The Revival of the Vampire Empress!-Chapter 4: The Empress & Her Servant

Cacophony.

The word itself meant a mixture of complete disorder, and yet in her arms, I felt an odd warmth. A warmth that my life had largely been devoid of up to that point.

All kinds of emotions were bouncing around inside my chest in that moment.

I was relieved that I'd survived my imminent death. I was scared of the power of the creature in front of me. I was enchanted by the superhuman beauty of the woman in front of me. I was soothed by the warmth of her embrace.

And more than anything, I was drawn toward her by some invisible force. Her figure radiated a brilliance that seemed to illuminate the dark night. It was unique and couldn't be replicated. Without a doubt, it was—

My heart, which had just moments ago been beating out of my chest, was now tranquil.

Tranquil... Yes, it was too tranquil. I was calmer than I was normally, it was like I didn't have a single worry in the whole world.

Was it the empress? Was her pressure just that powerful?

Well, the reason for the way I was feeling didn't matter right now. There was something far more important that I needed to cement within myself

Using my sudden mental clarity, I steeled myself with a declaration.

'This woman in front of me isn't some sleeping beauty trope. She's a slumbering monster who's just awakened.'

Before I could process what to do with that realization, she stirred.

With a slow exhale, she pushed me away, not in a forceful manner, just a single palm to my chest. Her touch was shockingly light, but somehow my body felt lighter.

I blew back like a sheet of paper in the wind. I stumbled backward and just barely managed to keep myself from falling over. Noting that something was off, I looked down at myself.

My entire body was drowned in a feeling of weakness. My limbs were heavier than they should be, and their movements were stiff.

Just then, I raised my hand to my neck and felt the fresh blood trickle onto my fingertips. While the two new holes in my neck didn't hurt, they weren't anything to scoff at either. All the blood that'd just been sucked out of me was taking its toll.

'Heh... As lame as it might sound, I guess blood loss really isn't something to joke around about.'

All the while, the Empress hadn't even glanced my way. She stood with her back to me, utterly exposed, pale skin gleaming faintly under the moonlight streaming through the small windows of the shed. The air seemed to shudder around her as she raised one hand toward the open coffin.

It was then that the naked vampire seemed to mutter something under her breath. The words were sharp and guttural, but not from a language that I understood.

Even so, the world obeyed her command.

Suddenly, threads from the cushioning that made up the inner lining of the coffin came floating through the air and wrapped themselves around her body. With a coordinated determination, the threads formed into a luxurious black dress with red and white accents.

If nothing else, the vampire in front of me certainly was quite resourceful. She'd turned the coffin's gemstone into an assortment of smaller gems that were scattered around the dress. The threads even went up into her hair and fixed it up for her.

In no time at all, her appearance matched that of a proper empress, though she seemed to add in a dash of modern flair.

Fully clothed now, she turned toward me, her crimson eyes glowing with an unnatural light, a cruel sort of curiosity sparkling beneath her lashes.

"Veri... Why is it that you've come to this place?"

"Excuse me?"

"Allow me to put it in simpler terms. Who is it that you serve? Are you a member of one of the Great Families? Or are you a mere knight looking to finish the job?"

Her voice was calm, but each word dripped with disdain. I stood there, stiff and confused, blood still drying on my neck. My mind fumbled through her questions like they were riddles on a test I didn't study for.

"I... I'm not with anyone," I said. "I just... came here. On my own."

I wasn't sure if the truth would help or hurt me, but it was all I had. Lying felt like the kind of mistake that would get me vaporized on the spot.

There was no way of being certain that her magic would fail her a second time. There was also the possibility that she didn't need fancy tricks like magic to kill someone as weak as me. She was a vampire after all, and there were a multitude of questions about her nature that I didn't have answers to. And I was a human, simply a mere, normal human.

Cacophony's eyes narrowed. She took a single step toward me, one that caused my entire body to shiver. A noble fury simmered just beneath the surface of her perfect face.

"On your own," she repeated, her tone unreadable.

Then she looked away.

"Tch. Even now, they still crawl about like maggots, pulling strings from the shadows..."

My face contorted in confusion. Broadly, I got the picture of whatever it was that she was attempting to say, but I couldn't quite make sense of it.

A nervous smile broke out on my face. "A secret organization? If that is what you speak of, then you might be in luck. I, the ruler of all that the night sky touches, am currently in eternal combat with such a group."

The Empress's face stiffened in an unamused expression. "Speak." freewēbnoveℓ.com

The edges of my lips quivered. "Ah, well... Since the beginning of time, I have existed in one form or another, but as of sixteen years ago, I have taken this form. With the body of a dark-skinned teenager of very slightly below-average height, I attend Shores Charter High School as a Junior. Of course, this is merely my most recent guise, for at the moment, I must hide from my greatest enemy, the Holy Union!"

I spoke in a hurried voice; at that point, I was just saying whatever came to mind first.

The silence that followed was thick enough to choke on. I stood there, half doubled over, half smiling, hoping that my nonsense might distract her long enough for me to find an opening.

An opening to do what?

To run away, obviously.

This was too much for me. Someone like me had no place even standing next to someone, or something, as otherworldly as the Vampire Empress. Simply being near her made the air shift with danger. It was like a knife was being pressed to my neck.

The Empress didn't move.

Her expression was frozen in a kind of half-bewildered, half-disgusted grimace that caused sweat to form on my brow. Her eyes scanned me from head to toe, as if trying to determine whether I was insane, stupid, or part of some elaborate cosmic joke. Maybe all three.

Her lips pressed into a thin line. The glint in her crimson eyes sharpened. That unplaceable pressure in the air tightened even further.

Drops of sweat dripped down my cheek, but I didn't dare move to wipe them away.

'Right now... Should I try and run? Would I even be able to escape?'

If I timed it right, maybe I could throw something, cause a distraction, and bolt through the door. If I get lucky, she won't even bother to chase me and—

My breath caught in my throat as the Empress moved closer to me.

She moved fast, far too fast for me to react to.

In the span of a blink, her fingers were curled around my wrists.

I squinted one eye as the other remained open. This really might be it.

Then she—

She laughed.

Not a scoff. Not a cruel chuckle. A full-bodied, ringing laugh that echoed through the cramped room.

I was frozen in place. I wasn't entirely sure how to react. Slowly, I dared to gulp. Then, I dared to make the even more audacious move of attempting to laugh along with her.

Instantly after I began to laugh, the beautiful Empress ceased her laughter, and I did the same a second later. The short delay felt awkward and unnatural.

The Empress didn't seem to mind. On her face were lingering traces of joy and amusement.

"You're an odd one, aren't you. Moments after I announced that only fools considered themselves to be rulers in my presence, you do just that. How fun. It's been centuries since someone had that kind of stupid courage."

My face twitched.

In all honesty, I'd forgotten all about what she'd said. In that moment of tenseness, I just went with the flow.

She tilted her head. "Holy Union, was it? How very romantic."

She turned away from me and walked slowly toward the open coffin, her fingers trailing lightly over its edge.

"Still... if you're not one of them... That'd make you a simple, unassuming boy who has found himself embroiled in a great war... Or perhaps you are a teotl... It'd make sense in a way. From the taste of your blood, your teyolia appears to be quite strong. But then again, your tonalli is weak."

Her words hung in the air, but their meaning was so layered that I didn't have the means to understand them. What I did understand was that she wasn't speaking purely about blood. What it was that she'd just mentioned was something far closer to the core of my being.

On that note, a question unwittingly slipped from my lips.

"Was it only blood that you took?"

The wide-eyed look she gave me confirmed my suspicions.

"You're smarter than you look," she said, smirking. "You hide your amazement for the supernatural extremely well."

On that front, I had to give in. The magic and supernatural were some of my biggest interests. Of all the odd beliefs and conspiracies that exist, magic was one of the few I put my full backing behind. Now, seeing that magic was, in fact, real, did fill me with a certain joy.

"Well, you're right, I took more than just your blood just now. Vampires are far more complex than the rumors or fairytales give us credit for."

She gestured grandly, clearly enjoying the chance to talk.

"Firstly, we do require food to survive. By that, I mean normal human food. That said, we can go without for quite some time. Our need for blood is slightly different. We drink blood to feed off a piece of the human soul. In this process, some aspects of the soul that we feed off are also consumed. For a skilled vampire such as myself, we can even gain information like language. That said, specific things like memories are off the table for a vampire, no matter the skill level."

"Is that so... I think I get it," I muttered, though I didn't. Still, the clarity in her voice made it sound like gospel.

I hadn't expected such a detailed answer. She also seemed delighted to tell me. On her face was a large grin, and she even flailed her hands in the air to make it more dramatic.

In short, she simply liked to talk.

On the other hand, I got the impression that my over-the-top introduction went over better than I'd anticipated. As she stood in front of me, it was like she was a dog wagging its tail.

Just then, something zipped past the shed window. It was a small, bright light.

Was it a firefly?

I don't think that we get any around here, but it's possible.

Before I could ask, Cacophony turned and strode out the shed door like she'd heard something calling her.

Her stride showed a great deal of excitement and experience. As I watched her back, it felt like all of my self-doubts were washed away.

Not wanting to be left alone, I followed her outside.

As I exited the shed, my eyes were assaulted by a myriad of lights.

Outside, the night sky was filled with frantic, soaring lights dashing about from one place to the next. Blues, greens, purples, all firing about like small comets. The only difference was that these comets weren't far off in space; they were right here, in front of my face.

The myriad of different vibrant hues made it seem like I was watching some flashy sci-fi movie.

"Specters, huh? Shame, I was hoping we'd get at least one fully-fledged ghost among them."

"What's that supposed to mean? Specters and ghosts exist?!"

"Come now, vampires can exist, but ghosts are a step too far?"

The once-dead graveyard seemed to come alive, it was as if those who were laid to rest in this land were giving a warm welcome to the newly revived empress.

"My reawakening must have invigorated them... Well then, shall I show you some more magic? Something like this is child's play, so as my first servant of the new era, it'll be unbecoming of you to freak out too much."

"First servant?"

Cacophony extended both of her hands toward the sky. To my inexperienced mortal eyes, it didn't seem like she'd done anything special, but the movements of the specters began to change. Their rapid, random rampage throughout the night's open-air ceased. Soon, they swirled about perfectly coordinated in a circle, slowly descending and pulling closer together. By the time they reached Cacophony's palms, they were packed tightly in a small orb of shimmering colors.

"These are merely the regrets of the deceased given spiritual form. You can think of them as lesser ghosts. Still, with this many packed together, it may be of some use. Take it."

With that, she forced that strange orb into my hands. The feeling wasn't what I had been expecting. While the orb itself was perfectly smooth, I could feel the bouncing rays of light within it dancing on my palm.

It made me think. If something like this were to explode...

Certainly, I was holding a dangerous item.

Glancing upward, the empress simply marched forward without looking back. There wasn't an ounce of worry that adorned her unparalleled face, despite being dropped into this unknown world.

"Hey... What's your plan anyway? Just gonna walk around and hope for the best?"

The empress regarded me with a look of confusion and bewilderment. Her perplexed expression contorted her beautiful features in a manner that even the greatest artist of our time wouldn't be able to capture. It left no room to be misconstrued as not being genuine.

"Obviously, for the foreseeable future, I shall be living with you. I shall also be relying on you to teach me much about this unknown world. Thus, I'm officially appointing you as my first servant in the modern era."

There's a popular trend in media to have a character begin drooling as they listen to someone's speech while not understanding a single word. I think at that moment, I understood what those characters were feeling.

The only reply that I could give to her statement was a thousand-yard stare.

"But... What..."

She spoke as though everything was already sorted. As if the fact that it'd come from her mouth was enough to make the words fact.

"Oh, I should let you know this now. I'll be taking back my empire from the humans. I'll conquer this land and destroy all who stand in my way. Even so, it'd be unwise to begin the battle while having no information about this time. That being the case, I'll be staying with you to learn more."

"Living with me..." I repeated. "Wait, you're going to take over the entire world?!"

She opened the rusty gate to the graveyard and waited for me to pass through.

"Human life is too short to be wasted away in a place like this. Let's go."

I glanced down at the shimmering orb in my hands as I attempted to organize the mess of thoughts flowing in my head.

'This is all insane, I can't even... How am I even meant to react to all of this being thrown at me all at once? She'll conquer this land and kill anyone who stands in her way? That could mean mass destruction. How many would die? How many would she kill?'

I stood there, orb of undead regret in my hands, blinking up at her like an idiot.

I had no idea what the proper response to that was.

She had said it so casually. Like moving into someone's life uninvited was the most natural thing in the world. Like I was some kind of stray cat she'd chosen to adopt.

And like her conquest of all of humanity was inevitable. So inevitable that there was no need to even think twice about it.

There was a sensory overload within my body.

The words that ended up escaping from my lips were strangled and not at all a reflection of the mass of things that I wanted to say.

"So... How'd you end up in a place like this?" I muttered.

"I could ask the same of you, how'd you end up here?"

Instead of simply answering my question, the empress elected to respond in a lightly cheeky voice.

Puffing up my chest, I answered with pride. "Well, if you must know, as I was returning home from negotiations, I spotted something odd on the ground and-"

"Odd? Like what?

"Blue cracks all over the ground. Anyway, I—"

"I see... I can assume that they led you to my coffin?"

"Oh, yeah, but anyway—"

"There's something else that I must do in this era."

Cacophony continued, "On the day I was sealed, the strongest of humanity's forces had descended upon the vampiric capital. The fighting between the two sides had gotten fierce, it was the moment that would decide who would control the world. At that crucial moment, an unknown man made his way to my throne. I was unable to defeat him, and he sealed me away into that coffin."

There was a seriousness in her voice that she lacked before this moment.

"Veri, what year is it, and where are we?"

"2024. Florida... In the Americas."

"The European calendar and the European name for these lands. I see, that's how things turned out. Still, that means it's been nearly five hundred years since my time."

Then Empress looked downward for a moment before picking her head back up again.

There was a flood of different things that I wanted to say and a mix of emotions that were clawing at my chest.

For some reason, the most powerful at that moment was the desire to understand the enigmatic woman in front of me.