“With his very own blood, and that of yours and Sephen’s. Just like how he’d forced me to turn and bond both of you with his blood.” There was a hint of hatred and anger behind those tear filled eyes.

 

Jong-in’s heart skipped a beat when he heard Luhan’s words. Memories flooded in. There was no way Jong-in would forget the painful and torturous transition he’d endured. But he’d never knew who did it.

 

Jong-in and Sehun, whose original names were Kai and Sephen, were not Kris’ biological sons. Both of them were orphans, who were once strangers. They’d known each other while slaving their youths away in a coal mine not too far from the palace. In year 912, a bloody massacre took place within a thousand miles of the palace, it was a scene so cold and brutal one would rather die than to live to watch it, but Kai and Sephen, were forced to watch helplessly as everyone else around them died under the fangs of the most powerful vampire of all times – Kris. 

 

--

 

Year 912

 

For weeks, Kai and Sephen were locked up in the palace’s cellar, cold and starving. Human blood was forced down their throats in place of proper food, but gory as it may seem, they had no choice but to take it all down in order to stay alive. After countless days, they were finally led out of the cold stone room. When they’d reached the hall majestically decked with beautiful pieces of furniture, and before them, stood the man of their nightmares, the one man who had wiped out the entire human race around the vicinity. 

 

“W-what are you doing here?” Kai asked feebly, mustering all his courage to look at Kris straight in his eyes. 

 

“Such audacity! How dare you speak to His Majesty with such disrespect!” A whip came lashing on to Kai’s back, causing him to scream in pain. 

 

“Let him be. He will have plenty of time to learn in future.” Kris looked at Kai, who was starting to tear from the stinging pain, and Sephen who kneeled quietly, scared stiff. As Kris signalled for everyone else to leave the hall, a hooded figure emerged from the shadows. “Begin.” 

 

The hooded stranger went about preparing a dagger and a large golden goblet. Raising the goblet, the he cut Kris’ forearm with the dagger, and allowed the blood to flow into the goblet. The hooded male approached Kai, and repeated the procedure with care before turning to face Sephen. There he was, slightly shivering, face as pale as ghost. The hooded man knew that Sephen was afraid, of whatever was happening before him. Holding Sephen’s hand in his, the hooded male whispered, “It’ll be over soon, you’ll be fine.” before proceeding with the procedure.

 

When he was done with all three of them, he then placed the goblet on a nearby altar, and cast a spell over it. Kris then ordered Kai and Sephen to have half of the goblet’s content each. 

 

Sitting back with a sly smile on his face, Kris slowly commented, “From this point on, you shall be my sons. You shall now be known as Kai Wufanace and Sephen Wufanace. Is that clear?” 

 

The two young men nodded feebly as they felt a burning sensation spreading in their stomachs. One by one, they clutched their stomachs and rolled over on the ground, groaning as the pain got more intense. The hooded man stood tall before them and announced without any hints of emotions, “Kai and Sephen Wufanace, you are now one body, bonded by blood, and your fates shall be tied. Endure the temporary pain, enter death and you shall enjoy immortality when you wake.” With that, he slid two silver daggers from his sleeves and stabbed them through the chests of the two young men. 

 

--

 

Jong-in was in a state of shock. “It was you? You helped father turn us? You casted the spell? You… killed us?” He could not believe everything he’d just been told. True that he’d hated Kris for turning him into a vampire, for taking away his right to live as a human, for putting him through the countless days of torture. But it was also because of this, he’d been able to live this long, and it was also because of this, he’s able to guard over the person he’d loved for all his life. These aside, he’d never knew who helped his father. Now that he know it was Lou, his brother’s lover, who’d put him through all these, he got caught in a whirl of confusion. 

 

“I know it’s difficult to accept. I know it was hard on you all these years, but back then, that was the only way I could save Sephen.” Luhan lowered his head. “Yes, I’d noticed Sephen way before 1823. I’d noticed him ever since he was sold to slavery at the coal mine. I tried to protect him, but never had I expected that Kris would hurt him. Turning Sephen was the only way I could keep him safe. I wasn’t going to let him turn into Kris’ mobile blood bank. Perhaps there was some selfishness, I had attained a certain level of immortality through the use of magic back then, and I thought that perhaps, if Sephen could also be immortal, one day we might have a chance of being together. I’m sorry, I didn’t have a choice.”

 

“Do you know how much pain we were put through when we were awakened from death? Do you have any idea what hell was like? Kris fed us blood and only blood when we were humans, but when we turned, he refused to let us have a single drip of blood.” Jong-in inched closer and closer to Luhan as he spoke, his emotions starting to get the better of him. “You said you cared for Sephen, but you wouldn’t have known the pain that he had to go through. Much less the pain that I had to go through. I let him feed on my blood, to lessen his misery, but I refused to feed from him. How afraid I was of hurting him, of hurting someone I loved and cared for. Did you know any of that? Did you even th-“

 

“JONG-IN! I KNOW! It was hell for you, but you were human before you turned. I was a sorcerer, keeper of nature. You have no idea what happens when a sorcerer turns into a vampire. I died over and over again, everyday, for weeks, months, years, decades, no one knew.” Luhan lifted his shirt and turned his back to Jong-in, revealing what seemed like symbols engraved into his back. “Look at these scars. Very pretty aren’t they? They burn every day in my life, thanks to the clash of the elements in me. I don’t know what you went through, just like you will never feel the pain I feel, every single day.”

 

The two sat in silence. When they’ve finally calmed down, both of them knew they had one thing in common; even though they'd hated the pain they were put through, they were some what thankful for their fate, and they’d survived all pains because of one person – Sephen.

 

It was probably worth all the pain in the world.

 

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Hello lovely subbies! Seasons greetings!^^ 
1228 words, with terribly long dialogues. Not editted so please pardon mistakes if you spot any aye? >//<
*Reminder: The dark teal colored parts were "time-travelled" into the past, Don't get confused! hehehe 
Please leave some comments before leaving~ I need to know how to go on writing so it'll suit most of my lovely readers ㅋㅋㅋ

HAERINSSI, I HOPE THIS IS GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU! Now your turn to write yours <3

Till then, exoexo!♥