Chapter 1: The fake Vampire

Cyer is the Capital of the Vampire Kingdom – the knowledge centre of the Flying Continent – where all the greatest noble scholars can be found along with countless, not yet to be revealed researches and knowledge. There are hundreds of humongous libraries and schools and laboratories with thousands of talented alchemists, researchers, archaeologist and so on. It's where unknown information and secrets still lying around – just exactly what Aria needed.

Every single person living in the Flying Continent knew the most important rule of all to live here is:

'If you want to get through the borders of any kingdom you must be its citizen, and if you're not, you MUST have the KEY with the kingdom's symbol on it – which might take months or even years to get. If you dare to pass the borders without any of the condition listed above acquired, you will be arrested and imprisoned for years or worst, executed.'

Aria knew that, of course, but she didn't have time to get a Key, she was in a time constraint. If she wanted that to be done, she must have that information as soon as possible and she knew what must be done. There was a reason the title The Queen of Death's one and only apprentice was hers and it's time for her to proof it.

First of all, she needed to buy some essentials in the Central Area, because she might have to stay in Cyer longer than she thought. Aria had lived in the Inn for a while now, she needed to make a proper tactic before heading to Cyer – where might lead her into jail for years, and all of that will be ruined. The Night Market was as busy as usual, it was packed with streams of people pouring from different directions. Streets were lighten with strings of colorful lanterns swinging in the were stores set up along the stone path, all leading to the Clock Tower with almost any product a person can think of in Night Market. You can buy the newly just-harvested super fresh groceries from the Dwarf Kingdom's field with beautiful shining fruit and vegetables. Looking for house decor? The Fae citizens had all you need to make your home look stunning: Jars of glowing and glittering fairy dust, the color changing rugs, the mirror of miracle and many more. Being a warrior, searching for your just-right weapon? Head for the most famous blacksmith in town – the Midnight Cat weapon store and you can find all the best blades and equipment, you won't be disappointed.

There were so many interesting things to check for a new visitor but Aria wasn't interested and neither had time for it. She headed straight to Luchis's Tailor store. Dresses, cloak and shoes couldn't be missing if she wanted to act as a Vampire, they always wear such fancy clothing.

Luchis's store laid on the East side of the Clock tower, along with all the luxurious accessories shops, where ladies and madame could be found everywhere. Aria stopped in front of the store, staring at the signboard for a while as if she wanted to make sure she would not mistakenly walking into another store with talkative annoying old women. The door slid opened as the bell rang above, noticing the people inside.

"Good evening. How can I help you?" A young Fae man with long pointy ears and large glittery eyes turned around, smiled a charming smile at her. He supposed to be Luchis, the owner of this store.

"Well, if you can, please set that disgusting fake smile far away from your face. That would be a great help." Aria said after all of Luchis's clients had left the store.

"Your voice still sounds so distant and cold as if we are still strangers. I'm hurt." Luchis made a face like he was about to cry.

Aria took a glossy brown fox-fur coat off the hanger, "We are strangers. We've only met for two or three times, I won't say that we are anywhere near friends yet. And don't make that face, you look terrible."

"What a harsh word to say as a lady, Miss White." Luchis took the coat from her then continued with a creepy smile, "I suppose you want something else. What's the plan?"

"Dress me as a Vamp, Luchis." Aria said, as she took off her hood.

~o~

After she finished with the costumes, it's already three in the morning. The Night Market had closed an hour ago and so had Luchis's shop but they still continued in the basement, where all of his rarest products were kept for the most special clients, and one of them was her. Aria turned around in front of the mirror, checking for any flaws in her dress so she could request (or even command) for a discount, but it seemed the plan failed her. She wore a gorgeous black velvet, long sleeves Victorian dress with laces around the edge and a big butterfly bow at her back. The dress was not as heavy as Aria had assumed, she could still move around easily. Luchis even added a knife holder band on her thigh with matching color scheme. Aria's silver silky hair was loosely held by a small scarlet ribbon, then naturally fell on her shoulders down to her waist. Her eyes glowed with the color of gold.

"Well the dress is Vamp-like but your face..."

"I know what to do. Thanks for your clothes. Here is what I promised." Aria threw a small bag at him then grabbed the sacked which was packed with lots of dresses, cloaks and shoes. Putting the hood on, she headed up the stairs. "Goodbye!"

"Good luck with those Vamps!" Luchis looked at her until she had disappeared upstairs, then returned to the small bag in his hand. It was a picture a of young Fae lady with a beautiful cheerful smile. He did not ask for this by words but she knew it. Ria – his beloved wife who was stuck in the reborn cycle thirteen years ago due to the Noir Tragedy. After the fire had burned down their home, there was no picture of her left and there were times when he suffered to remember her face. With him, this gift was more than any gold anyone could give him.

~o~

3:15 AM

Aria hurried her steps towards the Clock Tower on the Stone Path with no sight of living creatures. Mist was thicker than ever but there was no stopping her, the glowing golden eyes shone through the dark. Every time her heels knocked on the flatten stone, more echo seemed to be made, it was two then four, then ten then hundred. Each step she made thickened the eerie atmosphere around her. The scent of moisten earth with death dashed into her nostrils, chill ran down people spine even from quite a far distance. In the moment between night and dawn, Aria with her friends from the Underworld paraded through the long-closed Night Market.

With a big noise of clashing stone surface, the gate swung open, letting the wind of the death rushed into the Tower. The marble floor shone under the death's feet by the light of the blue hell fire floating in the air. Aria put down a rustic messenger bag and opened it, she took every thing out, one by one and let her friends setting up the circle. There were candles, lots of candles and what was left was the summon gate. Aria unsheathed the knife kept on her thigh and sliced a line on her left thumb. She then muttered words in a really strange language with a commanding tone. The blood dripping down her thumb stopped in the middle of the air then flew to the circle, making a blood brush, painted the ground a blood-red six pointed star with weird symbols. The last drop of blood ended with the words, the Gate glowed under the candles' lights.

The middle of the gate which was once the shiny clean marble floor now turned into a pond of viscid black substance with sticky bloody hands grasping for anything within their ranges. Suddenly, another pale hand slowly emerged from the gate, then the arm. Her head soon rose to be seen. It was a noble vampire woman. She slowly stood up, still unused to the temporary body, reeled to where Aria stood. The Vampire lady stared into her eyes, as if she wanted to challenge her summoner, then she smiled a wicked pleased smile and kneeled on one leg with one arm placed on her chest.

"To my Master, who had summoned me – the greatest living Necromancer. What wish of yours shall I serve?"

"So you know who I am?" A half-smile showed up on Aria's face.

"Yes, my Master. You're the last of your race who survived after the Noir tragedy."

"Seem like you know a lot. It worth summoning you, after all, Lady Nardia – the lost wise woman. I suppose you know what my wish is already, don't you?"

"Of course, my Master. I will lend you my help and make you a temporary Vampire."

 

2: Chapter 2: I'm the Wise woman's person

Chapter 2: I'm the Wise woman's person

In comparison, the Flying Continent and Earth had a lot of things in common. For example, the Border Gate which serves the purpose of security checking and protecting the citizens from the external attacks and illegal break-in. Every kingdom had only one Border Gate to prevent shorts of employment and unwanted imitators from sneaking into the kingdom, like Aria as an example.

Once the Mad Train stopped at Cyer Station, the passengers will have to pass the custom. They will be interrogate by the officers with random questions during the examination of Vampire-like features like eyes, fangs, blood and so on. Aria had finally made it to the post, and still waiting for her turn. Lady Nardia had repeated countless of times when they were on the train about how she should act and do not panic, but it seemed that she just worried to much. Aria was also surprised at how calm she felt when she stepped a foot off the train. Merge in with the crowd perfectly had always been her naturally borned feature. She wondered why sometimes she was gifted this talent, was it for times like this?

"Next please!"

Aria stepped forward towards the officer – who looked more like a charming prince than a security boy with those damn gorgeous blonde hair and glowing green eyes. Though, a charming prince won't stare at you like he wanted to dig his fangs into your neck and suck all of those delicious hot blood from your body. While the other two officers were taking some of her blood for examination, he was checking through her fake ID with the fake name – Linnea Wood.

"Linnea Wood, huh?"

"Any problem, sir?" Aria glared at him coldly but still managed a smile.

"I have never seen you before. You are not from any of the noble families. Who do you work for?" He asked.

Aria smirked. "Sir, please don't tell me you can remember every single person you met? I don't work for anyone in special, I'm just a mediocre person." The other two officers started checking her eyes.

The prince-like officer stared at her, "I'm afraid I do have that ability, isn't that insane?" He lowed down his voice when he stood nearer to her, "However that's normal to we Vampire don't you think? Or you don't even know about it, you sneaker?"

Milady, he's just testing you, don't be scared! Tell him...

Of course I know what to say, Lady Nardia.

"Well you sure know how to look at a person, don't you." Aria whispered, "I ama sneaker, but not the type you think I am."

"Huh, so please tell me Miss Sneaker, who are you?" He dragged a half-smile out of his lips.

"I'm the Wise Woman's person."Aria grabbed her ID and smiled back, "They are done with the test, nothing is wrong with me, am I? Can I go now?"

Aria could see his left eye brow was jerking crazily and he was squeezing his hand so tight under the desk, he's definitely frustrated, but who care. She won't meet him again. "Yes, Miss. You can go."

~o~

After passing the custom, Aria entered the heart of our prosperous Cyer. There she could see rows of buildings glowing in the blueish light of lacrima; the Day Street full of different Blood Bars and the legendary Slavery Casino where Noble Vamps could bet and trade their slaves – those lowest ranged vampire who originally came from the Human World. On the street, there were no cars, or bikes, no flying mat or public transportation. Cyer was where people live on their own, they fly in their bats form, run with their terrific speed of a supercar or just stroll around in their cat form. Unlike what the human knew, Vampire onlyhave speed, beauty, intelligence and shape-shifting ability. They can transform into most animals they like but the bigger the harder so most of the time, bats and cats were the Vamps' favorites. And since those Vampire did not have any supernatural extraodinary strength, they were scared of other races more than anyone and became completely united to each other and always stay alert around different races. They only had their wisdom as their advantage so they use it as a shield and made other kingdoms respect them and need them because of that.

Aria stroded downtown into the shadows of the glory capital – where low ranged creature were meant to live. She thought that's where she could blend in easily. In many ways, being a shadow had always been a part of her life, may be seeing people with the same situation like her will make her feel eased.

However she still did not expect the worst. The Downtown was actually an area where worn down houses still stood, with the horrible thick fishy aroma of blood hanging in the air; it's where lives ends everyday in extreme pain, where people's desperate growl and scream became a part of their daily lives and it's where blood could spill every second without reasons. Children were no exception, their eyes burned with anger and wildness with blood in place of tears. They crawled on the floor, trying to grab anything in their range desperately as if anyone or even ANYTHING could spare a chance to be their savor from the pain they were suffering. That's how cruel the ending of the cycle was to those who were made to be Vampire.

Aria looked away from the people, hiding her face under the hooded cape. She walked further into the rows of houses and with a slightest afflatus, she decided to turn into a small alley. The alley was so small that she could barely fit herself in but that won't hold her back. Aria kept walking forwards until she finally reached the end of the way. It was a dead end. Aria was sure that it was a dead end, however, she couldn't help thinking that there was something not right about it. The wall was there but it felt like it wasn't there. Trusting her instinct, Aria picked up a rock, and threw it at the wall. It disappeared.

She stopped for a moment. Then, decided to pick up another rock and threw it again. It's gone. Aria moved forward and slowly touched the wall. She can physically touch it but the rock cannot? Interesting.Aria thought. She backed up a little and ran into the wall. As expected, the secret portal can only be activated with force. The air around her bended and let her travel into another dimension. The portal took her to a dusty and dark place. The air was so stuffy that she could barely breath. It was a mixture of dust, oldness and somewhat thrill. The place lacked the so called human existence. Aria took a look around. It seems like a long forgotten library, with stacks of worn out leather-covered books piled up, covering the floor of the room. Under the dim golden light of flickering candles of the wooden chandelier, Aria can see rows of books and notes lying around in every corners. Just by looking at the texture of the paper and scrolls she could tell how old these writing actually were.

In the corner of the room, Aria found a small table with a cracked chair. She lid up the small lamp on the table and a small notebook caught her attention. It was a half written diary, filled with events from a decade ago. Aria flipped through the paper to the latest record. It was written, "This world is going into insanity. The Devil hidden under the name of the Savior, giving themselves the power to disturb the flow of life and destroy the creation of Gods. Without the hellwalkers, the death could not find their way home and lost in the enternity. Eliminate temporary essential pain and replace it with everlasting darkness is the act of stupidity and shallowness. Revenge will come. Eye for eye. Tooth for tooth. The child of Zed..."

Squeak...

There was someone coming. Aria scanned the room for a hiding place and she found that there were hollows between bookshelves in the corner that she could fit herself in. Quickly blew off the candles, soundlessly, Aria blended in the dark, waiting for the person to come. From her position she could barely see anything except for the shadow of the mysterious person grew bigger every second on the floor.

"Come out. I know you are in there. No need to hide." It was a soft and pleasant voice, but Aria could not seem to tell if the person is a heor a she.However, her instinct told her to trust the sincerity in the voice. She slowly walked up to the person. It was even harder to tell the gender of this person when she looked at a close distance. X (how Aria decided to call the person) owned a pretty face. The pale skin seemed to glow in the dim light, lighten up the big blue pair of eyes that were looking straight at Aria's. X had a thin and small body of a weak child but still managed to bring out an experienced sense of aura. Covered by pieces of old worn out clothing, X looked so fragile that Aria somehow felt guilty of hurting it with just a single blow of air.

"How did you get in here?" X asked, still staring at Aria.

"Through a portal, I guess." Aria's answer came out before she even realised it.

"A portal? Where was it located?"

"Doesn't it always at the same place?" Now Aria was confused. Does that mean the portal just randomly opened in places? And somehow, she ended up here.

"No. Yes and your presence here is not a coincidence. I wonder how long has it been since the last time I talked to a living being. Well it doesn't matter anymore. Since you are here now." X gave Aria a smile, in which she could see both sadness and relief. There were so many things going on in her head. X could read her mind. She at least can understand that, she was in the kingdom of Vampire filled with strange power anyway. However, what still left her confusing was why her presence here made any different.

Of course, X read all of her thoughts. X gave her a soft smile, "Come here. I will show you everything." X grabbed Aria's hand. From those tiny little hands, a warm sensation slowly spread out through Aria's body. Along with that, she felt so light as if she could fly and float in the big sky above. Then pictures appeared in her head, switching from scene to scene. Fire. Arguments. More fire. Pain and fear overwhelming everything else. Natural instinct ruled. Then she saw this guy, in his dark hood, running through blocks of buildings, holding dearly to something in his hand. He was wounded, blood dripped from his body, leaving marks on the stone path. The guy finally reached the riverside, where a boat was waiting for him in the thickening mist. There was someone sitting on the boat but she could hardly see their body features. The guy did not get on to the boat, he gave the other person the thing he kept hidden under his cape and Aria finally realised what it is. It was a baby and it could not be mistaken. The baby was her.

At the very last moment, the guy gave her – the baby, a leather necklace with a piece of unsharpened gem. With the last smile spread across his face, his hand could no longer hold on to the baby's hand and he fell on the ground, powerlessly looked at the boat disappearing in the mist. He whispered, "... Amaranth, goodbye..."

~o~

Aria was pulled back into reality. She was back to the room fulled with books and with X.

"What was... that? I don't understand..." Aria pressed her head, trying to understand what she just witnessed. Who was that guy? Who did he called in the end? Was that her name? And who was the person that took her away? She could not seem to understand anything. Was everything that Ordio - the Queen of Deathtold her was lie? And why did she need to do that though?

X slowly hugged Aria and told her, "I know it's hard to take everything in at once, but I also know you are a strong girl. You know your fate. It will not change no matter what truth you might face. You will get through this. I trust you. And let's make this a farewell, so I could end my duty and leave the rest for you."

His last word ended with him pushing her hard into the portal that was opened since when she could not remember. She saw X hands were bursting into flame, turning the whole library into a sea of fire. And standing inside that wall of heat, X gave her his last smile. His lips moved, "Goodbye, Amaranth. Thank you." The burning hell disappeared and Aria was thrown on the lawn, speechless. What is happening?

"Who's there?" A voice was coming from behind. Aria turned back, it was the charming security guard at the custom. "It's y..." Just before she could finish her sentence, she felt the pain sunken into her neck, shutting all of her senses down. Everything turned black.