Pandora's Curse: Key To Immortality

"I hereby present you the poison, 'VELDN-IX'."

Somehow, there was something familiar about the name of the poison as if she had heard it somewhere before, yet she wasn't so sure. 

Luo Yi heard Luca's whimpers and breathing grew softer and slower until she could barely hear them anymore. Her face was suddenly gripped tightly. The long and bony fingers clasped her jaw in a bruising grip. 

"And you, darling... or should I say Pandora?" 

Luo Yi bared her fangs at him. She had no control over how to manipulate her eye color. Heck, she just knew today she had been supporting a red orb in her eye. 

Did it turn into red during feeding? Or was it permanent? She never knew.

"Get the fuck away, psycho!" She hissed and thrust her free hand up, hitting directly onto the vampire's wrist, the one holding the blade. 

His hold on the blade loosened slightly at the pressure, dropping it onto the ground, however, Luo Yi snatched it mid-air and jammed it into one crazy golden eye.

The vampire screamed and reeled away, clutching his face. She sprang from the wall and rushed for Luca, checking for his pulse. It was shallow but it's still there, and that was enough. 

She sighed in relief, but her relief was a short while.  She jerked back in fear when the vampire's scream turned into a chilling roar of fury that made her hair stand on end. 

She glanced at Luca with the corner of her eyes. He should be safe here, the psycho vampire had changed his target to her. 

Her eyes flickered back and forth to the exit, judging the distance between her and the heavy metal door. The vampire was fast, probably faster than her. 

No. 

He was faster than her.

But fear made her quick. 

She reached the exit and lunged through the opening. She saw the vampire racing towards her, his face was a mask of rage, fangs bared. Eyes bloody and murderous and it was all focused on her.

She darted through the long and dark corridor, only to meet with the red door. How could she forget? She cursed her luck. It seemed her bad luck had followed her and proclaimed itself as her loyal subordinate. Till death forced us apart. 

Her arms shook as she grabbed her katana and whirled around. A loud boom against the steel door made her wince. 

Shit, he was mad. 

His roar echoed in the long corridor. "How dare you...!!!"

"Shit..." She cursed, turning around to look at the red door again. This door was automatic, only opening to a particular set of cards. She should have stolen the card from those raiders instead of just slipping inside with them. 

If she was trapped here inside any longer, she would be dead before rescuing the others. She started pacing and moving around irrationally. The howls and footsteps were getting closer and closer. It was just a matter of seconds before the angry vampire reached her. 

Sweats had completely covered her body and her heart felt like it was going to explode. But why could she feel all of this? 

She had become a vampire. She shouldn't have felt these sensations. The hard breathing, shake of adrenaline, a near-death experience but she had only been feeling it recently. Was it a side effect of Pandora? It was like surviving as a human but living like a vampire. 

Luo Yi spotted some movement in the corner of her eyes. She whipped her head around and her gaze met with a bloody one. 

She kept the blade between her and the vampire. He moved forward, and Luo Yi jerked backward muscle tightening. He was no longer smiling, his face as empty as a blank sheet. Damaged eye socket and blood dripping down from it made him a thousand times creepier.

His face was a mess, blood everywhere, oozing down from his socket. But as she watched, the wound started to heal, the gaping flesh drawing together, stitching each other up, turning from red to pink to white until only a faint scar remained. 

The vampire then blinked his eyes. Aside from the bloody mess on his face, he had looked perfectly fine, nothing at all, like he wasn't just stabbed in the eye.

Fast. 

He regenerated too fast. 

It was almost on pair with werewolves.

"Has anyone ever taught you... not to anger a pureblood?" 

A pureblood? 

Did he mean a Master vampire?

Master Vampires were the strongest and most powerful of them all, they were the first generation of vampires, the purebloods. Every city in The Empire of Lamia was ruled by a Master Vampire. They were the ones that made decisions within their city. 

Then, there were turned-vampires called half-blooded, the lesser vampire. These half-bloods would usually follow their master as they had been sired by one. They might not be as powerful but they were formidable enough, and usually made up the guards and the Master's trusted ones. 

Unfortunately, the population of these half-bloods decreased drastically every year. No one knew where they had run off or killed. It couldn't be the latter because the obsessiveness vampires possessed in trying to expand their populations were massive. 

Don't ask her where she knew all of these, but she found them out through her adventures. 

However, Luo Yi felt the need to curse her luck and curse herself. Of all the vampires she managed to stumble upon, it just had to be a Master Vampire.

"Looks like... You haven't learned much about vampires despite being one yourself," he sneered. 

"How about having a basic lesson from me?" he smirked evilly. "Free of charge, of course."

He lunged at Luo Yi with his arm outstretched, sharp claws gearing toward her. Luo Yi moved on instinct, dropping into a crouch to evade his claws. She kicked her leg out with the intention of knocking him down, hoping it would make him lose his balance.

But he was much too fast. 

Before she had the chance to do it, he had spun around and kicked-- 

Nevermind dodging it, Luo Yi didn't even have the time to protect her head from the blazing roundhouse kick. The kick rattled her skull, feeling it cracked under the pressure and she cringed. 

It exploded in her head with a blinding whiteness, it made her dizzy. It made her reel. 

"Lesson one," She barely heard the vampire say. "How to kill a vampire." 

Luo Yi felt herself swaying and falling, yet the vampire didn't stop. His other foot slammed into her ribcage, sending her flying backwards. Pain exploded in her chest as her ribs snapped. Her breathing became labored. 

Her back hit the red door with a loud thud before she fell face first onto the ground. She wondered, if bones could crumbled into dust, hers would definitely by now.