How many days has it been since Ega has slept? Two? Three days? He had lost count in the sudden chaos in the previous days and nights. As the horses trotted forward, he turned his head back at Ella who was still sleeping.


    He had been watching over her the entire time, and thankfully, it seemed like her body was just adjusting to all the sudden changes. Creating her soul realm was a part of it, but Aurora accelerating her healing by stimulating the soul had drained all the energy out of her.


    Still, it was for the better. Guaranteeing her life was of utmost importance to Ega, though, he needed her to wake up eventually. The salamander soul was still mixed into Ella’s soul, and the longer it was left like that, the harder it was going to be to separate.


    As he looked up into the sky and back at the map in his hands, Ega let out a sigh. There was still more than a week left of their journey to Purga and they had already ran into trouble. Was the world just out to get him? Or was he just stepping closer toward the eye of a storm?


    Whatever it was, one thing was certain, Ega needed to find a safe place to leave Ella. Even though he allowed her to come along on his journey, it was already evident that it was far too dangerous for her.


    As he wondered if there were any suitable places for her, he heard some rustling in the back. Turning his head around, he spotted Ella struggling to sit upright. Trusting that the horses would be obedient, he quickly arrived by her side.


    “Lie back down, just lie back down.” Easing her back, Ega noticed her hazy eyes. “How are you feeling?”


    “A little weird, but…” She started to trace the scar across her chest. “I’m fine.”


    “That’s probably because you’ve made your soul realm, but—”


    “I made my soul realm?” Ella could barely remember what occurred when she was on the brink of death, but as she looked inside of herself, she had confirmed it. “I’m a soul bearer now!”


    “What are you so happy for? You almost died back there. Just what were you thinking? Charging at a…” Ega stopped himself as he saw her stunned expression. Letting out a sigh, he calmed himself down. “Don’t do that again, okay?”


    “B-but you were getting attacked by her and—”


    “I would have been fine. All I needed was to wait for a gap in pressure she was placing on me with her soul realm. It’s difficult for soul manipulators to move their bodies and try to pressure someone else’s soul realm so…” Ega stopped himself again, unsure if Ella really cared about his ramblings.


    “So?” But it seemed like she was interested in learning more about soul bearers, especially since she just recently became one.


    “So, once she tries to finish me off with her sword, a gap will open up in the pressure she’s putting on me. I throw a dagger, she has to alleviate more pressure to try and dodge it, and then I can finish her off.”


    “Oh…” Although she didn’t completely understand what he was saying, she got the general gist of things. “Sorry…”


    “Just don’t put yourself in such a dangerous situation again.” Ega instinctively patted her head. “You should have just run if you saw me fall apart like that. At least they’d be distracted with me and then—”


    “No.” Ella furiously shook her head. “I… I didn’t want to.”


    “Well you…” Seeing that strangely tough expression on her face, he couldn’t really talk back. “Whatever, let me get you something to eat and then we need to remove that salamander soul from your own soul.”


    Jerky, bread, and cheese was the only thing that he could bring out at the moment. Ella ate a lot, needing all the energy she could get to recover from her wounds. Even if everything looked okay on the outside, who knew if she still had internal injuries.


    Once she finished eating, Ega started to guide her on separating the salamander soul from her own. The process was intricate, but as always, Ella picked up on things quite quickly, almost too quickly.


    He had to force her to slow down in fear that she would get too overzealous and accidentally tear her own soul. Seeing Ella’s face strain to keep any more focus on her soul realm, Ega decided that he would end it for today. At the rate that she was going, it seemed like she would be finished in just two days.


    Not wanting to push Ella after she had just woken up, Ega tried to figure out something for her to do.


    “Hm…” Glazing around the carriage, he suddenly remembered the book that Hella had given them. “Let''s do some reading.”


    He could see Ella’s expression worsen in real time just at the suggestion of reading. Hella told him that she seemed quite focused when she read to Ella, but it seemed like she didn’t like to read on her own.


    Looking over at the horses, Ega trusted that they wouldn’t go out of control without him commanding them. Seeing that Aurora was still around the area, it seemed like there would be some peace and quiet around such a monstrous figure.


    “I’ll read along with you.” He said begrudgingly. Just like Ella, he didn’t really enjoy reading and writing.


    Hearing that he was joining in on an activity that they both disliked, her expression began to brighten.


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    “Just lay there, I’ll read right next to you.” Reaching into the soul sack, he pulled out the book gifted by Hella.


    Despite having it for a few days now, he had actually never looked at the contents inside. Wondering how boring it was going to be, Ega was quite shocked to see that it was a book about…


    “Fairy Tales?” Flipping through a few more pages, his suspicions were confirmed. There was no title imprinted on the cover, so actually reading through it was the only way he knew what it was going to be about. “So, what do you want me to read? ‘The Mage of Flowers,’ ‘The Nameless King,’ ‘Soul of a Guardian’ or—”


    “Guardian soul!” There was a wide smile on her face as she made her choice.


    “Alright then.” Flipping back at the beginning of that fairy tale Ega began to read, tracing each sentence with his finger so that Ella could follow along. “Once upon a time…”


    …


    Moonlight washed Vladim’s figure as he sat upon his throne, bored out of his mind. He lived too long, experienced too much, and now here he was chained to this throne. If only he wasn’t a vampyre, maybe then he could have finally left this world and passed on the shackles to someone else.


    But even after all this time, there was no one who has become more intelligent and powerful than him. Although that thought was a bit arrogant, it was a fact. Vampyres nowadays were too complacent. They didn’t have the same hunger that Vladim used to have at their age, and so, he was the only remaining vampyre who could ignite his own soul.


    He couldn’t help but scoff as he looked back at the treaty between humans and vampyres. It was necessary, but it had also weakened them in more ways than one. There was no hunger to drive them, no challenge to be had, no thrill in the hunt.


    And here Vladim was; forced to uphold this sanctuary of weakness. It didn’t matter if he owned this city, nor if he could control an army of men, not even a mountain of gold meant anything to him. He missed the thrill of fighting, of spilling blood to grab a hold of some goal. But as a Lord over a city full of criminals, such “entertainment” couldn’t be found anywhere.


    Vladim wished he could find that joy again, but who would dare fight a Lord, let alone a vampyre, to the death? Rising from his throne, he began to descend the steps toward the exit. His path was shrouded in darkness. No lantern or torch lit his way, but that was no trouble for a vampyre.


    To lose the touch of sunlight to gain the powers of an Eternal Blood Bat was a favorable exchange in his eyes. Exiting the throne room, Vladim stopped by the window, watching as his subordinates flew around the city, gathering the blood tax from the criminals.


    They would return soon, and he had to be there to receive the report. Walking upon the blood red carpet dressing the hallway, Vladim eventually made his way toward his advisor’s office, just as he arrived, one of the generals exited the office. Spotting Vladim, he quickly bowed.


    “I greet the Blood Lord.”


    Vladim nodded his head, giving him the signal to leave. As the general returned back to his post, Vladim entered his advisor’s office.


    “Lord Vladim!” Noth shot up from his chair, bowing as Vladim stepped in.


    “No need for the formalities, I’ve grown sick of it after all of these years. So? How was tonight’s harvest?”


    “There was no need to come down to see me yourself my lord.” Noth raised his head. “I was just about to—”


    “I was getting bored sitting on that throne. Just give me the report so that I can continue on my walk.”


    “Of course.” Glancing down at a document on his desk, he continued to speak. “We have exceeded tonight’s quota by eight percent. With this trend, all the vampyres should stay well fed for the months to come.”


    “I see.” Unamused, Vladim was about to turn around and leave until his advisor spoke up again.


    “I also have something somewhat important to report.”


    “Hm?” His attention was suddenly caught. Just what had caused a change in this monotonous schedule?


    “I have received news that a certain individual has started moving their way toward Purgo.”


    “Just how important is this individual for you to report it to me?”


    “Ega the Blood Hunter, I’ve heard that he is heading here. I’m unsure of you are aware but—”


    “Yes, yes, of course I know, anything else?”


    Noth was about to bring up some concerns about this “Blood Hunter,” but seeing Vladim’s uncaring expression, he refrained from it.


    “No, that would be all.”


    Despite his calm demeanor, the moment Vladim exited the room, his lips curled into a smile. He had heard stories about this infamous “Blood Hunter.” How ironic was it that a human with that title was heading into a den of vampyres?


    Vladim was no fool. He knew exactly why Ega was heading toward Purgo. But just how was he going to try and take away the blood that he owned? He wasn’t going to try and commit treason just to achieve this lofty goal, was he?


    As Vladim thought about it, he couldn’t help but secretly wish that was the case. When was the last time he had gotten into a good fight? The thrill of battle, the sight of spilling blood, he could already feel his heart beat faster at just the thought.


    It didn’t matter if Ega didn’t want to fight. It didn’t matter if he would try to negotiate. After being chained down to a throne for so long, he couldn’t wait to finally break free and have a proper fight. Vladim would make it happen, no matter what.


    …


    “...And so, rather than relying on the soul of a guardian, he had ignited his own soul and become a guardian himself. The end.”


    Looking back at Ella, he noticed that she had fallen asleep. Was his reading that boring? Or was she still just too tired to stay awake for too long? Regardless, he’d let her sleep easy.


    There was a strange feeling in his chest as he watched her sleeping soundly. Was there a place where she could sleep soundly like this every time? If he could find that place, he’d let her stay there in a heartbeat.


    With his hunt for Mithril Blood, some unknown group keeping their eyes on him, and now being involved with the Black Flame, Ega was just finding himself trouble no matter where he went.


    Just as he was about to return back to the front of the carriage, Ella suddenly grabbed a hold of his hand.


    ‘Ah, not this again.’ He was just about to pull away this time around until he heard something strange.


    “Dad…” She murmured in her dreams.


    Ega froze up, unsure of what to do. Was she dreaming about her dad? Maybe she was with her family right now in some blissful place.


    Not wanting to disrupt that dream, Ega, yet again, sat still. The horses seemed to understand the situation. They continued to move forward without guidance waiting until Ella would finally let go.


    But it would be a while until that would happen, because Ella never had a family. She never knew her mother or her father nor did she have any siblings. She had never been with someone who she considered a parent.


    Well, not until she met Ega at least.