Dracuella

Kyren ran and ran, not looking back even once, praying that there would be no monsters in the path ahead.

Suddenly, the wind picked up, yet his skin felt hotter and hotter. As his mind went blank, he acted on instinct, pulling Nora to the front and covering her in his arms. A flash of light painted every corner with a pure white color.

The next moment, his eardrums exploded, shockwaves pushed against his back, sending him flying forward. His vision turned white, then black, then white again. His feet could no longer feel the ground below. Sense of balance destroyed. His thoughts were broken and shattered. Still, the warmth on his chest was just as clear as before, his arms tightened around her waist, his hand protected her head.

The explosion broke the floor, sending everything that survived the flame and shockwaves downwards. While Kyren had not reached the ground, a purple arrow arrived and fused into his head.

…

Riley opened her eyes.

The moon was red. Or was it the sun? Or something else?

The sky looked like a sea of blood, so did the ground.

She looked to the left, there was a forest of dead trees. On the right, a giant tree was engulfed in flame. How tall was that fire? Even from a distance, she could still hear the crackles.

"Is the scenery not up to your expectations?" a voice was heard from behind.

Riley turned around, seeing a woman in a red dress that seemed to blend into the entire space. The long silver hair resembled a stream of moon light. Her skin was pale, sick, but the pair of crimson eyes were full of life.

"Where is this place?" Riley asked.

The strange woman let out a chuckle.

"You were the one who intruded. Why so confused?"

Riley frowned. Her spell should have been perfect. It should have landed on Kyren. But what was this apocalyptic world?

"You interrupted my spell," Riley came to a conclusion.

"I could have," the woman responded, "it would have been as easy as breathing."

Riley felt uncomfortable as the conversation went on. However, her voice remained the same.

"Then this is a pretty strange mental space. You look quite different from just a few minutes ago."

The woman chuckled.

"That is also a wrong answer. The boy and I are two different people. I am merely borrowing his mind for the moment."

"I see."

Riley raised her hand, purple energy whirled around her.

"It means you and I are the same."

Sharp arrows manifested and shot towards the woman in the blood dress.

The woman did not dodge, nor did she react in any way. Before the arrows hit their target, it exploded. The hem of the blood dress rose, forming whips that moved on their own.

"I can see how you came to such a conclusion, yet it can not be any more wrong."

As more arrows were shot, all of them were sliced, slapped to the ground, or redirected by the whips. The air crackled.

Riley connected her fingertips. Purple energy surged like tidal waves, shaping itself into thousands and thousands of arrowheads.

"Don't act like you're any better than me. You too are just another parasite."

The rain of arrows turned the red sky purple. The woman in the red dress spread out her palm, directing her tentacles to extend and surround the entire barrage. As her hand closed, the tentacles encased the arrows within a blanket of blood, condensing it into a marble that could be held with two fingers.

"Your mouth denies what your mind has already admitted. You are a hurtful, pitiful soul, one of many that I have encountered. But I can not let you ruin this boy," the woman said softly, almost as if trying to give comfort.

"Shut your mouth!" Riley screamed. A magic circle formed on both of her palms. The moment they disappeared, the sky was punctured as a column of purple energy descended onto the woman. The ground shook, cracks formed, turning the red soil into a darker hue. The air expanded due to the intense heat, causing shockwaves to uproot the nearest trees at the forest. A powerful roar erupted.

When the light vanished and dust settled, at the bottom of the newly created crater was a ball of blood, enveloping the woman. Riley extended her hand, a purple spear appeared in her grip. Magic filled her blood vessels, turning her eyes purple.

She rushed at the sphere. The blade easily penetrated the barrier, only to be stopped right after. The blood sphere faded, revealing a bare, skinny hand holding onto the tip of the spear.

Riley mustered her strength and withdrew the spear, aiming at the head and once again stabbed with all her might. The woman tilted her head to dodge the attack, Riley twisted her wrist and slashed down.

With one step forward, the woman got close to Riley and bypassed the blade's range, her hand pressed against the body of the spear at the same time her foot kicked the opponent's knee.

Riley grimaced in pain, but before she could think of a way to retreat, a burning pain in the stomach shocked through her entire body. She froze, looked down. A sword made of blood plunged itself into her belly and out of her back.

Riley raised her eyes, meeting the gaze of the woman, and snickered.

"You're even worse than I am."

"You will not die, not yet" the woman replied.

The sword disappeared and Riley lost strength in her legs, but a pair of hands were there to gently lower her onto the ground.

"Why stop me? I only want those who made me into this to feel the same pain. It's justice," Riley whispered.

"The boy is not ready to receive your emotion. What you are about to pass on to him will turn him twisted, irrational," the woman calmly explained.

Riley laughed, choking on her blood.

"I was prepared to pile a mountain of corpses, yet I failed right at the first one."

A silent pause. Bony fingers combed through Riley's hair with tenderness.

Strange, Riley expected her end not to be so comfortable.

"I had given up on trying to understand humans," said the demoness with a sign, "They always seek to hurt others, even the irrelevant, when they are hurt, and somehow wish that it would somehow heal their wounds. They can never see how the spilled blood would come back to sweep away all of them."

"You talk as if you're not human."

"I am not. I was born from the sea of blood that humans created."

Riley kept silent. Then, two words were whispered.

"I see."

"Why are you afraid?" the woman asked.

Riley opened and closed her mouth a few times before finally finding the right words.

"I'm not sure. If you are what you say you are, then I should be happy to see what I have wished for. Maybe I'm still human, no matter how much I want to deny it."

"It's okay," the woman comforted.

"Is your goal to destroy your creators?"

"It used to be," the woman nodded.

"But?"

"I found another way, a better way."

"I don't believe it," Riley shook her head.

"Then you don't have to know about it."

Riley gazed at the red sky.

"What will happen to me?"

"Your memories and emotions will be seperated," the woman answered, "your hatred and sorrow are too much."

"I've heard that before," Riley smiled.

"Are you not aggravated?"

Riley signed.

"I am. Yet I'm glad I can talk to you at my last moments."

Then she closed her eyes.

"Just a few more questions," but her voice sounded again.

"Ask away."

"What's your name?"

The woman caressed her cheeks, "They call me Dracuella."

"And the boy?"

"My inheritor."

"I see," Riley closed her eyes one more time. They did not open again.

Dracuella in her palm what was left of Riley, a purple flame. She spoke, seemingly to empty air, "Are you here to ask for a favor?"

From behind her, a low voice said, "What do you plan to make me into?"

Dracuella stood up. As she turned around, she was met with a piercing gaze.

"What you will become is your choice. All I can do is suggest a possible path."

"I refuse," Kyren said right away.

"That is an option," the woman nodded, "but for the human that you treasure, would you listen for a minute?"

Kyren frowned.

"What does Nora have anything to do with this?"

"She will be the center of all," Dracuella explained, "when the red wave rises, the golden fire will be ignited. Every magician on the planet will be aware of its existence, its power."

Her eyes matched his gaze.

"Its sole purpose is to stop the red wave. To achieve the goal, it can burn away its own host."

"Then I can just stop the red wave before it rises."

Hearing that, Dracuella smiled.

"It has already awakened the moment you were born."

Kyren clenched his teeth, a sudden headache knocked against his head.

Light steps approached the boy, the red dress was dragged on the ground.

"Stay away!" Kyren yelled.

He tried to maintain distance, but the pain in his head forced him to kneel down.

"I would never wish for anyone to take on the fate that I have lived through," a soft voice flowed into his ears.

"As my descendant, you have no choice. All I can do is to accompany you through this long journey, and hope that the end will not be too far away."

The purple flame engulfed the boy's body.