The world had long since crumbled into rot and ruin.
From the shattered window of this decaying tower, I watched humanity tear itself apart beneath an indifferent sky, swollen with ash and hollow of hope. Werewolves lunged through alleyways, teeth bared in savage joy. Phantoms of vengeance haunting the desperate. Vampires stalked through shadows, ready and predatory, feeding openly on the chaos. Men and demons clashed like animals trapped together, their screams swallowed by roaring flames that crowned buildings like infernal halos. Above, angels descended with burning wings, their swords bright with judgment, indifferent to pleas for mercy. And these were only a fraction of the horrors prowling the earth.
I stood motionless, untouched, unmoved. Eternal.
The chaos was fascinating in its futility, like insects fighting in a jar. My reflection gazed back at me from cracked glass, pristine as ever: black hair framing features sculpted by forgotten gods, eyes like molten gold mirrors reflecting the flames that painted the world in ruin. But inside me stirred only quiet curiosity, detached and distant, hollow as the promises of salvation.
At my feet lay the woman, beautiful even in the embrace of death, her crimson life tracing rivers across the cold floor. She breathed shallowly, defiant even now. Blood and defiance—always intertwined, always fleeting.
Out of boredom, I finally spoke.
"What do you think of the world now?"
Her answer came as a tortured whisper, laced with hate and sorrow. "It disgusts me" she rasped, teeth clenched against agony. "Monsters crawling from nightmares to butcher us."
Her honesty sparked faint amusement within me, stirring the embers of something forgotten.
"Monsters?" I mused softly, eyes fixed on the chaos outside. "Perhaps you misunderstand the nature of nightmares."
She offered no reply but a defiant glare. Her silence weighed heavy, yet I filled it effortlessly, my voice calm and measured. "You blame creatures of myth for the death of your world, but it's humanity's fear and ambition that conjured them forth. Your nightmares have always walked among you. Only now do you finally see."
A sudden crash drew my attention outside, irritation rippling through me. Across the skyline, a werewolf surged forth, fur bristling like steel quills, and smashed through a nearby building. Gunfire erupted in response, a storm of bullets shredding flesh and concrete alike.
The noise annoyed me.
With casual precision, I lifted one finger.
The blood hanging in the air trembled obediently, forming into a crimson lance behind me, out of her line of sight. With a mere thought, it hurtled through the chaos outside, a silent judgment piercing man and beast alike, silencing their noise forever.
"Loud things die faster" I murmured softly.
I felt her pulse stumble, each beat weaker than the one before, as if her life were sliding off the edge of the world. Death was already reaching for her throat.
"Ah, no—you're not leaving me just yet" I said, almost playfully, and snapped a thought into the air.
The blood that had been spilling from her shivered, then streamed back beneath her skin; the torn flesh closed before our eyes, stitching itself tight until only faint pink lines remained.
Her breathing hitched sharply, confusion tipping into fear. She looked down, horrified to find the wounds gone. Her gaze shot back to me, eyes wide with shock.
She recoiled slightly as she saw my eyes no longer shining gold, but burning deep crimson—the color of old, dried blood.
"You're one of them" she whispered, voice trembling.
"No" I corrected gently, stepping closer. My presence loomed over her not with malice, but with something far more primal, more ancient—inevitability itself. "I am something far more extraordinary."
She tried to retreat, but her body refused, bound now by my influence. Her eyes widened, terror and fascination warring within.
My voice dropped to a whisper, velvet-edged yet edged with steel. "Tell me" I murmured softly, bending until we were mere breaths apart. "Do you want to be immortal?"
Her lips parted, but no sound emerged. Her eyes searched mine, desperate, pleading—yet beneath it, the shadow of hunger. Of desire.
She knew what this choice meant. Eternity. Power. Damnation.
I waited patiently. After centuries, patience was the simplest of my virtues. She finally drew a trembling breath and nodded slowly, resignation blending with longing.
"Yes" she whispered, her voice both broken and brave. "Make me like you."
I smiled gently, the darkness within me stirring, pleased at her surrender.
"Remember this" I whispered against her throat, my breath cool as midnight frost. "You asked."
My teeth pierced her skin, and her blood flooded my senses, warm, desperate, defiant. I tasted her humanity, felt her heartbeat slow, then shudder to a halt.
When her eyes opened again, they mirrored mine—crimson, eternal, filled with hunger and questions she dared not voice.
The world beyond our tower burned bright and furious, but inside, a deeper fire ignited, promising ruin or redemption, death or immortality.
The choice, as always, was mine alone.
***
AN: Hi. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, this is my first serious attempt at writing a novel. My native language is Spanish, and although I do speak English, I'm not fully comfortable writing an entire novel in it. That's why I'm using AI to help with translations, which I then review and edit. I hope you don't mind. I'd really appreciate any reviews or feedback you can offer, as they help me grow. And if you enjoy the book, please consider adding it to your library. Thank you for reading!