"Our healing isn't working either. Something is certainly wrong."
Many questions floated in his head but he realized that he was going to be in danger if he didn't do anything fast because his body was still burning, wrapped in flames. He didn't want to turn to ash before realizing what was even happening. He needed to be alive to find the truth.
He folded his arms, bearing scorching pain, as he started thinking what to do.
"Hmm? We hear water nearby."
He looked towards the edge of the cliff, having faith in his feelings. He started running to the edge. Reaching the end of the cliff, he looked down.
"Ah, so that's what it was! There's water!"
Without waiting even a single second, he pushed his body forward and jumped off the cliff, not scared in the least. It was the best option he believed he had of survival.
Artemis plunged downward, leading with his head, while flames danced around him, clinging to any surface in a desperate attempt to consume him whole.
Finally, after a brief descent, he landed in the water. As Artemis became fully immersed, the flames finally ceased and he was left in solitude.
Unfortunately, he found himself in even more pain than before as if his bones were broken because of the impact. His body kept going down the river but he wasn't able to swim. Let alone swim, he couldn't even move his body as his bones were actually broken.
In his mind, Artemis didn't know what was happening. It was as if he was in a cruel nightmare where he didn't have any of his abilities. He didn't have his strong body to survive after such an impact and he didn't have his healing. He also didn't have his spells. It was a cruel jest of destiny!
He wondered if he had actually become a mortal. That should have been impossible though.
Many of his enemies tried to make that happen since that was the only possible way that could have been used to defeat the most powerful Vampire in existence— Artemis Atlas Von Castiel.
He faced many powerful enemies in his life but he wasn't defeated. Unlike his mortal enemies, he was truly the Immortal Emperor!
He couldn't be killed and his powerful healing made sure he was always in fighting condition. Moreover he was the only Vampire who was able to use the powerful spells of the witches without hurting his soul. For some strange reasons, he had none of that now.
Even his body was weak. It all appeared to be a cruel joke for someone like him. As his body started drowning in the river, he didn't even know what he could do. He could only laugh at his destiny, wondering how he ended up in such a pitiful position.
The last thing he remembered was that he went into Deep Slumber in his Coffin after making sure that no threat remained to the Vampires. He had established peace everywhere before he had decided to take his eternal slumber.
He didn't know how long it had been since that moment, but he found himself awakened now only to find him in this situation.
He couldn't understand how it was possible. He made sure that he went into his Eternal Slumber in a place where no one could find his body.
Only his most trusted person knew where his body actually was. Moreover there was a powerful spell around his body which was to wake him up in case a witch came near his body.
That spell was also supposed to wake him up if someone moved his body from its position or tried hurting it.
In essence, he was perfectly safe in his tomb. No witch could come close to casting a spell of this caliber without him waking up. And even if a witch could, a spell that was capable of separating the soul of a Vampire and sending it to a different body didn't exist.
He also had extensive knowledge of witches and their spells that he collected in his thousands of years of lifespan. Something like this should have been impossible, but it was happening right before his eyes now.
He was certain that the body he was in now didn't belong to him. His soul was certainly separated from his body and sent into this body. But then, what was that mysterious voice in his head?
It didn't appear to be a human voice at all. It seemed... Soulless from the way it talked.
'We can't believe we die like this. Artemis Atlas Von Castiel died from drowning. The others would have laughed so hard if they heard this...' Artemis thought as his eyes started closing themselves. A mocking smile graced his lips.
He couldn't even struggle to survive so he decided to go down in silence. However, that's when the mysterious voice appeared again.
'Huh?' Stunned, Artemis realized that his body was working again now. He could move his hands and legs as if they weren't broken at all. He had hope of survival again!
Without wasting a single second, he started swimming upwards but it took time as he was already deep in the water. His body was only a few inches away from hitting the bottom of the river.
After swimming for a few minutes, his head came out of the water. He swam to the shore and dragged his weak body out of the water.
Stepping out of the water, he fell on the ground, panting. "It's so pitiful. We could run for thousands of kilometers within minutes and now we feel so tired after just ten minutes."