Finally, the figure straightened up from the chair, revealing the anxious expression of a boy. He had long brown hair, a rosy face, and a pair of bright, sparkling eyes hidden behind huge round-framed glasses. His face was covered in freckles. In his hand, he held a massive coil-bound notebook filled with densely packed writing.
"Why do you keep smoking all the time?"
"It's just a habit I picked up when I was young. Work pressure is too much nowadays — if I don't smoke a few cigarettes, I can't get through the day. When I'm nervous, I smoke to calm down. Don't you want to try it? When you smoke, you can smell that faint tobacco fragrance. Once you inhale, there's even a hint of sweetness… it's quite addictive."
Seleos held out a cigarette toward the person in front of him.
"…No, I—I don't smoke. Thank you." The boy hurriedly waved both hands as if the offered cigarette were a giant bomb. He awkwardly sat back down in the chair and picked up his notebook again. "So… how did you manage to escape from that vampire?"
"He let me go."
"But wasn't he—"
"Just listen to me continue." Seleos waved his hand impatiently. The boy shifted uncomfortably.
A crisp sound rang out — the clink of a wine bottle against a glass, accompanied by the noble sight of rich, mellow wine slowly pouring into the goblet.
"Do vampires get thirsty too? Do you eat and drink like humans?"
"…No, we don't need to." The vampire gave me a brief glance, his eyes filled with faint, aloof disdain. "I drink red wine simply because I enjoy it. It's a pleasure. The taste brings back memories of the past." His tone softened slightly, as though he had slipped into reminiscence. "Even before I became a vampire, I already loved red wine. Even now, though I no longer need food, the taste of red wine still brings me a faint sense of familiar warmth." He closed his eyes lightly, seemingly savoring the moment.
I watched quietly as he poured the red wine into his glass and then drank it elegantly in one go. A gentle breeze blew in through the window, making the curtains dance lightly to its rhythm. In the silent night, specks of light twinkled on distant buildings like stars in a faraway sky. Street lamps cast soft halos, outlining the contours of the streets. The trees lining both sides of the road appeared lush and green under the moonlight. Occasionally, a few fallen leaves were lifted by the breeze, twirling in the air before gently settling on the pavement — nature's quiet little dance. The street was almost empty; only a few people strolled by leisurely, enjoying this peaceful moment.
"…I still miss those days in the past — whether as a human or as a vampire." Edward set down his glass and looked at me calmly, his eyes filled with contentment. "Anything is better than the chaotic environment we have now. It's been far too long… I've stood in the current of time, being torn apart and scattered. I've long since lost track of who I am."
"Even so, I lived with him for a while, and that rose-tinted filter only grew more colorful. I began to admire and envy him more and more. I started following him to travel everywhere, observing environments that seemed eternal to me, but to him were merely the blink of an eye. 'I've watched this place for a very long time,' he would say, making me feel deeply unbalanced — even jealous. Back then, I simply couldn't understand his words — that indifference and resignation toward eternity. It only made the already empty temptation grow increasingly chaotic and overwhelming.
But when I looked at his pale skin and sharp fangs glinting in the sunlight, his appearance was so eerie that I still hesitated. Making the true decision to transform from one kind of being into another is incredibly difficult." Edward's eyes seemed filled with the same doubt he had felt back when he made his choice. "Yet in the end, my persistent curiosity, ambition, and boundless desire for eternal life finally overwhelmed everything else. Immortality, power, infinite possibilities — they seemed to magnify every advantage, creating a madness that could cast any doubt aside.
He let out a deep sigh. "That night, I finally made my decision.
'I want to become your kind. I want to enjoy endless life and power.'
He showed a confident, victorious smile. 'You've finally made up your mind?'
'I…' Suddenly I hesitated. Why hesitate? Why couldn't I get the words out? Why did they stick in my throat? I thought of my father. I would have to watch him die, watch every relative and friend I knew pass away one by one, watch the world change while I remained powerless — like an abandoned child drifting forever in the prison of time and space. An endless terror suddenly engulfed me.
'I don't want it!' I shouted, this time filled with deep panic toward eternal life and the assimilation that was about to come.
—But in an instant, I was already pinned to the ground. His face was filled with profound disappointment and rage. 'You've already decided. It's too late to change your mind now. Either die, or become one of my kind.' He opened his bloodthirsty mouth wide; those two sharp fangs looked especially terrifying at that moment, sending bone-chilling horror deep into every part of my body. I struggled frantically, twisting, kicking, screaming, punching — trying everything to push him off me. But he held me down with unbreakable strength, as though he possessed infinite power, rendering all my resistance completely futile.
'Please… let me go. I don't want this. I'd rather die normally.' I trembled and begged him.
'You don't want it?' He bared his fangs. 'Now you're not afraid of death anymore?'
'I… I'm not afraid. I've figured it out.'
'You've figured it out? Then let me see just how much you've really figured out.' Before I could say another word, he sank his teeth into my throat. In that instant, my whole body went numb — I couldn't move at all. The first thing I felt wasn't pain, but a creeping coldness that slowly spread from the bite wound throughout my entire body. The terror of that sensation made me stop struggling unconsciously. I just lay there, eyes wide open, frozen like a statue, while he ravaged me."