Chapter 65 When You Drown

Lukas barely managed to gulp some fresh air before he plunged down into the water. He thought he could raise his head and still breathe a little.

And yet the blood water that had seemed not so deep before suddenly turned into an ocean—Lukas found himself sinking and falling down.

When he opened his eyes, everything was a suffocating thick amount of blood that seemed to pull him down.

Maybe it was the distance away from the Vampire in the realm, but Lukas suddenly found his body trashing around.

His eyes widened for a moment and he tried to move his body the way he wanted to, and found himself able to. Holding his breath still, Lukas tried to swim up and he found that his body was moving accordingly like he wanted to.

However, the situation started to become apparent.

The surface seemed so close to him and yet Lukas was swimming up far longer than he ought to be. Currents dragged him down and before he knew it, there were something that rose quickly from the surface and latched themselves to him.

Lukas' wrists were suddenly shackled and its heavy weight dragged him down further. Little bubbles escaped out his mouth as gravity did its work and he found himself going into deeper and darker waters.

His heart thumped wildly in his chest.

Struggling and trying to break the chains were a gargantuan task that he didn't think he was capable of achieving. One yank and then another was nothing but a sad attempt at breaking free from the chains.

His strength meant nothing in this world.

Lukas found himself losing air and he could no longer tell if his vision was dimming or the world had just gone dark—but the light vanished completely and the already thick blood turned into something more sinister.

It was starting to penetrate into his mouth, nose and ears as if trying to consume his very being. Being absorbed into the blood itself was terrifying and Lukas struggled in its grasp almost as if he was going to die there and then.

And yet Lukas couldn't help but still realize that the bubbles were still rising.

Going up so it meant that things weren't completely futile. As much as he thrashed and struggled around, there was also the option of letting go—not to be eaten or killed by the blood water but to rise.

Lukas allowed his entire body to go still.

He didn't know if it would work as he was already lost for air, but this was not the real world. Instead, he concentrated on the idea of him floating and his hands slipping through the chains. Higher and higher he would go.

If it were by his efforts alone of trying to swim up, nothing would happen—but if he allowed it then…

Lukas gasped aloud when he found something else other than blood filling his nostrils. His eyes wildly opened and he found that the rain had actually cleared up and the sky was now simply a red hue, the reflection of the waters below.

Maybe it had been water all this time?

Lukas wondered but then lifted his head a little to see the woman standing on her bare feet, still above the blood water like some kind of angel floating above it all, or rather some powerful being that controlled everything.

And in this world, she might have been.

For a moment, the Vampire woman didn't seem to say anything else but there was a flicker of emotion in her eyes.

"Did I pass?" Lukas fervently asked.

"Hmm… what is your name?"

"Lukas."

"Very well, then. You have survived, Lukas—"

***

"Lukas!"

He found himself being shaken sharply, and his eyes flickered open to see Chaerin looking at him with a worried expression all over her face. While she didn't look close to tears, there was concern written all over.

"You… what happened?" Chaerin asked. "Why did you fall asleep on the floor and not the bed? I was so anxious when I didn't see you when I returned."

"You weren't so anxious when I was gone?" Lukas coughed and asked. Somehow it almost felt like there was still blood in his lungs which was hard to rid off. The feeling transferred from that world and to—his eyes widened.

"Where's the dagger?"

"What dagger, Lukas?" Chaerin asked.

Lukas glanced about the room but the blade was nowhere to be found. A wave of disappointment filled him and he wondered if the being inside of the dagger had actually found him unworthy and chose to disappear on her own.

"It's okay," Lukas decided.

He was alive and survived the ordeal and that was all that mattered to him. Instead, he redirected his attention back to Chaerin and smiled a bit.

"How did it go? Did you manage to talk with your sister and actually say your goodbye?"

"Y-yes." Chaerin looked down for a moment.

"Did she try to stop you or anything?" Lukas gently lifted her chin up to look her in the eye. "If you feel like you want to change your mind… I won't hold it against you, Chaerin. It must be tough to imagine that you'll be going out and endangering yourself—I'd rather much have you stay here and be safe if I had a choice."

"Well, it's a good thing that it isn't your decision to make but mine." Chaerin finally managed a smile. "She may have tried to stop me, but it's my life so I can do what I want—I just went to grab a couple of things as well."

"A couple of things?"

"Yes… they were items that belonged to my parents and were retrieved." Chaerin said. "I… I haven't touched them or am that good with them, but I'll be able to protect you and myself this way."

"Chaerin…"

"And I think the uniform that they wore could actually fit us too." Chaerin said.

"It's not some kind of cloak is it?" Lukas asked, a little worried.

"There's a cloak, but they also have long-sleeved garments underneath it."