Whilst my cattle developed, I fortified and expanded my walls. It almost stretched from one to another, east to west… separating and isolating the civilized world from the savages of the forest… and keeping them in.
The natural cycle of the moon taking the sun’s place, allowing for the shine of the stars to rain upon the darkened land, kept on going, uncaring for the mortal world. The moon watched over everyone, including the barking dogs, chuckling chickens, drunken men, bandits, and the corpses they left behind. Rain poured occasionally, humidifying the soil and air, helping farmers water their crops. The animals took shelter within their nests and burrows, then came out once the sun showed itself. Life continued the same for everyone… except the young vampire boy.
Inside Barhm’s house, in the living room, next to the couch, now stood a new device. A chair made out of solid wood, bolted to the creaking floor, with restraints on the armrests and front legs. On it sat Kai, his chest exposed and pricked full with tiny holes. Alongside them, small burning marks covered his skin in sets of spots. Some more recent than others. Amongst those, a large burn mark covered him, however it showed signs of fading away.
His right side, the one that bore the impact of both ‘Flame Fist’ and the fire crystals, was scorched. It pulsated with a vague hue as blood traveled through his veins.
Red and pink wounds covered him entirely, as well as loose skin and even some air bubbles he didn’t dare pop. His skin had a hard time regenerating all the wounds, even after he took several healing pills. His face exuded exhaustion, and he wore a lifeless gaze as he leaned on his own shoulder.
Onyx sat on the couch, his snout pointed downward, looking at him with a pitiful expression. Kai groaned as he lowered his head, glancing at the floor with a pair of dead eyes. His dry lips smacked together in a pitiful attempt at hydration. I should have never proposed this… He thought, bitter.
…
Three days ago, inside the research room, Barhm looked at Kai with a bewildered expression. “Researched on a vampire… no, never.” He replied simply, however, his eyes shone with a glimmer of interest.
“Then, in exchange for letting you experiment on me within reason, you will help me develop a better technique. I will also tell you what kind of Magic Core I have, and tell you in detail how I acquired it. But you must not share it with anyone else.”
Barhm stood in silence, his eyes jumping between Kai and the floor, in deep contemplation. After a minute or so, he clicked his tongue and looked at Kai with a large, ear-to-ear, grin. “Sure, but I hope you’ll be able to endure it.” His voice landed in the boy’s ears, creepy and devoid of emotion. A sudden shiver ran down Kai’s spine, and he gulped as he took a glance at Darky. Fuck…
Barhm left the room and Kai, stood in silent contemplation, his heart racing as to what would happen next. A muffled, earth-shaking thump rang in his ears not so long after, and he rushed to the living room. His eyes widened in disbelief as he watched Barhm nail down a large chair onto the floorboards with magic stones.
“Is that…” Kai’s expression twisted to one of fear, and cold sweat dripped down the back of his neck.
“A restraining chair, yes,” Barhm replied nonchalantly, rubbing his hands, and dusting them off. “I thought we could start right away.”
Well… I am in a hurry but… I would have loved to have some time to prepare. He forced an awkward smile on his face and waited for the small boy to give him instructions. Just like one would at a doctor’s visit.
His body quickly trembled as he saw him come back with a tray of makeshift syringes and needles, as well as a few knives and metallic containers. “Undress” He ordered in a voice that could not be questioned, a creepily sly smile creasing his lips. Kai questioned it but hesitatingly took off his shirts and coats, storing them within his ring. That only left his underwear and bandages on, which were both dirty and bloody, some more than others.
“What now-...?!”
Much to his surprise, a powerful force threw him back right onto the chair, and he glanced at the boy, who put away a small, dark stone. The strength blasted away his dirty, bloody bandages. Then, Barhm closed and tightened a set of restraints, four on his arms, two each, and four of his legs in a similar fashion. This ensured that Kai could do nothing but wiggle and bite if he had the strength to do so.
“Uhm…” He tried to say something, however, he was quickly shut down by Barhm’s loud placement of the tray on the table, starting both Kai and Onyx. The Obborik bared his fangs and took a defensive position upon seeing the state his companion was in, however Kai quickly spoke. “It’s alright boy, I’m… half agreeing to this. So don’t worry.” Hearing the boy’s words, Onyx seemed to have calmed down, and his ears pulled back as he jumped up on the couch.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Alright, now that everyone’s ready… I hope you’re prepared for some pain. Don’t worry, it won’t hurt too much.” Barhm said, that smile never once leaving his face, and it seemingly got worse in the small amount of time it took everything to get ready.
Ugh… doesn’t he kinda seem like Rodney? Obsessed freak… Somehow, Kai could only be skeptical of the boy’s less-than-trustworthy words, however, he sighed. I have to do this… creating a technique alone will be too difficult. Resigning himself to this fate, he steeled his resolve and exhaled heavily. “Do what you must.”
However, the sentence didn’t have enough time to leave his mouth, as, with a quick motion, Barhm picked up a sharp knife and cut a small piece of Kai’s skin. A heavy grunt escaped his lips as blood sipped out of the freshly cut wound, and the strange boy placed the cut skin in a metal container. He then turned toward the injury, his eyes shining with curiosity.
After a couple of minutes, the wound stopped bleeding altogether, and it even showed signs of closing up. “Interesting. How many years ago did you last drink blood?”
“Uhm…” Kai thought about it but quickly had his answer. If we don’t count… that thing, last time I drank blood was… “Since I was five… so seven years ago or so.”
“Hmm?” A surprised grunt escaped Barhm’s body as he looked at Kai with an astonished expression. He murmured something under his breath and walked and picked up the piece of flesh he had cut off. It was dry and rigid, and so fragile it would turn to dust with a single squeeze from him. “No wonder you look like you’re dying…”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve never heard of a vampire not feeding and not going insane. This is definitely a first, I’m glad I agreed to experiment on you.” After having said that, he picked up a syringe and slowly slid it into Kai’s veins. He let out a hissing sound as the needle penetrated his flesh, then grit his teeth as Barhm extracted a sizable amount of blood. “Unfortunately I don’t have the right tools on me right now… or anytime soon, so you’ll have to endure this.” His voice seemed bitter, and even disappointed as he said so, and Kai was inclined to believe him, were it not for his sadistic smile.
“You sure are enjoying this though.” He said, struggling through the pain.
“Always happy to add more to my knowledge. This body is both a blessing and a curse… damned be me if only I listened more to those assholes…”
Unusually chatty today… Kai thought, easily discerning who those ‘assholes’ were. However, he had no time to think about it, as the pain of the needle being pulled out was twofold that of it being inserted. He hissed again, and his eyes turned bloodshot as he watched a good quantity of blood disappear from his system.
“I’ll go ahead and study it under the microscope tool, you stay put.”
Not like I can go anywhere asshole… Kai sighed inwardly and stared at his right side, which was covered in burns created by a fire. Unlike the multiple faded and recent scars created by the sun and moon. A wave of helplessness washed over him, and a bitter feeling arose in his heart. He bit his lower lip and waited for Barhm to continue his experiments, which now seemed more like torture than anything. Thinking about Darky, and what the poor beast had to endure all this time, his eyes shone with pity. I hope it's tougher than me…
Back inside the research lab, Barhm placed a drop of blood on the glass tray and did everything necessary before putting it under the microscope. He quickly zoomed in as much as it allowed and fed it a light crystal. Quickly, a blurry image, which quickly turned clear after a few adjustments, appeared before him.
As he expected, the blood cells looked no different to that of Darky’s or even his own. And that would have remained the case were it not for some almost invisible particles floating in between them. They weren’t much in number. The few that were present, in the off chance they bumped against the blood cells, would create a small hole the same size as the particle itself. “Hmm?” Barhm murmured, taking a closer, more attentive look. “There are many particles in his bloodstream?”
After observing for a few more minutes, he raised his head and blinked a couple of times, getting accustomed to the normal vision. Rather quickly he pulled out a piece of paper and started furiously writing as if he were afraid he’d forget the details.
<
Carefully making sure his notes were safe, he then walked to the living room and told Kai about his findings.
Upon hearing the news, a pit seemingly formed inside his stomach, and he bit his lower lip with discomfort and worry. I thought I solved the mana poisoning problem… fuck, the two techniques when used together are less efficient… at least it’s easily solvable for the moment. I just need to use the spell Dad taught me to get rid of the mana, but doing that each time I train… He sighed, but his expression didn’t turn any prettier. And that red blood cell thing… I’m not sure that’s supposed to happen. Could it be… so soon?
A shiver ran down his spine, and he seemingly wanted to cry, but couldn’t bring himself to.
Barhm, on the other hand, after telling him the news, went back to his tray and picked up a clean knife. After picking up a bucket from a random corner, he stood a couple of centimeters in front of Kai.
“What are you doing?” Kai asked, hesitant. However, before he could get any concise answers, his vision blurred. He watched in slow motion as Barhm placed his arm forward, and slowly lifted his sleeve, knife in hand. Then, Kai’s eyes widened as the boy before him, with a swift, resolute motion, sliced his hand, causing blood to spurt out everywhere. Most of it landed in the bucket, however, some of it splashed on Kai’s chest and arms, but none on his face. His pupils constricted, and the chair wiggled violently back and forth as he tried to break free.