Supreme Hunter of Beautiful Souls

The room was still shrouded in twilight when Kael opened his eyes, as if the very atmosphere respected the weight of the rest he had needed. It wasn’t an immediate or gentle awakening; it was slow, drawn-out, like someone being pulled back to the surface after sinking too deep. For a few seconds, he just lay there, staring at the ceiling without really seeing it, feeling his own body before even trying to move. There was pain—not sharp, but widespread, persistent, as if each muscle carried the remnants of what it had done.

The dreams hadn’t helped.

Fragments were still there, clinging to his mind in a disjointed way. Voices that didn’t finish sentences. Empty stares. Too much blood. Motionless children. He closed his eyes again for a brief moment, not to fall asleep again, but to push it away far enough to be able to get up. It didn’t work completely, but it was enough.

With a low sigh, he sat up in bed, resting his elbows on his knees while running a hand over his face. His skin still felt strangely sensitive, as if his entire body were trying to recover at once. He remained like that for a few seconds, breathing slowly, organizing not only his body but also his very presence.

Eventually, he stood up.

The movement was heavier than it should have been, but functional. Kael walked to the window, opening it slightly to let the air in. The cold helped. Not enough to erase the tiredness, but enough to make him more... awake. He spent a few minutes there, in silence, before finally starting to get ready, changing clothes with automatic, almost mechanical movements.

Nothing about him was completely recovered.

But he was already used to that.

When he finished, he cast one last quick glance at the room, as if confirming that he hadn’t forgotten anything—although, in reality, he was just postponing the moment of going downstairs.

Then he left.

The hallway was silent, brighter now with the daylight filtering through the windows. Kael descended the stairs with controlled steps, still feeling the weight on his body, but much more steady than the night before. Each step creaked slightly under his feet, but there was no urgency in his movement.

When he reached the bottom of the stairs, a sound caught his attention first.

A low, rhythmic sound.

He glanced slightly toward the dining room.

And then he saw.

Elizabeth was sitting at the table.

Eating.

The scene, at first glance, seemed almost ordinary—someone sitting calmly before a plate. But the detail completely broke this normality: the steak before her was still raw, dark red, with the blood accumulated on the plate reflecting the light almost brilliantly.

Kael stopped for a second, observing.

There was something curiously everyday in the way she ate, even with that detail grotesque by human standards. No exaggerated haste, no lack of control. Just... habit.

He took a few more steps forward.

"I thought vampires only drank blood."

His voice was neutral, full of genuine curiosity, but without judgment.

Elizabeth didn’t look up immediately. She continued calmly cutting a piece of steak, as if the question wasn’t exactly unexpected. Only after taking a bite did she answer.

"We are carnivores."

Her voice was colder than usual, more restrained.

"Anything that has blood is... edible."

She then slightly tilted her fork towards the plate, indicating the raw steak with a small gesture.

Kael followed the movement with his eyes.

He was silent for a second.

Two.

And then he tilted his head slightly.

"Is it tasty?"

The question came simply.

Directly.

Almost innocently, considering the context.

Elizabeth finally looked up at him.

And there was something there.

It wasn’t exactly anger.

But it wasn’t gentleness either.

It was... tiredness.

Mixed with something drier.

"Better than going hungry."

The answer came short.

No patience for romanticizing.

No interest in delving deeper.

The silence that followed wasn’t uncomfortable, but it wasn’t light either. Kael held her gaze for a moment, absorbing more the tone than the words themselves. He let out a small sigh through his nose, almost imperceptible, before briefly looking away.

"Drama."

He murmured, not exactly as a criticism, but as a weary observation.

Then, without warning, he moved his hand.

The blade emerged easily, as if it had already been there.

A clean cut pierced the skin of his own arm.

Blood began to flow immediately.

Bright red.

Hot.

Elizabeth stiffened instantly, her body reacting even before her mind fully processed what was happening. Her eyes fixed on the blood with almost instinctive intensity, her breath catching for a second.

Kael showed no pain.

Nor hesitation.

He simply raised his arm slightly.

"Open your mouth."

His voice was calm.

Almost casual.

But it carried a tone that left little room for questioning.

Elizabeth hesitated.

It was a short but real moment.

Her eyes darted up to his face, as if trying to understand the intention behind it, as if searching for some trap, some hidden condition.

But there wasn’t one.

Only... an offer.

And hunger.

She opened her mouth.

Slowly.

Still uncertain.

Kael made a small movement with his hand.

And the blood responded.

It didn’t fall.

It didn’t spill.

It moved.

Guided.

A controlled flow that crossed the space between them and went directly into her mouth, without waste, without mess, as if obeying an invisible logic that only he controlled.

Elizabeth was startled at first, her eyes widening slightly at the unexpected sensation. But she didn’t recoil.

She accepted.

The taste was stronger than that of the steak.

More alive.

More... complete.

Her body responded almost immediately, the tension easing slightly, her breathing adjusting, her muscles relaxing almost imperceptibly.

Kael maintained a steady flow for a few seconds.

No more.

No less.

Then he closed his hand.

And the bleeding stopped.

The cut on her arm began to close slowly, as if it had never been a real problem.

Silence returned.

But it was different now.

Elizabeth swallowed slowly, unconsciously running her tongue over her lips before looking down for a moment. There was something in her expression that hadn’t been there before—not exactly gratitude, but also not the same coldness as before.

It was... conflict.

Kael lowered his arm, as if it had been something trivial, and looked at her with the same expression as before—neutral, slightly tired, but present.

"Better than the steak?"

The question came with a slight trace of irony now.

Elizabeth didn’t answer immediately.

But she didn’t look away either.

Elizabeth didn’t answer immediately, but she didn’t look away either. There was something different in the way she looked at him now—it wasn’t just that raw mixture of shock and anger from before, nor the defensive coldness she had used as a shield. It was more stable, more centered, but not necessarily lighter. On the contrary... it seemed heavier in an organized way, as if everything that had been chaotic inside her had been forced to take shape during the night.

Kael held that gaze for a few seconds, observing silently, analyzing more than words could say. He tilted his head slightly, his eyes narrowing a little, not in distrust, but in assessment.

"Calmed down?"

The question came simply, directly, but it didn’t carry irony this time. It was almost genuine, even if said in the same neutral tone as always.

Elizabeth blinked slowly, as if that question were more complex than it seemed at first glance. She looked away for a brief moment, staring at the plate in front of her—the steak still there, now almost forgotten—before letting out a small sigh.

"I spoke with Amelia."

The answer came more controlled, more firm.

She looked back at Kael, and this time there was no tremor in her voice, no real hesitation in her words.

"And I made a decision."

Kael didn’t react immediately. He simply crossed his arms slightly, his body still bearing signs of fatigue, but his attention now completely focused on her.

"What decision?"

The question came with the same calm as before, but there was a slight interest behind it now—not fleeting curiosity, but attentive, like someone who knows the answer probably wouldn’t be small.

Elizabeth was silent for a second.

Two.

As if giving space for her own decision to fully settle before putting it into words.

Then she spoke.

"I will become the Vampire Queen."

The atmosphere seemed to grow quieter for a moment, as if even the air had stopped to absorb it.

Kael didn’t move.

But his eyes focused on her more precisely.

Elizabeth continued, without backing down.

"I’m not going to wait for anyone else to decide this. Not the council, not the nobles, not any rotten structure that’s still standing in that place."

Her voice wasn’t loud.

But it was firm.

Determined.

"I will take control."

She rested her hands lightly on the table, her fingers closing a little wider than necessary, as if anchoring her own determination to her body.

"And when that happens... I will find my mother."

There was a small pause.

But this time it wasn’t hesitation.

It was focus.

"And after that..."

Her eyes darkened slightly, not physically, but in intention.

"...I will exterminate all the vampires involved in all of this."

The silence that followed was dense.

Not uncomfortable.

But full.

Because there was no exaggeration in her words.

There was no dramatization.

It was a declaration.

Clear.

Direct.

Irreversible.

Kael remained still for a few seconds, absorbing it all without interruption. His gaze wasn’t one of surprise, nor of disapproval. It was more... analytical.

He let out a small sigh through his nose, averting his gaze for a moment before returning to her.

"Ambitious."

The word came out without excessive weight, almost like a technical comment.

He uncrossed his arms and took a few slow steps across the room, as if reorganizing his own thoughts before continuing.

"You want to climb to the top of a structure that’s existed for centuries... find someone who probably doesn’t want to be found... and wipe out half an entire race in the process."

He stopped.

He looked at her again.

"Without real support."

It wasn’t a direct criticism.

But it wasn’t a compliment either.

Elizabeth didn’t back down.

"I don’t need support."

The answer came too quickly.

Almost automatic.

Kael raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Everyone needs it."

He replied simply.

No aggression.

No insistence.

Just a fact.

Elizabeth slightly clenched her jaw, but didn’t look away.

"Then I’ll manage."

The sentence came out lower now.

But no less firm.

Kael observed this for a few more seconds.

And then... a slight, almost imperceptible smile appeared at the corner of his lips.

It wasn’t exactly approval.

But it wasn’t rejection either.

It was... recognition.

"Good."

He said simply.

And then he turned his body slightly, as if he were already ending the analysis.

"At least you stopped just reacting."

The sentence hung in the air for a moment.

Because it carried more meaning than it seemed.

He began to walk away, but stopped for a second, as if he had remembered something.

Without looking directly at her, he finished:

"Just try not to die before you even begin."

The tone was casual.

But the phrase... wasn’t.

And then he kept walking, leaving Elizabeth there, the decision still echoing inside her—now no longer an emotional impulse, but something far more dangerous.

A plan.