Hide, but...why? And who are "they"? Ruan WenCai's thoughts erupted in panic. But deep down, he knew, something was not right. Therefore, without hesitation, he ran.
Ruan WenCai ran as fast as he could.... but it was too late. Boom! The sound of an explosion; he heard a sound break through the air like a thunderclap. Panicked, he turned around - Cracked!
Didn't have time to react - a spear bearing a dragon and wings symbol pierced through his chest and pinned him to the ground. He was helpless, through his eyes, his chest started to bleed, and the spear speared dark red sparks. He blinked, the sky blurred, and everything was too fast. Something was wrong.
Why is there....a spear in my chest....?
Ah, blood...so much blood...
So this is...the end....?
Does it...hurt? I can't...feel it...
Am I going..mad?
Why is my heart pounding....so heavily?
Ahh...., Sunset...., it's so brilliant...
Was time always this slow?
Why do I have to die?
After all of that, everything ends here....?
No! I don't want to die.... I want to live.... I need to return....home....
So please...
If there's...a god watching me....
Save me...
Meanwhile, in the deep forest, a silhouette was walking toward him. But he couldn't see the silhouette's face. As the sun went down, the spark in his eyes was slowly fading.
"This fool, he wasted one of my potions, and now he wants another?" The mysterious man took out a small vial, as he spoke deeply and poured it into Ruan WenCai's mouth while pulling the spear out of his chest, laying him against the tree. He felt it, the flow of blood, the flesh started to reconnect, and his eyes were never this sharp. But he knew he would be best to stay still; he acted and observed everything.
"Come out, you bastards." the mysterious one said.
The moment he finished his words, five hooded men appeared, each holding a knife that seemed to be forged out of bone, and lunged at him. Without wasting a second, the mysterious man used the trees to his advantage, moving with an insanely fast speed.
His moves were unpredictable. In an instant, one of the assassins' heads was torn off with his bare hands. Slash, slash, slash and slash, he didn't bother to dodge-he kept rushing in faster and faster, as if he grew stronger with every wound. Stopped for a moment, he poured the dead assassin's blood into his mount. The four were horrified.
Their bodies trembled as they watched the man drink their dead companion's blood. Without hesitation, they fled into the forest-but it was useless. There was no escape. The blood from the dead body formed blood thorns and shot into the head of the remaining four.
It was a disaster...
Ruan WenCai, who was instantly healed, had witnessed the scene from the start. Terrified by the battle, he looked at the man in revenant fear as the man got closer and closer, and began sweating. He gapsed, not the sudden pain but from the invisible pressure from that man. "What's your name?" The man asked a question, Ruan WenCai feared, still he answered immediately, but while unable to finish his words, he was interrupted before he could complete his sentence.
Lucas chuckled. "Did you enjoy the show?" Admit it - I looked magnificent, didn't I?" He said while pulling off an embarrassing pose, but his eyes didn't smile.
.....
.....
.....
The man asked various questions with an elated tone and a smug-smirk face, while Ruan WenCai stood stunned. His expression turned awkward, and all his fear vanished. "Why is he so talkative?" he complained in his thought.
At that moment, he looked up at the talking man to see his appearance. It was nothing like he had imagined. The man looks young, in contrast to his voice. He wore a black and red suit like a gentleman, with long white hair brushing pass his pale skin. His eyes are crimson, and his face... majestic.
"Wait....are those sharp teeth!?"
"He...he drinks blood!"
"A vampire...?"
Unable to hold his curiosity, Ruan WenCai spoke out loud, realizing he had made a mistake. The two froze for a moment before the man broke the silence. "Don't worry, I won't harm you." His voice was calm and steady, but in his eyes, pain-deep and sorrowful pain.
"Ahh, what am I thinking, he saved me!" His thoughts echoed.
Knowing that this could be a friend, he said with a faint smile crept in:
"What's your name?"
"Lucas Valdric" Lucas gave a faint smile.
"My name is-"
"What?...Ah...Who...Am.....I....Ruan...WenCai?.....No....."
The headache slowly corroded his mind. Just like when he was transmigrated, his consciousness is being devoured, consumed by an invisible force.
"Are you alright?"
"Hey"
"Hey!"
Lucas shouted.
"Is Lucas talking...?"
"Ah..., he's calling me"
"I can.. hear it"
"No...I can't"
Lucas' voice grew lower and lower till the point Ruan WenCai no longer heard it, and his mind dissolved like smoke.
.....
.....
.....
"What is this place?"
"A cozy cottage, I see."
He stood in a wooden house. The walls, furniture, and everything were made out of timber. Through the windows, snow blanketed the world outside. With no memory of this place, yet he felt...peace.
"Home..."
"Huh, no, this isn't my home!"
Follow his instinct, he began to walk. A warm, woody scent drifted through the breeze as he explored the house. A wooden shelf stacked with books, but he couldn't open them. A sturdy wooden table near the windows, scattered with quills and unreadable notes. Benches lined the wall with an animal-skin rug on the floor.
"A wooden door"
Ruan WenCai stopped, and unconsciously, he opened the doorknob.
"A bed.....a stone hearth....?"
"Wait.....a woman?"
Standing still, he basked in the room's atmosphere until he heard the woman gently whisper:
"My sweetie, it's already snowy... my little ....Velmir....Winterfall" - At that moment, he felt it was a familiar name. A name that belongs to him, the name Velmir. Velmir Winterfall.
"So that's....my....name...?" he muttered, trembled by the voice of the woman. His tears dropped for no reason, but soon he realized.
"What?... I'm Ruan.....WenCai?...
"No...I'm Velmir....Velmir Winterfall"
"Ahhhh!"
"Why now? The pain!"
"No... no!....I want to know more...!"
Ruan WenCai collapsed to the floor with his left hand clenched, and the pain dragged him back to reality.