Emiel Regis x Reader

Thrity-Seven

Struck by surprise, your eyebrows rose.

"Excuse me?", you asked, thinking you misheard.

But the illusion seemed to be dead serious. It reached out, pointing at a small hole inside the left side of the arc, where a knife was laying and nodded.

"It doesn't need to be a big part. The tip of a finger shall be enough.", it explained.

"I am supposed to cut my finger off?!"

"Correct. Don't be afraid, it will regrow. I made sure to test you regeneration abilities before you were send to sleep. Plus, the magic in the cave will heal you too."

Speechless, you just stared at the knife. You didn't want to cut anything off of you. The sheer thought of a cold blade against your skin send shivers and goosebumps down your spine. But it seemed there was no other choice.

The illusion had no need to lie, so the statement must have been true. It also seemed only logical that the a portal had to be activated by a creature that had been made through his hands. This way, no unwanted visitors were able to come further than this and had to turn back again.

So what was the big deal?

You had used your blood as a key.

How hard would it be to cut off a small piece of your finger?

It would regrow anyways. At least you hoped.

With a deep breath, you closed your eyes, thinking happy thoughts.

"It will be fine (Y/N).", you whispered to yourself. "It won't be that bad. Just a little cut."

You grabbed the knife. The blade was surprisingly new, untouched by rust or water that was dripping down the arc as if it was raining. The touch of metal on your skin was like ice. It was almost the most unpleasant part about this. But only almost.

"It will be fine.", you repeated, placing your hand on a stone to make sure that the surface you would cut on was even. "It will be fine!"

The pain was short but very unpleasant. It wasn't the cut that made it so terrible but the burning that came after and the sweet, sweet smell of blood that filled the air. It was as if some had emptied an entire bottle of perfume inside a single room, causing nausea and the urge to vomit to rise up your throat.

Overwhelmed, you sank to your knees while pressing the bleeding hand onto your mouth in order to suppress the cries.

"See, wasn't that bad.", the illusion smiled.

It was a weird smile, cold and almost hateful. As if it did not know how to properly smile.

Tense, you growled and got back on your shaky legs.

"Not for you.", you hissed, taking the piece of flesh from the stone and walking over to place it in the hole of the arc.

It was a very tiny piece, tinier than you had expected. But still, the amount of blood that was flowing out of the wound on the tip of your little finger was alarming.

Maybe it had been a bad idea to do this. But now it was too late to take it back.

"This better works.", you took a step back, impatiently waiting for something to happen.

It needed a moment before the magic of the cave recognised the offering of flesh that had been birthed in its depths. Suddenly. A bright blue light began to consume the piece of finger as if it was a parasite that was feeding on the blood and flesh. It didn't take long until the piece was gone and the light died again.

Confused, you looked up to the top of the arc. Your expectations had been a little higher than just a small light swallowing your sacrifice. The good side of this, however, was that the injured finger a,ready started to heal. The bleeding had stopped and a thin layer of new skin was already growing. It was as if the regeneration inside of you had reached a new level of possibilities.

"So what now?", you asked, impatience was growing in your words.

"You're not very patient. That's a thing I remember about you.", the illusion said. "That's why it was problematic to teach you."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing. See, the portal is awaking.", with satisfaction on its face, the illusion pointed upwards where another bright light was growing between the arc.

It was similar to the light that had eaten your finger. But this time it had a vibrant orange colour. You had seen a portal like this before. A lot of times. To be exact, you had seen this very portal open a lot of times.

How was it possible that you remembered this now?

The light grew and grew until the entire empty space inside the arc was covered with an orang twirl. Incredibly loud noice filled the air, making it hard to hear anything at all. It was so loud, the sensitive vampire ears of yours were hurting.

Displeased, you covered both ears with hands, while the illusion was standing next to you, pointing into the portal.

"Go. I'll be on the other side.", it said.

You shook your head.

"No way! I've done enough stupid shit for an entire lifetime now! I'm not going to jump in there.", you protested.

"You have to."

"No! At least tell me what's on the other side."

The illusion frowned, displeased and visibly angry.

"I already told you! I will be on the other side. The real me.", it insisted.

Now, you got annoyed.

"That's not answering my question.", you screamed against the wind and noice. "What's on the other side?!"

For a moment, the illusion just stared at you with empty eyes. It was as if it had no allowance to answer that particular question. Then, it shook its head, as if it wanted to awake from a deep slumber.

"The laboratory. The place in wich I have created you. That's on the other side.", it answered.

It was enough to make you jump.

Holing your breath, squeezing your eyes shut, you just ran towards the portal and jumped right into it.

A strange feeling grabbed you, as if it wanted to throw you through space and time. Everything seemed so fast while time stopped.

Then, normality returned accompanied by silence.