Rose glances up at me, her laughter ringing through the air. "You have potential," she says with a smile, "but you need more training. It's acceptable for now."

As I look down at Rose, I can't help but admire her beauty. She stands on average 5' 8" tall and has a stunningly pale complexion that draws my gaze in and won't let go. As if sensing my stare, Rose swiftly kick-flips away from me, putting an impressive 20 feet between us.

Rising to my feet, I barely have time to react before Rose hurls a spear towards me. It finds its mark, penetrating deep into my chest as I buckle in agony. With a flick of her wrist, she summons a bolt of lightning, electrifying the spear so that I am suspended in place and unable to move. Determined not to give up, I summon the darkness within and double my efforts at strengthening my body.

Despite summoning the darkness, it's still not enough. Not being able to take it any longer, I feign unconsciousness. Noticing my body slack, Rose takes away the lightning and pulls the spear out of my body. "You are nothing but a weakling; with the way you are now, you will never be strong enough to protect your friends or yourself." Turning away, I look up and grab the spear, infuse it with the darkness, jam it straight into her back, and slam her straight to the ground. I lean down and whisper into her ear. "Listen here, stupid bitch; I will do anything to protect my friends. No matter how painful it is, I will get stronger and stronger until no one can stop me, not even you." Pulling the spear out of her, I pick her up. She stares into my eyes and notices the darkness in them mixed with my red eyes and the anger and sadness behind them.

I drop her and relax, letting the darkness slowly dissipate from my body. Rose stares up at me. "That darkness inside you is dangerous. Who were you talking to before? Is there something else inside you?" I look down at her and answer her. "I don't know what it is; all I know is that it wants control over my body. I'm not sure what it would do if it took over. This is why I have to get stronger. I can't let it win."

Turning around, I walk away.

In the house, Alistair was seated on the couch and drinking blood from his cup. He had on red shorts and a black polo shirt. "I wonder how Kamen is doing against Rose," he thought to himself before setting down his cup. "I can't just stay here being lazy; I need to take a walk." As soon as he stepped outside, he saw something peculiar across the street—a strange-looking creature standing there. It was 6 feet 4 with a bright red complexion, sporting two black horns atop its head.

"Damn it," Alistair muttered, "a demon." Digging around in his pocket, he pulled out his phone and dialed my number. As I exited the building, my cell phone started ringing. "Hmm," I thought to myself, "that's Alistair. What does he want now?" I answered the call and could sense his agitation in his voice. "Kamen, where are you right now?"

I answer Alistair's call in confusion: "I just finished the 'training' with Rose. Why?"

A truck drives by with a sudden roar, and the demon vanishes from sight. Alistair curses under his breath, "Damn it! Kamen, there's a demon out here; I wanted to check if you were safe and hadn't seen anything strange." My thoughts spin as I contemplate what he said. "I'm fine. The only weird thing I've seen today is Rose; she's a freak like Jenny, but I'd rather not talk about it."

Alistair sighs with relief. "Alright, Kamen, just be safe, okay?"

Jenny peeks outside. "Are you on the phone with Kamen? If so, tell him that I hope he's alright." Alistair sighs, looking at Jenny. "He's fine, Jenny; he just finished training with Rose." She nods and heads back inside.

Twenty minutes pass before my conversation with Alistair ends. "Well, that was weird." "What was weird?" Rose asks. "Alistair said there was a demon on the loose in our neighborhood. Rose squints her eyes. "Damn it, he must be scouting us out." Looking at her confusedly, I ask. "Who's scouting us?" Rose looks at me seriously. "Lucifer." My heart rate picks up, and a cold sweat breaks across my forehead.

"Lucifer is real?" I ask in confusion. "There are vampires, werewolves, and spirits," Rose says back. How far-fetched is it for Lucifer to be real?"

Arriving back at the house, I see Alistair pacing back and forth through the window in the living room. Walking inside with Rose, Alistair looks my way. "Good, you're back. We need to speed up your training for now so we can get you ready."

Sitting down, I ask, "Get ready for what?" Alistair sits down on the couch. "The demon race might want to invade and take over the world." Sighing, I say, "Can't we just have a normal week without something happening?" Rose coughs and speaks. "Well, we're going to have to worry about that later. Right now, we have to worry about your training. For now, just get a good night's rest and drink some blood; you'll need it to get stronger." I was stunned; I couldn't believe what Alistair had just said. Rose and Alistair continued discussing the details of my training as I just stared blankly ahead. After a few moments, Rose turned to me and asked, "Are you okay, Kamen? This is a lot to take in."

I snapped out of my trance and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. It's just a lot to take in all at once." Taking a deep breath, I tried to push the thoughts of Lucifer invading the world aside and focus on the task at hand, getting stronger for whatever may come our way.

Alistair started explaining the type of training we were going to do: physical exercises like running and weight lifting, meditation techniques for control over my powers, and more experience with weapons such as swords. We would also be learning about different tactics against different types of demons.

Although it seemed overwhelming at first, I was surprisingly excited about my new skillset. As the night went on, we discussed in more detail our plans until finally it was time for bed.

The next morning, I woke up early, feeling refreshed after a good night's rest. As I prepared for the day ahead, I couldn't help but feel hopeful that things were looking up despite our current situation. With this newfound hope in mind, I set out with renewed energy to start my training with Alistair, Jenny, and Rose by my side every step of the way.

Back at the castle, Dracula sat on his throne, thinking about the man who had powers like his son. Suddenly, Ragnor appears in the middle of the throne room. "My king, I have something to report." Dracula stared at Ragnor with intrigue. "Speak," he said in a low voice. "The man you have me looking into has changed; he's gaining control of his power faster and faster than I first thought." Grunting, Dracula stares down at Ragnor. "Keep watching him; I don't want him to get too powerful and threaten my reign if he becomes too arrogant with his strength. Put him in his place." Ragnor bows his head. "Yes, my king." Disappearing into the shadows, Dracula stays still and ponders. "What is with this man? If he becomes a threat in the future, I'll have to erase him. It would be a shame to lose someone like him. But it would be better than letting him go to that damn Lucifer's side."

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I walk back into my room and look around. "I can't keep that night out of my head. Who was that man, and what did he want?" Pushing it away from my mind, I sit down on my bed and get dressed for bed. "It's no use to keep worrying about it; Alice said she would deal with it."

As Kamen slept late at night, a strange figure appeared by his bedside. "You are still too weak to handle your enemies, so I hope this blessing will help you," said the figure as it placed its hand on Kamen's head and bestowed him with some kind of mysterious blessing. "With this, I can finally rest assured, knowing you will become stronger," and with that, the figure dissolved away.

I awoke in bed feeling abnormally invigorated. Yawning, I stretched out my arms and legs before hopping out of bed and getting dressed. As I opened my dresser, I noticed a pair of cozy sweatpants. Donning them, I headed downstairs and was met with the smell of blood. Alistair must be drinking his morning meal. Approaching the kitchen, I opened the fridge to see nothing but packets of blood inside.

*Sigh* "Well, no surprise there; after all, why would I need human food anymore? Though it sure does taste good."

Walking into the front room, I notice Alistair is sitting on the couch. He stares up at me with a serious look on his face. "Good, you're awake; we have to go somewhere today, and it's potentially dangerous." Rubbing my eyes, I sigh and walk back up the stairs to get dressed in my "normal" clothes.

After using the restroom, I meet Alistair outside twenty minutes later. "So," I asked him, "where are we going?" His response was that we were headed to the vampire world. He snapped his fingers, and a portal opened up before us. "Dracula has two castles on Earth and in the vampire world." My curiosity made me ask what our purpose was there, to which Alistair gestured for me to follow him inside. We passed through the gateway and appeared on the other end; it was dark and dismal, with no decorations in sight. "Geez," I commented, "it could use some sprucing up. Who is this friend that you wish for me to train with?"

"Elizabeth," Alistair replies, walking on a path that has blood-red grass on either side and an occasional skull with horns on a spike in the grass. "If they were going for dark and depressing, they sure got it right." I comment as we walk. A house can be seen at the end of the path; it's at least 2 stories tall, with blue paint and several windows lining around the house. "So who is Elizabeth?" I asked curiously. "She's an old friend; she's a master at combat and magic. If anyone can truly help you, it's her." Alistair knocks on the door and gets no response.

"What are you doing here, Alistair?" asks a voice behind us. I turn around, and my jaw drops. The person I assume is Elizabeth stands 6 feet tall with blonde hair and red eyes. She has an aura around her that radiates power. She looks into my eyes, and I freeze, feeling like the weight of the world is weighing down on me. "Elizabeth, it's good to see you again." Alistair says, reaching for his hand, hoping she'll shake it.

Grabbing his hand, Elizabeth replies and looks at me. "It's good to see you again too; now who is this and what do you want?" Faking a cough, Alistair says, "This is Kamen; I was hoping that you could train him and make him stronger."

Squinting her eyes, she says, "You haven't seen me in 1000 years, and you suddenly appear to want me to train someone; why him?" Looking at me, Elizabeth releases her aura, and I feel like I can breathe. "He looks weak." Standing up, I reply. "The name is Kamen; nice to meet you too, Elizabeth." Looking back at Alistair, Elizabeth seems skeptical. "He's special, Elizabeth, and you're the only one I can think of that can beat some serious training into him."

"Fine, but on one condition. You cannot help him while we train." Looking at Elizabeth, Alistair agrees.

"Kamen, I just want to say this is for your own good; she's stronger than anyone I know, except for the king, Dracula." Alistair says this while staring at me.

Nodding, I ask. "Alright, when do we begin?" "Right now." Elizabeth says this while grabbing my face and throwing me. I land 300 feet away, making a crater in the ground. Groaning, I try to get up. Elizabeth stands above me. "Today, I'm going to beat the fundamentals into you." She says she is smiling. Crawling out of the crater, I catch my breath. As soon as I can breathe, Elizabeth punches me in the stomach. "Pay attention; never take your eyes off your enemy." She says this while I have the air knocked from my lungs again. The next few days were a blur of pain and exhaustion. Whenever I thought I was getting better, Elizabeth would find some new way to push me further. She taught me how to move without being seen, react faster than the eye can see, and even fight with style and grace. Even though she could be cruel at times, I found myself growing in power and skill every day.

One day, as we were sparring, Elizabeth suddenly disappeared from my view. Thinking quickly, I looked around for her, but there was no sign of her anywhere. Suddenly, she appeared in front of me with a wicked smile on her face. "Too slow." She said this as she kicked me in the side, slamming me down to the ground.

"You need to work on your reaction time," Elizabeth said while helping me get off the ground. "There are beings out there that are faster than me." Looking up at her as she stood over me, I felt my blood rush through my veins as I realized what she meant by this. I thought to myself, "Oh, this is going to be fun."

While I was learning these new skills, Elizabeth always reminded me of my end goal: to protect those I care about, no matter the cost. She taught me the importance of having a plan and the power of relying on yourself and friends.

One year has passed.

I look up at Elizabeth and ask, "Are you getting slower?" I ask with a devilish smile on my face. Smiling Elizabeth slams her fist into the ground and uproots part of the ground. "No, you little shit, you're just getting faster." She throws the part of the ground at me, and I slam my fist into it and destroy it. As soon as I do, however, Elizabeth appears behind the dust in the air and sends a kick out towards my chest. I dodge and throw a kick of my own. I know I'll make contact; I just know it.

My kick goes through Elizabeth, and her image fades. "What the fuck?" I am confused. She appears above me, pushing her foot into my head and slamming me into the ground 10 feet under.

My head hurts, I try to speak, and dirt goes into my mouth. "God damn it, that's nasty as fuck." I think to myself as I try to get out. I try to move and realize I'm stuck. "Elizabeth, help me out of here!" But it comes out as a muffled scream.

Looking down, Elizabeth laughs. "You'll have to get yourself out of there, Kamen. I didn't train you for the last year just to dig you out of the dirt." Hearing Elizabeth walk away, I think of what to do. "Oh, why didn't I think of that?" I wonder as I imagine the darkness spreading to my arms and legs. But as soon as I try, I realize nothing is happening. "What's going on?" I wonder if I am starting to freak out. I try again and notice something: there's a door inside my body. I try to open it, and it appears locked. Looking at the door, I say it out loud. "Why is there a door here? Why can't I draw out the darkness?" I look over and see another door. I decide to try and open it.

The door opens, and as I walk in, I notice a figure standing there in a random spotlight in the center of the room. "Who are you?" I call out. The figure looks at me; its eyes are blue with a red hint to them. "How can you forget about me? I've been with you since the beginning." The figure says, looking hurt, that I forgot about it.

"I don't recall ever meeting you," I say, looking at the figure. The figure exhales deeply, its shoulders drooping. "Vestis is always taking center stage," it says in a resigned tone. Confused, I ask, "Who's Vestis?"

The figure locks eyes with me. "He's the darkness lurking within you."

My heart races at the mention of Vestis. Could it be possible that there's another entity inside me? I had always assumed that I only had darkness within me. But now that I think about it, there have been moments where I felt like something else was inside me.

The figure steps out of the spotlight and begins walking towards me. "My name is Lumen," it says, finally introducing itself. "I am the light within you. The balance to Vestis' darkness"

I stare at the figure in disbelief. How is it possible that there's a light within me? And if there is, why haven't I known about it before?

Lumen places a hand on my shoulder, jolting me out of my thoughts. "I understand your confusion, Kamen," Lumen says, looking into my eyes. "But you have to realize that you are more complex than you think. You are not just the darkness that resides within you, but also the light that shines bright. You have the power to control both."

I look at Lumen's hand on my shoulder, feeling overwhelmed. "But how do I control both?" I ask, feeling lost.

Lumen smiles at me. "Through balance, Kamen. You must learn to balance both the light and the darkness within you. Only then will you be able to harness your true power."

I nod, understanding the weight of Lumen's words. I must learn to balance both the light and the darkness within me if I am to become stronger.