I stepped back. "What kind of a person are you? You are insane! Just l-leave or else, I will contact the police. I don’t need your help anymore. Get out of here!”
“Oh, it’s too late for that, Ingram. You already said yes.”
In a blink of an eye, Sullivan was already in front of me. He firmly held my head.
I winced. I wanted to push him away but my strength was no match for his. He was too strong. When Sullivan moved his bloody wrist near me, I shut my mouth.
“You have two options, Ingram. It’s either I kill Levana right before your eyes or you will drink my blood and she will be able to live for as long as she wants.”
I clenched my hands. I remembered all the years that I spent with Levana. I had always considered her as God’s gift to me. And then I remembered her sufferings, how she became hysterical when she found out about her illness, and how she wept almost every day after that.
I closed my eyes and slowly opened my mouth. Sullivan laughed before he released his blood inside my mouth. Things escalated quickly. Before I knew it, I felt something sharp pierced my neck. When I opened my eyes, I noticed his fangs. And he bit me. There were no words to describe how excruciating it felt.
When Sullivan freed me, I thought the worst was over.
But I was wrong.
"I will give you the next rule once you recover. But for the meantime, you must die, Ingram. Die,” he said in a rough voice before he stabbed my neck with a dagger.

I WOKE up because of the extreme pain in my head and in my throat. I felt like my stomach was craving for something but I had no idea what that was. And my body felt weak as if I was badly beaten up by someone. When I opened my eyes, I had to blink twice to make sure that I was not hallucinating.
I was inside a cave! But how did that happen? I quickly got up. The last thing that I remembered was being inside Levana’s room when a man named Sullivan suddenly came. I broke out in cold sweat when I remembered how he made me drink his blood and how he stabbed me.
“H-how am I alive?” I asked, still dumbfounded.
“You are half-alive, if I were to correct that. Creatures like us exist somewhere between life and death. Because you already died, Ingram, although you came back to life as a Vampire.”
That voice came from the man who was sitting in one corner of the cave. He was leaning on an enormous rock and it looked like he had been watching me for a long time now. He was wearing a black top and gray pants. His long hair was almost all gray now. He had a mustache and a beard that almost reached his neck.
“I don't understand what you are talking about. And who are you? Why am I here? Where is this place?”
“My name is Erasmus. I was the one who saved you when Sullivan threw you under the giant ball of fire.”
“The giant ball of fire?”
Erasmus nodded. “It’s the sun, our enemy. Now, I understand why Sullivan did that to you,” he looked at me intently. “You are Xenos' doppelganger. I guess he grew tired of just watching Xenos and Acantha’s doppelgangers find each other, fall in love with each other, and die for each other that’s why this time, he decided to interfere. You are now a Vampire, Ingram. Sullivan turned you into one of us.”
I just stared at him, unsure whether to believe him or not. He then showed me a piece of white paper and blew it towards my direction. I didn’t know how he did it when we were sitting far away from each other. The paper landed straight on my palm.
“I found that paper near your body when you were unconscious. I found out your name through that.”
I couldn’t respond. I was still loss for words and just opted to read what was written on the paper.
Here is rule number two: stay far away from Levana. She is now safe; I can assure you that. I healed her. And I am going to be with her for as long as she lives. Stay alive, Ingram. Be strong. Take as much blood as you can because you will need that when we see each other again. Until our next encounter. -Sullivan
“N-no!” I shook my head violently as I stood up. This couldn’t be real. “No! N-none of these are t-true. I... I need to see Levana. She will surely search for me. She will worry if she doesn’t see me. I need to be beside her.”
My chest was pounding when I walked out of the cave only to scream on top of my lungs when my body burned in just a few seconds. My eyes watered because of the sudden pain. Erasmus pulled me back to the cave.
“You are not listening, fledgling! I told you that you are now a Vampire! Your life is different now. Try to leave once more and I swear, you will really burn to death!”
“And what do you want me to do? I just woke up one morning and my whole life suddenly changed!” I yelled back while my body was still giving off fume. “H-how did I get into this? All I wanted was just to save the woman I love.”
Erasmus’ voice softened when he spoke. “That was the problem, Ingram. This happened because you wanted to change destiny. Be careful of what you wish for. Because in every wish, there are always two different ears from different sides whose listening. And sometimes, the darkness who has always been lurking around, travels faster than the light.” He smiled bitterly. “Take it from me. I’ve been there.”