Chương 133: Apex Predator

Year 310. Xia Sun was fifty-one years old, yet her face remained identical to the one she had possessed at thirty. Not a single wrinkle, not a single sign of aging. Only an unchanging beauty, frozen in time. As though not a single day had passed. She was a respected mage who taught magical arts at the High Institute of Magic Guardians, one of the most prestigious institutions on the continent, where the greatest talents were trained to become Grand Mages.

At the time, magical institutes could be found throughout the continent. Young mages studied there to learn the magical arts and hone their talents. Every institute had a different teaching method. Some were extremely strict, others accepted only mages with exceptional talent, while others were open to anyone capable of using magic. The institute where Xia taught was located in the Frozen Lands of the North and was accessible to mages of every level. Xia was considered competent, disciplined, and reliable.

She was not, however, a particularly brilliant mage. Her talent was average, as were her abilities. She did not excel in any particular discipline, nor was she one of the most important figures at the institute. There was, however, something that distinguished her from her colleagues. She did not need any preservation spell to maintain her youth. Many mages used spells or potions to preserve their skin and slow the effects of aging.

Some incredibly powerful mages, on the other hand, were even capable of continuously regenerating their bodies and choosing their biological age at will. Xia simply did not age. Many believed it was a genetic peculiarity. Others considered it good fortune, a blessing from fate. They were wrong. Something dark lived inside her. A hunger. Not a simple necessity, but a devastating and uncontrollable impulse that awakened every year and devoured her from within. Xia had tried to resist it.

She had tried to ignore it, suppress it, convince herself that it would pass. But when that hunger came, there was no escaping it. Suppressing it was impossible. It was like asking someone to hold their breath underwater forever: no matter how strong their will, the instinct to return to the surface would inevitably prevail. The hunger worked the same way. And deep down, Xia knew that if she did not satisfy it, she would die. One night, in a dark alley, she had just finished feeding.

The body of a young boy lay on the ground. Nothing remained but bones, with small scraps of flesh still clinging to them. Xia slowly rose to her feet and wiped her mouth with the sleeve of her kimono. Her breathing was ragged. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work! Every time was horrible. But as the years passed, she had begun to grow accustomed to it. The guilt was still there, but Xia had learned to rationalize it. She had to do it to survive.

She had no choice. At least, that was what she kept telling herself. As she walked away from the alley, however, she heard footsteps. She turned sharply. A man emerged from the darkness. It was Mason. His face was identical to the one he would have centuries later. Only his hair was shorter. Same face. Same unsettling calm.

"Why the long face?" he asked calmly. Xia remained motionless. Mason watched her for a few moments.

"You don't need to be ashamed of what you've done". Panic overwhelmed Xia. If her secret were exposed, her life would be over. She would lose everything. Her job. Her reputation. Her position. Without hesitation, she moved one hand and generated an invisible slash. Mason's throat split open. Xia held her breath. But the man remained standing. Then he smiled. Before Xia's incredulous eyes, his flesh began to knit itself back together.

The tissues rapidly regenerated, and the wound closed as though it had never existed. Xia staggered backward, horrified. Mason was upon her in an instant. He teleported in front of her and slammed her against the wall, gripping her wrists.

"You don't need to be ashamed of your hunger", he said. His red eyes gleamed in the darkness.

"It is part of your nature. You are a vampire, just like me". Xia stared at him in disbelief.

"A vampire?! What the hell are you talking about?" Mason remained calm.

"That hunger you feel…you never understood where it came from, did you?" Xia did not answer.

"A mage doesn't need to eat fresh flesh to stay alive. So why do you?" Xia began to tremble.

"But vampires…vampires were wiped out thousands of years ago by the Clan Prinz". Mason slowly nodded.

"Every pure-blooded vampire was wiped out, that's true. And so were countless of their descendants". He paused briefly.

"But some…very few half-bloods survived". A smile appeared on his face.

"We are among them". Xia brought a hand to her forehead.

"That's impossible…" Her voice trembled.

"How…why am I only finding this out now?" Mason released her. Xia pulled herself free from his grip and began pacing back and forth in the alley.

"We're a danger…we're dangerous creatures. That's why we were exterminated".

"No". Mason's answer was immediate.

"We are simply what we are. The world cannot erase us simply because our biology functions differently". His red eyes gleamed.

"It isn't right". He slowly approached Xia.

"We are apex predators. And that is precisely why we must exist". Xia stared at him, unable to look away.

"Follow me. I'll explain everything about our race". His smile widened.

"I'll make you understand how rare we are. How… special". Xia hesitated. For several seconds, she remained motionless. Then, slowly, she followed him. In an abandoned castle, lost in the middle of a vast snowy expanse, Mason told Xia everything he knew about vampires. He explained that by feeding on the flesh of other creatures, vampires could drastically slow their aging until they became immortal. They could transform other beings through a bite, but most victims died, unable to withstand vampire DNA.

They also possessed extraordinary abilities: regeneration, teleportation, and even the ability to transfer memories from one mind to another. Xia listened to every word. Yet she still wasn't convinced.

"I'm not that powerful". Mason smiled.

"Because you only eat when you're on the verge of death". Xia remained silent.

"You have always satisfied your vampiric nature only to the bare minimum. You fed only enough to survive". Mason stepped closer.

"If you ate more, you would become much more powerful". Xia lowered her gaze.

"That hunger…" She clenched her hands.

"Couldn't I satisfy it with animal flesh? Why do I have to feed on the flesh of living beings?" Mason answered without hesitation.

"Our biology works this way". He pointed toward the window, beyond which snow was falling silently.

"Would you ask an elf why its aging slows down as it grows? Or a goblin why it lives so little and grows so quickly?" He turned his gaze back to her.

"We were born this way. To avoid aging, we must feed on fresh flesh. And the fresher, the better". He paused.

"The freshest blood is found in the youngest beings. That is why your instincts draw you toward them". Xia stared at him in horror.

"It's normal".

"It's not normal!" Her voice echoed through the room. Xia covered her face with her hands.

"They had their whole lives ahead of them…and I devoured them like a demon. It's cruel. It's wrong". Mason sighed.

"Cruel?" He looked at her calmly.

"When a starving wolf tears apart a hare, is it cruel? Or is it simply trying to survive?" Xia slowly raised her gaze. Their eyes met. She found no answer. If she had been born that way… If that was her biology… Was it truly wrong to accept it? Xia continued to ask herself that question.