Chapter 1 - The ritual -

Crash! "Open the door, get her in the circle!" Even after using all my strength to free myself from their clutches, I still ended up in the ceremonial chamber.

My body began to fail me, possibly due to exhaustion. "What's happening? It can't be right." Suddenly, I realized they must have used a potion on me.

I knocked on the ground with all my weight and heard footsteps approaching me from behind. As the footsteps stopped just beyond me, I heard a familiar giggle. It was too recognizable for me not to realize who it belonged to - my twin sister, Leticia!

"Sister Elvyra, the prophecy finally came."

 "Sister, you were the chosen one, aren't you happy?"

 After returning to the others, she instructed them to prepare for the ritual. As the room grew dark, dozens of black candles lit up, casting an eerie glow. With trembling hands, the elderly witch took the sacred herbs and sprinkled them around the candles, completing the preparations for the ceremony.

"I find it interesting that even when there are two souls, they will eventually merge into one and not be destroyed," said the elder witch.

"What do you mean by the soul not being destroyed?" asked Leticia.

"There is a possibility where the soul can choose its path, even if it involves taking bloody steps forward. Eventually, a bright light will emerge from the darkness," replied the old witch.

"All the witches heard the prophecy, but only one person giggled. Leticia started feeling excited about this bright light for the future. 

"Father! The eclipse will start soon. We need to hurry, or we will lose our only chance!" 

"Don't worry, dear. Our plans will go as expected. We have calculated everything, and the probability of failure is close to zero!"

As they spoke affectionately, my body began to respond, and I struggled to regain my senses. That's when I realized I was inside a pentagram, surrounded by black candles placed at equal intervals along the circumference of the circle. In addition, there were plates of fruit and goblets filled with blood. Even the most learned witch or the most foolish person would recognize the scene as a human sacrifice and a forbidden ritual.

"I tried to call out to my father and sister, but my tears choked the words. When they turned towards me, they looked at me with surprise, as if they were seeing an insect come back to life after being dead. "Hah... so the potion is gone! I told you to give her a stronger one!" shouted Leticia, her voice filled with anger. "Calm down, Lety. Nothing will change even if she can move a little," said our father, trying to soothe her."

He said something like that. Am I not his daughter, too?

"Father, please have mercy!" I pleaded on my knees, tears streaming down my face. 

"Stop it...this is what the prophecy has said," he replied, his voice cold and unyielding.

"I said with the only voice I could shout out, "P-prophecy?" They stood there and looked at me for a short while, and then Leticia spoke, "Yes, there's a prophecy that says one of the twins has to die to pacify the clan." What kind of nonsense was that? And to top it off, a twin? Me?"

Elvyra, you are a twin without powers, the only one ever born. Can you understand?

I can recall the big room where I could hear only the rumor of my tears falling. Before I could speak, a tiny breeze started from somewhere. My senses told me to hurry, to run! However, I couldn't disagree with that. The only problem was that I couldn't move my legs. I was blocked and didn't know how much time I had left. Tears never stopped falling; I felt so betrayed. Even though I knew they never cared about me, I still loved them. It was unbelievable that they would arrive at the point where they would sacrifice me. I couldn't believe it.

Thud! The door suddenly opened. A young boy with a pale face entered, breathing heavily. "What's wrong?" shouted Leticia.

"I'm sorry to inform you, but the vampires have gone on a rampage at the border, and they might arrive here soon. "The vampires have been peaceful for centuries, but this sudden outburst is an explicit declaration of war. There is a significant issue between their clans.

"We need to hurry! Did you understand? Start the ritual and begin with the magic formula of initiation. We need those powers!" Suddenly, the witches formed a circle around me and began to murmur an incantation for a purification spell. But I'm confused. What powers are they referring to? I don't have any powers."

"FATHER! PLEASE! S-sister, I beg you…" I shouted with all the strength I had left in my body, desperately pleading for mercy.

"SHUT UP!" he shouted back with rage in his eyes. "All of this is because of you!"

As he spun around, his eyes met the lurking vampires at the door, and he knew he had to act fast. With a stern voice, he commanded his team to stop them from entering.

Only screams and bangs were heard outside the hall door, causing panic among some witches, but I was scared of what was happening inside.

The ritual began, and suddenly, my body convulsed with unimaginable pain, blurring my vision.

I attempted to break free from the circle, but an invisible barrier ensnared me, leaving me trapped.

After she caught her breath, the pain was so intense that she could only scream in an attempt to lessen it. "Imagine the most spine-chilling scream you could ever hear. That's what she released, sending shivers down the spine of anyone within earshot." the tension was so high that the fight erupted out of nowhere, "The main doors were violently torn down." The sudden chaos left everyone stunned and speechless. Can you imagine the adrenaline rush?

As the vampires approach, a spine-chilling sight unfolds before their eyes. Their hearts race as they take in the gruesome scene before them, sending shivers down their spines. A young girl covered in bruises because of the spell was lying on the floor in a pool of blood.

The vampire's piercing red eyes and luscious dark brown hair gave a captivating aura as he curiously asked, "What is this?"

"That was the last moment of my life. I knew it. However, I did not want to die like this. With the last bit of strength I had left, I reached out my hand towards the vampire, almost as if I was begging him to help me."

As he struggled to hold back an overwhelming wave of emotions, his eyes grew misty and his heart heavy. With every passing moment, he felt like he was on the brink of losing control, biting his lips hard to keep his feelings in check. "you killed my lord, the only albino vampire, and now use your people for rituals?" 

Suddenly, murmurs from the back of the room arose. "The albino vampire was a lord?" - "No, it can't be," they all exclaimed. They scattered out, which was the final proof of what they had done.

Albino? An albino vampire? Does such a beautiful vision exist?

"My daughter knew about the prophecy," my father tried to say, but the vampire's shocked expression was too much to handle.

"Daughter? You did this to your daughter?" 

Tears of pain streamed down his face as he held me tightly as if I were a beloved person he couldn't bear to lose.

 "I couldn't protect my lord, the most important person to me. How could you do this to her?" asked a stranger while my family continued to despise me, even at that moment. 

"I knew there was nothing left to do. Despite it being the last moment of my life, I was grateful to have met him."

Tears of pain streamed down his face as he embraced me tightly. I attempted to smile, though the pain was unbearable. I knew he couldn't save me and didn't want to burden him with that responsibility. "Thank you," I managed to say, hoping it would alleviate his pain, even if only a little.

"I am on the verge of death, and I am thinking about how to alleviate someone else's pain. However, it is a well-known fact that the remaining loved ones suffer more than the deceased. As I was watching a beautiful and warm-hearted vampire show compassion towards a total stranger, I took my last breath."

The only thing I remember is darkness. How can a dark place be so warm? That was the end of it all; I could finally rest. Then what are these tears on my cheeks?

"I can feel it slipping away," I thought as I closed my eyes, enveloped by a strange warmth. "If only I could turn back time..." The words echoed as I felt myself slipping into the unknown.

--

Upon opening my eyes, I immediately recognized that I was back in my old room. The room was still filled with mold and humidity, precisely as I remembered earlier. I couldn't help but wonder why I was there and what was going on with the sign on my wrist, marking my death. The situation was overwhelming, and I couldn't help but ask myself, "What the hell is happening?"