Theda paused and lowered her hand before smiling. The flight craft descended until it was hovering off the ice in front of her. “What brings you here?” she asked as Khrx climbed out. She glanced at the blob of curtains and Luke. “And who might these two be?”

“This is my husband,” Anaheim said, grabbing Luke’s wrist. She pulled him out of the flight craft even though he didn’t comply and acted like a limp doll. His body slumped against the cold ground with only has arm in the air held by Anaheim. “Lukroix Adveign Desrigard.” She kicked his rib, causing him to twitch. She flashed Theda a smile when there was no other reaction. “He must be tired.”

“My god,” Duchess Rose said as she slumped towards the ground, kneeling in front of Theda. “I am your lowly servant, Elizabeth Rose, lord of the vampires. Please, forgive me for not showing my face. The sunlight is quite strong here.”

“Oh? Lord of an undying race?” Theda asked, a wry smile appearing on her lips. “You have guts showing up in front of my door. Shall we test just how immortal vampires are?”

“My, my god,” Duchess Rose said, lowering her head until it touched the ground.

Theda snorted. “It was just a joke. Calm down.”

“Where’s Fufu?” Khrx asked, tugging on Theda’s dress.

“Who?” Theda asked as she reached down and ruffled Khrx’s hair.

“Fufu,” Khrx said as he stood on his tiptoes and held his arm over his head. “She’s about this tall. And she’s white with very fluffy fur.”

“Oh!” Theda said, raising her eyebrows. “That creature I caught earlier. You know it? I’ll bring you to her, come in.” She grabbed Khrx’s hand and led him towards the entrance to the mansion. She turned her head, glancing at the three tagalongs. “You can come in too. In fact, I insist you do.”

“Yes, my god,” Duchess Rose said as she jolted to her feet and shuffled after Theda. Anaheim glared at Luke, who was still acting unresponsive, and tugged him to the mansion, making sure to place as many clumps of ice in Luke’s path as possible. His face easily broke through them, but he didn’t make a sound.

***

Awakening Cycle 1,072,362: Day 47.

Dear Diary,

I’m finally going to reunite with Fufu!!!!!

Love,

Khrx

Episode 18 (1)

The scent of flowers entered Khrx’s nose as he entered Theda’s mansion. The harsh cold climate had warmed upon entry, and soft sunlight shone down on his onesie. A meadow of grass lay before him, and a clear blue sky sprawled overhead. Fluffy clouds were drifting to and fro, pushed along by black and white cows with wings. Khrx swallowed his saliva and lowered his head, his gaze landing on a river of magma flowing through the field of green. Trees lined the riverbank, luscious pink fruits hanging from their branches, drops of honey dripping off them onto the ground. Khrx swallowed his saliva again and glanced around. Where had Theda gone? Behind him, there was an open meadow. Ahead of him, there was still an open meadow. Hadn’t he come here through a door? No, where was here? Where was he? …Who was he? Khrx swallowed his saliva as his feet lifted off the ground, his body soaring straight towards one of the cloud pushers. He might not know who he was or how he got there, but that flying cow smelled awfully tasty.

***

Duchess Rose blinked as Khrx stopped moving after entering the mansion. A second later, Khrx floated off the ground and flew upwards, drifting around in a lazy circle near the ceiling. She glanced at Theda. “Err, is Khrx alright?”

“Does something seem wrong with him?” Theda asked with a smile. “Why don’t you come in and have a seat?”

Duchess Rose hesitated and took a tentative step past the threshold. In an instant, the world turned dark as night. The scent of blood filled her nostrils, and her eyes became bloodshot. She lowered her head and realized she was no longer wearing the mass of curtains to block herself from the sun. A dying human with blood steadily flowing out from a cut in his throat lay on the ground in front of her, his eyes trembling as they stared into hers.

A tangy taste mixed with iron filled Duchess Rose’s mouth, and she stuck her tongue out, licking her lips. A trail of glistening red blood was left behind, and the scent caused her body to heat up. She shivered as her pale face flushed, and she hugged her shoulders as her fangs elongated and jutted past her lower lips. How long had it been since she felt hunger? Since she felt the urge to hunt? She was content drinking cold blood from bags collected by her mimics for so long; she had almost forgotten the thrill of seeing the life ebb out of her prey, collecting into her throat and down into her stomach.

Duchess Rose let out a moan as she tilted her head back, exposing her neck towards the sky. The fresh smell of prey and terror filled her nostrils. With a single leap, she bounded past the dead man on the ground with a smile akin to a wolf bearing its fangs.

***

“What’s up with her?” Anaheim asked after dragging Luke over to the mansion’s entrance. Out of nowhere, Duchess Rose ran forward while tearing off her barrier of curtains and sank her fangs into a red couch. Anaheim furrowed her brow as she peered past Theda’s shoulder. “Did you paint that couch with blood? And what’s Khrx doing?” Khrx was floating around in a circle, licking layers of paint off the ceiling.

Theda scratched her head and shrugged. “I don’t know.”

Anaheim sighed as she walked into the mansion and waved her hand in front of her face as if she were fanning away a bad smell. “There’s some kind of illusion, isn’t there? What’s it do?”

Theda’s expression softened. “It exposes and incites the inner desires of—”

Thunk.

Theda and Anaheim turned their heads towards the sound. Khrx had fallen out of the air and onto the ground. Loud snores permeated the room as his belly rose up and down with his limbs splayed. Theda cleared her throat. “Like I was saying. Inner desires.”

“I see,” Anaheim said with a nod.

“You’re not going to ask why?” Theda asked, raising an eyebrow. She bit her lower lip and shifted her weight from foot to foot. “If you ask, I might tell you.”

Anaheim sighed. “Alright, alright. Why?”

“There’s a secondary function to the illusion,” Theda said, a bright smile appearing on her face. “Slowly, their desires will morph and change until the only thing in the world they desire is me. I’ve resurrected quite a lot of troublesome beings, you see. They don’t quite listen to me. This is my countermeasure.”

“Just wondering,” Anaheim said, gesturing towards Luke. “Can you do me a favor and change that secondary function of your illusion to make the person they desire me? Just for this man though. For some annoying reasons, he has to fall in love with me.”

“Mm, sure,” Theda said. “As long as you promise not to interfere with what I’m doing, alright?”

“That’s easy,” Anaheim said with a nod. She glanced at Luke who was still being dragged along by her by his arm. He hadn’t reacted even though he was exposed to Theda’s illusion. “Don’t tell me he doesn’t have any desires.”

Theda crouched by Luke and placed her hand on his head. “He’s stuck in an illusion, so it’s working,” she said. “I changed the secondary function for you. Maybe he desires to lie around like a dead fish. There’s already one person like that here.” She gestured towards Khrx. “And what about you? Why haven’t you fallen for the illusion?”

“I’d be a crappy hero if I fell for an illusion,” Anaheim said as she looked around the room. “Where’s Fufu? I want to see what she is.”

“Oh, I keep the troublesome beings downstairs,” Theda said. “Would you like to see the creatures I’ve collected thus far?”