THE NETHER ALCHEMIST: RISE OF ZEGRATH VOID

It is another cold and rainy winter night in London. There are not many warm days around this time of year. Not that I can feel much of the warmth anyway, in fact, I do not even feel the cold. What I can feel is the rain beating down onto my skin. I have done this so many nights that this one more makes no world of difference to me.

As I make my way down the long-deserted road, I can see the street lights cast ominous shadows. The only shadow it is not casting is that of mine. See I am not your typical kind of human, in fact I am not human at all. I gave up living the living over two hundred years ago.

I would like to consider myself as a special kind of species, but most will see me as a monster. My life has not always been this way though, I once was a man. Not that I am not a man now, I just do not feel the same. The day my pounding heart died, so did everything that was me. I could no longer feel hurt, pain, or even love in the sense that humans do.

I have never experienced true love but as a young man, I always dream of it. Dream is not something I feel now either, but I do often wonder how different my life would have been. I am in no way saying that I hate who I am now. I just long for the things of a mortal man, the things that I had to give up the day I became me.

Being what I am, one of the most powerful creatures on earth is like being a god in your own world. The power and immortality are by far the best part. Who would not want to live forever and never grow old?

Walking down this deserted street would normally be dangerous but what if I am the one that is the danger?

I am meeting Edward at this pub he likes to go at night. I am not much one for socializing but if it keeps him in the trouble then I much rather would.

As I finally arrive at this bar, I make my way through the crowd and find Edward. As she sees me walk on over, he rises from his chair and embraces me in the kind of hugs that human men like to give, “Good evening sir.”

“Good evening young lad,” I jokingly say in reply.

We both burst out laughing. As I am the older of both of us, Edward always shows and treats me with the utmost respect. In our world respect is one of the key things to everything.

“Thanks for coming Sebastian.”

“Anything to keep you out of trouble Edward. So what exactly do you find so exciting hanging around such a dingy little hole?”

“Just look around Sebastian, can you see all these beautiful women?”

I turn my head and scan the bar, the sweet scents of so many women attack my nostrils. One thing we have is a very keen sense of smell.

“I indeed see what you mean,” I say, nodding my head in agreement.

Edward forms the kind of wicked smile upon his face, the one he does when he is up to no good. Then he says, “We might be dead, but we still get the same satisfaction out of sexual pleasure. And this my man, this is where I find it. You should try it sometime.”

“Edward I am not about to align my life with a human. I can get perfectly enough pleasure from one of our kind,” I try to reassure him knowing full well he does not believe a word that I speak.

“Sebastian, these ladies know more things than any hundred-year-old vampire. And in any case when last have you been with one of our kind?”

“How do you keep what you are from all these women? You know at the height of sexual pleasure our true nature is revealed,” I ask out of true curiosity for such thing I truly do not know.

“It is a skill that you learn over time. I promise this to you, that once you have had the flesh of a mortal woman, you would never go back looking at our kind.”

His words do spark some curiosity in me. But I will risk harming or might even kill a woman in the heat of ecstasy. I do desire the feeling of companionship, even though I would not feel love or hate, the ability to have someone by your side does sound fulfilling.

Curious that this has sunk into my brain, which I fully well still have, Edward interrupts me from my thoughts, “I can see you are considering it. Why don’t you try it? Pick up a scent and see whom it leads you to.”

My voice echoes over the crowd of patrons in the bar as I laugh at Edward’s remark, “This is absurd, we sound like animals prowling.”

“But is that not what we do Sebastian? We prowl at night, if not to feed then why not for a different form of pleasure?”

I know that I stand defeated and agree to entertain him for a moment “Alright then, there is no harm in trying.”

I close my eyes and focus all my senses. There is a unique smell coming from across the room that draws my attention. It is a sweet scent of jasmine and a slight hint of vanilla. I slowly open my eyes to see from whom it comes.

Edward sees that someone in the bar has sparked my attention, “Go to her,” he says.

I look at him in disbelief, “What on earth do I say? Excuse me but I smelled you from across the room?”

“You may try it but be very prepared to have a cosmopolitan thrown in your face.”

She is exquisite, her long blonde hair falls in waves down onto her shoulders. Her bright blue eyes are accentuated by a perfect heart-shaped face. The beautiful line of her lips is covered in a light shade of lipstick. Her skin is soft, and warmth radiates from it.

She has captivated all my senses. I have never been drawn to a human for any other thing than feeding. This might be a foolish mistake but as she sits there, it is a mistake that I am eager to make.

I slowly rise from my seat, “Alright I will try this but only if you come with me.”

Edward once again forms that mischievous smile, “Don’t ask me twice, her friend looks very much inviting. Now come dear sir, let us get you some human company.”

We make the thirty-second walk in what feels forever. As we are approaching the table, we seem to catch their attention. She whispers in her friend’s ear but I cannot make out what they are saying. When we finally reach their table, Edward is first to speak, “Good evening ladies. I am Edward and here is my good friend Sebastian. Can we buy you ladies a round of cosmopolitans?”

She looks at me and smiles, she is even more beautiful than I thought. That curve of her lip makes her irresistible. She is intoxicating, captivating, and undeniably bewitching.

I cannot do this, she will make me lose control. I can hear her heartbeat and it is beating to a hum that draws me. The pure raw sexual desire is bouncing off her body.

I can hear the rush of her blood as it is pumping through her veins. A hunger is starting to build up inside of me, not the type I feel when I need to feed. This is a different type of hunger. It is boiling from deep inside my core, a burning ache. I need to have her naked skin against mine, I want to sink my fangs slowly into her neck. I want to taste her, every single part of her.

She has woken up something inside of me. I can feel the desire and ecstasy build up in me. If I do not leave now, she will see me turn into what I truly am, a vampire.

Before I get further lost in her presence, I abruptly speak out of turn, “Apologies ladies but I must go.”