The Fragments

There was a certain emptiness that haunted Leon's mind, like a hollow void where his memories once resided. For a second, he swore that he knew who Noelle was.

It felt like phantoms slipping through his grasp, like his memories were falling into a deep quicksand.

Noelle's eyes were eerily similar to his, except hers looked like a mirror, reflecting the world with detached clarity. Her pupils were sharp, cat-like, and a bright shade of crimson.

Despite how inhuman they looked, something tugged at his heart and his soul.

It took a while for the young girl to calm down, clinging onto Leon's arm as if she was afraid that he'd disappear into thin air. Leon smiled at her, warm and welcoming, trying to reassure the stranger that he wouldn't leave. He had nowhere else to go.

Noelle's lips quivered. "B-brother..." she said shakily, sounding like she was going to cry again. Her eyes glistened with tears once more.

Leon placed a hand on her shoulder; it was the only comfort he could offer. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

The girl shook her head; her grip on his arm tightened. "No, i-it was our fault. We didn't find you sooner."

Leon didn't know what she meant. What about finding him sooner? There was an echo in his mind, a familiar emotion of warmth bubbled inside of him like he was proud of her.

But why?

"How were you able to find me now?" he asked. Leon's mind was a whirlpool of confusion and unanswered questions. He needed to know.

"We've been searching for a long time, trying to find traces of you. Your essence, the fragments of your existence - your blood."

Memories of Leon's previous hunts and his execution flashed back in his mind. The taste of blood was still thick on his tongue, and for a second, he felt a sharp blade on the periphery of his consciousness.

"Ah, during the past hunts, I've been rather... careless," he said sheepishly.

Noelle's eyes sparked with familiarity as she let out a small giggle. "Mhm," she agreed. "It was what led me to you." The white-haired girl paused for a second. "When they tried to execute you, the bloodshed was enough for me to easily trace you."

There was a hint of fury in her voice, directed at those humans who had turned their back on Leon.

"And so, here I am," Leon ended.

"Here you are," Noelle echoed.

There was a beat of silence before Leon spoke; asking the question he desperately needed the answer to.

"Who am I?"

The girl's eyes bore into Leon's, her gaze shifted into something different. It was as if the childish veil that shrouded her had vanished into thin air, replaced with someone who had seen the past and the future.

Leon shuddered.

"A pureblood," she answered, voice steady and unyielding.

Leon's blood went cold, there was a haunting realization at the back of his mind. Something that he desperately tried to ignore.

-It shouldn't be possible.

Pureblood vampires were myths. They were an existence that was long erased from humanity's history. There were rarely any stories about them, ancient texts that depicted an existence as malevolent as them.

Pureblood vampires were a lineage that was eradicated from the Holy War.

They were God's traitors.

A fallen angel - a pureblood vampire. Leon thought to himself that they had the same difference.

The realization haunts him.

A sputtered laugh escaped Leon's lips, empty and devoid of any emotions. "What?" he asked breathlessly. He slumped on the bed; the revelation felt like a heavy weight on his existence.

She's lying. Lying. Lying, Lying.

A part of him knew she wouldn't. Because why would his precious Noelle lie? Why? WhyWhyWhyWhyWhy?

Noelle's expression had changed to a sickly sweet smile, the corners of her lips twitched at the sight of Leon's surprise. Her eyes shone with madness as she locked eyes with him - Leon couldn't look away.

It was so oddly familiar.

"Come on now, brother~" she purred, her fingers trailing on Leon's back as she gently wrapped her arms around him. "You had associated yourself with those dirty rats for so long."

Her voice was a honeyed melody, yet there was an underlying darkness that was pulling him in. "Don't you think you claim what's rightfully yours?" Her tone was temptation made flesh, it made Leon's heart drop.

"Weak, ignorant, humans. Despite what you did for them -" her voice shook with bitterness. "They dare harm you."

It felt like there was cotton in his head, words felt like muffled noise. Leon's were

  unfocused, trying to pull himself away from all the emotions crashing down on him.

"You?" Noelle whispered as she let out a shaky laugh. "My brother?"

"You were meant for greatness, brother." her voice was sharp, dripping with so much hatred. "But those humans held you back." she hissed.

Her nails dug into his back, enough to be painful but Leon had somehow found it anchored him back to reality.

"Why did you have to forget? We are children of Millenium. We are above them all." she pulled away, eyes gleaming with dangerous fervor.

"After all, isn't that what you taught me?"

Children of Millenium.

The term sounded like it meant everything and nothing all at once. A long-forgotten destiny that was intertwined with his very being.

Leon sucked a deep breath in as he chuckled. "Oh, how cruel must I've been?"

Noelle's eyes softened, as she smiled. "Cruelty suits you best, brother."

He couldn't help but laugh at how ridiculous everything was.

***

The air was thick with a sickening, floral scent that Leon was often familiar with. It was distinct and recognizable, it smelled like the dimly lit streets of the city's lower end.

Leon knew the scent of Opium very well. It was humanity's vice, a surrender to their basest desires for pleasure. Humans were slaves to their desires and indulged themselves in sin to fulfill those desires.

Deep crimson curtains hung heavily over tall, tinted windows as smoke curled lazily around the room.

A figure sat lazily on an opulent sofa, filled with cushioned pillows and silk sheets. His face was partially covered by the smoke as he twirled the ornate pipe on his palm.

Leon's face soured at the sight.

"Hey. Get up." Noelle's voice was devoid of its usual cheeriness as she called out to the other man.

A clinking could be heard as the man stood up from his position, and in the blink of an eye, there was an unfamiliar face blinking in front of him.

The man had sharp, fox-like features, similar to those who lived in the East of the continent. Still, he had the same white hair and eyes as Noelle.

His hair was long, reaching the base of his back. The only thing he wore was a black robe, a yukata, that loosely fell on his shoulders.

The man stared at him wide-eyed.

The effect of opium was evident in his languid movements, his expression seemed soft as he spoke in a soft voice. "You're back."

Noelle's eyes bore into the man in a subtle warning, annoyance evident across her features. "Stop that," she chastised.

The man did not stop staring at him with a bewildered expression; his pupils were pinpricks as he scanned Leon's appearance.

-And he even had the gall to sniff him.

Leon tried to take a step back from the man, but his grip on Leon's shoulder was firm. "Indeed," he whispered to himself. "It is you."

Noelle sighed in exasperation. "Of course, it's him, are you doubting my skills, Kazuki?" she asked.

Kazuki. The name was foreign, coming from the Eastern territories. Leon couldn't help but feel curious.

"I don't dare, Bloodhound." There was a hint of sarcasm in Kazuki's voice as he finally moved away from Leon with a sly grin, it seemed that his haziness from opium was slowly dissipating from his eyes.

Bloodhound?

Noelle's face turned a bright red. "Don't! Stop calling me that!"

Kazuki's grin was sly, sharp fangs poking visible as his eyes sparkled with mischief. "But dearest sister, it suits you so well~" he taunted.

Embarrassment was evident on Noelle's face as she playfully swatted him away from Leon. "Shut up! Shut up! You're embarrassing me in front of our brother!"

The mention of "brother" sent a shiver down his spine as he tried to grasp the fragments of his lost memories.

"Brother?" Leon finally spoke, his voice filled with a mix of confusion and curiosity. The realization that he might have siblings was a revelation that raised more questions than answers.

Kazuki's expression dropped, disappointment flashed on his face before his eyes turned serious. "So, it is true." he stepped closer to Leon once more. "Memories are such fickle things when it comes to human brains." Kazuki hummed.

"It can be easily malleable, erased, and destroyed. Such easy little lambs to play with." His expression was unsettlingly calm.

"But we are different. Our memories are not merely bound by our brain-" he placed a hand on Leon's chest. "But our core. As siblings, we are all connected. Our blood and bones are replicates of one another."

"Those inferior humans could never be the same."

Leon's thoughts reeled at the mere viciousness in Kazuki's voice, a stark contrast to how he was just seconds before.

The vampire placed his sharp finger on the back of Leon's neck, tracing the long, vertical scar on his nape. A chilling reminder of what Leon had forgotten.

It throbbed, and the familiar pain returned.

"They tore you from us and tried to erase your existence." He snarled. "Humans made you hunt your own kind."

Kazuki's nails dragged on his skin. "Memories they could only temporarily take away from you." his eyes bore with such intensity, that Leon felt it wash over him like a tidal wave of resentment.

The pureblood's sharp fangs glinted in the dim room as he smiled.

"Don't you want it back?"