I breathed in slowly, feeling the light flow through my body. It was a sensation that I was becoming all too familiar with, like a comforting embrace, yet there was something slightly off about it. I felt the darkness pushing against the light, like two sides of a shield clashing in battle. I closed my eyes and remembered Jenny. The thought of her brought a sense of calm and warmth to my heart, like a fire slowly burning away the fear and uncertainty of the situation.

I opened my eyes to the dimly lit hallway. The shadows seemed to dance around me, weaving from side to side. I knew the shadows were there because of Vestis, the dark force that had been trailing my every move since I arrived in this strange place.

"Vestis really does not like you at all, Lumen," I said to myself, laughing softly. It was true that Vestis had been nothing but a nuisance since I arrived, but I couldn't help but admire its tenacity. Despite its relentless onslaught of darkness, the light still managed to shine through. It was like a reminder of hope, even in the darkest of times.

I smiled to myself and took a few deep breaths, allowing the light to flow through me once again. I could feel the shadows receding, allowing the light to take center stage. I felt a calmness wash over me as I embraced the warmth that was radiating from within.

In that moment, I felt a renewed sense of clarity and purpose. I knew that no matter what happened, I had to keep fighting. I had to keep the light alive and hold onto my balance and sanity, not letting one or the other completely take control.

"I hate this; I hate both of you. If it were up to you, you'd both be dead." Vestis growls as he slowly combines his darkness with Lumen's light.

Feeling renewed, I open my eyes and see the dirt around me."All right, now all I have to do is get out of here," I thought, recalling the first time I got stuck.

I hear footsteps above me, and Elizabeth stares down at me. "What is taking you so long? You've been in there for two weeks." Ignoring her, I focus on bringing the darkness to the right side of my body and the light to my left side.

"I hope this works," I think as I imagine the two powers radiating from my body outward. The ground starts shaking, and Elizabeth stumbles. "What is he doing down there?" Elizabeth thinks while putting a defensive shield around her body.

A sudden burst of energy engulfs my body, sending debris and dust flying in all directions. When I open my eyes, I'm shocked to see that I am inside a gigantic crater. How on Earth did my power cause this? Is this the result of combining light and dark?

I look down at my palms and observe the darkness mixed with light and something else—a thin red aura laced around both. What's causing this phenomenon?

Gingerly, I climb out of the pit, where Elizabeth is hovering above me, arms crossed over her chest. "Do you realize how dangerous it is to do something like that? You could have killed me!" she scolds.

"I apologize," I say truthfully. "I didn't realize what was going to happen."

We both stand in silence for a few moments, Elizabeth's hard gaze never leaving me. Finally, she speaks.

"I suppose I should be thankful that you didn't get yourself killed. Now, what caused this to happen?"

I shake my head as I try to make sense of the events that have just transpired. "I think it was a mixture of light and dark energy. It felt like I was drawing strength from each power."

Elizabeth nods slowly, her eyes crinkling with understanding. "It sounds like you have a unique ability," she says thoughtfully. "But you must be careful with it. Don't let either one overpower you, or else you'll risk losing control."

With that warning in mind, I thank Elizabeth for her advice and take my leave. As I wander away from the crater, I feel a new sense of determination burn within me. No matter what happens, I will strive to keep the balance between light and dark within me, no matter how difficult it may be.

Elizabeth sighs. "Now that you have balance, you need to work on your magic." Confused, I ask. "What do you mean by magic? I can use magic." She slaps the back of my head. "Why wouldn't you be able to? You have light and darkness in you; you're basically a cheat code in itself."

Rubbing the back of my head, I shrug. "I never really thought of it like that. When do we start on my magic training?"

Elizabeth walks behind the house. "Right now, follow me."

Back in Dracula's castle in the Vampire Home World (Evengail)

Dracula senses a strange power suddenly erupting and feels his castle slightly shake. Wide-eyed, Dracula calls for his right-hand man. "Ragnor, get in here immediately."

In a flash, Ragnor appears in the center of his throne room.

"Yes, my king, what do you request?" Looking down at Ragnor, "Did you feel that sudden burst of energy?" Confused, he replies. "No, my king, I did not. Did something happen?"

Putting his hand to his chin, Dracula thinks out loud. "I think it's that strange man; what did you say his name was again? Kamen, was it? I need you to investigate further and report back to me." Ragnor stands up and replies. "Yes, my king, I will do my best."

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Walking to one of his windows, Dracula stares out into the sky; it's black with a blood-red moon resting peacefully above a sea of red. "What on earth is that man doing, and how can he get so strong so fast? I thought he was a newborn. No newborn I have ever heard of has gotten that strong and powerful in such a short time."

He decides to go back to his throne and sit, pondering what will come next.

"Elizabeth, I don't think this is going to work." I said, looking at her. She shakes her head. "The only way you'll be able to use magic is if you imagine it in your head and feel it through your body. It's that simple."

Sighing I respond. "Alright, I'll try again." Focusing, I imagine fire rummaging through my body and out through my hands. Suddenly, a small flame appears in my right hand. "Holy shit, I did it." I say it proudly. Elizabeth stares at me. "What you did just now was easy; you have to keep trying until you can easily summon fire."

Frowning, I stare at Elizabeth. "Okay, I'll try harder." This time, I tried combining the light with fire. The light slowly turns white and radiates a heat I've never felt before. Seeing this, Elizabeth smiles. "Good, now try and use it like it's an extension of your body."

Looking at the white, hot flame, I move my hand out, imagining it as a whip. The flame moves fast, and as soon as it hits a tree, it cuts right through it, burning the tree like it was nothing.

I stare at Elizabeth, waiting to hear that I did better, but I only see veins bulging in her head. "That was my favorite tree, damn it!"

"Shit," I think to myself. "I'm sorry, Elizabeth." She sighs. "It's alright; you've made progress, which is good. What did you do differently?"

"Well, all I did was combine the light within my body to create the flame." I reply proudly. Elizabeth thinks about what I said. "It sounds like you created heavenly fire; I'm impressed. But you have to be careful. That flame is extremely dangerous."

I stare back. "Why is it dangerous?" I ask.

She stares back at me and explains. "With heavenly fire, you are able to destroy something at the molecular level, basically burning it with the flames of heaven."

A shiver runs down my spine. "Damn, I didn't think it could be that strong." I think to myself.

"What about using the darkness with your flame?" Elizabeth asks curiously. Looking down at my feet "I don't think that would be a good idea. Vestis is a dangerous person."

"Try it anyway; if anything happens, I'm here to stop you." Elizabeth says it reassuringly.

I close my eyes and imagine the darkness combining with the flame. Opening my eyes, I see the flame has turned black with a crimson red line running around it.

Feeling pain in my hand, I shout. "Damn it, I knew this was a bad idea; it burns." I tried to put it out, but to no avail.

I think back to Lumen, and I try to focus on the light. Slowly, the pain fades away, and I see a flame that confuses me. It's white and black with a red hue to it.

Elizabeth stares at the flame. "Sacred Hellfire" is all she said.

"What is sacred hellfire?" I ask. "Sacred Hellfire is basically like if the flames from Heaven had the intensity and malice of Hellfire, throw it out and see what happens."

Shrugging, I imagine the flame turning into a fireball as I try to throw it out of my hand. It flies out 1000 feet away, slicing through the air and not losing momentum. Suddenly the wind died down, and I felt the ground shake violently. In the distance, I see a bright light combined with the darkness explode ten times bigger than anything I have seen before in my life. The sound echoed in every direction as if a thousand thunderclaps hit all around me at once, drowning out everything else. My heart is racing faster than ever before as I feel all of my blood rush to my head. My legs go weak, and I fall down on one knee. A few moments pass by until my mind has processed what happened. The air from the shockwave knocks me back into a tree, knocking the air from my lungs. Before I can even recover, another one of these impacts hits, only this time closer. This time Elizabeth doesn't cover her ears like she did last time, but hunches over and holds her arms around herself, bracing for impact.

The light fades, and the ground stops shaking. I look to Elizabeth, smile, and say, "Let's go see how powerful that was."

Elizabeth nods and follows me. We made it up to where the explosion was, and both of our mouths dropped open. We see a crater at least a mile wide in every direction. The crater has random pits of fire erupting from it. Elizabeth, not being able to speak, summons water to put out the flame.

She stares at me in disbelief. "If you combined that power when you fought me, you may have won if I wasn't serious."

Elizabeth smacks the back of my head and says, "It appears you have a blessing for being such a powerful little prick."

"Look at what you did; do you realize how long it's going to take for the world to fix this?"

Shaking my head, I say no.

"Alright, well, I don't think we have to try and see if you can use lightning magic, water magic, or earth magic; it's safe to say you can." Elizabeth says she is looking upset.

"Let's hope Dracula doesn't find out about this." She thinks to herself, not admitting that she would hate for Dracula to become their enemy.