We set off around 6 p.m. It's still light out. "Hmm, I still can't believe this world follows a different set of rules for time. I'd say it's probably nighttime on earth." I think to myself as I look forward and see a split in the path. One leads to a nearby town that has a castle on the top of the hill. The other path leads to a swamp that has a sign with a skull and cross bones on it labeled 'dangerous'.

Walking on the path to the town, we notice a few things about the town: everyone here has beautiful pale skin, and they all seem young. I have no doubt in my mind that they're a lot older than they appear. We stop by a weapons shop and decide to go inside to see what they might have. Inside, the shop looks rustic and old. I can see that time has been very kind to this place.

Everywhere I look, there are different weapons on the wall.

I walk up to a sword that is alone on the wall. I decide to pick it up and feel a strange feeling within the sword. "It seems to be alive." I say it out loud as the shopkeeper comes out of the back room and spots me holding it. He rushes over to me. "Sir, I would advise being careful with that sword. It's a very dark sword by nature." He says, noticing that I'm perfectly fine.

"What do you mean dark sword by nature?" I asked the man. He clears his throat and looks me up and down. "The sword was owned by one man 500 years ago. The fabled dreadnought It was said that he had bathed the sword in the blood of his enemies, giving the sword more power than anyone could have imagined. The sword was told to have gained sentience and betrayed the man, believing his power was not enough. The sword slowly drained the man of his life force, and then eventually the man was no more." He says he is smiling.

I look at the sword with wide eyes. The sword vibrated and shook with great force. The shopkeeper, seeing this, put his hand on his chin. "It would seem that the sword has chosen you as its master. I would say that was a compliment. But with this cursed sword, I'd say that you have something dark within you." The man is intrigued. I can feel Vestis fighting with the sword. "You will not win; I will be the owner of this body. I will not allow you to harm him." Vestis says in my mind: I hear the swordsman's voice in my head. "If your master is not strong enough to handle me, how can he keep you in his head?" The sword speaks back.

"If you do not give up, I will swallow your essence and add you to my collection." Vestis says, showing the sword all of the souls he has eaten. "HAHAHAHA." The sword laughs and then lifts off the veil that had been covering the blood and souls that have been taken from him.

Vestis smiles. "You'll be a great addition to the family if you give up." I look at the shopkeeper. "How much for this sword? The shopkeeper looks a little shocked. "I can't say. I never really thought anyone would ever want this sword. I guess you can have it for free. Just remember what I said." The man says this as I put the sword into the darkness for later.

The shopkeeper squints his eyes. "So you have a shadow dimension. Interesting." It's my turn to be shocked. "You know of this power?" I ask. The man laughs. "I guess you can say that." As soon as the man says that, he opens up the darkness next to him, pulls out a book, and hands it to me.

I grab the book, look at the man, and ask. "Does the darkness ever talk to you?" The man looks confused. "Talk to me. No, never. I haven't heard anyone talk to me before. Why, have you?"

I shake my head. "Nevermind, don't worry about it." I try to walk away, and the man grabs my arm. "Did the darkness tell you his name?" He asks. I nod my head. "It said his name was Vestis." I say. The man drops his hand and backs away. "It can't be possible. He was supposed to be dead." I look at the man with a weird look.

"Who was supposed to be dead?" I ask. The man looks at me. "The God of Calamity; his name was Vestis." I look at him with a look of shock. "Could Vestis have been the god of calamity? I have to ask him later." I think to myself. "What do you know of Vestis?" I asked the man. "Well, everything about him is in that book I gave you. There's a special bloodline that derives from him. There were rumors that he was a very dark and twisted man, going town to town and devouring people he thought were weak and mind-controlling the ones that he thought would be useful to him in the future. He eventually had kids and gave them a part of his power. Eventually, he was met with opposition and was sealed away. No one knows how long he has been sealed or if he will ever get out and come for his revenge." The man explains as he turns around, walks behind the counter, and reaches for something.

He picks up another book and hands it to me. "Here, this is a book on the powers that he supposedly had. Not everyone could use them; the closer the person to the original bloodline, the more powerful one would be. The originals were to have been said to be one of the most powerful clans in the world. Except for one man. That man is Dracula. He quickly went through the ranks, getting rid of the vampires that didn't want to follow his rule. The rest were forced because of his massive power." He explained further.

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"Thank you, but why are you telling me all of this?" I asked the man. The man smiles and pulls off his glasses, and I see his eyes; they're pure black. "Because I'm one of the originals who didn't want to follow his rule but was unfortunate enough to get away, and now I'm stuck here. But seeing your power and knowing that your power talks to you confirms that Vestis has returned. But it's strange that he's inside your head. I'd watch him; he's liable to try and steal your body. Read the book." The man said that and then went inside the back room and never returned. I look down at the sword and notice the red veins running down the shaft of the sword, and I see new black ones following them.

"Interesting." I think to myself as I walk out of the shop and motion for the group to move forward to the castle. Jenny looks at me curiously. "What was the shopkeeper talking to you about? I heard something about Vestis; how did he know about the voice in your head?" She asks. I shake my head. "I'm not sure exactly." I lie.

Looking up, I see the castle; it's beautiful. It has gargoyles setting up on top of the castle; one of them moves its head and stares at me. I look at the gargoyle, and it moves its head back into the default position before turning back to stone. "It would seem that they're alive but stuck inside stone prisons." I think to myself as we reach the gate.

Elizabeth walks up the gate and knocks. The gates were suddenly opened, with a butler at the door. He seemed timid and weak. "My king has been awaiting you." The butler says it in a deep, monotone voice. We walk inside and notice that the place is immaculate—no signs of dirt or anything. "This place is amazing; how on earth do you keep it clean?" I turn around to talk to the butler, but he's gone.

A few seconds later, we hear someone clear their throat. We all look at the man on top of the stairs. He's tall and broody, with long black hair and red eyes, with black and white following the red of his eyes. His presence is oppressive.

In a deep, booming voice. "So, you are Kamen. It's nice to finally meet you in person. I hear you are... talented."The man said he was walking down the stairs. As he walks down the stairs, the pressure gets more intense. Everyone falls to one knee, feeling like their insides are getting squashed. "I've never felt power like this. It's like he's squeezing the life out of me." I think to myself.

"Damn it, Drac, do you have to do this every time?" Elizabeth growls out. He stares at her and puts more pressure on her. "What have I told you about calling me that?" He yells out. Dracula calms down and releases the energy, and everyone feels calmer and can finally breathe. "You really never know when you will stop, father," Alistair says. Everyone looks at him in confusion.

"Do not call me your father, you filth; you're a disappointment to our family." Dracula says he is finally reaching us at the bottom of the stairs. He looks at me. "Why have you come to me, boy?" He asks in a neutral tone.

I stand up and breathe. "I've come here for answers. Why have you been watching me? What is so special about me?" I ask. He thinks for a second before responding. "You remind me a lot of my oldest child, Alucard. Your powers are very similar. Except for that other disgusting power within you." He says it with disgust. "Do you mean the light?" I ask.

He stares at me and then nods. "That power has plagued the vampires for thousands of years. Why do you have it?" He asks. I sigh. "I'm not exactly sure; once I was turned, I only had the darkness; some call him Vestis, and the light's name is Lumen." I explain.

He squints his eyes. "Vestis and Lumen—I haven't heard those names in years. How could he have them with him?" He thinks to himself. "You have a strange life, do you not?" He jests. "I never knew that you were one to try and make a joke." Elizabeth says, rolling her eyes.

"You would be smart in realizing your place, woman." He says. Elizabeth gives him a death stare but decides not to say anything. Turning around, Dracula turns around and motions for us to follow him. "Follow me if you truly want answers." He says this as he leaves the room.

We enter the Tepes family library. I look around and notice the amount of books they have. "I thought the Algost family had a huge library, but this is different in comparison." I am amazed.

Dracula sits down in the middle of the room at a table. He motions for us to come and sit down. He holds his hand out, and a book flies off of the shelf and lands on the table in front of me. "What is with this book?" I ask. He stares at me and says, "The book that man in the weapon shop gave you is only half of the truth. The book that he has is lacking a lot of Vestis' powers and his true nature. In this book, you'll see what man... or monster he truly was." He says this as I pick up the book.

I open the book and quickly flip through the pages until I land on one that describes his powers. "It says that he had the power to manipulate people's minds and change certain aspects of people to show their real colors." I say it out loud.

Dracula nods his head. "A lot of what people know about him is a lie. The man was a monster, but he wasn't all bad. He was simply corrupted by the ones he trusted the most. Family. They wanted pure power and a pure and evil rule. He was too blind to trust them. With his power, they had everything they wanted. They had even made him share his power through their kids and down the generations." He says he is looking down at the table while tapping on it, clearly annoyed.