I found myself floating in a realm devoid of senses. It was as if I had been cast into a sea of nothingness, where sight, touch, and taste had abandoned me. Only sound remained a distant echo that seemed to whisper in the void.
"You are hungry," a voice resonated around me, a deep growl that slithered into the recesses of my subconscious.
The words seemed to emerge from the very darkness itself, tendrils of sound that climbed into my mind. "Yes," I replied, my voice a mere thread in the emptiness.
"Hunger is such a powerful feeling. It can eat through your soul. An insatiable desire that your new darkness now demands." The being's voice continued, weaving its way through the void. "The power that such hunger could bestow upon beings like us, the hybrids, is immense. But the path you wish to take requires the blood of the mundane. The blood of the weak which leaves you unsated." The being's words painted a picture of domination over the mundane, of consuming their essence to fuel our abilities. "Do you understand?"
"Yes," I responded again, the word slipping from my lips like a confession.
"Do you wish always to feel hunger?"
"No," I answered.
The being's voice grew more persuasive, its words dripping with a seductive allure. "Your hunger. The craving that you feel means you want to devour humans. Humans like your friends... You don't want that, do you?"
"No," I said again, unable to focus on anything but the voice in the void.
"Feeding is natural for you. Something that keeps you who you are. Keeps you feeling powerful." As he spoke, my feeling returned, and the sensation of warmth, of power surging through me, spread from its words into my consciousness.
I hesitated, a feeling of unease stirring within me. "I can't," I managed to utter, my voice strained with the soothing weight his words gave me.
"You can't?" His question was a chilling sound that enveloped me. "Then you wish to starve!" he growled, halting the comfort.
"Wait," I begged, my voice quivering as it left and a new feeling emerged.
Pain.
"There is nothing but the agony of hunger, the torment that accompanied the insatiable need for human sustenance." I recognized it then—a sensation of intense starvation as if my body was folding in on itself, collapsing under the weight of its emptiness. "You can not save humans and feed off them, little lamb!"
The being's laughter continued, echoing in the abyss."-But you can drink from beings like yourself. Share in the power of their blood. Fuel yourself into a coma of enjoyment and ecstasy." It spoke of the pleasure that could be derived from feeding on beings like myself, on our own kind. The beings' words painted a vivid image of warmth, sensuality, and shared power—the intimate act of tasting the blood of one's own kind. I couldn't help but feel tempted.
"Would you wish to know what it feels like?"
"Yes," I whispered, my resolve crumbling beneath the weight of its words.
In an instant, the sensations flooded over me. I could feel it—the rush of power, the surge of ecstasy—as my senses returned. My nails dug into flesh, teeth sinking into a slim shoulder as my body pressed into another. The taste that filled my mouth was unlike anything I had ever experienced, a symphony of sensations that dominated my mind and body.
The world around me was a haze of sensation, my mind clouded by the intoxicating taste of blood. I could hear distant sounds, yelling, a howl, a name echoing in the darkness. But it was all secondary to the sensation that enveloped me.
And then, as abruptly as it had begun, it stopped. The sensations were ripped away, leaving me disoriented and confused. My body felt heavy. My mind muddled as I tried to comprehend what had just transpired.
A sharp pain sliced through my chest, a searing agony that spread like wildfire. I cried out, my body convulsing as the pain gripped me, fingers clenching and releasing in a desperate attempt to find relief.
My eyes fluttered open, and before me laid Lilith, her features a mask of fear and urgency. In her hand was a spike of white wood, its tip piercing through my heart. "Wha—" I tried to speak, but the words caught in my throat, replaced by a strangled gasp.
Lilith's legs wobbled as she climbed out from under me, dislodging my nails from her skin until she slowly lifted.
I watched as she stood over me, bloodied and disheveled. She was covered in blood, her own blood, and it dawned on me that it was her blood that stained my lips and hands.
My body felt immobile, my limbs heavy and unresponsive. I watched as Lilith's gaze flickered with a mix of emotions—fear, regret, and something else, something I couldn't quite place. She moved, her steps unsteady, and I realized the truth—the spike that impaled me was connected directly to her heart.
"Ev… Evelyn," she stammered, her voice trembling as she struggled to maintain her balance.
I felt our connection once more. The look of betrayal and sadness consumed me to the point I wanted to cry. Even though we just met, we were connected and exposed to one another in a deeper connection that even I couldn't explain.
I tried to speak, to reassure her, but my body remained frozen, a captive to the pain and the weight of the situation. The darkness seemed to close around me as if the void itself was devouring my consciousness.
Lilith's lips quivered, her breathing ragged. She took a step forward, her eyes locked onto mine. "I had to…," her voice cracked, and I could see the torment in her gaze. "You won't die... but you must sleep- briefly."
I wanted to reach out to her to convey my understanding, but my body refused to respond. The pain intensified, a searing fire that consumed my every thought. The darkness whispered around me, a reminder of the insatiable hunger that lurked within.
As Lilith's form began to blur, her voice grew fainter, a distant echo in the void. "Forgive me, Evelyn."
And then, as the darkness closed in, as Lilith's presence faded, I was left alone with the agony, the hunger, and the consuming emptiness that threatened to devour everything I was.