Across The Realms

Chapter 7 (ALUCARD GOING BACKWARDS)

Where am I? My head feels all fuzzy. Am I getting tortured? How did I end up here? Okay, let's slowly recall how I ended up like this.

As more of my thoughts began filling my head, my vision gradually adjusted to the lack of light from my surroundings, it was nothing but an empty room without windows or a door. At the corner of my eye was a blurry image of a diagonal platform leading upwards. Could those be stairs? Am I in someone's basement? Why do kidnappers always enjoy their cosy basement antics?

Ouch. A stinging sensation spread across the palms of my hands. What is this pain I am experiencing? Oh. My hands have been pierced by metallic stakes that are hung from the wall. Thankfully, I am not high enough that my feet could not touch the ground or this may have hurt much more.

This is odd. For some reason it's really hard to breathe and I am quite certain I can feel a broken rib on my right side. In that case, why aren't I healing? In my many years of life, this could only mean one thing. Whoever it was who captured me, has prior knowledge of the necessary lethal action to be taken when encountering a vampire.

Ah! I remember now! It was the kid who brought me to the house after I was attacked by that disgrace of a werewolf. It must have been the owner of the house, he is probably my captor. I have heard of him before, back in my world.

Yes. I am an otherworlder.

I was born a pure breed vampire of the third generation of descendants of the "Legendary Dracula of Old". I was born an only child, which made me far more important amongst my bloodline to uphold our glory as vampire nobles. Though, I could care less. I wanted to throw away my burden of the responsibility to carry on the legacy of my great grandfather. There are far more interesting outside, like the humans. I wanted to learn from them what it meant to live a full life. Although, being born a vampire does not make me immortal. I am cursed to age slower than humans and I am only allowed to die of old age. Nothing humane can possibly kill me.

I'm almost two years away from turning eight hundred. However, humans can barely make it pass eighty. Those who are lucky, live up to a century at best. Which only drove my thirst to know the reason behind why humans try so hard when living such a short fleeting life.

From time to time, I would run away from the castle and hide amongst the nearby villages just to watch and learn their way of life, hidden away from the public eye so as to not attract any unwanted attention. Not just to keep my family off my scent, but those pesky vampire hunters. As a pure breed, dying by their hand was not an issue I had to fear. It was the torture they would put me through due to my immorality. I may not be able to be killed, however I do still have weaknesses. My studies would never make any progress because no matter where I ran, they'd find me. My family would wipe any village clean of the village population, of their lives and their blood. Teaching me a lesson that humans were not meant to be studied, but allowed to live as a grace for providing us with the blood that we so very much enjoy.

Thus, to gain a clean slate and start anew, I erected a plan to leave for good. This time not to another village, but to another world. I had read of such things back in my predecessors' archives. This is what happens when you are too bored inside a castle, restricted from leaving without being provided the authority. Over the next few months, I pretended to follow the orders my predecessors gave me while I searched for a means to enact my plan.

One day, I chanced upon a witch that one of my acolytes had presented to me as their mandatory sacrifice to turn into one of us, as a half breed. Adding another one or two more vampires to the ranks made no big difference to me. Unfortunately, for the acolyte, his hostage had an offer that I could not refuse.

Staring at the woman lying on the floor all tied up, I knelt down and whispered "Why do you not resist?"

She responded in kind, "Because I knew he'd lead me to you. You have a wish and I can grant it."

With my eyes widened, a smirk grew across my face. I commanded the restless acolyte to step forward. Once he was at arms length, I reached my hand out, plunging it into his chest and ripped out his heart.

"I am Yula, the wish granting witch. You seek to venture to other worlds and I can give you just that, at a cost."

"You do know that you are still tied up and I could just kill you right now."

"I die if I must. As coincidence is a facade, for all is INEVITABLE."

Just then, the ropes holding her loosened itself and she sat up. Yula asked "So shall we begin?"

"What's the cost?"

"Your identity. As I have grown tired of this one."

"Given that I am leaving this world, I will have no need for it. So, it's a deal."

She grabbed me by the arm and took a bite at it. Next thing I knew, her skin began to peel. As the butterfly escaping its cocoon moment was ending, the clear resemblance between her and I started to take form. She had my eyes, nose, hair and skin. Even for me, that was awfully creepy.

"I've held onto my end of the deal. Now, it's your turn."

"Very well, though be warned. You only have one try at this. So, should you choose to return, you are gonna have to find another way yourself."

"Blah blah. Get on with it already!"

"In that case, I am sorry for not warning you of how painful this is gonna be."

"What are you gabbering about?"

Out of nowhere, my body felt as though it was concaving from the inside. Holding onto my stomach really tight, I vomited buckets full of blood. The splatters on the floor began shaping itself onto a circle surrounding me. With all that blood loss at one go, I was sure to..

... And so, I woke up in an unknown forest and was still dressed in my Acolyte's initiation rituation uniform. Oddly, a familiar scent had caught my attention. Just before I could turn around, a stranger grabbed me by the hand and sprinted ahead.