The Fallen Vampire

His memories soon came rushing back to him like a broken waterfall and soon he recalled the unbelievable events that unfolded before his impromptu nap.

"By the nine heavens…"

Taira glanced at his master halfheartedly. "It seems we had visitors."

"How can you be so cavalier about this, boy? Have you any idea what has just happened??"

"Not really…"

"We\'ve met an observer! One from beyond the boundary!"

Taira stared at his master blankly.

*Sigh* "This is the problem with lower realm existences… you never understand anything of significance."

"Then perhaps enlighten me with your infinite wisdom instead of making me sympathize with the men who killed you."

Once again, Velreth found himself seriously questioning how it was that a person could be so immensely unlikeable.

"Consider yourself lucky that you are a heavenly talent. Or else your mouth would seriously disqualify you from receiving my teachings."

Taira snorted as if his master had only accomplished voicing the obvious.

"Listen here, disciple. And I will give you some information that is highly privileged for one such as yourself…"

Taira listened closely as his master told him a bit about the history of the upper realm.

Even after trillions of years, the nine heavens are yet to be fully explored or conquered.

But the highest ranking know that there is an end, or at least a land outside of theirs.

Those that come from outside are called observers, and are tremendously rare.

So rare that only three instances of them appearing have been recorded in over thirteen trillion years of history.

They do not attack, conquer, or take from the nine heavens.

Perhaps because they are unable… but it could also be true that they are only good natured.

They simply watch the world around them for an extremely brief period and impart knowledge. But they never speak of where they come from.

Those who witness them and heed their tutelage are fated to become Undying Beings. The peak of enlightenment and evolution.

"So… Have any of them ever left a gift before?" Taira asked as he lifted up the strange jar.

"No… I confess that this is the first instance of such a thing happening. I wasn\'t even aware that they could. It is believed that they had laws against it."

Taira uncorked the glass in front of him in a harmless gesture.

He was completely unprepared when a wave of power hit him square in the jaw.

Every bit of air within the room vibrated with a power that Taira had only felt once before.

It was as if he were standing in front of Fenris for the first time all over again.

But the power didn\'t stand out to him the most.

It was the smell.

It was heavenly. Taira had never smelled anything like it.

It stoked a hunger within him that he had never experienced before.

His fangs burst from his gums immediately and he began to drool like a starving dog.

"TAIRA!"

A loud voice right next to his ear was only barely enough to break Taira out of his trance.

His fangs were still out and he was still so hungry. So very, very hungry.

"Do not even dream of eating that, disciple. I know well of your kind\'s dietary needs, but if you so much as taste that five-colored dragon blood, then you will burst like a pimple on a fat woman\'s back."

Taira had never been a man who was ruled by his vices, but in front of this blood he could barely force himself to care.

Velreth could see his disciple struggling, and he decided to try a different approach than the one he\'d been using so far.

He would be his version of \'nice\'.

"This is a laughable sight. My mouthy and unruly disciple is ruled by his stomach and women with large behinds. How pathetic."

"…"

It required every ounce of willpower his body could muster, but Taira eventually placed the lid back onto the container and screwed it on tightly.

He even froze it for good measure.

"…If I find your eyes glance at my wives\' behinds, I promise I will kill you."

"I don\'t have to glance at them, most of the girls are so well endowed you can tell just by looking at them from the front!"

"I will not repeat myself, Velreth."

\'Territorial little fox…\' The great god of ice rolled his eyes and suppressed a smile.

However upset Taira was, atleast he wasn\'t thinking about suicidally gorging himself anymore.

"…I\'m hungry."

Nevermind, I spoke too soon.

Velreth could no longer suppress his chuckle as he sat down beside his disciple.

"A craving for blood and sexual energy I would imagine?"

Surprisingly, Taira shook his head.

"Mapo tofu made by Lucia… and Vermeil\'s brown sugar mochi."

Velreth felt as if his disciple could not get any weirder.

He\'d never seen nor heard of a vampire eating regular food before. Not even a halfling.

"I see… Well, I\'ll make you a deal show me the specifics of the art you were working on, and I will show you where I\'ve hidden the most exquisite lotus wine in all of the nine heavens."

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"I don\'t drink."

"By the stars, what are you even living for..?"

Somehow, Taira did end up cracking a small smile at this.

And against all odds, Velreth found himself getting annoyed.

\'This bastard really is too pretty.\'

However, Velreth\'s imagination quickly turned into awe.

Taira cracked open the manual in his lap and began explaining the process that led to him developing his new breathing art step by step.

As he listened, Velreth\'s eyes became wider and wider.

Ordinarily, there would have been no way to combine the two arts. There was just no way to make the energy flow into the body in a stable manner. It put far too much pressure on his lungs and veins.

However… Taira\'s body was special. Very special in fact.

If he altered the directions that a few of his veins and nerves ran by only a little, he could take the pressure off of the areas that were most affected and use his art with impunity.

He hadn\'t completely fixed it\'s design flaws so that it could be used by others yet, but he had developed a way to use it in spite of that by altering his very own body.

It would do for now, atleast until he had more time to learn and study.

"Have you tested this yet..?" Velreth questioned in a low voice.

Taira closed his eyes and began to quiet his mind.

After a moment\'s wait, a dense chill filled the room and all of the qi in their surroundings rushed towards him like a runaway train.

Velreth waited five, ten, and even fifteen minutes, but there was no sign of rejection.

He was completely gobsmacked.

\'Unbelievable… I guess I have to keep letting him be disrespectful to me after all.\'