*Ahem*… First of all. I would like to apologize for that shameful display yesterday. It took me a night of sleep to realize that it almost seemed like I was baiting for good comments and/or reviews which… I really had no intention of doing… Anyway I’ll be taking it down after I post this.

Second of all (Though it’s related to the first). I had no intention to stop writing but rather was just shouting out my frustrations because that just makes it better sometimes. It was just necessary for me to do it because I wanted to continue but every time I tried to write I just remembered some part of some review causing me to get angry or frustrated and starting over. It was seriously just like that classic moment where an author keeps writing then crushing the paper and moving to the next. Only I was pressing the backspace. It’s actually hilarious now that I’m over it.

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It was a dark room. The curtains were open yet it was dark. It was not night yet it was dark. The room wasn’t the only dark place as the whole city the mansion was in was surrounded by an unnatural darkness as if the residents hated the very idea of touching the light. In the room was a single desk and behind it was sitting an old man with a sharp gaze and exuding a feeling of authority.

The old man was staring at a well-dressed youth kneeling on the ground and was contemplating the information he had just acquired from the individual who clearly had a nervous face.

“Cosmin, repeat what you just said for me.” (Old man)

The man asked his apparent subordinate to repeat his words in hopes that hearing them a second time would lead to his acceptance of them. He didn’t want to accept them but he was supposed to.

“My lord… Yesterday morning two of my subordinates reported to have found a lead to Lady Celene and had decided to follow it but… neither have reported ever since...” (Cosmin)

The man of authority could only rub his temples. He had been so relieved when the foolish little girl had finally left the town but later he had discovered that she could have been the legendary Child of Darkness he could only be angry at himself for scaring her off. Yet that didn’t stop him from being angry. Very angry.

“Cosmin, whatever it takes you will find Celene and you will bring her to me. Do I make myself clear?” (Old man)

Though he was angry he kept himself from shouting at his subordinate. He was not foolish enough to just scream out his problems onto him. He knew Cosmin was incredibly capable and that even this mistake was probably not his fault in the long run. He had a weird trust for the young man who had proven himself time and time again to be a useful asset… and pawn.

“And one more thing…” (Old man)

But there was something which he could not disregard in his attitude.

“My lord?” (Cosmin)

“There is no need to call that brat with a title.” (Old man)

It was that he was not loyal directly to him but to the lord of this city and was only hunting the little girl because he thought he was doing it for her own good. He had always had a soft heart and that was one of his only flaws. The other being that he was naïve but to the old man that was more of a benefit to override the other flaws rather than a flaw in and of itself.

“I-I see. I guess it is true that she has not yet been decided that she would be your successor. I understand. I will not spoil her.” (Cosmin)

After he had said that the old man waved Cosmin off and he left the room. The old man could only sigh and shake his head as he got up from his chair and looked out towards the city of eternal night he lived in… and controlled.

‘Successor? As if that little girl can serve to be my successor! That brat will only serve to further my power in the city and nothing else. The blood of a Child of Darkness…I wonder how it will taste.’

He smirked at the thought of finally being completely rid of the annoying brat. And by drinking her blood no less. How funny that it would be blood he thought. It was almost like the children of the elements were born for his race to devour.

The night continued. It would never end. For that was the city of vampires. A city where light should never be allowed to shine.

*END*

*Sigh* I could only sigh after hearing the story from Cel and our little vampire friend before his head fell off. From what she told us through her tears me and Lily understood that her parents had died when she was child and she was abused, probably because of jealousy over her powerful darkness affinity. Though… that was her opinion. I believe there was something more going on.

Of course I had wanted to ruin the person or people responsible for this but…

“Are you sure Cel?”

“It’s fine. This is… something I’ll eventually have to resolve on my own. I don’t want you to do it for me.” (Cel)

Cel stopped me. I could understand her feelings on this so I let go of my own rage. I will respect her wishes for now. Though I seem fine and calm now that’s only because it has been over a day. I… had learned a bit too much about her abuse to stay calm immediately after. I put the thoughts out of my head. I guess we might have to revisit this problem at a later date. I looked at Cel instinctively… if only she ever decides on it.

*Sigh* It feels like I’ve been putting off a lot of problems lately. First that damned crystal in the forest. Now I can’t even bring down the people that caused Cel’s misery. I guess I’m still powerless in the real meaning of the word… *Sigh*

Three days pass with no accident. Only the occasional bandit attack would dissuade us from continuing our journey but Lily would always take care of them easily. She got better and better at it too. And now we had finally reached the end of the road… literally.

We were standing in front of the gates to a harbor town. We had initially planned to not go here as we did not need to take a boat from them. I could just make one. But something I can’t make. Food… We were running out. If we’re going to be technical here then I guess I can make it. But for some reason the taste just never comes out right.

Some people would just think “So what?” but those people don’t seem to understand the importance of good food to a human. Especially when that human is going to be out at sea for who knows how long.

We tried to go in but the guards stopped us insisting that there is a toll for passing. Of course there wasn’t but I still gave them their five silvers. Who knows? Maybe they won’t just spend it on whores and ale… though judging from their expressions I was placing my hope on the wrong people…

In any case once we had gotten in the point remained as what we should buy. I made a few gold coins for each of us. Even if a thief targets us I was pretty sure Lily would be okay. Cel… I think she would be fine too since I reminded her to be vigilant.

“Now it’s just about how to split up…”

“I could go to the harbor and look at the fish. There’s bound to be something good right?” (Lily)

I nodded. Though I felt like there would be an abundance of fish once we’re out in the ocean we still might as well get some here.

“Th-Then I’ll go to the northern part of town.” (Cel)

I nodded again.

“Then I guess I’ll be going south.”

We split up with each of us checking a particular part of the town. We didn’t really decide on what to buy but I felt like there wasn’t a point. We could store it all in my storage crystal. Maybe I should have made one for each of them as well? Then again… I didn’t really have a gem on hand…

As I headed south I looked through the shops. The town was livelier than what we’d seen thus far in this country. It still wasn’t something too good on the moral compass though as I could spot a few people trying to frantically figure out where I keep my coin. Sorry but my money doesn’t exist yet.

I wen though a few shops, buying some spices and different food. I was also looking out for a store where they might sell gems but I just couldn’t spot one. This country seemed to be quite poor after all… Well If necessary I can just make them.

I was looking through a shop when I sensed something which caused me to get serious. Exiting the shop I went through an alley. When I entered the alley I was a curious-looking gentleman but when I left I was a big guy, looking like a sailor. Bad teeth and everything.

Seeing the person I’m looking for running through the street I “accidentally” get in his way, pretending I didn’t notice him. He bumps into me and falls on his backside.

“Whoa. Excuse me there little buddy. Didn’t see ya.”

He looks up at me. I was expecting him to lash out or something and try to beat the living daylights out of me. As he stood up I caught a glimpse of his crimson eyes under the cloak he was wearing.

“No. Excuse me. I was in a hurry.” He looked up at me and apologized to me… this is… new… “Oh! You seem to be a sailor. Do you happen to have seen a man with mostly white hair who dresses like a noble and carries around a walking stick?” (Vampire)

The young vampire was polite I can give him that. Well… let’s give him a hint.

“Oh? Sure I can tell ya ‘bout him. Take it as an apology. I saw him yesterday. Was looking for a boat to take ‘im to the elven country. Don’t know if he found one but that’s definitely where ‘is headin’.”

The young-looking vampire widened his eyes and thought about something for a second.

“Thank you very much for the information. Please take this as my gratitude.”

He handed me a bag of money which I took. It would look weird to refuse it. Inside were mostly silvers. Maybe one or two gold coins. To me it was an insignificant thing but to any normal person it’d be a gold mine. A commoner would literally be able to live out a few years without worrying too much with this.

I made a bitter smile as I passed through another alleyway as a sailor and emerge as myself once more. I couldn’t let Cel run away from her problems forever. She said she wanted to get stronger first but if she thought I didn’t notice how much of an excuse that is then she really is too naïve.

At least like this it would force her to deal with it sooner or later. I told them where we would be but we would probably get there much quicker. That vampire though… he didn’t seem like a bad guy to me. Maybe I can convince him to come to our side as well… I felt a kind of Eirene vibe from him. He felt like he was being fooled into doing this. Like Cel wasn’t really someone he intended on harming. Well… I might be reading too much into it. It will become evident later. If what I thought is false then whether it be Cel or myself he would definitely die.

I shopped around for another hour before turning around and going back to the place the three of us split up. Lily was already there but Cel was not. Expanding my sense of “sight” I found her easily and confirmed that she was not in danger and was already on her way so I turned it back to normal. Sometimes there are things I didn’t want to see… I couldn’t save everyone… seeing them suffering in the dark corners of the town only served to make me feel worse about not saving them.

Cel arrived after ten minutes. She seemed to have not bought much except that she was also carrying a book with her. As soon as she saw me and Lily waiting for her she started walking over to us but he had her head down.

“I’m sorry…” (Cel)

… I still didn’t know why she was apologizing.

“Why are you apologizing?” (Lily)

…

“I… I was supposed to buy food but I bought the book instead…”

She finally showed the book though I had already noticed it since my vision wasn’t exactly normal. She stretched her hands towards me while holding the book.

“What? You bought it for me?”

She nodded while slightly red. I could only smile gently. Taking the book I didn’t even bother reading the title or what it was about before patting the girl on her head.

“If you bought it for me then why would I be angry at you? Me and Lily already bought enough food anyway.”

I could see Lily also nodding with a smile. Ah it’s good to be smiling. We headed out of town for now. As I put my hand away from Cel’s head I finally read the title of the book. “Birth of an Anomaly”. Heh… Cel has some interesting tastes. And a smart mind. I wonder if this book has any relevance to me. I would read it later. I didn’t want to just analyze it in the five second method. I would have plenty of time in which I would have nothing to do while we were travelling across the ocean so I might as well spend some of it reading peacefully and slowly. Just how we liked it…

We traveled to the north following the coast for a day before we were ready to head off. “Unsheathing” my sword I cut down two trees which floated behind us while we got out to the beach. We also wanted to reach a place with trees other than just getting far away from the harbor town which is why it took an entire day. The leaves of the trees had already fallen off as it was still in the middle of winter. If it wasn’t for the void clothes the two were wearing they would feel quite cold. Thankfully those insulated both the cold and heat quite well.

As the two trees floated above the water they changed form slowly shaping themselves into a medium-sized boat which could fit around six or eight people with space to spare. I climbed in the boat as part of the trees wrapped around my sword turning it back into a normal cane. The girls looked at each other before getting on after me. As they sat down the boat started moving. It didn't have a sail but I just used the water to create a current propelling us in the direction I wanted.

So we left behind the land we're all so comfortable with being on.