My Vampire System (WN)

There was a strange feeling brewing inside of Quinn. Despite having been told that more than a thousand years had passed since his fight with Graham, and even having seen a lot that has changed, there had always been something surreal about that information.

Perhaps it had been due to the fact that overall things didn't seem to have changed too drastically, technology not having advanced to a degree that he would be unfamiliar with, or the fact that Peter had still been by his side the moment he had woken...

Whatever the case, only now that he stood here, having been told that one of his best friends would need to be awoken from his eternal slumber, did he really start to grasp the meaning of a millennium having passed.

'I was a little too hopeful...huh.' Quinn thought to himself. 'Just because I saw Vicky recently and have been told that Logan is still alive, it doesn't mean that all of them will be as well... I have been foolish..'

Fex was an incredibly young vampire at the time and although a vampire's lifespan was far longer than a human's, it was rare for any of them to live that long. Perhaps only an Original would have been able to last that long without eternal slumber.

"You seem a little sad." Andy noted, his voice echoing a bit in the room.

"So much has happened while I was away..." Quinn slowly admitted. "It's a little hard to process it all." Fex had been the closest thing to a real brother the vampire had ever had, and he wasn't quite sure if he was ready to see him as an old man.

"Is only your father here? What about your mother, and where are the rest of the Cursed faction?" Hearing these words, a small smile appeared on Andy's face.

"Ah yes, the Cursed faction. As a small child my parents had often told me the stories about it... although I supposed this was also the case in my latter years. These days, I might be one of the few people who still remember them.

"As I stated before, the relationship between vampires and the rest grew after the defeat of the Dalki. With the big threat looming over everyone's head gone, separate factions weren't really needed. Those in the Cursed faction began to live their own lives, doing their own thing.

"According to my parents, the end of the Cursed faction was a good thing in a sense, though. Usually when a group is made and the leader disappears, they are replaced. However, with their leader having sacrificed himself to save everyone, nobody felt that it was right for somebody else to take over.

"As the one who had gathered all of them together, they regarded all deeds done by the Cursed faction as something truly done by the Hero Quinn Talen. So the right person was getting all the credit they deserve anyway, so why would they complain."

Quinn couldn't believe how he had managed to truly gather a group of selfless people like that. Listening to Andy's account, a giant weight was lifted off his shoulder. He had been worried that the Cursed faction might have been hunted or killed off.

This outcome was for the best. At least the others might have managed to live a happy life.

"My father and mother had me quite late in their lifetime, even though I am quite old. During their later years, they wished to experience real life, so after I was grown up and well, the two of them had planned to go into a deep sleep together. With my mother being a type of undead similar to me, our lives are close to being immortal, as long as we eat, but my mother wished to pass with her husband. That was how much they loved each other."

It was then that the look in Andy's eyes changed a bit, and he clenched his fist while speaking the second part, turning away from the others, so they could no longer see his face.

"However, before they could do so my mother was killed in an attack by the Dhampirs. Ever since my father had spent his time in the hopes of one day getting revenge on her killer. ... Unfortunately, he never succeeded.

"Over the decades, I watched him grow weaker and older, to the point when he retired, having me take over. For a long time he refused to go into eternal slumber... until he had no other choice."

Walking to the end of the room, Andy pulled out a knife.

"Before I finally put him to sleep, he asked me for a couple of favours, to hunt the one to kill my mother and the other one.... to see the Hero Quinn Talen. He was convinced that one day he would return, and in that case I was to bring him over.

"My father's life is hanging by a thread. I'm not even sure he has the energy to enter another eternal slumber after waking up if he were to stay out for long, so when I tell you I'm taking a big risk in doing this, I'm not joking. If there was another way, I would prefer doing that, yet as his son, I wish to respect my father's wishes.

"I sincerely hope that you are who you claim to be. If not... "

Andy left the threat hanging and before Quinn could say anything, the Commander made a cut on his arm and blood started to drip onto the floor. The Celestial Vampire had seen this before, as the blood slowly started to fill the specially made dial on the ground, turning slightly red.

A sound was made as the top part started to lift off the ground and small pockets of air were escaping from the strange mechanism. The pod-like chambers that were used to keep vampires in eternal slumber were in front of them. The vampire that would descend could only be awoken by the same bloodline, and even though Andy wasn't a vampire, he still had Fex's blood running through his veins.

The chamber started to swivel around its front door and slowly a figure could be seen standing up right with his hands over his chest. other Lieutenants in the room stood to the side, as did General Yaddy. After hearing how Commander Andy did all of this in accordance with his father's wishes, they felt like they had no right to directly stand in front of this person.

All of them went to the side of the room. Seeing this, Lucia and Minny followed suit. Peter was about to move as well until Quinn grabbed him on the shoulder.

"No, you stay. You were Fex's friend as well, we all were." Quinn muttered, not looking away from the vampire who arose.

The Wight noticed his friend gripping tightly. Although Peter didn't really feel pain, he could still feel the pressure. He understood why Quinn was so emotional.

The one in front of them was Fex... even though he wasn't the one they remembered.

No longer young and lustre, his face was now filled with wrinkles. Fex's hair had gone completely white, almost resembling his sister's. His body seemed smaller than back then, and it looked far frailer since his muscles had long since started to fade.

Nevertheless, one thing hadn't changed. His hair was still combed back, like the both of them remembered it.

Finally, the vampire in the chamber opened his eyes revealing a faint red glow. In front of him, the first thing he saw was Andy.

"Father, it has been a long time." Andy greeted him and immediately went to his side, offering him his arm as a support.

"Hey, will you look at that?" Fex spoke, in an old and wise voice, as he went to touch his son's massive arms. "You're nearly as muscular as I was back then, though you're only half as good-looking." Andy joined him in his dry laugh.

"Now tell me, why did you wake this old man up? Do you bring good news? Did you finally manage to kill the one...the one that...!" Although Fex didn't finish his words, his faint eyes shone brighter, as he thought about his wife's killer.

"No, I woke you up due to the promise I made you." Andy corrected, as he stepped to the side, no longer blocking his father's view. Both vampires looked at each other for a while, neither one capable of finding the right words. Everyone in the room was nervous and wondering what would happen next.

A tear was running down Quinn's cheeks as he opened his mouth to break the silence.

"I'm sor-"

"DON'T YOU DARE SAY THAT!!!" Fex shouted as loud as he could, his words echoing through the room with an energy which didn't seem to fit his appearance. "No... not you...you should never, EVER have to say those words! If one person has ever earned the right to never say those words to anyone ever, that's you!

"At the very least you should never have to tell them to me! ... I don't know how long it has been, but let me speak first." Fex gulped down his emotions and cleared his throat. He then gestured to Andy to let go of him, so he could stand on his own.

"I missed you, Brother." Fex smiled.