Kael felt his body being pulled into the portal, the sensation of distortion almost unbearable. It felt as if he were being compressed from all sides, his stomach twisting, his lungs gasping for air. For a moment, he thought he was going to faint, but then, with a snap in the air, everything stopped. He fell to the ground abruptly, his body crashing into something cold and hard.
"Goddamn it..." he growled as his entire body felt the nausea of the situation.
Struggling to get up, Kael tasted iron in his mouth. Cold sweat trickled down his face as he rose immediately, breathing deeply, trying to control the rising panic.
When his feet hit the ground, he looked around.
What he saw was nothing he could have imagined.
"Goddamn it..." he muttered, taking in the sight of his first portal.
The sky was a deep purple, almost black, with three red moons shining above him. Their light seemed to illuminate the forest with a dark hue, the vegetation thick and dark, as if nature itself had been corrupted. Trees with twisted trunks rose, creating a labyrinth of shadows and strange silhouettes. The air was dense and heavy, and the smell of something damp and decaying filled the place.
Kael looked at his hands, checking if he still had the grimory. The red book was still there, tucked under his arm. He gripped it tightly, like an anchor. The words inside it, the images of the creatures, all of it felt even more real in that moment. He knew what was coming. And suddenly, everything he had learned from the book seemed even more crucial.
"So... this is where you brought me, Violet..." Kael murmured to himself, staring at the purple sky and the red moons. His voice was filled with anger, but also a hint of desperation.
He was alone.
And here, he didn't know what to expect.
He scanned his surroundings, his eyes adjusting to the darkness. He couldn't afford to hesitate. Not anymore. Every step had to be calculated, or death would find him quickly. The creatures he had read about—vampires, werewolves, and other abominations... he knew they were lurking, even if he couldn't see them right away.
"First, I need to orient myself... Where am I?" Kael whispered, trying to keep calm. He thought for a moment, the fear mixing with frustration. He had committed to facing this, but the reality of being here, alone, in an unknown and deadly world, made his mind feel a little more frantic.
The sound of something breaking branches in the distance alerted him.
'Shit!' Kael spun around, his senses sharp, but nothing appeared. Only the darkness of the forest stretching farther than his eyes could see.
He swallowed hard.
It was a place where every shadow could hide an enemy. He couldn't relax for a second.
He glanced at the grimory again. It wasn't just a book of spells or knowledge about creatures. It had described natural traps and how to survive in hostile environments. He knew the red moons weren't just for decoration, they had a purpose. And he needed to figure out what that purpose was.
"I need to survive. No matter what," Kael murmured to himself.
The book had a chapter on vampires, and Kael quickly flipped through the pages. He remembered the words he had read. Vampires were cunning, fast, and deadly, but they also had weaknesses. The biggest of them all was blood. But there was something even more important: their aversion to light. Even a weak light could weaken them. That could be useful. He didn't have magic to attack, but he could use the environment, the darkness, the light... He would have to be clever, and that meant using everything around him.
Suddenly, he heard a distant scream. It wasn't a human scream, but something grotesque, as if the very earth itself was groaning. The sound made Kael freeze in place, the hair on the back of his neck standing on end.
"Shit..." he whispered, his eyes narrowing.
He slowly moved away from the area he was in, his steps now more cautious. The air seemed thicker as he advanced, the pressure around him growing with every step. He knew he was being watched. He could feel eyes on his back. He was no longer alone. Something was there with him.
"I'm not stupid, I'm not going to wait to be attacked," Kael said, a nervous laugh escaping him, trying to control the panic.
Suddenly, something moved quickly to his left. A flash, a gleam in the dark, the sound of something approaching. He didn't see it, but he felt its presence. His instincts screamed at him to move. Without thinking, Kael leaped to the side, falling to his knees on the ground, his body dragging through the damp vegetation.
What he saw was a shadow. But it wasn't just any shadow. It was a humanoid figure, with glowing red eyes and sharp teeth. The vampire was there, just a few meters away, its mouth slowly opening into a cruel smile. The creature seemed enormous, taller than any human, its clawed hands reaching out toward Kael.
"Here's the new toy..." the vampire said, its voice deep and echoing, full of malicious pleasure.
Kael felt fear flood his body. He was facing a monster. The very thing he had read about, but never imagined would be so real and so terrifying. He tried to pull himself together quickly.
"I... I'm not your toy," Kael murmured, a mix of anger and fear in his voice. He couldn't let fear take over. He needed to act fast.
The vampire lunged forward, and Kael, with a quick move, grabbed the improvised blade. It wasn't a sword, it wasn't impressive, but it was all he had. He gripped it firmly, his hands trembling but focused. The vampire came with a fast punch, but Kael managed to dodge, feeling the wind brush past his head as the vampire's hand cut through the air where he had been just seconds before.
"Idiot..." Kael growled, his mind working a mile a minute. He wasn't a warrior, but he was smart. He could win this with cunning. He knew what to do. He wasn't going to die here, not this easily.
Kael backed up to a tree trunk, trying to use the vegetation to his advantage. He needed to distract it, deceive it, anything to buy him time. The vampire seemed to be enjoying itself, but Kael noticed something. The moons above were shining intensely, and the vampire seemed uncomfortable with this. A weakness. A chance.
With a quick move, Kael threw dirt and dry leaves in the vampire's direction, temporarily blinding it. Seizing the distraction, he lunged with the blade, aiming for the vulnerable spot where the neck met the clavicle.
He felt the blade cut through the vampire's flesh, and the creature screamed. But before Kael could do more, the vampire quickly turned, ripping the blade from his hand and throwing Kael backward with brutal force.
Kael hit the ground, gasping, feeling pain spread throughout his body. But something inside him wouldn't let him collapse. He had a chance. And he was going to use it.
He looked at the grimory, the book that could be his salvation.
"I will survive," he whispered, his eyes locked on the now enraged vampire.