Elena ran deep into the forest again, heart pounding from the fear of being seen. She didn't stop until she reached a familiar spot — an old hollow tree where she sometimes slept.
She leaned against it, breathing heavily, her skin cold and dry.
Then… she heard it.
Not from outside.
From inside her mind.
> "Oh… finally. I woke up."
She froze.
> "Hey, little girl. Why do you have my essence inside you?"
Elena looked around, scared and confused.
> "Wh-who's there?" she whispered.
> "You took something, didn't you? Something from the place where I died… something you weren't meant to touch."
And then it hit her.
The ice crystal.
That strange glowing shard she had brought home from her trip… the one she took from that ancient cave. The one that made her feel cold even before all of this started.
> "I think you remember now."
"My name is Raphael. I am the former Vampire Queen… or as they once called me, the Blood Queen."
Elena trembled.
> "Why… why are you inside me?"
> "That crystal held my essence. My last memory. And now, it lives inside you. You didn't just become a vampire by accident… You became my successor."
Elena's hands shook.
> "No. I didn't ask for this…"
> "That doesn't matter now. You carry my blood. And from this moment on… I will raise you. Teach you. Shape you. You're no longer just a girl… You are becoming something far greater."
> "No! I just want my life back!" Elena shouted out loud.
But the voice in her head stayed calm.
> "That life is gone. Now... it's your turn to rise."
---