Resigning should have brought him relief, but all he felt was a hollow ache in his chest. Lucien walked without looking anywhere, trapped in a single thought: his mother was fading away, and he had no way to stop it... yet.
Now that he is unemployed, how is he going to pay his mother's bills? What's more, he now knows that this world is not as normal as he thought it was just a day ago.
However, this also opens up endless possibilities for curing his mother's illness, who has cancer, more precisely "follicular lymphoma."
So in this supernatural world, he can find a cure...
The image of her in a hospital bed was etched in his mind like a knife. The tubes, the smell of disinfectant, her increasingly pale and thin skin...
With eyes shining with determination, he will do everything possible to cure his mother.
The idea of turning her into a vampire crossed his mind for a moment: immortality, strength, health... she would no longer suffer; she would never again have to endure a weak body.
But there were two major flaws in this: first, Lucien had no idea how to turn her into a vampire; and second...
'I cannot allow my mother to struggle for eternity to avoid becoming a creature of blood.'
What kind of son would he be if he condemned the woman who gave him life to become a monster hungry for blood and destruction?
That's why he dismisses the idea of turning his mother into a vampire; there must be much better options.
That's why he made a decision right now.
'I need to learn more about this supernatural world so I can cure my mother's illness.'
Lucien let out a long sigh as he closed his eyes for a moment.
And now his father? He didn't give a damn. That man was a damn abuser who ruined his mother's life. Even if he knew he was dead, he wouldn't cry.
He still has vivid memories of his father coming home drunk and beating his mother... That memory makes him clench his teeth tightly.
Lucien takes a deep breath, calming his emotions so as not to lose the fragile balance he has at the moment.
In short, what he feels for his father is the same as when he heard a news story: "A stranger died of starvation on the other side of the world." You would say, "Oh... that's too bad," but in reality, you don't give a shit.
That was the same feeling he had toward his father.
...
Lucien returns to Selene's empty house; as he crosses the threshold, he sees her sitting on the sofa, her arms crossed.
She seemed lost in thought, and he heard her murmur, "Could it be that it still retains some human traits? Because that's what gave it immunity to sunlight."
Then she puts her hand over her mouth: "But if he's not a full vampire, but a hybrid... no, that's not possible either; he can't be a hybrid between a vampire and a human."
"Ahhh, what trouble have we gotten ourselves into?" She lets out a sigh until she notices Lucien's gaze; her face blushes slightly, but she asks, "Have you given up already?"
"Yes," Lucien nods, taking a seat on the luxurious sofa, feeling his backside sink into the cushion.
"What will you do now?"
"Learn more about this supernatural world I was dragged into without my consent to find a cure for my mother," he replied, though the resentment in his voice was noticeable, looking directly at Selene.
Obviously, Selene ignored that because she wasn't to blame. As she said before, Lucien, it was a "mistake"; he should be dead.
"So you have your mother who's sick. What does she have?"
"She has cancer."
"Hmm... I see," she hummed with an indifferent and disinterested expression: "Why don't you turn her into a vampire?"
"I have no idea how to turn her into one."
"Ah, right, of course you don't know," says Selene, smiling slightly and pointing to her neck: "You just have to bite her neck and see the intention to turn her into a vampire."
'Even though we didn't set any intention, you became one,' she thought, still confused by Lucien's transformation.
"Set an intention?" he repeated, confused.
"That's how we vampires are: when we bite, it's to do three things: drink blood, become lovers, and the least used is to turn a human into a vampire," she explained briefly.
"I see... but I have no intention of turning my mother into a vampire."
Selene raises an eyebrow: "And why is that?" she asks curiously.
"So that she doesn't become a bloodthirsty monster. Just because I can resist it doesn't mean my mother can."
"That's a good thought." She praises him and adds, "So how do you plan to cure your mother?"
Lucien lets out a small laugh, revealing his long fangs: "Obviously, by getting stronger and learning more about this supernatural world."
Selene nods as she gets up and says, "There are several rooms on the right; you can sleep there."
He nods, standing up as well; he intends to visit his mother tonight, before fully entering the supernatural world.
...
Night.
Lucien opened his eyes and felt his senses sharpen and expand. What's more, with his vampiric instincts much stronger than before, he found it difficult to control himself.
"Ugh..." He put his hand to his head, sighing heavily. He turned his head and there was Selene, leaning gracefully against the doorframe.
She wore a tight black dress that hugged every curve of her body; the fabric flowed like a dark river, revealing her firm, beautiful legs.
"Good morning, sleeping beauty," he said with a mischievous smile.
"Wouldn't that be... good evening?" She sat up in bed, frowning.
She approached him slowly. "You're a vampire now, remember? Night is our day," she said, looking at him curiously.
"Right, I'm a vampire now," Lucien sat up. "By the way, when am I going to drink your blood?" he asked curiously. Aren't vampire couples supposed to drink each other's blood?
"Hmph, harassment, you think I'm so easy, us being together isn't the same as me accepting you, until I consider someone worthy, I won't let you drink my blood," Selene says with a snort, turning on her heel and leaving the room.
Lucien, with a sigh, gets up from the bed and also leaves the room.
...
Through the brightly lit streets of New York, the skyscrapers and neon signs were reflected in Selene and Lucien's eyes.
On their way to the hospital, they received all kinds of looks. Well, in addition to their pale skin, as if they lacked blood, they were also very attractive; they looked like models.
Selene, indifferent to the attention, stopped at every store that caught her eye. She would go in, point out what she liked, and leave with the bags in her hand. She never asked about prices. Money, for her, was an abstract concept, something that didn't seem to apply to her.
Lucien curiously glanced at one of the tags. A chain bathed in Hope diamonds. The number had so many zeros that it almost gave him a heart attack.
Suddenly, his nose caught a familiar scent. He turned his head just in time to see a group of hooded men with inverted crucifixes around their necks hurriedly climbing into a van that sped off with a screech of tires, disappearing into traffic.
To him, the smell was unmistakable.
'Cultists...' he thought, narrowing his eyes. It must be his family.
Then, in a nearby shop window, a pair of glasses caught his attention. Dark lenses, completely black.
"How much for those?" he asked the saleswoman, pointing at them.
She smiled professionally. "Two thousand dollars."
Lucien stared at her silently for a few seconds, as if he hadn't heard her correctly.
"...Two thousand? For a pair of glasses?" He raised an eyebrow. A single thought echoed in his head: 'Are the frames made of gold blessed by the Pope? What a rip-off!'
They left the commercial district and the street changed: the neon signs had disappeared, the sidewalks were darker, less crowded.
So...
Pages, yellowed sheets torn from the Bible, were glued to the posts that gave off a golden glow, and soon a prayer was heard.
"Oh, Lord of the heavens! Here we are, your executioners, your spears and your swords!
Give us the strength to eradicate the heretics, to tear the flesh of the monsters and sow your justice in their blood.
Let the impure tremble, for in your name we will kill them without mercy!
Amen!"