An Idea
Nisha said that she had an idea. I'm here wondering what it is as we stare at each other.
"Spit it out," I say.
"It'll involve drinking your blood while you're in your Angelus Frame."
Without question, I show her my wrist and say, "Then go for it." She hesitates, looking at me for a second. "Come on!" I yell, startling her.
She bites me and sips my blood. My veins were like straws that contract because of how strong she drains them. My heart is competing against the flow. So painful that I feel I'm going to have a heart attack. I feel I'm going to pass out but she lets go at the same time the Grog charges at us.
I stand behind her as she holds her ground. Her sword glowing gold pointing at it. With a slanting cut, she splits the turd like jelly. But then it explodes, splashing on our faces!
"Ugh!" she spits in disgust.
"It worked!" I try to exclaim but my tone is of disgust.
Then the exit opens. We receive our rewards. She levels up to 104 while my Angelus Frame levels up to 25. It's over. . .
My legs give, making me kneel. I can't stand.
"Lemme help you," she says, putting my arm over her shoulder. We make our way to the exit of this dirty domain.
"Wait," I tell her. "what did it drop?"
She turns to look back and asks, "That?"
I look at it with my eyes and see that it's some kind of orb as big as my hand. It's floating above the carcass of the Grog. Very dark but subtly violet.
"What is it?" she asks as I grab it. Its name appears in my UI.
"Let's go," I say and we continue our way outside.
Although we are walking slower than how we came in, it feels like it's faster. We don't have to worry about enemies because we defeated all of them. I wonder when will they respawn.
All that time walking, I realize something. I can't become a feeding bottle for this vampire girl forever.
"We need to find another way to feed you, Nisha. I can't do this every time we get into a fight."
"I know. That's why I refused to drink your blood in the first place."
"But I can't let you suffer and go mad."
"W. . . why?"
"I've been there."
I reminisce about my life when I was a teenager. So depressed, and waiting to die but can't kill himself. It was torture and it was a miracle that I got through it. But that was only a decade compared to her hundreds of years of wandering in the Underworld. My suffering was just a pint of what she has gone through. I must help her.
"There is. . . a way," she says.
"Tell me."
"Take this with a grain of salt because I only heard it from the rumors. There is something they call, 'The Eternal Blood Chalice'. They said it never runs out of blood."
"Really?"
"I don't know but if it exists, I wouldn't be the only surviving vampire."
"Oh, right. . ." I shake my head. "But anyway, let's find it."
"I don't know. . ." She's hesitant.
I tighten my arm around her shoulder and look at her eyes. "Let's find it," I say firmly.
She looks ahead, clearing her throat. "What if it turns out to be just a waste of time?"
"It's gonna be worth it, trust me."
"Are you sure you wanna risk your time?"
"I'm sure."
She looks at me for a sec and then straight ahead. "Okay. . .," she mutters half-heartedly.
After leaving the domain, we find a place to clean ourselves and eat. She takes me to a popular alley. Food stalls and shops lined up left and right. People are avoiding us because we're covered in filth. How can she stand this? I feel ostracized.
"Are we close?" I ask her from behind.
"Just a few more walks."
I'm beginning to lose patience. I might go insane and wash myself using the nearest beverage dispenser. My skin is starting to itch!
Then not long after, she enters through a narrower alley and enters through a door. "Come in," she says, holding the door for me. She closes it as soon as I come in. "Welcome to my home."
Her home is so small. It's four by four meters. There's hardly anything here but a coffin in the middle and a shower curtain in the corner.
"I'll go first." She gets into the shower. "No peeking!" she warns me.
"I'm not even thinking about it."
The sound of her clothes falling on the floor and the shower fill this small room. The soap she is using smells very feminine. I look around to pass the time and also distract myself from itching. She has a bad-managed space. Trash is everywhere. It shows what kind of person she is. Too literally it shows. . . because they're all blood packets.
On the wall, there is a holographic family portrait. She must be that little girl. The woman sitting on the chair must be her mother and the man standing tall is her father. All of them have white hair and pale porcelain skin. Their clothes are pretty gothic—something I saw in movies and artworks. Nisha's smile in this picture is so pure while her parents have plain faces. When this was taken, they could be thinking about how to raise their only daughter.
Her coffin is the cleanest thing in this room. It's glossy black without any scratch. Is a coffin more comfortable than a simple bed? I don't know, I'm not a vampire.
Finally, the sound of the shower stops. She must be drying herself now. Soft towel gliding carefully on flawless naked skin. . .
*Gulp*
Nope, snap out of it!
"I'm done," she says, leaving the shower.
So, this is how a girl looks after a shower. Her white hair is damp and she's drying it with a towel as she walks. She's wearing a different kind of skirt this time. It's black and shorter. Then a white sleeveless shirt. She's showing too much skin. As I pass by, an explosion of fragrance hits my face. Damn, she smells like flowers!
*Clears throat*
Not that it's a big deal. . . it's just—
Anyway, let's just get in the shower. I'm a little bit confused because the shower above doesn't have a pipe connected to it. How does this work? I turn it and it rains with water. It's so refreshing. The filth is getting washed off my body and clothes. I keep the wet clothes in my inventory and put on a new set of clothes. I was always in my Angelus Frame and I just found out I can change Frames to hide the filth. What a blunder! I'm going to read that file thoroughly later.
I'm out of the shower with fresh clothes and my head feeling cool because of my damp hair. She just started to clean the trash on her floor. I was a cripple but I kept my room clean. What's wrong with her?
Maybe she was just too preoccupied controlling her madness for Anthropa Blood.
After she's done cleaning, we sit on the ground, facing each other.
I start, "So, let's talk about that chalice."