Chapter 9: Threads of Fate, Engraved in Name

 Zakir turned towards me, his jaw dropping. He didn't say anything—rather, he couldn't. Sylva was on the ground, trying to regain her footing through the cracks in the ground. When she looked back up at me, her expression was not one of relief. It was fear. Awe. Almost as if she were seeing the real me for the first time.

And then it stopped.

I turned slowly towards them, unsure if the one who looked them in the eyes was still me. Each motion was fluid, and everything felt so… easy. Everything around me was clearer, and I could hear their heartbeats pounding against their chests. It was like time had slowed.

They stared at me, and I smiled.

Not because I was happy, nor due to arrogance.

But rather in a stillness that terrified them. 

"I'm okay," I said. My voice sounded the same, yet so foreign at the same time, like it wasn't me who was talking. Sylva took a step back instinctively. Zakir as well, hesitating.

"Feng? Is that still you?" they asked.

"I—I think so?" I said. It didn't feel like me. However, my consciousness was undeniably there. So what was going on? No. It doesn't matter what happened. There is a problem far more urgent to take care of. 

The beast let out a deafening roar, clawing at the ground as it tried to regain its footing over the crumbling rocks. However, it was hesitant to make a move, as it sensed something had changed.

"How did you just wake up? You literally died! Was this what happened back then, too? Who… No, what are you?" said Zakir.

"You said something when you woke up, didn't you? Who is hell is Vladros Nyxeri-" Before Sylva could finish, she staggered back on her feet, pressing her hands against her chest as if she was unable to breathe. Zakir dropped to one knee, his functioning arm grabbing onto the shoulder of what used to be his other arm. 

"I—I feel weird," Sylva said, her voice seemingly caught in her throat. She gritted her teeth, eyes emitting a faint crimson glow. 

Zakir grunted, clutching his forearm. "It's like something's… crawling through my veins."

He couldn't believe his eyes. His crippled arm was slowing being restored, a faint crimson hue emitting from it. Sylva as well. The long gash she had cut herself in an attempt to save me was closing, erasing any proof of an injury, just like Zakir's arm.

I've seen healing like this before. Twice now. First was when I awoke in this strange new body, and again, after that haunting dream… to Sylva bent over me, forcing her blood into my mouth.

My power was no longer just mine alone.

It was then that I was reminded of her words back then, before the second trial had started. I smiled once more, looking at them as they tried to process what had happened to their injuries.

"Wha—what the hell is happening to us?" said Sylva

"You said we were family now, remember?"

Her eyes widened in shock, as if the weight of what she had been told me back then had finally sunk in.

My gaze dropped to the ground, where my blood still stained the ground in crimson streaks.

"It would seem the weight of my name had more meaning behind it than I thought," I continued.

They stared at me, breathing heavily. No longer trembling from fatigue and blood loss, but rather in a mixture of shock and awe.

Zakir managed to speak first. "What did we just get ourselves into? What kind of contract did we unwillingly sign?"

I hesitated. 

"I didn't know back then. Matter of fact, I'm still unsure," I said. "But now… im sure of it. Something inside me has changed. You were right, Sylva. About the weight my name carried."

Zakir swallowed hard, still clinging onto his healed arm in disbelief. "So you're saying… You're name did all of this?"

I nodded slowly, uncertain.

Sylva cut in, "But you said you're name was Zhao Feng? Was that a lie? Why did you lie to us? Are you still trying to seek revenge?"

"Relax, Sylva. Think about it. What reason would he have had to lie, then reveal the truth anyway? There's something he's not telling us," Zakir responded, his eyes meeting mine, signaling for me to explain myself.

I sighed.

"Zhao Feng… It's not my real name, or whatever my actual vampire name is. It was the name I remembered—the name I held onto, the only thing I could remember about myself. When I was bleeding out earlier and unconscious, something or someone called out to me."

I looked down at my hands, then at my healed injuries. "Even now, I can't say for certain. But I think… I think this is what comes with knowledge that you shouldn't have known."

"This was not what I expected," Zakir said. "We didn't expect there was this much more to it."

"Neither did I," I replied.

The three of us stood in silence, the beast watching warily from a distance. The wind died down as the red sky loomed above us. Everything was screaming to me that this was not how it was supposed to happen. I felt like an impostor to my own body. More so than I already was. The ceremony in the dream—the name, this power—it all felt too distant to be mine. Yet it flowed in my veins as if it were meant to be.

And now…it was in theirs too.

Their eyes shimmered a faint red glow, similar to mine. 

"So what now? We're connected or something? How much more do we not know? How much more do YOU not know?" Sylva asked.

I didn't respond right away. My gaze turned to the beast instead. Its muscles coiled, unsure of its next course of action. It was slowly advancing towards us, trying to go unnoticed. However, that was a fatal mistake.

"We can save this conversation for another day," I said, as my eyes narrowed. 

"You're right, we almost forgot about our pet cat," Sylva grinned, as newfound energy pulsed within her, roaring to let loose.

"This time, I'm taking one of your arms," Zakir said, his grip tightening around his sword.

Rejuvenated and fueled by the surge of my vampiric powers, we charged once again, eager to let loose the energy within.