The moment Elly touched my forehead, the world around me shattered.
I fell — or maybe I was dragged — into a deeper darkness where there was no ground, no sky, no breath. Just endless falling through a void thick with whispers and unseen claws that scraped against my mind.
Then... a sharpness.
A bite.
No, worse — a tearing sensation deep inside my chest, like invisible fangs gnawing at my soul.
I woke to find Elly standing over me, his eyes burning a deep crimson now, brighter, almost inhuman. His mouth was slightly open, and for the first time, I saw them — long, gleaming fangs, unmistakable.
He was no longer hiding it.
Neither were the others who had silently entered the room — pale-faced, hollow-eyed figures whose presence alone made the air colder, thicker, heavier.
"You were human once," Elly said, his voice a low growl, something barely restrained beneath the surface. "But humanity is a sickness... and tonight, it dies."
Without warning, he slashed his palm open with a clawed finger.
Thick, black blood spilled from the wound — not red, not natural. It steamed where it hit the floor, hissing like acid on stone.
He grabbed my chin roughly, forcing my mouth open despite my feeble resistance.
"You'll drink," Elly said, his voice brooking no argument. "Or you'll die."
The blood touched my lips.
It burned like fire, searing down my throat, igniting a pain that was nothing compared to the chains from before. I gagged, choked, tried to spit it out — but it was already inside me, crawling through my veins like molten lead.
I convulsed on the ground, my back arching unnaturally.
My heart seized in my chest — one beat, two — and then stopped.
For a moment, I lay still.
Dead.
And then...
A deeper life roared into me.
My senses exploded outward — I could hear the blood rushing through Elly's veins, smell the cold stone of the room, feel the tiny vibrations of every chain on the floor. My muscles spasmed and cracked, bones shifting under my skin, becoming denser, sharper.
My vision sharpened until the darkness itself seemed to bleed light.
And the hunger...
The hunger came like a roaring beast, tearing through every thought, every feeling, until all I could think about was blood. The scent of it, the sound of it, the desperate need for it.
Elly smiled then — a real smile, cruel and triumphant.
"Welcome, brother," he said softly.
"You are no longer human."
Around me, the other vampires bowed their heads slightly, as if acknowledging my rebirth — or my damnation.
My throat burned.
My skin itched for the taste of flesh and blood.
The part of me that had once been me — the boy who wanted a better life, the boy who thought he could escape fate — was already slipping away, drowned under this new monstrous thirst.
And the worst part?
A small, broken voice inside me whispered...
"You wanted this."
Suddenly, I began to feel hungry.
The hunger was a storm inside me.
It clawed at my insides, ripping apart every last scrap of restraint I had. I stumbled forward, barely aware of my own body. My nails — now sharpened like claws — scraped against the cold stone floor, and my new senses flooded me with scents: dust, damp... and blood.
Somewhere close, someone was breathing — shallow, frightened breaths.
Elly stepped back, giving me space like a master releasing a beast from its cage.
"You need to feed," he said, voice low, coaxing. "Or the hunger will eat you alive from the inside."
Another figure was dragged forward by the others — a boy around my age, trembling violently. His hands were bound behind his back. His eyes, wide and desperate, met mine.
I could still feel something human inside me, something screaming no, trying to hold me back.
But the hunger... the hunger drowned it out.
I lunged.
The world blurred as I tackled him to the ground. His scream barely left his mouth before my teeth sank into his neck.
Hot blood filled my mouth.
It was ecstasy and hell at once — sweeter and thicker than anything I could have imagined. It burned through my veins, setting every nerve on fire. I drank deeply, wildly, until the boy stopped struggling, his body going limp beneath me.
Still, I didn't stop.
I drank until there was nothing left, until the heart beneath my hand gave one last, feeble beat — and then fell silent forever.
When I finally pulled away, gasping, blood dripping down my chin, the others watched with grim satisfaction.
Elly knelt beside me, a hand on my shoulder.
"You've crossed the threshold," he whispered. "There's no going back now."
I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, trembling, not from fear — but from the aftershock of something worse: joy.
I had enjoyed it.
The raw power.
The feeling of belonging.
The chains on the floor clattered softly in the silence, and somewhere far away inside me, a final piece of the boy I once was crumbled to dust.
I rose slowly, the corpse cooling at my feet, and met Elly's burning gaze.
"Ready," I whispered.
It was the first time I spoke... Ever since I woke up in this body.
Elly smiled, likewise the others standing behind him.
"I'll give you a mission but before that, there are some rules you'll need to follow," he said. "Follow me, I'll explain them to you as I take you to your new home."
.....
The cold night slapped my face as we emerged from the underground, but it didn't chase away the hunger still gnawing at my insides.
We boarded the car once more.
No one spoke.
No one needed to.
We drove pass the ruins of what must have once been homes, shops, lives — all abandoned and left to rot. Windows were shattered. Doors hung loose on their hinges. Until we arrived at another town.
Finally, after what felt like hours of silent driving, Elly stopped in front of an apartment building.
The walls seemed slightly new, probably built a few years ago.
"This is yours," Elly said without ceremony.
He pushed open the door with a casual shove.
The inside was fairly okay but I didn't complain. It was hundred percent better than where I lived in my previous world.
"You'll be staying here," he said to me. "Now, like said earlier, there are some rules you must keep no matter what. The first one, never tell anyone about what you are; do not let anyone know about your real identity. Secondly, you don't casually go around sucking people's blood or feeding on their flesh. If you do it, you'll be punished severely. Thirdly, you are not obligated to obey anyone except the Lord. The last but not the least, you must carry out all your missions without questions. Any questions?"
I had a lot of questions to ask but I had one — very important and necessary.
"If I am not allowed to take human blood, what am I supposed to live on?" I asked him.
"Artificial blood of course," he replied. "I'll make it available for you."
He smiled then — a real, slow smile that made my newly stilled heart clench.
"You won't get far. We always find our own so there is nothing to worry about. Have your key."
I took the key with a hand that barely trembled.
Elly stood in the doorway, watching me like a wolf watches a wounded cub.
"There's blood in the fridge," he said casually, as if offering a bottle of water. "Enough to keep you from losing your mind. For now."
He turned to leave but paused, glancing back at me once.
"Rest while you can," he said, his voice low and certain. "Tomorrow... the real work begins."
Then he was gone, the door clicking shut behind him, sealing me in.