Panic flashed across their faces.
Seeing it was Kael and me, they
sighed with relief and rushed over, their robes trailing behind.
"Xavier—what has happened?!" Desmond demanded, panic breaking through his composure.
"…I do not know, sir…"
"Whoa! Look at you two, thinking of the human before your nephew, who is terribly injured," Kael scoffed.
"It is not as you think, Kael. What happened? Why did you collapse so suddenly?" Marliene asked in a gentle tone.
"Aunt, I truly have no idea." It was like an immense amount of pressure—like gravity, yes. Gravity itself pushed me to the ground." Explained Kael.
"Oh my!..." she gasped. "That is indeed so terrible… You must be tired, Xavier. Please set Kael down on the throne."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Seriously, Aunt, you are always worrying about him." He shot me a look, clearly unimpressed.
I sighed and walked up to one of the thrones, placing him down gently.
"What is going on out there? Why are my people acting like this?" said Desmond with a worried look on his face.
"Who knows, Uncle? They didn't attack us… We walked right past them," said Kael, looking down.
"They let you go?!" Desmond's face drained of colour.
Marliene gasped. "What is going on with our people?!"
"Your Majesties, do you think this might have something to do with the Emris?" I asked in a cautious tone.
"Whatever do you mean?" questioned Kael.
"I mean, the symptoms look the same as described when you go near it."
"That is what worries me," Desmond replied, eyes narrowing. "If the symptoms match perfectly, then it's clear as day; I mean, what other thing can hurt our people…"
"The Emris was stolen?!" yelled Kael.
"Yes. How could you not know?!" snapped Desmond. "I placed you in charge of rebuilding the vault, and you do not know what has happened."
"Well… I thought we were just rebuilding it…" said Kael, nervously scratching his head. "Besides, the knights do not like me very much… so they moved to the human."
"How many times have I told you to take responsibility?" Desmond snapped once again.
[This is the life; I love you, emperor, please scold him some more.]
"Honey, now is not the time for a lecture!" Marliene stopped Desmond.
Desmond coughed, regaining his composure. "It was stolen a few hours ago."
"How could it be stolen! Weren't you supposed to go insane if you went near?" Kael questioned.
"Yes, Kael! That is what our ancient texts say." Desmond paused and took a breath. "When someone stole it, we assumed the thief would go insane, and we would have it back."
"Uncle, how could you treat this with such indifference? You know it's the unknown if we do not understand its power. With all this technology, it is powerful!"
"I know! But what was I supposed to do, send out knights to retrieve it?! Knowing that it would pose a danger to them!!!"
"Your majesty, your highness. Please calm down; fighting right now won't solve anything. We need to figure out what to do next," I said, trying to calm the situation.
"He's right; we need to act with reason." Said Marliene.
"With all due respect, what can we do in this situation, Aunt? This is the unknown that we're talking about!"
"Not all of them are acting like this! Think about others. Kael, use your brain." Said Marliene, trying to remain calm.
"Pfft-" I began to laugh, but went quiet to stay focused on the situation.
Kael shot me a glare.
"Honey, please make an announcement right away. In the current situation, those who are not infected or cursed should stay in their homes."
"Alright."
Above the city, a massive rectangular screen tore open the sky like a wound. It looked like a system window. It had sharp corners and medieval text scrolling faintly along the edges. And at its centre, the king sat in perfect clarity.
Every citizen could see it. Even those indoors found it hovering beyond their ceilings.
"Citizens of the Inra Empire, heed this announcement. Some of you may have seen the broadcast from the black grid tournament. Know this: there has been a severe outbreak of vampire hostilities. These conflicts are unusual. An unseen force pushes these vampires to behave in strange ways. You are hereby ordered to remain indoors until this threat has been neutralised. Compliance is mandatory for your safety."
[It had been a week, and stupid little me and my little crew still hadn't figured out the source of this outbreak. Honestly, readers, the past me is so weak, like hurry up, get a grip, and figure this stuff out! The outbreak is not waiting for you to take a million years to get smarter.
Please don't tell me to ease up on myself. This is the truth. Like everyone here, this situation feels like that damn COVID. People, my people, are dying for God's sake.
Alright, I'll quit now. Here's what happened next: humans or whoever finds this could be aliens for all I know.]
The emperor sat in his office, rubbing his temples. Dark circles showed under his eyes. Anyone could tell that he had been pulling all-nighters to figure out some sort of cure behind this.
There was a knock at his door.
"Come in!" Desmond said, looking towards the door.
"Your Majesty, you called?"
"Yes, any updates, Xavier?"
"Unfortunately… there is no good news; the only news I have is about the horrible situations in the empire."
Desmond let out a heavy sigh. "Alright, give me the details on that."
"Blood stains the streets. Everyone is staying home as advised. We're now collecting dead bodies across the empire. Over fifty per cent of the collected bodies are too disfigured to identify. Furthermore, we still cannot figure out why they refuse to attack us." I spoke with a tone devoid of emotion, as if I were reciting items from a checklist.
"Oh God… when will this end?" said Desmond, rubbing his temples.
"…I don't know what to tell you, Your Majesty…"
"How is Kael doing?"
"His Highness Prince Kael has been recovering quite well. He is back to being himself—bossing people around and calling me human, even though I have explained my past many times." I smiled, but the expression didn't reach his eyes.
"So he is causing trouble again…"
"You said that, Your Majesty, not I."
Desmond sighed. "Are there any updates from our researchers?"
"Sadly, no, your majesty. They can't find a way to stop this—after all, it's the Emris we're discussing."
Desmond slammed his fist onto the desk, anger and despair burning through him. "Damn it! So there is no way to even go after it!"
"...No, Your Majesty…" I said softly, lowering my eyes to the floor.
"I'm failing our empire…" Desmond muttered, rubbing his eyes with a weary hand. "If only Kiara were here. Somehow, my daughter always knew what to do… even when I didn't."
"It isn't like that, your majesty… even if she were awake right now, I don't think she would know what to do either. The matter of the Emirs is a mystery, so… there may be no answer for anyone to find."
Desmond lightly slapped both sides of his face with his hand, trying to pull himself together. "You're right, Xavier… you're dismissed. Inform me at once if anything changes."
I bowed my head respectfully. "As you wish, Your Majesty."
Without another word, I made my way towards the heavy doors of Desmond's office. As soon as I stepped out, I let out a deep sigh, rolling up my sleeves.
"This shit is eating everyone up…" I grumbled. "I am tired."
I kept walking the dimly lit hallway. I didn't know what to do next, and I didn't know where I was walking. As much as I wanted to, I couldn't go to Kiara just yet; I didn't want to face her like a failure. So I went to the next best place, her room.
Her room looked the same as the day she first fell asleep. Nothing was moved, nothing was changed. Shades of red filled it—her favourite colour.
In the corner of her room, a tall bookshelf stood. Its shelves held novels she once read for hours. In the centre of the room, a large window overlooked the palace grounds. In front of it was a cushioned seating area where she often sat with a book in her hands, lost in stories for hours at a time.
I had been in this room many times—when she was here, laughing and full of life, and during the quiet years since she had fallen asleep.
The silence now felt heavier.
I walked slowly to the bed and sat down on its edge. The soft mattress dipped slightly beneath my weight. After a moment, I leaned back and lay down, my legs still dangling off the side of the bed.
My eyes wandered to the canopy above the bed, tracing the familiar patterns in the fabric.
The room was quiet, too quiet.
Memories lingered in every corner, yet the one person who had filled the room with life was nowhere to be found.
Without realising it, my eyelids began to grow heavy. The long days and the sleepless nights finally caught up with me. My breathing slowed as I stared up at the ceiling.
Before I even noticed it happening, exhaustion pulled me under.
And slowly, quietly, I drifted off to sleep.
"Xavier~, how long are you going to sleep?! My love, wake up!!!"
"Huh? Who…? Are you…?" I said, looking at the blurry figure above me.
"Hey! It's me, Kiara, are you messing with me again!!!"
"Why is it that I cannot see your face…?"
"Xavier! Stop messing with me! Look closely!"
I lifted my hand towards her blurry face, my fingers stretched through the haze of the dream. Just as I was about to reach her, I woke up.
"Oh… it was a dream," I rubbed my eyes.
"How long was I asleep for…" I mumbled, ruffling my hair. "It's time for work, I guess."
I pushed myself up from the bed, the last traces of the dream still lingering in my mind. For a moment, I sat there, staring at the quiet room, as if expecting something to change.
But nothing did.
I took a deep breath and stood, casting one last glance at the bed. Then I walked towards the door.
The handle clicked with a gentle sound as I opened the door.
Stepping out into the hallway, I closed the door behind me with care. The corridor stretched long and empty before me, lit only by the faint glow of the place lights.
My steps echoed on the polished tiles.
Step.
Step.
Step.
Then suddenly—
A sharp blare shattered the silence.
Alarms erupted throughout the palace, loud and piercing.
I froze for a second; my face hardened.
Something was very wrong.
"What the fuck." I spoke through my teeth.