Chapter 18 : Zion

<"Jingle Bells♪ Jingle Bells♫ Jingles All the way~♫♪ ">

"...so this Gift? They can't even think of something unique."

<"Oh, what fun it is to ride~♫♪">

I looked at the book lying on my bed and couldn't help but feel bewildered. On the book, written with black ink were letters of language I haven't seen before. But surprisingly, I could understand them well without a problem.

<"~♪ In a one horse open sleigh!">

When I saw these symbols for the first time, I realized that I was talking to Cedric in different languages as well. It felt so natural that I thought he was speaking in my language instead. But it turns out, I was the one talking in his language. No, more like their language.

<"Hey! Jingle Bells♪ Jingle Bells♫ Jingles...">

I close my eyes and slowly control my senses, then finally limit the things I'm hearing. Basically, it's like selective hearing. I don't know how it was done, but instinctively, I knew how to do it now.

It's 3 in the afternoon, and my mom is doing a cleaning spree downstairs, as she listens to Christmas songs.

My dad is the one at the store. My sister, as usual, is at their company. While the other one, my grandpa is wandering outside yet again.

It is now December and it's only a matter of time before Christmas arrives. Turning the page gently, I stared at the script and read it silently.

...

It's been, what? 8 or 9 hours since I came to know Cedric, the Vampire and his cat, Caesar. When I got out from Shadow Earth, the sun was already brightly smiling down on me. If I hadn't managed to drink blood earlier, I would be sand by now.

I don't know if Vampires will turn into dust when exposed under the sun, but anyway, I felt awful at that time. It's the first time I got exposed to the sun, and It felt more horrible than when I was throwing up all my guts out in the toilet.

It f*cking burns and I felt like being purified. And when I saw black smoke coming out of my skin, I was scared shitless.

That's why I felt like I almost turned into dust. Fortunately, my house is nearby. I ran and sneaked to my window, and immediately closed it and covered them with the curtains. I changed my clothes at a fast speed and jumped straight towards the bed and covered myself entirely with the blanket.

It took a while for me to calm down.

I shivered as I let my fear get to me, like venting everything. Cold tears flowed gently on my cheeks.

And for once I felt alive somehow.

I was actually feeling a little warmth here. I touched my chest with my hand, but still there is no heartbeat. But I seriously felt a little warmer in my chest. And this made me forget my fear a lot faster.

Then somehow, as I mulled over this new sensation, my fingers touched something cold in my hand.

Under the blanket, I curled up unmoving, staring at the ring embracing my finger.

I'm not being narcissistic, but I really thought that the black ring looks beautiful in my fingers. (*´ω｀*)

My hands are pale, though they are small, they are slender looking. With the ring being in dark color, it contrasts the color of my skin making it more visible. Especially the red gem resting on the center of the ring. It was especially beautiful.

The red gem on the center of it gleamed darkly. I was enticed by it and can't help but caress it gently.

I was so preoccupied by it, that I didn't notice it gleaming more than before. It was not until images rushed to my mind that I came to know it's strangeness.

I looked at the ring, my eyes sparkled brightly. The scarlet light in my iris was somewhat gone. With only the blackness in my eyes, they seem weirdly normal. Actually, if I don't look at them closely, I can see that my eyes didn't change much at all. After all, my eyes were dark brown. It looked like black under the dimmed light. But if one looks at my eyes closely, it is scary. Even I feel that they are very creepy.

Anyway, back to the images I saw. When I experienced it, I felt like the world is not the same anymore.

The things I saw were all the things inside this little black ring. And I'm surprised to see that it has such a huge space inside.

"...Cedric didn't lie! This is really an epic grade item!" Considering what's inside, it could even rank up!

Not to mention, it feels more and more like a cultivation novel!

I saw numerous books that could fill an entire book shelf. The blood bag Cedric was talking about before was also in there. More so, it's not only books and the blood bags. There's also weapons and guns.

When I saw those, I couldn't help but recall what happened there. I almost died again.

'...to think that I was preyed upon by those creatures...' and there are still more of them. I thought darkly.

I spaced out a little bit more, before turning back at the black ring again, and browsing the books in there.

Before Cedric and Caesar said goodbye at last, they advised me to read something about the "Gift" first.

Because I'm a transformed one, he said that my 'Gift' would manifest late and I might not be able to control it once it came out.

Knowing that I will have that so-called 'Gift', at first I was excited. Who wouldn't. I could be Superman, no, villain maybe. I could have the power of darkness and could teleport using the shadows. Or maybe like Shikamaru, or Pride, no! Thinking about those shadows full of eyes, makes me shudder.

Since I'm a vampire now, maybe I could control my blood or something, like the four eyed female lead from a certain BTB anime.

But there's this 'Gift'.

Chewing that word, I contemplated its meaning. Talent is synonymous to gift. Gift could also refer to something like elements when it comes to magic.

I stopped thinking about it after some time, since I need to read the book anyway.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

So, here I am back to the present.

I am reading the book "Manifestation of Gift : History of the Sins". I picked this first because the title seems bad ass. Like some kind of Western novel or something. More so, "History of the Sins" seems kind of novel.

"...between the light and the darkness is the shadow. Light represents Heaven, and darkness, of course, is Hell. So, the shadow is the Shadow Earth in between these two realms..." I murmured, as I summarized some important information from what I read.

Actually, this book was really hard to understand. Although I learned their language automatically, it seems that I am not quite adept at using it.

I don't understand some words, and my comprehension was almost grind with just a few pages of this book.

"...then what is Earth?" I asked myself. Actually, my brain already responded, mocking me like an idiot. 'The Earth is the third planet revolving around the sun, and part of the solar system located in the Milky way Galaxy.' It was such a scientific answer that I can't help but ridicule myself.

Because, I know until now I still want to deny everything.

The changes are so abrupt that it didn't even let me prepare even a little bit.

In the blink of an eye, everything is not the same anymore.

The darkness I see is not even the true darkness but it was just a shadow. The true Abyss is far beyond. And once it was touched even a bit, you can't go back anymore. The darkness will only slowly swallow you up, unable to turn back.

Sighing, I pushed everything out of my mind and focused on what's in front of me.

Using a person as a model, everything could be explained much more easily.

The Earth represents the person. The light is Heaven, while darkness is Hell. If the three combine, a huge tall shadow will form stretching from the feet of the person. That's why it was called 'Shadow Earth' because it was a copy of Earth itself.

But this copy is not that beautiful unlike the original. Shadow could only copy the silhouette, not the entirety.

More so, the thing that formed the Shadow Earth is the filth of the world.

If my understanding is correct, these filths were called sins.

Before Shadow Earth was called Shadow Earth, Heaven and Hell treated it as a garbage can. As humans evolved together with their minds. Both positive and negative things will follow suit as new things come by. However not all good things are good and not all bad things are bad.

And so, everything the Heaven and Hell judges as "cannot be fixed" will be thrown into the garbage can.

Of course, since good things could also be thrown in as thrash, like a single rippled in calm waters, it could bring back a storm.

The 'filths' were already called 'sinners' by then. Heaven and Hell also entirely sealed off the entire garbage can, so no miasma could escape out of it. When they accidentally threw a pure, at the same time tainted soul in the thrash...

It changes everything.

The 'filth' became a 'sinner', and when that soul came, the sinner could finally have a name; they became the Creatures of Darkness.

I clap three times when I read this passage. It was so cool, like reading an epic fantasy. A hero fell from the sky and saved the prisoners and freed them from their shackles.

Still though, what does it have to do with 'Gift'? Actually, I almost forgot it as well, since I was surprised to read about Heaven and Hell.

So they are real.

But why do I feel like they were just a recycling company. Especifically, the Heaven where souls went for reincarnation. And Hell is like a refining company, where they will have to clean the soul first before kicking them off to Heaven to reincarnate.

The book never describes what Heaven and Hell actually does, but the thing is...they really exist.

Anyway, this soul was judged by Heaven as bad and so it was put to Hell, but Hell judged the soul as good. However it was rejected by Heaven, and so was thrown straight to the thrash unable to be fixed anymore.

The soul witnessed how deadly chaotic the garbage can was, and thought of bringing reform to everyone. The soul was very fascinated by these creatures and studied and learned a lot.

"Manifestation of Gift : History of the Sins"– the book was entitled like this because it describes how the soul found out that the 'filths' being thrown in Shadow Earth have designated characteristics. That's why the Creatures of the Dark all evolved differently, it is because of the different filths they are exposed to.

The soul called these different classifications as 'sins'. And when a certain creature reaches a certain rank, the different sins in its body will manifest into a unique power with the strongest sin being more prominent. The soul then told the creatures of the dark that it was a blessing, and called it 'Gift'.

These sins are blessings, a gift for them to use. The more sinful it is, the stronger they are.

Tap. I closed the book, feeling my head ache for trying so hard. The history is actually very interesting. The problem is that it's hard to read.

As I heaved a heavy sigh, the book disappeared and went back inside the ring again. Then somehow, I realized that I just sighed. It seems that even if one no longer needs to breathe this kind of habit can't be changed.

I turned over and crawled on my bed. I went towards my pillow and slid my hands under it, then patted my cell phone.

I lay on my back again with my phone in my hands, and looked at the time. It's already past seven in the evening.

Taking a deep breath, I tried breathing again, like a normal human being, then I got up and went downstairs.

It's been a while since I ate human food. And if I continue to not do so, my parents will get suspicious.

Anyway, vampires have the same tongue as humans, except for the taste of blood becoming delicious, eating human food is the same as always. I also learned how to digest the food now, so it didn't matter if I eat regularly from now on.

Ah. I didn't need to vomit so much again! More so, I could eat everything and wouldn't even get fat!

Feeling delighted inside, I went to the kitchen.

Surprisingly, I saw my mom there boiling something. She was seated on one of the chairs, browsing FB for people who give tips on gardening.

"What are you cooking?"

"!!" Shocked, my mom jolted awake from browsing on her phone and turned to look at me. "Why are you so quiet?!"

I went towards the pots looking for food. I saw the freshly cooked rice, then turned towards the thing my mom was boiling.

"That's for tomorrow." She pointed somewhere and added. "There's stir fried tofu and pork there. It's still hot."

"Wow~" Everything that has tofu in it is my favorite. So, after hearing my mom, I quickly take my plate and serve myself food.

I am in a good mood, and I feel better than ever. So, I almost ate three plates of rice. If my mom didn't stop me, I would still continue eating.

Of course I didn't forget to digest it and expel it out of my body.

See, like I thought. This is becoming more and more like a cultivation novel. As I eat, I concentrate some energy on my stomach. I needed to continuously circulate that energy until every food I consumed became a gas or something. Because I need to blurp it out. Black smoke came out of my mouth as I did it.

It's just like how immortals expel filth after consuming human food without any spiritual energy.

Going back, my mom is still the same. As usual, as I eat my meal, she keeps blubbering nonstop. It's like she has a never ending story to tell.

But one thing stood out from all the words she just said.

"Do you know the beggar walking around our street?"

"Huh? The man who has tingling?" As I said that particular word I pointed my index finger in my temple and moved it in circles.

"Yes. People just found him dead on the street this morning. The scary thing is, he was found at our street corner!"

At first I thought it was the same "dead" news. After all, since the pandemic bombed the world, I don't know how many times I heard my mom saying someone died here and there.

But I was wrong.

It was the same, but not the same at the same time.

"So, how did he die?"

"They said that it was a heart attack? But it was confirmed that he was infected by the virus. But according to the neighbors, the man has multiple organ failures. But I wasn't sure. Anyway, he was already cremated."

"Hey. Mom, you said he was found on the street."

"Yeah. He was lying in the middle of the road. He was almost hit by a car. Fortunately, the driver was very careful and managed to spot the corpse. But it was still dangerous, the man was infected. Now I'm worried about your grandpa. Why can't he just stay inside the house...? If he got infected..."

Ignoring the rest of my mom's muttering, I blankly stared down and contemplated something.

I don't know why, but when I heard my mom say the man was infected, I can't help but feel suspicious. Especially, when my mom speaks about organ failure. I don't know but the man from last night came to mind.

That man...

He was lying dead, while being eaten.

I saw it. Those creatures we're eating his insides. His stomach was hollowed, bits and pieces of his organs were scattered on the ground and some were in the hands, and mouths of those creatures being chewed.

When I thought about it. I felt a cold chill touching my back to my neck. And couldn't help but recall Cedric's words of farewell.

...

...

...

"Something's going on with the Supernatural Society right now. So, you better lay low. Don't get discovered. And just a warning, don't get yourself mixed up with that virus, ok."

Seeing me confused, he gave me a pat on the head, and smiled. "That world wide virus is something. What is it called? Panda- something."

"Y virus. And it's Pandemic." Caesar corrected.

"Oh. Nevermind that. Anyway, since you're already one of us, there's no way you'll be infected by that virus anymore. Maybe, you're already infected before you turn into a transformed one. If that's really the case, then that's not very good."

Shaking his head, Cedric tried to straight up tell me his warning without diverting the topic again.

Nevertheless, it was still quite shocking.

It seems that it was not only me that had to experience this change.

I wonder how much of it would be accepted by the world.

...

And me too.

If only I bore this warning deep within my soul.

I thought I was prepared, but who knew.

However, there is only the "what ifs", and there's nothing I could do about it now.

Still, if only. Then things wouldn't have turned out to be like this right?

'They' wouldn't have to die.