Chapter 2 — Seven Nights

Chapter 2 — Seven Nights

The first night felt like hell.

Annesa lay on the cold stone floor of the cave, both her hands and feet still bound by chains. Her body trembled violently—not from the cold, but from a heat that seemed to be burning through her from the inside.

Cold sweat covered her forehead.

Her breathing was ragged.

Not because her heart was racing—Annesa no longer had a heartbeat she could hear.

All she could hear was the heavy, uneven sound of her own breathing.

Hah... hah... hah...

Her throat felt as though it were on fire.

Hot.

Dry.

Painful.

She tried to swallow, but even the slightest movement made her throat feel as though it were being sliced open.

Annesa writhed.

The iron chains around her wrists struck the stone floor.

CLANG!

"Ahh...!"

She bit down on the piece of wood Eryx had placed between her teeth.

The wood was already covered with bite marks.

Annesa didn't know what was happening to her.

All she knew was that her body felt as though it were being destroyed from within.

Her muscles tightened on their own.

Her bones ached.

Her skin felt unbearably sensitive.

Even the sound of wind passing through the cracks in the cave sounded like a scream in her ears.

She could hear the snow falling outside.

She could hear branches scraping against one another.

She could hear small animals moving beneath the ground.

Yet there was one sound she desperately searched for.

There was no heartbeat.

None.

Only the empty silence inside her chest.

Annesa pressed a trembling hand against her chest.

Empty.

She didn't know whether she wanted to be afraid or cry.

"What is happening to me...?"

Her voice was muffled by the piece of wood.

Her body convulsed again.

Then the thirst came.

Stronger than before.

Her throat felt as though it were burning.

She needed something.

Something she couldn't even bring herself to name.

Blood.

The thought appeared in her mind without warning.

Annesa immediately shook her head violently.

"No..."

She didn't want to believe it.

She was human.

Or at least, she had once been human.

But her body was telling her otherwise.

Her fangs felt longer.

Her jaw ached from constantly clenching her teeth.

And the more she caught the faint scent of blood lingering in the air, the harder it became to control herself.

A roar escaped her throat.

"AAARRRGHH!"

The sound echoed throughout the cave.

Even Annesa was startled by her own voice.

It wasn't human.

It was too deep.

Too wild.

She bit down on the wood again.

Crack!

The wood nearly broke.

But Annesa didn't care.

She was afraid that if the wood were removed, she would bite something.

Or someone.

Perhaps even herself.

After some time, footsteps echoed from the passage.

Annesa raised her head.

She recognized the sound.

Eryx.

The man emerged from the darkness.

He stopped several meters away and observed Annesa's condition.

For the first time, his expression changed slightly.

"Does it still hurt?"

Annesa could only nod.

Eryx approached.

Annesa tried to speak, but the wood blocked her voice.

She pointed toward her mouth.

Then shook her head.

She didn't want the wood removed.

Eryx understood.

"You want to keep it there?"

Annesa nodded quickly.

Eryx knelt and examined the restraint.

"All right."

He made sure the wood wasn't pressing too tightly against Annesa's jaw.

"Then don't force yourself to speak."

Annesa stared at him with eyes filled with pain.

Eryx stood again.

"You have to get through this phase."

Annesa shook her head.

Eryx looked at her.

"I know what it feels like."

Annesa fell silent.

Eryx offered no further explanation.

Then he left the cave.

And the first night passed.

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Night Two

The pain hadn't diminished.

It had only grown worse.

Annesa began to lose her sense of time.

Day and night felt the same.

Dark.

Cold.

Silent.

Only the thirst never disappeared.

She didn't eat.

She didn't drink.

Not a drop of water entered her body.

Yet strangely...

she didn't die.

Her strength remained.

Whenever the pain struck, she could still pull against the chains hard enough to make the stone walls tremble.

The green veins beneath her skin had become more visible.

Sometimes, they seemed almost alive, moving slowly beneath her skin.

Annesa didn't dare look at them for too long.

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Night Three

Annesa began recognizing the sounds outside the cave.

She could tell when a rabbit passed through the bushes.

She could hear the wings of nocturnal birds.

She could even distinguish the footsteps of humans from vampires by their distance.

But the sharper her hearing became, the more torturous her existence was.

Because she could hear too much.

And there was still no sound coming from inside her chest.

No heartbeat.

Never again.

Only her breathing.

Hah...

Hah...

And silence.

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Night Four

Annesa rarely screamed anymore.

Her body still hurt, but the pain was slowly changing.

From something that burned to something that felt more like pressure.

She was beginning to get used to it.

Or perhaps...

her body was beginning to accept the transformation.

When Annesa opened her eyes, she could see the cave more clearly than before.

Darkness was no longer an obstacle.

She could see tiny cracks in the stone walls.

She could even see dust floating through the air.

She raised her hand.

The green veins were still there.

But this time, they didn't hurt.

Annesa touched them.

"Am I... still human?"

There was no answer.

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Night Five

The thirst was still there.

But it no longer drove her insane.

Annesa was beginning to control herself.

She still craved blood.

But she no longer felt as though she had to obtain it immediately.

She was beginning to understand that the transformation within her body was reaching its final stage.

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Night Six

For the first time, Annesa slept without screaming.

Her body was still weak.

But the pain that had tormented her for days was finally beginning to fade.

She opened her eyes when she heard something.

Footsteps.

Not Eryx.

Not an animal.

Someone was standing outside the cave.

But the sound soon disappeared.

Annesa closed her eyes again.

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Night Seven

Annesa awoke with a strange feeling.

She no longer felt as though she were burning.

Her throat was still dry, but the pain had almost disappeared.

Her body felt light.

Too light.

She tried pulling against the chains.

CLANG!

This time, the chain moved far more easily.

Annesa stared at her hands.

Then she looked toward the passage.

She smelled something.

A very familiar scent.

Eryx.

Footsteps grew closer.

Tap...

Tap...

Tap...

Eryx finally appeared.

This time, he wasn't wearing his hood.

His long silver hair fell past his shoulders, with several strands covering one side of his face.

His eyes were red.

Not the red of an angry human.

But a deep, cold crimson.

He wore an entirely black outfit with an elegant cut—simple, yet clearly expensive. His coat moved lightly with every step.

A long sword hung at his waist.

Its sheath was black, decorated with dark metal ornaments and delicate engravings that looked unmistakably expensive.

Annesa stared at the sword for several moments.

She didn't know why, but the weapon made her feel that Eryx was not an ordinary man.

Eryx stopped before her.

He studied Annesa for a long moment.

"You're still alive."

Annesa stared sharply at him.

Eryx smiled faintly.

"Good."

He knelt and removed the wooden restraint from Annesa's mouth.

The rope was loosened.

The piece of wood fell to the floor.

Annesa inhaled deeply.

Her throat was still dry.

She tried to speak.

"Water..."

Her voice was hoarse.

Eryx didn't answer.

Instead, he pulled something from beneath his coat.

A bowl.

Completely black.

No decorations.

No engravings.

Just a simple bowl held in one hand.

Eryx placed it in front of Annesa.

Annesa stared at it.

Then she smelled something.

A metallic scent.

Very strong.

Her eyes immediately changed.

The crimson in them deepened.

Her breath stopped for a moment.

The scent filled all her senses.

Blood.

Annesa swallowed.

And for the first time since awakening in that cave...

saliva slipped from the corner of her mouth without her realizing it.

She stared at the bowl.

Her hand moved slightly toward it.

But Annesa suddenly stopped herself.

She looked at Eryx in fear.

"What... is that?" Annesa asked.

Eryx leaned casually against the cave wall.

"I think you already know the answer," Eryx replied.

Annesa looked at the bowl again.

Her throat burned once more.

Her body wanted it.

Not her mind.

Not her will.

Her body.

Eryx watched the change in her expression.

"For seven days, you haven't eaten or drunk anything."

Annesa lifted her face.

"How am I still alive?"

Eryx smiled faintly.

"Because you're no longer human."

Annesa fell silent.

The words hurt far more than all the pain she had endured during the past seven nights.

Eryx pushed the bowl slightly closer.

"Drink."

Annesa stared at the dark red liquid inside.

Her hands trembled.

She knew that once she touched that bowl...

there would be no way to pretend she was still human.

But her thirst grew stronger.

And for the first time, Annesa realized that perhaps the night the Vampire King sank his fangs into her neck wasn't the moment she lost her old life.

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Annesa stared at the black bowl without blinking.

The dark red liquid inside moved slightly as Eryx placed it before her.

The metallic scent filled the air again.

Annesa's throat burned.

But this time, it wasn't only pain.

Something inside her was screaming for her to drink it.

Annesa shook her head.

"No."

Her voice was hoarse.

Eryx raised an eyebrow.

"You have to drink."

"I don't want to."

Annesa turned her face away.

She knew what was inside the bowl.

Blood.

And even though her body was desperately thirsty, her mind still refused.

She wanted to believe that she was still the Annesa she had once been.

A girl who was human.

A girl who didn't need blood to survive.

Eryx picked up the bowl and brought it closer again.

"Drink."

Annesa shook her head harder.

"No!"

She pulled her head away.

"I won't drink it."

Eryx watched her for several moments.

Then his voice became firmer.

"If you don't drink, you'll die."

Annesa stared at him.

"Wouldn't that be better?" Annesa shouted.

Eryx fell silent.

Annesa lowered her head.

Tears began gathering in the corners of her eyes.

"I don't want to become like them."

Eryx understood.

"Like the Vampire King?"

Annesa nodded.

"I don't want to live like a monster."

Eryx let out a long breath.

He offered the bowl again.

"This isn't about becoming a monster," Eryx said softly.

Annesa continued to refuse.

"Drink."

"No."

"Annesa."

"No!" Annesa shouted louder.

Eryx finally approached.

He took Annesa by the chin and forced her to look at him.

"If you keep refusing, the thirst will take control of your mind."

Annesa fell silent.

"And when that happens," Eryx continued, "you won't care who is standing in front of you."

His gaze became serious.

"You'll bite a human."

Annesa froze.

"Even an animal may not be enough to satisfy you."

He looked at the bowl.

"Your body needs blood. If you keep denying it, your instincts will take over."

Annesa bit her lip.

"No..."

"Then drink," Eryx pleaded softly.

"I can't."

"You can," Eryx said.

Annesa shook her head.

Eryx then spoke more quietly.

"It's not human blood."

Annesa raised her face.

"What?"

"Bear blood."

Annesa stared at him in disbelief.

Eryx lifted the bowl slightly.

"A bear that lives in the northern forest."

He looked into Annesa's eyes.

"I don't kill humans."

Annesa fell silent.

Eryx continued,

"If I wanted to give you human blood, I wouldn't need to lie to you."

Annesa remained uncertain.

She stared at the dark red liquid.

The scent of blood grew stronger.

Her throat burned again.

Saliva slowly slipped from the corner of her lips.

Annesa quickly wiped it away with the back of her hand.

She felt ashamed.

She felt disgusted with herself.

But her body refused to listen.

Her eyes remained fixed on the bowl.

Every drop of blood moving inside seemed to call to her.

Drink.

Drink.

Annesa closed her eyes.

"I'm scared..."

For the first time, her voice sounded like that of a truly frightened girl.

Eryx fell silent.

Then he said,

"Trust me."

Annesa opened her eyes.

She looked at Eryx.

He wasn't smiling this time.

There was no mockery.

No coercion in his eyes.

Only certainty.

"I won't give you human blood."

Annesa took a deep breath.

She tried to trust him.

Just once.

Just to survive.

But while she was still hesitating, Eryx suddenly brought the bowl closer to her face.

Annesa shook her head.

"Wait—"

Eryx didn't give her time to change her mind.

His hand supported Annesa's jaw.

The bowl tilted.

The dark liquid slowly touched her lips.

Annesa tried to keep her mouth closed.

But her thirst was far stronger than her resistance.

A single drop of blood touched her tongue.

Her body reacted instantly.

Her eyes widened.

Eryx poured a little more.

Annesa finally swallowed.

One sip.

And instantly—

everything changed.

The burning sensation in her throat disappeared.

The heat that had tormented her body for seven days slowly subsided.

The muscles that had remained tense began to relax.

The pain in her hands and feet vanished.

The chains that had felt like part of her suffering now felt like nothing more than cold metal against her skin.

Annesa drew a deep breath.

For the first time in seven days, she no longer felt as though she were burning from the inside.

She swallowed again.

And again.

With every swallow, her body became calmer.

The thirst that had tormented her slowly disappeared.

Her throat felt relieved.

Her body felt lighter.

Her mind became clear again.

She even felt...

normal.

But that feeling was precisely what made tears fall from her eyes.

Annesa cried.

Silently.

Without a sound.

Eryx stopped pouring.

Annesa stared at the remaining liquid.

Then she looked at her own hands.

Hands that still bore faint green veins beneath the skin.

She curled her fingers into a fist.

Once, those hands had belonged to a human.

Now...

her body needed blood to survive.

Annesa covered her face.

"I'm no longer human..."

Her voice broke.

Eryx didn't answer.

Annesa cried harder.

"One sip..."

She looked at the bowl through tear-filled eyes.

"Just one sip... and I can never go back."

Eryx stood silently before her.

Annesa shook her head repeatedly.

"I don't want this..."

Her sobs grew deeper.

"I don't want to become a vampire."

Eryx remained silent.

He knew there were no words that could restore Annesa's old life.

No words that could erase the wound on her neck.

No way to return her human body.

Annesa slowly lowered her head.

Her tears continued to fall inside the cave.

But her body was becoming calmer.

Her breathing, which had been ragged for seven days, slowly returned to normal.

Her thirst was gone.

Her pain was gone.

The strange power raging inside her body was finally under control.

But there was one thing that could not be healed.

Awareness.

Annesa was now completely conscious.

She still had her memories.

She still had her emotions.

She could still cry.

She could still love.

But she no longer had the life of a human.

She looked at Eryx through her tears.

"If I drink blood..."

She hesitated.

"...will I be like this forever?"

Eryx looked at her for a long moment.

Then he answered quietly,

"Yes."

That single word made Annesa cry again.

Eryx lowered the bowl.

Annesa closed her eyes.

In the silence of the cave, she mourned the life she had lost.

And for the first time since fleeing the kingdom...

Annesa was no longer afraid of the pain.

She was afraid of the fact that the pain was finally gone.

Because with the end of that pain, she finally had to accept the truth she had spent days denying.

Annesa had died as a human.

And something new...

had been born from her blood.