"Poisonous is the truth for those who feed their souls lies!"
By: Demetrios Trifiatis
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A little about me? A strange question to ask a stranger.
-"There's not much to know, you already know my name, besides that I'm over 3000 years old." Kael says without emotion.
-"3000 years? It seems I'm not the old one in this conversation." Vlad says. "I feel your distrust, maybe I can show a bit of my goodwill."
Vlad then told me his story. Years ago, his wife died. When he went to battle, she received the news that he had died, so she committed suicide. The truth is that he was alive, and when he returned, he saw his wife already dead and with the supposed gates of heaven closed to her, a condemned soul. In anger, he ended up making a pact with someone who is actually the one who might know something about the creature; his name is Victus. Now he wanders the world while believing that his wife's soul could be reincarnated.
-"Regardless of whether your acquaintance can help me, I appreciate the assistance." Kael says.
-"The pleasure was mine." Vlad says.
The journey was long, but since time is nothing more than a concept to us, I finally reached a small village where Vlad said I could find his creator. The village is very strange; people work with smiles on their faces, regardless of what they are doing. The children run back and forth with the same smile on their faces and foggy eyes.
As I approach, I catch the attention of a farmer who comes towards me.
-"Hello, good traveler, welcome to our humble village. Could I be of help to you?" says the farmer.
He looks at me while smiling, but his eyes barely focus on me, as if they are staring into emptiness.
-"I am looking for a gentleman named Victus." says Kael. "I heard he lives in this village."
-"Ah yes, your magnificence Victus, he lives in that mansion in the center of the village. Come, I will take you there." says the farmer.
While we walk I continue to look at the people and the village. Everything is so clean and organized that it ends up being macabre, as if empty shells programmed to be perfect.
As soon as I reach the mansion, the farmer gestures for me to enter while he starts to walk away. Upon entering, I follow the long corridor until I find a door; beyond the door, I see a man sitting on a small throne.
-"May I ask who has the pleasure of appearing in my presence and what are your intentions?" says the strange man on the throne.
The figure has short curly brown hair and dark skin with red eyes. He looks at me calmly, but I can feel a certain discomfort in his gaze.
-"My name is Kael, a mutual friend said that maybe you could help me." Kael says calmly.
-"Kael? So it's Kael. Can I ask who the mutual friend is?" asks the stranger.
-"The one who told me about you was Vlad. I'm looking for information about someone, and he said that maybe you could help me." says Kael. "Can you?"
As I look at the figure on the throne, suddenly my mind feels a little discomfort, and I grab my head. The moment I remove my hands, I see that the throne has disappeared, and near me is the same man sitting at a table with a golden chalice full of blood.
-"I apologize, one must always be careful, and yes, I am Victus," says Victus, a little confused. "I wouldn't say Vlad is my friend; it was just business. But now I see him in an even worse light."
Victus takes a small sip of the blood from the cup and looks back at me.
-"So, tell me, whom are you looking for?" asks Victus.
Although I want to know more about the creature, I decide to ask him about what just happened. Minutes ago, a throne stood before me in a grand hall until everything disappeared.
-"Ah, that, it's my ability. Normally we should keep our abilities to ourselves; after all, they can serve as a trump card in unexpected moments." says Victus. "But I can make an exception for you, after all, it doesn't make a difference!"
Victus then explains that if he can gather the perfect conditions, he can create a great illusion. The people outside are all inside an illusion. According to him, they are better that way, after all, they are happy. They provide the blood without him needing to kill and he offers them the perfect home. Whether it is right or wrong, the problem is not mine.
I then begin to describe the creature's appearance while looking to see if I notice anything in Victu's eyes, but aside from the discomfort in his gaze whenever he looks at me, I don't see anything unusual.
-"Yes, I know who you're talking about." says Victus. "He is someone very old, older than me, and mind you, I am very old."
Maybe I should ask his age? That would give me an idea of how old the creature might be.
-"How old are you?" asks Kael.
-"HAHA, approximately 5000 years, maybe a little less. I stopped counting a long time ago." says Victus.
5000 years? So he is much older than me.
-"Can you give me information about him?" asks Kael.
-"Well, his name is..." says Victus while looking at me uncomfortably. "His most recent name is Cain!"
Cain? This name is familiar to me, but I can't remember from where.
-"Does he have other names?" asks Kael. "Can you tell me more about him?"
-"Names carry more than just a simple description of someone." says Victus. "They carry a weight, and not everyone dares to bear it!"
-"You still haven't answered my question." says Kael.
-"I have nothing more to say, it's not like I am his friend." says Victus.
I didn't get much useful information, but at least I know his name. Now that I think about it, maybe he knows something about Lilith?
-"Do you know someone named Lilith?" asks Kael curiously.
-"Ah, Lilith, yes, a good friend." says Victus. "She could probably have given you more information about the person you're looking for; she knows him better than I do."
-"She knows him? She said she never saw anyone like him!" says Kael, now a bit angry.
As soon as Victus sees that I got angry, he looks at me and tells me to calm down. His gaze still confuses me; for someone so strong to show so much discomfort is strange.
-"Actually, it's not strange that Lilith didn't tell you anything. There are some things that should simply remain buried. We all have our demons from the past," says Victus as he looks at his reflection in the blood of the chalice.
-"Is she afraid of him?" asks Kael.
-"No, she doesn't fear him, she fears death," says Victus. "I am no longer afraid of death, or at least that's what I thought!"