Legendary Vampire in the Apocalypse
Chapter 34: Only Upon Reflection

Chapter 34: Only Upon Reflection

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As she watched Dion walk himself to wash off the blood, Anastasia’s jaw had been clenched far tighter than ever, her breathing fallen shallow.

Her gut churned, sinking as his bite marks over her shoulder ached, burrowing the pangs of shame that she felt deeper and deeper, flogging her soul.

She would not lie to her majesty to say that she cared for the one called Shijo. She knew nothing of him, and thought of him only for his association to him.

However, such shame she felt! Such disgrace and anger with herself when her lord’s dissatisfaction had been directed to her because she had chosen not to fulfil his wishes.

And it was folded upon thicker by her understanding that even if she were to have been given the opportunity to do it once more, to repent and do as he wished, she would not have.

’If only! If only that human’s soul were still with him.’

Cold mist began to brush off of her figure as she forced herself deeper breaths.

She struggled to calm herself, biting down upon her lip as she heard the destruction that she had induced within him.

Her eyes glossed over, as delicate as soft morning dew, and the heart he had granted her back ached in her throat as her breaths trembled.

Her tardiness earlier, when he had been impaled, had not been her own fault.

She could not have brought herself before him without a summoning.

However, she had shouldered it, for a truly worthy vassal should always find some way to be present for their lords.

But here, how it plagued her, that his disappointment and pain had been born as a consequence of her decision.

Anastasia did not know how long it had been since he had truly quelled his own rage.

She had only risen once she felt the echoing reverberations of it all calm within herself enough that her strength returned to her legs, and she strode forward to the door.

Amends could only be made by serving him to her fullest.

She had failed him twice so soon from their reunion, and she would not allow herself a third.

For her emperor that had once so, so long ago promised he would return for her, for them, and their garden and fulfilled his promise, there was no depth she would not reach into to reconcile with him.

Suddenly, right as the door clicked open, the tightness to her expression melted away, his voice calling for a name she had not heard in ages, so fondly, sweeter than the nectar of their garden’s fruit.

The door immediately shut, and her legs swanned down the apartment.

"Asya, come here."

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Water stained with the taint of blood spilled from Dion’s figure as he rose from the tub.

It had been nearly ten minutes since he had entered the bath and begun scrubbing himself clean as he looked at his chronicle.

It was far shorter than he would have liked, but, he removed himself once he heard Anastasia’s heels thudding through the ground, heading for the door to do what he had demanded of her.

Earlier, when he had been made subject to the grieving young woman, Dion had not left them because of shame.

He had been forced into clarity, and understanding that whatever he was now, it was far different from anything normal by any standard that he had lived to know till now.

In part, this was because of his race.

Vampires, or rather, more personally speaking, Sanguinis, were hedonistic creatures, so long lived that indulgence in all kinds of pleasures, whatever satisfied and stimulated them the greatest, became their only anchoring to what they deemed to be a worthwhile life.

All of this had been piecemeal information that he understood from his own reading.

After all, he was rather interested in mythologies because of his mother.

Dion reached for the first towel that he saw, as her heels moved down the door

Be that as it may, even reading something, one could never truly say that they understood it unless they lived it in practice.

And that crying young woman, who should have been just around his age, had thrust him into the clarity of seeing the true nature of what sort of ancient creature he had become.

From the moment that he had drunk the gnoll’s blood, he had been filled with such a euphoric, dreamy feeling, even if the taste of it had been rather bland.

His blood had been rushing from the fight, and with all of that, all that he had wanted was to then enjoy himself in a nice, hot bubble bath.

And that was the truth of it all.

He hadn’t gone to them immediately because he remembered that he needed information about what was going on.

All that had been on his mind was further satisfying his own desires, and how so, so vehement they were, just as he found his other emotions had become.

That was why he now understood, more than only his race contributed to what he was going through.

His ascent, he felt, should have been something like... the crystallisation of it all?

Dion had left them behind because in that moment, he had been forced to see that he was no longer human, that his mentality was already being so deeply affected by becoming a Sanguinis that he didn’t even properly feel how different it was.

He could only understand it in comparison and upon reflection and thought. Hence why instinctually, he understood they couldn’t understand him.

That was why he had called for her. She was the only one that could in this world.

"Asya, come here."

Dion had briefly glanced down at his somewhat wet, naked body.

For the briefest moment, he had felt embarrassed, then he remembered how she had so thoroughly seen... and touched everything.

’What does it matter at this point? Shame is the least of my concerns around her.’

Thus, he walked for the door, leaving only the towel draped around his waist.

Dion walked around the glass shards that had been sprawled over the ground, then he opened the door for himself.

By the time that he had, Anastasia had already brought herself before it.

The calmed blood of his attention met with the cold, shivering blue of hers that had been for the briefest moment to maintain her gaze upon him.

He could have argued that he thought he might have seen her prepared to bow slightly.

However, Dion did not wait to see if she truly would, as he rushed past the threshold of the door, and he embraced her.

"My—"

"Thank you." Dion interrupted her as he felt her flinch in his arms, and he only held her tighter. "And I apologise for how I’ve spoken to you. I was wrong."