About time I made this into a full-on fic... I saved it for Halloween! (But it will continue after!)

Triggers: Blood, injury, self-inflicted wound, assault (not the sexual kind).


Published: 31/10/2023

Chapter 1:
Times Will Change

He wasn't that young when it happened.

At the age of 200, Yusuke had witnessed the fires. An angry mob, one they have had in front of their lair at least once per generation. People forget, reanalyze, and rediscover them over and over again. They don't come during the day, they rather try and ambush them at night. That is when the common folk expect them to be up and running. However, that hadn't been the way of life for a couple of decades.

Light still wasn't their best friend but Yusuke had roamed the outside world plenty of times as the daylight accompanied him. His father had warned him to stay out of sight while in daylight, their evolution would frighten any who would learn of it. So he did.

He looked on as the mob reached their door. He scoffed softly at his inability to fight, his ability hadn't presented itself yet thus he stayed clustered with some of the younglings.

A voice belted over the sound of screams. One of such dominance that even Yusuke himself felt the scoff slide off of his face.

Faith had been the sole reason for people's existence according to their own beliefs. To serve a being higher than they, though never have been seen before. They believed in a ghost. A fabrication of their imagination, believing it has written an account of life and sin and paved the way for mankind to follow the 'righteous one'.

Buildings were created to worship their shared imaginary ruler. Yusuke has seen a few of them. High ceilings with towers reaching for the sky. Their bells would summon them towards their grounds to pray and sacrifice their time to attempt and reach the eternal being.

Yusuke looked closer at the mob. A man clad in white with a dark cloak around his shoulders was wielding a cross and book as he stood in front of everyone.

"A priest…" Yusuke hummed under his breath. Priests were merely followers of that being, believed to be the gateway to communicate with Him. They held the town together, cured the sick, and allowed the people to find peace.

But this was no ordinary priest.

He lifted his hands to the air, chanting something incoherent to Yusuke. A feeling of dread followed soon after.

Hunters were rare, people with a close connection to priests, adorned with holy items meant to annihilate. But this man didn't look like a hunter, everything about this man shouted 'priest' but the feeling creeping up his spine begged to differ. His gut told him to run, to turn around, and to run away.

So he did. Turning on his heels, he sprinted out of the room, ignoring the questions and murmurs coming from the other younglings. He darted past some guards who were preparing to fight and he was able to make it to the other side of the building without being stopped.

Bracing himself, he planned to leap out of the window, but something caught his eye before he could execute his plan.

A bright green and purple dome was being created, it slowly crept together as Yusuke watched it.

He had to get out.

Eying the ever-creeping mass, he leaped from the balcony and narrowly avoided the energy field as he dove out.

Landing wobbly on his feet, Yusuke had never tried a leap from such a distance before. But fear propelled him forward. He took a few seconds to look back, seeing the dome seal up as it was completed. It was effectively locking everyone inside.

His legs started to move again and he ran as far as he could. The trees allowed for shelter from something which was not yet chasing him.

An ominous rumble reached his ears as he ran. Looking back just for a little, a bright light came from where the castle was, it flickered before another, louder explosion was heard.

Screams echoed through the air as he realized he would likely be the only one to leave the castle alive.

With only enhanced strength and speed on his side, he continued onward, there was no turning back, not yet. Returning to his home would be suicide, they would be waiting for him, and they would return. He had to stay away and keep moving to avoid death. He would mingle around with the people, and stay in hiding until he was safe to return to rebuild what would be left.

The woods were dark as he ventured forward, his run reduced to a walk as he had created enough distance to not be reachable for humans, not with horses, not by foot, there were enough miles to separate them. Small sparks of light in the distance motivated him to keep going. Until he reached the lights.

A small village surrounded by woods stood dimly lit by some of the candles positioned outside the houses. There weren't many sounds but the ones he did hear came from the pub. There was some music, laughter, and the sound of glass audible from outside.

Yusuke entered the village without a problem, he and his clan never targeted them as it was too far away.

Entering the pub, the building fell silent as he presented himself. Travelers weren't common but not rare, he made his way towards the bar as the music resumed not much later.

They'd present him a beer, and though he did prefer the taste of wine, he didn't mind the thoughtful offer of the bartender.

"You look like you've seen some shit." The elderly man behind the tab commented on his appearance. "You didn't come from the southern forest, did you?"

"I do." Yusuke took a sip of the beer, hiding his grimace as the bitterness assaulted his throat.

"Not joking?! I heard that place is full of leeches." one of the other guests overheard him.

"I heard they farm people like livestock animals." Another cackled.

"Leeches?" Yusuke asked the man.

"We don't want to say their names, it frightens people to the bone. You know… Bloodsuckers…" The man whispered the last word, his cheeks already red from the alcohol.

Yusuke merely nodded at the man.

"I heard one town down south raided one of their lairs in the early evening, killed all of them inside." The bartender added. Yusuke hid behind his beer, it didn't surprise him that the news spread faster than he could travel on foot. The attack was planned without a doubt.

"Who did?" Yusuke tried to sound interested, shocked even. Trying to read the room, he aimed to receive information about the person in the black robe.

"The priest of Eyrdon initiated it." The bartender said.

"I heard he was new, that he could heal the sick, and that he has powers to drive away all evil." The first man nodded heavily.

One of the other men, about forty years of age, slammed his drink on the bar. "Could I hire that priest?" He laughed out loud. "My wife's been leeching off of me for years now!"

"He doesn't handle divorce cases if that's what you're wondering." The bartender calmed him down and replaced his empty cup with a full one.

Yusuke felt content about his choice, he'd stay here for a few years. Finding a small hut on the outskirts of the village, he settled, becoming a citizen if only for a little while.

He wouldn't return until a hundred years had passed. He had to make sure the people kept believing they were all dead. Yusuke didn't worry if others would try to occupy the mansion, it wasn't a desired place and no soul would want to stay in an abandoned den.

Word of the vampire den's annihilation spread fast and with that, the fights started. Towns were divided into groups, demanding to let the vampires be while the other larger groups were on a manhunt to find the monsters hiding among them.

Before he knew it, they were in front of his house. He had finally settled and had been living for a couple of weeks when they arrived. He had heard that the mob went through every town to weed out the unholy amongst them. He was prepared for them, let them come.

They knocked on his door the same way they knocked on the neighbor's door. A firm announcement for him to open the door or else they'd bust down his door. He was prepared, opening the door enough to see a group of men ready to interrogate him.

"Good day, sir." One of the men said. "We're going to ask you a few questions about you, please comply willingly."

"Go ahead," Yusuke said.

"How long have you been living here?" Another man asked.

"A couple of months." Yusuke smiled. "I moved here after my wife passed away." He lied.

"So a fresh start?" The first man continued. "What caused her death?"

He thought for a while, he never really thought about that and picked something which had caused a problem for the last couple of years. "Dysentery, unfortunately."

"Children?"

It was logical for the man to ask that. "No, we weren't together for long enough." He lied yet again.

"So… Newlyweds?" The man quirked his brow and Yusuke could feel a droplet forming on his back.

"Yes." He kept his voice stern.

"So you still have your marriage certificate?" The third and last man asked. "Do you mind showing us?"

"I… uhm…" Yusuke nearly panicked, he couldn't drop his facade, they'd hunt him to death were he to uncover his identity. "I buried it with her, it was too painful for me to keep it." He swallowed down a lump of nervousness.

"I see." The man said. "I can understand it may be best to not hang on to it."

Yusuke gave a small sigh of relief.

"Please step out of the house for a bit." The man asked as they all took a few steps back.

Of course, Yusuke knew what they were doing, in their minds, with their theories; vampires will turn to ashes when exposed to sunlight. With this, it also made sense the men were doing this in bright daylight. The sun was burning strongly and every vampire who dared to set foot in the blazing sun would crumble to dust. Or so they thought.

"Sure," Yusuke said before opening the door fully and stepping into the sun. It wasn't comfortable for him, stepping into daylight while the sun was at its brightest felt like his exposed skin was being rubbed with fine sandpaper. It wasn't painful, mostly uncomfortable. Somehow, it was enough for the men to become friendly and take him off of their list of suspicious new inhabitants.

"Well, we'll be on our way then, sorry for bothering you." The man said apologetically.

"No worries." Yusuke waved him off. "You're doing this for our safety and I couldn't be more appreciative of it."

He watched the men leave, heading toward the next person on their list. He stayed in the door opening for a while, eying them until they turned the corner. It was just before he wanted to close the door that a strange figure caught his eye. It was a person clad in a black cloak, a big hood covering the person's face. He had seen many enter or pass through the village but this person was something different, somehow, Yusuke wasn't able to look away.

Even though he wanted to ask the person who they were, he knew he shouldn't attract any more attention to himself. The person kept walking towards where they were going, Yusuke had the creepy suspicion that this figure was part of the men he just managed to fool.

Night had fallen as Yusuke decided to take a stroll, he had to get his nutrients somewhere. Ever since he escaped the annihilation of the lair, he survived off of animals. Though they didn't provide him with much, it was enough to live off of for a bit. He needed to find a human to feed off of.

Walking towards the woods, hoping a lonely traveler would cross his path, Yusuke kept his head down as he weaved between the houses. He entered an ally when he nearly bumped into the cloaked figure.

They stood still as they eyed each other, Yusuke couldn't see anything of the mysterious person. "What are you doing outside at this time of day?"

"I could say the same to you." The figure said. The hairs on Yusuke's body standing on edge at the smoothness of the voice.

"Who are you?" He asked. "I saw you following those men earlier today, what is your deal?"

The figure didn't move, his face not visible. "How long are you gonna play the bereaved widower?"

Yusuke was too stunned to speak, his jaw opening and closing without sound.

The figure chuckled and turned away. "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me."

"Who are you? What do you want?" Finally finding the voice to speak.

There was a slight pause before the figure spoke again. "Not yet." Turning the corner with questionable speed.

Yusuke rushed after the cloaked figure but found it had disappeared into nothing. He didn't want to break into the houses to figure it out so he started wandering the town, guessing where the mysterious figure might've gone.

But he never found the person again, or so he thought.