The Curse Of A Stranger's Gift

Xavier narrowed his eyes, pressing the knife deeper to her skin. Zheira coughed and blood drooled out of her mouth. She let her tears streamed down her cheeks when her breath hitched. Her oxygen supply was starting to run out, so as her blood. Soon, she"ll face the end she should have faced a long time ago.

Vladimir trashed, screaming for Zheira to hold on. His world turned upside down the moment he"d heard her heart beat erratically before becoming immobile. He closed his eyes for a moment then he screamed at the top of his lungs. It felt as if a pin forced itself inside his body, slicing every inch of him.

"What a sad ending?" The former king cackled. As though it wasn"t enough, he pulled the knife and sliced it in her body, scratching her flawless skin.

"I will kill you!" Vladimir whispered, he lowered his head, thinking of a plan to escape. Aside from that, he couldn"t bear to see Zheira"s limp body.

"You"ll kill me you say? Here!" Xavier threw the knife towards his son, and it plummeted directly to his thigh. He didn"t so much as winced as it plunged deeper to his skin.

At that moment, darkness engulfed the surroundings. All of them looked up to see the moon cover by shadows. It was a curious thing indeed. It wasn"t "till a reddish glint seeped through the moon did an evil smirk curve Xavier"s scarred face. He stretched his hand towards Zheira"s chest. Using his sharp claws, he s.n.a.t.c.hed Zheira"s heart out. Although it was now unmoving, he could still smell its freshness.

He stole a glance at his son. Knowing that Vladimir"s eyes were set on him, he squeezed Zheira"s heart and stuffed it inside his mouth. He was right. It was still fresh. The sensation it gave was phenomenal.

"Monster!" Vladimir shouted, horrified by what he"d seen. He blinked rapidly, trying to stop his tears from flowing.

Xavier turned his head slightly. "You"ll soon be grateful that I"ve killed her. For now, keep hating me. You"ll need that emotion to kill her yourself!" He put his hand on his back and diverted his gaze towards the moon. The red gleam was halfway through its shadow.

Vladimir breathed heavily. He couldn"t see clearly with the tears trailing down his cheeks. He"d never understood what his father had said and he never would be. For him, Xavier was a figure of fear and death. He"s way too strong. Vladimir didn"t know the reason behind everything he did, but looking back, he just seemed to be broken. The problem was his way of amending his soul: acquiring more power.

A thought that life was toying him sparked in Vladimir"s consciousness. Last time, he wasn"t able to save his sister because he"s too weak and stupid not to reach his maximum potential. Now that he"d sharpened his ability, he"s still unable to save Zheira from suffering his father"s wickedness. It made him feel useless.

There was a low scurrying behind him. He tried to look at it, but his bindings wouldn"t allow him. However, what made his eyes widened was when someone started gnawing the chain. He gulped, staring at his father who seemed not to notice what was happening.

The moment the chain loses its grip to him, he felt a surge of relief. His waist had been suffering from it for an hour or so. He turned to look at his savior and saw to his disbelief the Eleanor. There"s no mistake with those small figures. His brow furrowed. He was about to fry her with questions, but she covered his mouth, dragging him out of the surrounding boulders of rocks.

"I thought you were with my father"s side?" he whispered, barely moving his lips. They were so close that their lips were inches to each other. Eleanor"s cheek flushed red. His minted breath was too much for her. Her fantasy popped out of thin air when Vladimir shook her shoulder. "Hey, answer me!"

Eleanor stared at him for a moment before saying, "That was a regretful mistake I"ve did. For now, I"m happy that you"re safe. Let"s go!" She tried dragging him out of the way, but Vladimir didn"t move.

"I"m grateful you saved me, Eleanor, but I need to save Zheira—"

"She"s dead!" Eleanor hissed. "Don"t you know that your father planned to kill you. Do you see those filthy mortals? They will be stronger when the moon turned red. They will be your verdict. Don"t be stupid, Vlad! You"ve wasted too much time with Zheira. It"s time for you to save yourself."

"You don"t understand." Vladimir shook his head. "She st.i.tched my soul, Eleanor. She"s the reason why I"m still alive. Without her, I"ll be just an empty sh.e.l.l."

"But—"

"What a party we have here?" Xavier b.u.t.ted in. He was leaning on a nearby tree, together with three Elite guards who"s spears were pointing to the both of them. Their argument might have caught their attention. After all, Xavier"s senses were as sharp as his.

"I thought I already killed you, Eleanor. Seemed like you"ve found some way to get back to life—"

"You"re wrong," Eleanor snapped, "You never have killed me nor Louise." She smiled. "Have you forgotten what he"s capable of?"

"Ingenious." He looked down at her with adoration. "The one I"ve killed was just a clone of yourselves." He scratches his chin, still saying repeatedly, Ingenious.

"I"m sorry to interrupt your train of thoughts, but isn"t it the time for you to start praying? After all, you"re about to meet your creator. You can ask him why he flawed with you!" Vladimir cackled, rotating his hand in a counter-clockwise motion. Before Xavier could so much as move back, water bursted out of the ground. Every time he tried going away from him, the water would follow suit. The Elite Guards wasn"t an exception, they"d been soaked by it as well.

"What are you going to do with them?" Eleanor asked, swaying her hands as the other Elite Guards ran towards them. A round black hole engulfed their body even before they could get near. Of course, it wouldn"t kill them, but it would transport them away from the fight.

Vladimir grinned. "They"ll have to die." He clenched his fist, and the water started to solidify. It started from their feet, moving towards their legs. All they could do was scream as the ice numbed their whole body.

"This isn"t the end of me!" Xavier yelled, slicing his hands to the ice. A red-like string slashed through it, breaking it with a loud snap. He groaned when his legs got slice as well. Before his body could heal. Vladimir ran towards him in a speed of light, aiming a kick to Xavier"s face. However, he was able to block it with his bare hand. He squeezed Vladimir"s feet with all his might.

Eleanor, seeing Vladimir writhe in pain, sent series of punches to the king. Using his left hand, he blocked every single attack she managed to do. Xavier"s eyes flickered and Eleanor and Xavier plummeted towards a big tree, with their body surrounded by red-like strings. Every now and then, it would send spark that would make both of them shriek in pain.

Vladimir stared at Zheira. Her body was reddish like the beam of the moon. The mortals besides their towering rocks were drooling over the moon who"s almost covered with a deep red glow. Their hands were raised towards the moon, trying so hard to catch it.

Xavier pats the dirt away from his golden armor. He rolled his head and glared at them. "Is that all you"ve got? Sadly, even with your abilities combine, you"re still incapable of putting a scratch on me. I must commend you, though. You"ve decapitated all my allies in just one blow." He looked up suddenly when the moon was entirely covered with a reddish glow. "Ah, now we"ll see Zheira"s awakening. Watch closely, Vladimir, the woman you"d fantasized over would be the one to kill you."

"You think this is the—the last of us?" Eleanor shrieked, "You"re mistaken."

It was then that they"ve heard loud footsteps coming from somewhere, but above all those noises were Louise"s voice constantly saying, "They"re over here. They"re over here."

"Who are they?" Xavier spat.

Eleanor grinned widely. "The opposing team you"re trying to beat."

"You mean—" He was rooted on the spot when he saw them. From beyond the horizon, blue-armored vampires were marching. In front of them was a man with a face resembling a lion, wearing the same golden armor as Xavier"s.

They stopped moving. The vampire with a lion-like face pointed Xavier. "Today you lose, Xavier!"

Xavier grimaced. "You think so?" His eyes landed towards Zheira"s gleaming body. He could just make out bluish veins bulking in her very skin. There"s no greater weapon, indeed, he thought. All of them made a mistake of going against him. They"ll just realize it when death already knocks to their doors.