The sound of clattering window pane dragged Darwin from his deep slumber, there was a shaking in the ground - an earthquake. The cold floor trembled behind as he slowly opened his eyes. He looked up to the ceiling with a frown and narrow eyes. He rubbed temples in slight haze before he pulled himself up.
The shaking stopped. It wasn't as violent as he thought it would be. So he just let himself fall back to the couch behind him.
"Who played the earth vibrator again?" ,He mumbled in between sobs and grunts. He scanned the room with his back lying on the futon.
"Good Morning handsome", A very familiar voice broke the silence.
"Oh not again", Darwin whispered with his face burrowed deep in the sheets.
"Speaking of the devil", Ae walked in with his maroon leather coat. His killer combat boots thudding like metal horse shoe in the wooden floor. He snapped his fingers and the room warped open letting the sun shower upon them.
Darwin's eyes went wide as he realized what Ae is trying to do but to his surprise he didn't feel any burning sensation in his skin.
"Are you crazy?!", Darwin hissed at him.
"At least not yet. It's a beta test", He looked up to the sky with narrow eyes.
"Beta what?", Darwin looked down on his arms. For the first time in centuries, he finally came across with sunlight. His skin beamed like diamonds under the sheer caress of the light passing through the thin atmosphere. He looked up and closed his eyes. He never felt good in a while.
"Love that?", Ae looked at him with one eye closed.
"What is happening?" , Darwin asked still looking up and feeling the sun.
Ae fell back to the couch and crossed his legs. He tapped his chin with his fingers and curled his tongue.
"Well. I did a little experiment. When I first saw you I feel like I can infiltrate your mind just like any other mortal. And I did. I did try to push myself into that little thing under your skull but unlike any other being I can only set foot to some parts", Ae explained.
"What exactly are you?", Darwin asked again.
"That's the billionth time you've asked me", He replied.
"That's the same amount of time you didn't answer", Darwin snapped back.
"Ok. I'm a demon. But not just your typical demon with horns and tails and fork and big penis. I'm the demon of the dead earth, the mystic land of the black sun. Master of death arts, dark arts, and universal manipulation", Ae playfully gestured his hands as if introducing himself in front of a noble king.
"You talk too much", Darwin turned to him with one eye open. He skin still beaming in the moonlight.
"You know, the thing about vampires is that they have this beauty blessed by the nature. A beauty that's beyond explanation. I mean look at you, every man and woman known in comparison is a total failure. You even look better than me. Well at least you were", Ae commented on him.
"I'll take it as a compliment and then an insult", Darwin replied.
Ae laughed next to him. He took a sip of his tea sitting on top of the glass table.
"You felt that?", Darwin asked nonchalantly.
"Felt what?", Ae replied.
"That earthquake", He continued.
Ae playfully checked the ground with sass. He looked under the table and then back to Darwin.
"I rode an elevator all the way up here", He answered without any hint of surprise.
A
ll of a sudden an earthquake detection notice popped in the television screen. The sound of the alarm sent shivers to Darwin's spine. Ae shrugged his shoulder as Darwin sent him daggers.
"You're a living disaster", Darwin snapped at him.
"What? I just cracked the earth open?", Ae replied as if it was not a big thing.
Darwin pulled out the plug of the television to stop the alarm sounds.
"Some people could have been injured", Darwin said.
Tea splattered across the table and in some on Darwin's arms as Ae gagged himself on what he was drinking. Reacting to his words.
"Shit", Ae laughed under cough as he gagged himself once more.
"Really?!", He added.
Darwin rolled his eyes at him. He moved his arms once again and set it down to where the sunlight is hitting.
"Humanity must have hit you hard, damn", Ae mocked his expression with a snicker.
"I don't know if this is human side effects but the sun doesn't hurt at all", Darwin looked up once again. He threw his hands up blocking the sunlight traveling in between his fingers.
"It's a having-a-demon-buddy side effects", Ae commented.
"What? What do you mean?", Darwin interrogated.
"I told you, I did set foot to some parts of your brain and reformatted some imprints. I somehow reverted some of your vampire skills and reversed some of your vampire attributes. You know what I'm saying? In short I fixed what's broken in your system. You're welcome", Ae snapped his finger and the roof warped back to its original form.
"So it's gonna be forever?", Darwin questioned once again.
"Truly depends on what we agree. I just did something to prove my allegiance to you. And besides, we need your skills though this isn't your god mode skills but at least something that makes you more viable and useful", Ae took a sip of his tea.
"Yuh. Guess I should thank you for that", Darwin let out a smile to him.
"Well now, I'm just gonna ask you something. How well do you know Hubert Riverlight?", Ae rested his arms above his legs as he ran his fingers through his hair.
There was silence in between them.
"He was my brother. Not by blood but by virtue. I met him on the same path of unfortunate life in the middle of the wilderness, in the midst of a blizzard", A hint of sadness marked Darwin's last sentence.
"Pfft. Poetic", Ae gave him a sassy look.
"Why'd you ask?", Darwin added.
"To validate. Guess you don't know anything at all, Blood Winter", Ae commented with his tea in his hands.
"Of course I know everything. He wouldn't hide something from me", Darwin countered.
"Na na. You're pitiful", Ae rolled his eyes.
Darwin gave him a furious look. He clutched his hands into a fist as veins popped throbbing underneath his eyes.
"Relax. Hey. I was about to tell you a story", Ae's eyes turned pitch black in response to Darwin's intimidation show. A smile crept on his face as the atmosphere light up a bit.
"Tell me everything I need to know", Darwin looked straight into Ae's eyes.
For a moment, Ae shut his mouth and stopped in his tracks. He sat there emotionlessly looking back at Darwin.
He broke off a taunting laughter.
"Jokes on you. Haha. Sure I reformatted some parts of you little brain but I didn't revamped your skills to the point where you can compel a demon", Ae took a sip of his tea and leaned back letting out a yawn.
Darwin leaned back looking frustrated at the moment. He felt as if he was being played and tossed back in forth in the arms of reality and treachery.
"Fine. Ok listen. For what I'm about to say is very important. I'm sure you'll dig and catch up easily 'cause you're smart. I heard you're on top of your class back when you're hair's still brown and you have the grace of a very beautiful human being", Ae dusted his shirt off and took a deep breath.
"History 101. The Bloodbath Eclipse. Does it ring any bells?", Ae added.
Darwin gave him a confused look. He bit his nails looking back at Ae who paused his gestures to Darwin's response.
"Blood what?", Darwin answered.
"Oh god of the beta heaven, seriously?", Ae smacked his forehead in disappointment.
"That sounds primitive to me", Darwin rubbed the back of his head.
"You know, explaining the roots of this world will take me centuries to tell", Ae snapped his finger and the room warped.
A glass like structure surrounded them like a dome in a moment. Images started dancing around them as what seems like flashbacks and some sort of memories started running like a movie in the surface and across them.
"Long before the age of vampires, there lived three powerful clans in the ancient world: Casters, Witches and Enchanters. These beings maintained the balance and harmony in the lands and across the universe. Casters, the bearer of heavenly body magic and tamer of mythical creatures. Enchanters, the guardians of the elements of the mortal world - fire, earth, water, air, metal, and lightning. And there goes the Witches, who harnesses the power of the spirits and the afterlife", Images flickered like a film as Ae gestured his hands side to side.
"And then?", Darwin asked following his gaze in every image that passes through and around them.
"With great power comes great responsibility they say. And great power makes someone above anyone else. As an insatiable human that they are, they fell into the pits of greed and madness, believing that there should only be one family to rule over the others. So the once peaceful realm became a battle ground of endless wars and conflicts. The world witnessed a fray that took several millennia. Supreme leadership and reign passed down to several generations of the same dynasty in each clan. As time passed by, the old conflict rested in the hands of the great families who decided to put out the fire of the raging wars and restore the peace and balance in the realm. These families formed alliance with each other and carved an oath of a truce to an ember crystal called the Eclipse Eye. The eclipse eye shall be the beacon of peace in between the clans but little they know that this will also be the reason of an eternal conflict in between bloodlines", Ae continued.
"What's so special about this eclipse eye?", Darwin followed.
"Supreme leaders stored their core attribute called the Coro Mageia, or the First Core Magic, the secret and forbidden techniques held by each clans. These is to expand their mutual trust with each other. And so, they put up all three Mageias of the three ruling families from each clan. The Enchanter clan, the Strikerealms, who carries the Mageia of Apeiron, the ability to harness all elements in one single vessel. The Witch clan, The Westerns, who carries the Mageia of Afterlife , the ability to wield the powers of all dead supernatural creatures. And then there were the Caster families, The Riverlights, who carries the Mageia of Heaven's Altar, the ability to take over the power of gods and goddesses. All these attributes were stored in one single stone, hidden deep beneath the Ocean of Cries", Ae revealed with a strong determination in his voice.
"So that's a win-win situation in between families. Case closed", Darwin commented with a shrug.
"That's why you need to listen to what I'm going to say next", Ae turned to him with a malicious smile.
"Do you honestly think peace will prevail among greedy hearts?", Ae asked him with a hint of mischief.
"That's why I stepped in and joined the game", He added with an eerie smile that sent shiver to Darwin's spine.