the door to the room opened, both startling him and driving fear into his being.

Who could sneak so well past my and Onyx's sense?!