Author's note: Thank you so much for the positive feedback on my story and I'm so glad so many of you are enjoying reading it! But I am going to say that I'm going to take a little break from writing for a bit so that I can give my brain sometime to cool down. I've been grinding nonstop so that I can keep pumping out chapters for you guys consistently, but I really don't want to overstimulate myself and get bored of writing this, so I think it's time for a little break. I won't take long and keep you guys waiting!
So please, enjoy the latest chapter of the New Dark Horizon story! See you guys soon! ❤️😘
"It sure is getting late. I'm really starting to get worried about Jaden. Maybe we should go after him." Said Alexis who sat with their friends in the hotel lobby, waiting for him to come back. Before anyone else said another word, Jaden came back but instead of stopping to talk to his friends, he walked past them not paying them any mind. His head was still in the clouds looming over the disaster that just struck.
"Hey Jay! Aren't you going to tell us what happened?" Syrus ran over to his best friend and grabbed Jaden's arm but froze in terror when he saw Jaden's fierce glowing red eyes staring down at him. Something really bad must have happened. "Sorry Syrus. I just need some time to think by myself. It's not safe to be around me right now. I don't want to hurt you." He then pulled his arm away and walked off not even looking back. "Oh Jaden…"
He went back to his room and laid down on his bed sprawled out staring up at the ceiling. He raised his hand high above his head and saw that Mina's blood still stained his skin. A blush slowly spread across his face and his breathing became more rapid. He slowly pulled his hand towards his mouth and reluctantly licked at his palm. He quickly snapped back to reality and sat up, clutching his heart while still breathing fast.
"What the hell am I even doing?!" He tugged at the roots of his hair tightly and tucked his head between his knees. He was still in mourning of their deaths but he still couldn't get over his insatiable instinct to hunger for blood. "It was hers.. so why… why can't I stop thinking about it?! I'm a fucking monster!"
The room slowly grew dark around him until he found himself sitting alone in a black void. "Why wouldn't you?" The void then burst like a bubble and Jaden was back inside his mind's inner domain, the Supreme Kings throne room. Haou sat proudly on his throne, staring down at his conflicted other half from the high ground. "Would you tell a lion to stop hunting zebra? Or a snake to stop feeding on mice? How about humans and how they eat cattle. Well, it's the same thing for us."
"But I'm not like you! It's wrong and disgusting! I'm nothing like you!" Haou started laughing that same evil tune whenever something amused him. The echoes bouncing around the giant throne room and becoming louder. "Let me ask you this then. You say you wanted to save her, so why didn't you just give the girl your blood?" Jaden actually hadn't thought about that. "I-I don't know…" "Yes you do!" Haou stood up from his seat, and dark energy started to swirl around him. "It was because she was unworthy of it. Even compared to her, we are better. We are practically a god. Admit it, even though you were enraged about that Aster guy killing that child, you couldn't stop that little voice in the back of your head from wondering, hey, I wonder if she tasted good. You were excited to see her bloodied corpse. And you forced yourself to be angry so you could ignore your real desire. Didn't you?"
Jaden tightly shut his eyes and covered his hands with his ears trying to block out all the noise. "You're wrong!" Haou was now right in front of him. He cupped Jaden's face in the palm of his hands and forcedly made him stare at him in the eye. "I know you did. Because I did. I am all the darkest parts of you. Whatever I feel, deep down you do too. Face it, we are the same." Jaden could feel his eyes start to become heavy and he became limp in the king's arms. His honey brown eyes became a dull lifeless gold color like he was underneath a trance. "Don't worry my better half. You should sleep for a while. I will take it from here." Jaden couldn't stop himself and fell asleep in Haou's arms who now had a wicked smile spread across his face.
'Jaden' came back to reality with his bangs covering his eyes when Syrus came into the room. "Jaden, do you need to talk about this?" Said the blue haired boy who sat next to his friend. Syrus's breath became stuck in his throat when he heard a terrible chuckle erupt from the sunken Slifer. "Jaden?" Haou looked up, revealing his glowing piercing golden eyes and Syrus scooted away in fear. "Jaden isn't here right now." He then stood up and began to stretch, power flowing through every pour of his body.
"Your eyes… You're not the Jaden I know. Who are you?" Exclaimed Syrus. "No, I'm not. I'm better than him." The king looked at the terrified boy who couldn't stop shaking. The pressure the monster in front of him gave off was sending shivers down his spine and made his palms sweat. "You may call me Haou, I'm the dark side of Jaden that he keeps locked away. His mental state has diminished, causing him to retreat as a way to protect his psyche. So, I will be taking over." Haou's flashed hungrily and Syrus let out a scream. "A-are you going to kill me?" Syrus asked with a shaky voice.
Haou mulled it over in his head, but he thought it would probably be a bad idea. He was bluffing about fully being in control and he didn't want to give Jaden a chance to resurface and he really didn't want that. It was his time to play now. "No, I don't think I will. But I am starving… I think I'll go find myself a warm meal." He put his hands in his pockets and was about to leave the room when Syrus blocked him off from opening the door. Haou glared at him. "Move. Or I'll make you."
Syrus was scared, but he wasn't going to let his best friend do this! He knew Jaden would regret it for the rest of his life if he ended up killing someone. "N-No! Jaden, I won't let you do this!" Haou looked unfazed by the smaller boy's plights, it actually amused him thinking he had any power over him. "I told you, I'm not Jaden so stop calling me that." He swung his arm at Syrus hitting him in the side, sending him crashing into the wall, breaking his arm making Syrus scream out in pain. "I did say I wasn't going to kill you but I will put you in your place if you try to get in my way. Nobody can stop me." He started to laugh and then left, leaving an injured Syrus.
"I can't stop you… But I know someone who can. I'm sorry Jaden but I don't have a choice." He slowly started crawling his way to his bag and pulled out his PDA and started scrolling through the student profiles until he found the one he was looking for and called it up. "Aster, I need your help. You need to stop Jaden before he does something he'll regret!"
Aster was still in downtown sitting in some back alley watching his injuries slowly start to heal from him and Jaden's brawl and he let out a sigh. "So, he sees what a vampire is fully capable of and decides to abandon his humanity, huh? Alright, I'll handle it." He hangs up his phone and stands up, and with his inhuman reflexes and abilities jumps straight up onto the roof of a nearby building scouting the city from above looking for the mischievous king.
Haou was walking around enjoying the night life and scoping out his potential unsuspecting victim. There were plenty of people out partying and walking the streets but he was rather picky and wasn't going to just pick anyone . He particularly loved the taste of women. "Hey Mindy! Is that Jaden over there?" "Yeah I think it is! Come on over Jay and hangout with us!" From across the street was Mindy and Jasmine who were Alexis's best friends, waving at him and trying to gain his attention. He smirked; it seemed like the pray was going to come to him.
He walked across the street and put on his best charming smile. "Hello ladies. What brings you out here so late tonight?" He grabbed Mindy by the hand and kissed it, making her blush profusely. "Huh? Oh! We were just planning on hitting up some of the teen friendly clubs around town. Would you like to join us? It doesn't hurt to have a guy around to keep the creeps away. Especially when it's you." Mindy said pressing her fingers together. She didn't know what it was, but Jaden was giving off such a different aura than he normally would. Instead of imagining flowers around him, she swore she could see black feathers instead.
"I would love to accompany you, if you're willing to have me." The three then started walking around town and eventually found a good club and tried to enter, but it was eighteen years and older so the bouncer tried to stop them. "No valid ID then no entry. Move along brats." Haou glared at the bouncer and stood right in front of him and looked him straight in the eyes, his golden orbs glowing. "I highly suggest reconsidering. Or do you want to make me mad?" The bouncer's eyes glazed over in a trance and opened the velvet rope to let them inside. "I apologize my king, please, right this way."
Mindy and Jasmine both looking extremely impressed. "W-wow Jaden. You're pretty good at getting what you want. He even called you a king." Haou chuckled, "I guess that's just one of my many hidden talents I haven't shown you yet."
They finally made their way through the front door and it was dark inside with lasers pointing everywhere and blacklights with loud music blasting, shaking the entire room. It had been a really long time since Haou had been out in the world since he was gone for 500 years, and this new world would not stop seeming to amaze him. "How the times have changed." Mindy grabbed him by the hand and pulled him onto the dance floor while Jasmine went to go and get them drinks.
Haou grabbed her by the hips and pulled her in close, putting his face closer into her neck where his breath was tickling her ear. The two continued dancing with Mindy slowly backing into him and Haou could feel that rush in his heart, he was starting to get excited. But it wasn't her body he was lusting after. Yup, she was the one. "Come on, let's go somewhere a bit more private." Mindy continued blushing; she didn't know what else to say. She didn't want to betray Alexis but how could she turn down an opportunity like this? "O-okay Jaden."
He grabbed her hand and led her through the thick crowd of people towards the back exit. The two were now outback in an alley by themselves. "So, what did you have in mind- MM!" Haou abruptly kissed her and pinned her against the wall. She was shocked at first but slowly started kissing him back and things were starting to get heated between them. "I have something special to show you. Do you want to see?" Mindy eagerly nodded and Haou started to kiss her neck making her moan. But it didn't take long for the pleasure to turn into pain as Haou swiftly sunk his fangs deep into the girl's neck.
"STOP! YOU'RE HURTING ME!" Screamed Mindy, but Haou held her mouth shut to stop her from yelling out more. She started to feel weak as the hungry vampire continued to greedily drink her blood. Haou didn't want to stop. He was planning to drink every last drop until he was satisfied, even if it meant that she would die. This is what he wanted, to feel his fangs sink into the throat of a terrified human, feeding on their fear as much as he was on their blood. He was in absolute heaven.
Aster stood on the roof of the club finally finding the evil king he had been searching for all night. "That's enough." He pulled a card out from his deck and threw it at the king, which sliced his cheek and stuck itself into the wall. "If you don't stop now then she is going to die." Haou released Mindy who fell to the floor, unconscious from all the blood loss.
"Am I supposed to care if she dies?" Said Haou as he wiped the blood dripping down his mouth. He watched as Aster jumped down from the roof and landed gracefully on the ground a few feet away from him. Haou smirked, he didn't know why it took so long for him to notice but now that he figured it out he was that much more eager to toy with the Champion of light. "You're a vampire aren't you? You're good at concealing your aura I'll give you that, but no human can do what you can do. Champion of light or not." The cut on his cheek was now fully healed.
Aster glared at him and immediately placed a hand over his heart, pulling out his blazing sword. "And what if I am?" He lunged at Haou swinging his sword at the other vampire's throat, who easily dodged it. "You're pretty weak. If I had to make a guess, you're of human decent. How long has it been since you've been turned I wonder." Aster continued to making slashes towards him but of course with Haou's trained eye he was able to avoid all of them.
Aster leaned down low and swiped at the king's feet, causing him to jump in the air, but then a white beam of light erupted from his sword traveling upwards and successfully landed a blow on Haou's arm causing it to bleed. He winced in pain, clutching his open wound that refused to heal. "Just who are you calling weak? You don't know what I'm capable of! My sword is the ultimate vampire hunting weapon. It stops you from instantly regenerating. Don't feel so invincible now, do you?"
Haou stared at the young champion with hatred burning in his eyes. How dare this simple boy harm him?! "You made a grave mistake. Fine, you want to kill me? Then come at me!" The two continued to scuffle and took their fight to the roof tops. Jumping from roof to roof as sparks flew between them with every clash between Aster's sword and Haou's powerful fists. Haou started to laugh, it's been a long time since anyone was able to keep up with him. It was safe to say that the Aster boy had him impressed.
"What is your reason for fighting? A vampire hunting other vampires isn't uncommon from my experiences. But you seem different from the others I've met. You're definitely the first I met that has agreed to assist the Light of Destruction. Why is that?" Aster came at him with neck breaking speed, but Haou successfully stopped the blow by catching it between his hands, halting the attack. "It's none of your damn business to know why I fight!"
Aster quickly disappeared and reappeared behind Haou and slashed upward cutting him deep in his back. The king screamed in pain and turned around midair to deliver a counterattack and slashed Aster deep across his chest. "Damnit!" Aster yell as he jumped back to dodge yet another barrage of Haou's strikes. He held his chest as his wound started to gush. "You're capable. You're lucky that you actually landed a scratch on me but don't think I'll let it happen again." The demonic aura around the king quickly started to grow in intensity and dark wind began to swirl around him, his wounds that supposedly wouldn't heal started to do just that, shocking a now injured Aster. "Don't underestimate me, fool. I am nothing like the others you've fought before." Proclaimed Haou proudly.
"And just like the others, I'll end you just the same!" Aster rose his weapon to attack once more, but the burning sensation came back in his throat with a vengeance. He fell to his knees, his hand losing grip on his blade as he coughed up his own blood. "Not now!" Asters eyes started to glow red, he could feel the hunger starting to get at him once again.
Haou's face widened into a twisted grin. "Are you at your limit, Champion?" He walked up to the younger boy and kicked him causing the other boy to fall flat on his back. An evil idea popping into his mind. "I think I thought of a suitable punishment for you." As soon as he said that he sliced his palm open with his sharp nails and let his noble blood flow out and drip onto Aster's face. "N-No!" The young pro duelists eyes glowed even brighter, smelling the delicacy which was the Supreme Kings blood.
"You want to kill me, don't you? Well, how can you kill me when you're already dead. Judging by the looks of it, you don't have much time left. But that would be a blessing for you wouldn't it? You look like you're begging to just die. However, I can't let that happen. I want you to fight me with everything you've got."
Haou sat on Aster's chest pinning him down. He continued to squeeze his palm tighter making more of his blood fall out, a few drops landing into Aster's mouth this time. "You want to die, but as your punishment but I'm not going to allow that to happen just yet. I'm going to help you live. I want you to continue to live your pathetic insignificant existence, the one I know you long to leave behind. Isn't that a poetic taste of irony."
Aster tried his hardest to resist the temptation, his tolerance against blood was very strong since he had gone years without drinking a drop thanks to the assistance of Sartorius and his healing powers, but he knew he was still growing weaker despite his treatments. And this was the first time he had ever smelt, let alone tasted a noble vampire's blood. "I refuse." Said Aster as he continued to struggle. Haou stared down at him with his stoic expression. "I wasn't asking."
The king then plunged his wrist into Aster's mouth and forcing him to bite down. "Drink my blood. This is not a service I provide to just anyone so you should feel honored." Said the much more powerful vampire. Aster couldn't hold back his instincts anymore and started willingly drinking his blood. He started to cry, hating himself for what he was doing but he just couldn't stop. He was disgusted with himself, here he was drinking the blood of his sworn enemy. The one person who he swore to kill under the allegiance of his master.
After a couple of minutes, Haou pulled his wrist away and happily smiled, satisfied seeing the Champion of Light completely consumed and engulfed in the taste of his blood. "Live, Champion. You need to grow stronger if you hope of ever defeating me. I can't wait to see just how much you improve." Haou stood up, and then jumped off the roof they were on, leaving a flustered Aster behind.
Aster continued to let his tears flow from his eyes. His body felt so hot like there was a star burning in his stomach. He could feel the Supreme Kings energy coursing throughout his entire body. And he knew that they were forever connected by blood. Aster reached into his pocket and pulled his PDA out to call Syrus back to update him. "Hey Truesdale… I failed. I'm sorry. Jaden seems lost now."