"How interesting," the voice spoke from the depths of the darkness. "You've grown a lot, boy."
In shock, I looked toward where the voice had come from and my eyes widened. The man standing in front of me, hands in his pockets, posture indifferent, was as real as reality itself.
"What is it? You look like you've seen a ghost," the man said with a faint smile. "You know… I'm very proud of you."
"That's impossible," I denied with all my strength. "You are the vampiric demon… Why did you take this form? Answer me… Is this a way to deceive me? Silas could take other forms… You were supposed to protect me, not punish me."
I pointed at him and bit my lips in anger. Why did he take this shape? My mother said vampiric demons were copies of Silas… Why does he look like this?
"Hahahahah, I have always had this form, boy," he said with a dry laugh.
A lie… because this form is mine… this was my appearance before I died.
"You're lying… This was my appearance before I died," I growled at him. "Why are you making me go through this… Silas? Is this some kind of revenge against my mother?"
"That was your form? Then before being reborn as Nik… what was your name?" the demon asked calmly.
"Of course… my name was—" I shouted, and the name that was at the tip of my tongue would not come out. No, my real name is… I don't know.
Why? Why don't I know my real name?
"You know… when I reincarnated… I shared the body with a small light. It fit in the palm of my hand… I could have crushed it if I wanted to," the demon said, with a smiling voice, almost happy. "But I didn't. That little light kept growing and slowly pushed me into the shadows… No… I was the one who stepped back into the shadows."
What the hell do you mean?
The darkness no longer felt threatening.
It felt… silent.
Like a room where someone had been waiting for years.
He watched me with that same face — my old face.
"You are looking for monsters where there never were any," he said.
"You are a vampiric demon," I snarled. "My vampiric side that tries to protect me in the most cruel and distorted way possible."
He nodded.
"Yes. I became one."
The answer hit harder than any denial.
"I was not born like this, Nik."
The darkness behind him shifted.
A man running in the rain appeared, laughing with friends.
Holding someone's hand.
An embrace with elderly parents.
A room full of books.
A wedding ring.
"I lived," he said simply. "An entire life."
The images of my past life — but different from what I thought. That's not how it happened… I don't remember this… why don't I remember?
"And then I died."
No pain.
No tragedy.
The end.
"When I opened my eyes again…" he continued, "I was here, in the hands of a witch with a knife ready to kill me."
My heart stopped.
"You were born dead, Nik."
The air vanished from my lungs.
"But…" he raised his hand. "When I was reborn in your body, there was still a small soul… almost fading… but fighting to revive itself, and the vampire blood had activated."
"The blood was trying to bring you back," he said, "because it was the only thing keeping your body 'working.'"
"You would never grow," his voice grew quieter. "Never learn to speak… to walk… to choose… You would be nothing but hunger in a small body."
The darkness began to wrap around the baby's body.
"So I understood what I had to do," the demon said with a solemn voice. "I knew exactly why I had been reborn."
"No," he answered firmly. "I stole the curse."
The scene changed.
"I became your vampiric demon," he said, "so you could be human."
My mind was in ruins.
"The plan was simple," he continued. "I would contain your vampirism until your frontal cortex was fully mature."
Images appeared:
Me growing.
Learning.
Failing.
Living.
"When your soul was strong… when your identity was formed… I would stop, and one day you would wake up a vampire without dying and without going through the transition."
"And you would disappear…" my voice came out in pieces.
He smiled.
Calm.
"I already lived my life," he said with serenity. "Naturally, everything comes to an end."
The weight of those words was unbearable.
"The accident…" I said, remembering.
For the first time he showed frustration.
"Death before the right time forced the transformation," he said. "You still have the frontal cortex of a teenager, but thanks to my memories you have high control. It was a precaution I took in case everything went wrong."
The darkness around him trembled.
"You are not a reincarnated being, Nik," he said gently. "You are not an intruder… Don't blame yourself and don't think you shouldn't be here."
I could barely breathe.
"Why do this for me…? You didn't even know me…"
He took a long time to answer.
And when he did, it was simple:
"Because when I saw your soul fighting to stay…" he said, his voice now filled with emotion, "I remembered when I held my son for the first time."
The darkness around him was no longer cold.
It was warm.
"Some lives have already finished what they had to finish," he said, "and some… just need a chance to begin."
He touched my chest.
His form began to dissolve into shadows.
"And now… you will have to learn to carry what I held for you."
Before he disappeared completely, I heard his voice:
"Now you are complete, Nik. Grow… and become incredible."
The vampiric demon has only one goal: to protect the host from every threat in the most cruel and distorted way possible…
Was it true, or just another way for the demon to protect Nik?
We will never know.