Hunters.
Vampyrs.
Deemons.
Angels.
Death.
War.
Even Nortmen.
I've understood.
However, as I stand in the darkness, I feel a terrible fear consume my body. Something is going to go wrong, and I know it. Yet with all of that sense, I can't tell what it is that will go wrong.
I turn to look upon my friends. No, they aren't my friends. They are this body's friends. I am a thousand years older than the ground they walk upon. For I am not a human, and I never was.
I know that this is the reason I have the feeling of foreboding running through my veins. Yet I do know not what will go wrong. So I move forward through the crowd, following my friends.
They know what is going on more than me. I watch the back of their heads. They move through the thousands of people with ease, and I simply follow.
This body's friends are kinder than I ever thought. My favorite of them is Max, who walks at my side as we navigate the crowds. He's not my favorite because he is good. No, he interests me the most, because he is not good. He's my height, and he believes in a nonexistent god.
Every time he does something that I question, he always replies, "The devil got into my soul."
There is no devil. Not the kind he thinks exists. I know this for a fact, but there is nothing I could say to prove it to him.
I ignore his remarks about one of the girls he recently linked up with and continue moving forward.
I look down at the asphalt, and the feeling tightens around my heart. Whatever is going to happen is about to happen. Yet there is very little that this body could do.
I reply to Max about the girl, June, "You need to stop doing stuff like that. It's gonna catch up to you."
"I doubt it. These hoes be tripping, talking 'bout some 'what are we?'. That girl lost it."
I turn to look him in the eyes. His eyes are green, and with speckles of yellow in them, I do not envy the women who get entranced by them.
"No. You are making the moves, you are leading them on."
His eyes laugh before his mouth does, and he replies, "Nah. They need to stop assuming that I want anything but to talk."
I shake my head as we continue walking. He's a lost cause.
The lights in the shops for the festival shine. Yellow, white, and green, they dot the darkness with brightness. I move forward to join one of the girls, and with each step, I feel my heart tighten.
Moving next to her, I listen in on the conversation happening between her and another guy in the group.
"No, 'cuz I was at the mall the other day, and this dude... oh my gosh, he was so fine."
The guy, Dietrich, scoffs, annoyed.
"Wait, but like you don't understand. He had white hair! He looked just a little older than us, too..."
Dietrich replies, "No, I don't. I ain't into dudes."
"Yeah, yeah. Where was I?" The girl paused and finally said, "Okay. So Andrea and I watch him walk by, and I swear to you, he was literally glowing."
I move past them farther forward.
Then the pain in my heart releases. I know that I have reached the place that is going to turn bad.
It's an intersection, closed off for the festival. A large group of people is dancing to some new song, and I know. I know that's where it's going to happen.
But what? I still can't figure out what.
I let my feet carry me forward, moving through the crowd with swiftness I've never displayed in this body before. I hear it then, with the base of the music playing, I hear the beat of death.
As I look around, I know that I alone can hear it. Everyone else cannot hear it, and I pity them.
Yet, I still don't know what will cause death. These eyes cannot see in the darkness the same way my others have. As I rack my brain, I forget that I am at a festival.
A hand touches my shoulder, and instinctively, I reach for a blade I consciously know is not there.
It's Andrea. A questioning look on her face.
"Are you okay?"
Brown eyes stare at me, daring me to lie to her.
I want to say no. That would be the best decision I could make for my soul. Yet three thousand years of dealing with humanity tell me to say yes.
So I say, "Yes. I was just wandering around."
She replies, "You are lying. I'll let it slide."
My surprise is not evident. It never is. So I know she can't tell, so I simply nod thankfully.
She motions to continue following her, and I look at her from behind. Her black hair flows down past her back; it alone is the darkest hair I've ever seen. I follow her.
Out of all the friends this body has. She's the only one the body knows. This body knows her hopes and dreams, all the big and all the little, and it remembers. I know she remembers this body's hopes and dreams, too. If the body ever doubts, it looks into her eyes and sees eyes that know it.
We walk past the group of dancing teenagers, and it is there that I know it's begun.
I feel an itch in my head, telling me to move. So I move, grabbing her as well.
A person's head goes flying by.
A scream.
The music stops.
The darkness of the night turns into the darkness of death in a single second.
I hear this body's name screamed by Andrea.
There's only one solution. Yet I feel a coolness coming over me.
My soul has yearned for this.
I feel energy building up in me. Like a cool tide, I glide towards the crowd and whisper.
"Blade of the Mountain."
From gold and silver mist, a shortsword appears in my grasp, and I see my target. It's a vampyr, a single one.
No, this wouldn't have been the reason for the anticipation and fear in my heart.
It's weak and feeble; this is the kind that I can kill with ease. So I do, letting my blade rip through its malleable flesh.
Its head falls to the ground, and I understand that I have messed up. One single vampyr could only have been a trap. A trap built around finding those who can resist them. This was the exercise before their feast.
However, it is going to take more than the power of a trap to kill me. I watch, my eyes straining to do what my soul commands. An itch appears on both my triceps and the back of my head.
I whisper, "Mold of the King."
Then I feel the energy exit my body, into the ground, and my imagination sparks up. Three bodies appear in my mind, and I watch as they are decapitated by stone.
I move, keeping my foot on the ground, and watch as my imagination comes to life. I don't have time to worry about how much energy I am spending.
My blade glides through the air, cutting the heads in half, ensuring they do not regenerate.
Standing back up to my full height, I feel this body burning. It cannot handle what the soul can do. So I once again begin to fear.
If the body cannot do what the soul needs it to do, the soul will weaken to the body's strength.
This is the most basic of teachings. I know what to do, but I can't do it in this situation. It will leave these people to die. So I stand my ground. Reinforcing my muscles and bones, this body cannot deteriorate right now!
As I begin to feel the mist of my energy touch my skin, I realize that my shirt has ripped.
I have forgotten that I am in the modern world. These clothes cannot withstand the power of the soul.
I do not have the time for that. I can hear the heartbeat of something very powerful approaching. I turn my feet, feeling the asphalt under my feet. For a split second, I miss the dirt roads of my old world.
Blood explodes towards me, cutting through tens of people in a split second.
The only warning I get is the itch near my heart.