Chapter 315: I would end up like Varek…?

"You seem happy."

Aurelia commented as she and Lucian walked side by side through one of the quieter paths of the Arcelis Estate.

"I had fun."

Lucian smiled.

"You did, huh?"

Aurelia smiled and Lucian nodded.

"I learned a lot."

And he really had.

After his spar with Caelan, Lucian stayed with Vespera and the others for several more hours and even joined a few of Vespera’s ’Blood Exhaustion cycles.’

After that, he sparred with two more Vampires, who were, without a doubt, much better than Caelan.

He also observed Vespera more clearly, he watched how she conserved blood when her reserves dropped. He also noted how her fighting style changed drastically once hunger started creeping in.

It was... a strange mix of instincts and active thoughts.

Facing an opponent like that was... definitely a new experience.

The only thing he regretted was that he couldn’t face Vespera alone, not because she was stronger than him, that wasn’t true, in fact, Lucian was very confident he was the stronger one.

Just that Vespera was at a crucial stage, her training was important and nothing could go wrong with it, especially not now.

So he wasn’t allowed to fight her alone, even when he did spar against her with others, he constantly needed to heed the leader’s commands.

Nonetheless, it was a great learning experience.

"That is good."

Aurelia nodded.

"Where are we going now?"

Lucian asked excitedly.

"Well, you did say you needed to take a shower, didn’t you?"

"Right."

Lucian nodded.

Aurelia then left him in his suite, then picked him up an hour later.

They spent the rest of the morning together, Aurelia explained small things that Lucian had no idea about, either because he didn’t read enough or Enclave records rarely bothered to mention them.

Aurelia mentioned how older Vampires could identify bloodlines by scent alone, how certain Houses considered exposing fangs during formal conversation rude unless feeding was involved.

How younger Vampires often deliberately maintained a heartbeat around Humans just to be sure. They tried to blend in, more than the older Vampires did.

Lucian welcomed these facts with an open heart, he had read about Vampires before, of course, but experiencing and seeing everything right in front of him was much different.

By late morning, the estate had changed, Lucian noticed the halls grew quieter, many Vampires returned towards private wings as the day became brighter.

Again, the Barrier protected them, yes, but the sun still wasn’t a friend.

"You should rest."

Eventually, Aurelia turned towards Lucian as well.

"Right now?" ℴ

Lucian raised an eyebrow.

That made Aurelia chuckle—

"What do you Humans say? When in Rome, do what Romans do."

That made Lucian smile as well.

"Alright."

He nodded.

Aurelia nodded back.

She sent him back to his suite.

Lucian took another shower, ate, then called Naomi and Evelyn, telling them about everything that happened, before he jumped on the bed.

He wasn’t particularly tired, obviously, he didn’t push himself nearly hard enough.

He, however, still closed his eyes as he decided to drift into sleep.

He wanted to see if it would happen again.

And it did.

The next thing Lucian noticed right after he fell asleep was that he had once again returned to that strange dark place and the instant Lucian realised that—

He now knew for sure that this was not a dream.

At least, it wasn’t a normal dream.

Something was definitely happening.

Someone was... trying to talk to him.

And unlike before, this time, Lucian was much calmer as he looked around the dark place, waiting for the voice to speak to him.

Then, it did.

"You didn’t leave."

It was weak, faint, almost distant, just like Lucian recalled.

"No."

Lucian shook his head.

"I did not leave."

He spoke.

For the next few seconds, the voice did not say anything. Almost as if pondering what Lucian was trying to do.

Then—

"Why?"

It asked.

"Because you haven’t given me a reason to."

And Lucian answered honestly.

He kept looking around, trying to find the source, but again, there was nothing around him except for darkness, so he continued talking instead.

"I can’t leave just because you tell me to, you know?

If anything, that only makes me want to stay more.

I have issues, I agree."

The voice did not say anything.

Lucian remembered how it kicked him out because of his sarcasm, that told him it wasn’t a fan of humour, so this time, Lucian kept himself in check.

"If you want me gone, explain why."

He asked for a reason but...

The voice did not say anything.

Lucian didn’t know if it was ignoring him or simply incapable of speaking freely, either was possible, so instead of pondering it, he changed the question instead.

"Last time, you said I’d end up like the Vampire.

You never told me who you meant."

He asked another question.

Again, the voice remained silent.

Lucian waited for ten seconds, this was the number he came up with, in ten seconds, if the voice replied, well and good, if it didn’t, he simply moved to the next question he had prepared.

Only this time—

He did not need to change the question anymore because this time, the voice answered.

"The one you brought back."

That answer got a reaction out of Lucian.

"...Varek?"

He asked carefully.

Obviously, this was the only answer, so there was no reason to confirm it.

"I would end up like Varek...?"

He muttered, this was more him talking to himself than to the voice.

Ending up like Varek, huh...

Considering the state the Vampire was in, it wasn’t a pretty thought, especially when it came from an unknown voice he was hearing in a dream.

Of course, Lucian didn’t waste time thinking about all this, instead, he tried to gather more information.

"Why would I end up like Varek?"

Lucian asked and waited for ten seconds, the voice did not answer, so he changed the question.

"What happened to him?"

Again, no answer.

"Was it the Contract?"

No answer again.

"Is it related to House Arcelis?"

And while Lucian waited for the voice to answer or for ten seconds to pass—

He woke back up.