Chapter 1
Time is nothing but an illusion for us immortals. Humans think that centuries make us numb, but they are dead wrong. Pain is the only thing that retains its freshness despite the passing centuries. Just like the scent of that cursed night; rain, soil, and a heavy smell of blood…
It was 50 years ago. I was only 948 years old, and my heart had not yet completely turned to stone as it is now. And by my side was the only person in this eternal life whose back I could fearlessly lean on: Dante.
On that dark and stormy night, we were catching our breath in the ruins of an abandoned church. Dante, with his usual cheerful attitude, was trying to banter with me to drown out the noise of the rain. I thought nothing could ever extinguish that mischievous light in his eyes. That was until that ominous wind brought the sharp scent of silver to our noses.
"Vespera, did you feel that?" Dante asked. The smile on his face vanished instantly, replaced by the tension of a noble predator.
"Hunters," I whispered. But before we could even react, the windows of the ruin shattered with a deafening noise.
Those who flooded inside were no ordinary humans; they were bloodthirsty, high-level vampire hunters. The silver arrows launched from the crossbows in their hands began to rain down upon us, piercing the air.
I always had trouble controlling my speed and my rage. My eyes turned blood-red instantly as I tore the throat of the first hunter who charged at me with my bare hands. Screams and growls merged together. Dante and I stood back-to-back, performing a dance of death. At that moment, I thought we would win. My pride was my greatest blindness.
Just as I turned around, I saw that silver arrow gliding through the air. It was a massive arrow, specially forged and engraved with ancient runes. And it was aimed directly at my heart.
Time slowed down at that exact second. I saw the deadly glint at the tip of the arrow, but I was too late to make the move to escape.
"Vespera, no!"
I heard Dante's voice. That moment of sacrifice, which I will never forget for the rest of my immortal life, took place right before my eyes. Dante used his vampire speed to step in between us and shielded that silver arrow with his own chest in my place.
The thud of the arrow piercing his back exploded in my mind like a bomb. Dante’s body shuddered, and he collapsed to his knees.
"DANTE!" I screamed. The wave of rage inside me went completely out of control at that moment. With my telekinetic power, I lifted all the stones and debris around us into the air and mercilessly pinned all the hunters in the ruin against the walls. I didn't let a single one of them live; I ripped their hearts out, but that wouldn't bring back the one who was gone.
While the redness in my eyes was veiled by tears, I knelt beside Dante. I took him into my arms. The silver arrow in his chest was burning his skin like poison, smoke rising from the wound.
"Shhh, calm down," Dante said. He coughed, and the blood leaking from his mouth dripped onto his pure white shirt. He was still trying to smile at me, that damn mischievous light slowly fading in his eyes. "Don't cry... for me. It was worth it... You lived, so it was worth it."
"Don't do this to me, Dante! You can't leave me!" I was trying to cover his wound with my hands, but the dark veins spread by the silver had already reached his neck.
"Eternity... was too boring anyway, Vespera. Don't let your heart... grow dark. Don't lose... your mercy..."
His last breath spilled from his lips as his eyes remained open. What rested in my arms was no longer my best friend, but just a cold body. That night, in those ruins, it wasn't just Dante who died; that compassionate girl inside me who could laugh turned to ashes right along with him.
I covered my heart with an armor of ice, and for exactly 50 years after that day, I roamed the world like a living corpse. That was until I met that human youth on that bridge, Seajun, in whose eyes I saw the exact same despair…
