Vampires are lonely creatures, despised by the world, and their kin often turn against one another in a brutal cycle of violence.
Now, Fars is even lonelier. He understands well that true masters are born only after enduring countless moments of solitude. His own experiences reflect this truth; in his youth, Fars had wealth to squander, women to indulge in, and countless sycophants eager to please him. The result was a frail body that could barely withstand the burdens of excess.
After a hearty meal, he gazed at the waning moon, aware that dawn was approaching. The once-bright sunlight would become a deadly threat to him. If he didn't return to the ruins before daybreak, his situation would turn dire. While the jungle offered plenty of dark hollows and caves, it was also home to many predatory beasts. If one of those beasts found him, the outcome would be tragic. With sunlight pouring in outside, escape would be impossible. He had no choice but to act; the graceful movements of a vampire would be of little use in such confined spaces.
The ruins were safer primarily due to the instinctual fear animals had towards human structures. Generally, they would avoid entering ruins. Moreover, before Fars and his companions began their exploration, the ruins were protected by a dilapidated magical barrier that even low-level beasts couldn't breach. At most, they would circle the perimeter a few times before leaving.
Even if a beast did manage to enter, there were still many hiding spots within the ruins. The crumbling structure wasn't so dilapidated that it was completely exposed to light; Fars still had ample room to maneuver, allowing him to engage in guerrilla tactics if necessary.
Vampires also require sleep, which serves as a means of gathering strength. This is somewhat akin to a mage's meditation, putting the mind into an ethereal state, continuously refining one's spirit and enhancing physical magic. Furthermore, sleep is an efficient way to conserve energy; when a body suffers significant trauma, it often instinctively falls into a state of unconsciousness as a protective measure.
With the Shadow Wings now at his disposal, Fars tested retracting them. With a mere thought, the wings unfurled once more. Having wings didn't mean he could fly; that was a skill he needed to learn.
Having never soared through the skies, Fars couldn't fathom what it felt like. He had often dreamed of mastering flight once he achieved a higher rank, allowing him to roam the skies freely like a bird. Now, with the opportunity before him, he found himself hesitating. Perhaps it was fear of the unknown. After all, he had never flown before; using wings to fly was entirely different from casting a spell to levitate. Magic involved manipulating the wind elements in the air to lift oneself, while flapping wings required a different level of skill. A miscalculation could lead to disaster.
He flapped his wings a couple of times but felt no sensation of lift, which only added to his unease. Yet, he knew that without trying, he would never learn. Fars resolved to practice flying before dawn arrived; this skill could be vital for his survival against ground threats.
He recalled many stories where young birds learned to fly through cruel means, with their mothers pushing them off trees or cliffs. The frightened chicks would flap their wings desperately to avoid death, and those who survived were deemed to have learned to fly. Fars had no intention of testing his luck from a cliff; that was far too dangerous. He would much rather find a sunny spot to bask in.
After some deliberation, Fars chose a towering tree, about twenty meters high. This height was ideal—not too low, and with a vampire's physique and reflexes, he wouldn't be killed from a fall. Having made his choice, he decided to give it a try. With a spirit of determination, our brave Fars leaped into the air, wings unfurling as he made an effort to flap them. The result was clear: his first attempt at flight ended in failure. However, due to the large wings acting like a parachute, he sustained no injuries during the "landing," even managing to strike a noble pose as he touched the ground.
For a while, Fars continued to jump up and down. If you were to ask how he managed to climb such a tall tree, it was simple: he cast a Lightness spell and hopped between the lower branches. There was no way the current Fars could leap straight to the top. After glancing at the sky again, he decided it was best to head back; he wasn't ready to be exposed to sunlight just yet. Such feats could wait until he evolved into a Count. (Once a vampire reaches Count status, they can automatically generate a barrier of dark energy around themselves, significantly reducing sunlight damage. However, during the day, all vampires, regardless of rank, are weakened.)
He returned by running, keeping his wings extended, as they still provided some assistance during jumps. Now, with a powerful leap, he could glide several meters. Unfortunately, he couldn't fulfill his dream of flying back; no one would witness his aerial prowess here.
Once back in the ruins, Fars's first task was to find the darkest corner to create a comfortable nest for himself. He couldn't expect any plush pillows or finely crafted blankets here; his definition of comfort now prioritized darkness and a flat surface to lie on, ideally with something to cover himself with (human habits still influenced him deeply). Unfortunately, there were no silks to be found. His last wish was dashed.
After some exploration, he found the treasure room to be the dimmest, and the laboratory table was the most suitable makeshift bed. There were bedrooms available, but they were devoid of any intact furnishings, just some broken wood.
Fars attempted to move the table to the treasure room, but such tasks were ill-suited for a noble vampire. He had to settle for patching up the light leaks in the laboratory. There was plenty of broken wood around, but he lacked the necessary tools. After some effort, he finally managed to block the light from entering the room.
For Fars, who had never slept in such a rudimentary space, it felt like a disgrace to his noble lineage (though he was more of a fallen noble and lacked such awareness). Nevertheless, sleep was necessary. Before that, Fars decided to wait until the sun truly rose and reached out to feel the direct sunlight. It was a farewell to the light, a choice to embrace eternal darkness.
He also moved the phoenix egg from the treasure room into his new bedroom. After all, it was a phoenix egg; even if it couldn't hatch, it was still a pleasant sight. The treasure room could now be considered a storage room. After using a dark flame to dispose of a few corpses, the most valuable item, a spatial ring, was now firmly on Fars's finger.
Facing the sunlight required even more courage than his first attempt at flight. Ever since Fars decided to become an adventurer, he had never lacked bravery. He was even preparing to conquer a territory; how could he falter here? His trembling hand betrayed the difficulty of the task. Gritting his teeth, he grasped his left hand with his right and extended it outward. A sharp pain shot through his chest, causing him to retract his hand immediately.
His once-pale hand was now scorched black, but since the exposure was brief, the damage wasn't severe. Thanks to a vampire's remarkable healing abilities, the dead skin shed at a visible rate, revealing fresh skin underneath. Unlike humans, whose new skin often appeared reddish, Fars's left hand remained pale, nearly devoid of any trace of his recent injury. If a vampire's healing power were truly limitless, it would be exceedingly difficult to eliminate one. During the healing process, Fars felt his blood flow accelerate, an energy coursing through his veins to repair the damaged skin.
In truth, Fars, who had never encountered a vampire before, was unaware that his self-healing ability and resistance to sunlight were already quite formidable; he hardly resembled a fledgling vampire. Typically, a vampire of a viscount's strength would require a day or more to recover from even minor sunlight exposure, as sunlight inflicted more severe damage than cuts or magical energy. Yet Fars had managed to heal his left hand in just a few minutes.
This indicated that Fars possessed noble blood; regardless of which family he descended from, his lineage was undoubtedly high. It had been mentioned that only bloodlines from six generations ago or from dukes could create new vampires through means other than initial embrace. However, if the bloodline were of a higher generation, such as from the tenth generation onward, it wouldn't possess such strong healing capabilities. Therefore, the bottle of "pure" blood that Fars had consumed was indeed very pure. As for how to determine its purity, that required specialized knowledge. However, without strength, even a high lineage would struggle to survive among vampires and could easily be drained by a more powerful one. (Pure blood is akin to a drug for vampires—harmless yet immensely nourishing.)
After tasting the sunlight, Fars abandoned any fantasies of basking in it. With a resigned sigh, he dragged his weary body back to his new bedroom.
Lying on the makeshift bed, he toyed with the spatial ring on his hand. He attempted to impact the mark on the ring, but it merely loosened slightly; without prolonged effort, he would have to wait until his mental strength increased to break through.
Thus, Fars's first day as a vampire came to an end. He adjusted himself into a comfortable position and began to meditate, a habit of mages. However, as he tried to let his spirit flow along its usual path in his sea of consciousness, he encountered an obstruction. It seemed his previous meditation methods were ineffective, so he decided to relinquish control and let his spirit run free. To his surprise, the released spirit began to move, gliding through the sea of consciousness, tracing mysterious paths. After completing a cycle, Fars suddenly realized that these mysterious paths formed a complex magical array, which remained intact in his sea of consciousness.
Normally, when Fars meditated, his spirit would trace paths that vanished afterward. Although those paths operated according to specific magical arrays, only high-level mages could construct arrays in their minds. A spirit had to be strong enough to draw an entire array, ensuring that every stroke remained in the sea of consciousness without dissipating. Yet now, with his spirit having fallen back to a low-level state, Fars had managed to depict an entire magical array, and judging by its complexity, it far surpassed the meditation arrays he had learned. Could it be that he had achieved high-level strength? No, Fars quickly dismissed that notion. It had to be due to his transformation into a vampire.
The events unfolding in his sea of consciousness astonished Fars. If he could see himself unconsciously cradling the phoenix egg in his arms while allowing his spirit to run free, he would be even more astonished. As the magical array in his sea of consciousness formed, the intricate runes on the egg began to emit a faint glow, pulsing in sync with the frequency of the magical array.
All of this transpired; was this truly an egg devoid of any signs of life?
In this humble bedroom, Fars's fate began to weave itself into a tapestry of mystery.