He could not remember the last time he saw the sun, the yellow orb in the daylight's sky that gives both life and death… Life for humans and death for those like him, those who call themselves Kindred. The last thing he remembered, actually, was the taste of blood on his lips and an inner fire that gave him imaginable pleasure, something worth dying for, or worse. There are worse things than death and he was experiencing one himself, for hundreds of years. Now, he was awake, one of the few moments of consciousness he had, a moment in which he was not in a spiritual fight with the other one. Or maybe he was! Maybe this awakening was nothing more than a cruel prank, maybe the other one let him become awake only to consume him. But it felt good to be awake…

The room felt so alien to him, even though it was his ancestral home, probably an effect of his long torpor. After he and his disciples achieved their immortality, their rebirth in the night, they moved here, building this nervous center in which his people's abilities were honed, turning them into the highly mysterious and incredibly powerful clan Tremere. He left his coffin and walked slowly around the room. He wanted to go outside, to feel the night's air on his skin again. Who would have thought that something so simple, so mundane could be something he will want so much?

Dreaming of air?

He smiled. It was too good to be true. For a minute, he thought he will escape the other one, but he was so strong…

Yes. You do not?

Yes, but I can't feel it anymore, because of you.

The other one… his name meant something for every vampire in the world. Something different. Some would call him sire, others murderer. Some would call him saint, others demon. Some of them call him Dragon, others Warlord. But he called him Saulot, the other one, the nightmare, his greatest mistake. Since his lips touched Saulot's blood, Tremere gained immense power, but at such a cost. For hundreds of years the Antediluvian's soul and his are fighting a terrible fight, both spiritual and philosophical. Saulot was a scholar, as much as Tremere was, maybe even more. This is one of the myriad of reasons that enabled him to want to gain his power, his insight, his knowledge… his blood. But then, he discovered that he shared his body and mind with Saulot, who wanted nothing more than to gain control.

Tell me, mage, how it is to be awake again?

He hated to respond to Saulot, but Tremere felt compelled to answer him. It is incredibly strange, but Saulot, for all those years, has been a… friend? Someone who knew the yearnings of Tremere's heart.

Strange.

It is not strange. Imagine how the moon must look like, how the stars shine like thousands of candles that illuminate the night, giving us monsters the impression of being in the daylight again.

It was torture for Tremere. When he was just a mage, he couldn't care less for such things but now… He would give anything to be human again, to walk again under the sun, to enjoy the taste of food and the touch of another human like him. But Saulot was right, they were monsters. Himself more than any, for the diablerist is cursed in the eyes of both God and Kindred. Tremere's forehead started to hurt and his third eye opened, but its light was not warm and pleasant like Saulot's but cold, emanating rancidness and pain.

Tell me, mage, now that you are awaken, what will you do?

Good question. What he could possibly do? Guide his clan again? Saulot would probably try to influence his decisions, without any doubt. It would be a struggle, if anything. The only thing he could do was to try to enhance the power of the wards that kept the Antediluvian contained, hoping to reduce his influence even for a bit. He concentrated and summoned one of his greatest allies, Etrius.

"Master, you are awake!"

Etrius fell on his knees in front of Tremere.

Sycophant.

Saulot's voice pulsated inside his head, scarring Tremere's soul with every syllable. But his words had some merit, if not anything else.

"My loyal companion, I have need of your help. I can't hold him any longer. I feel him crawling out, taking control, flooding me with his wretched light!"

"Master, the wards, are they weakening?"

"They are challenged by his power, but they are holding out, but for how long?"

"Yes, Master. I will start the ritual right away, but as you know, I need three nights to complete the formula, and the blood of a pure being, untouched by sin or imperfection!"

Three nights! Three nights of desperation!

"Do what you must!"

Etrius, the guardian of his body, left and Tremere was left alone again… well, not alone!

I have a question for you, mage. Answer me and I swear that I will leave you alone for the night!

What question?

What would you choose? Cold light or warm darkness?

It's this a riddle?

It is what you choose to be!

Cold light… But what are you…?

Suddenly, he felt the presence of Saulot returning to the deep subconscious of his mind, for a moment, he was free.