Free Web NovelChapter 29: Chapter 29: The New Reality
The parlor was silent.
Four people sat in a loose semicircle — Lucian on one end, Ryan on the other, Clara and Rose in the middle, the tension between the two sides palpable enough to taste. The only light came from a single mana lamp in the corner, casting long shadows across the dusty furniture.
Rose broke the silence.
"So you’re telling me I’m now a half zombie?"
"Yes."
"And you and Clara are vampires. And you turned Clara."
"Yes."
Rose fell into deep thought, her red hair falling across her face as she stared at the floor. The silence stretched for almost a full minute before she looked up with a sudden smile.
"Can you fly?"
"No."
"Can you control people’s minds?"
"No."
"Then what can you do?"
Ryan stood up.
His fist connected with Lucian’s face before anyone could react — a sharp, brutal punch that snapped Lucian’s head sideways and sent him stumbling backward. Ice crystallized around Ryan’s hand, forming a sword that gleamed in the dim light.
"I warned you, fucker, didn’t I?"
"Ryan—!" Clara started.
"Stay out of this, Clara!"
"RYAN!"
Clara was between them in an instant, her crimson eyes blazing, one hand raised toward Ryan, the other toward Lucian. She looked at them both — her brother with his ice sword, Lucian with his hand raised to wipe blood from his lip. freewebnσvel.cøm
"What are you both doing?" Her voice was sharp. "We can’t be fighting now. Besides—" She turned to Ryan, her expression softening slightly. "Lucian had no choice. Ryan. Enough of all this. It’s really tiring."
Ryan’s jaw tightened. His grip on the ice sword trembled.
"Now let’s all calm down and eat." Clara touched her stomach. "I’m really starving."
She walked back to her seat without waiting for a response.
Ryan glared at Lucian for a long moment, then dissolved the ice sword and sat down.
Lucian reached into his shadow storage and pulled out containers — pasta, bread, canned meat, bottled water. He set them on the coffee table without a word.
They ate in silence.
Clara finished her pasta quickly and reached for a second container. She was halfway through it when she suddenly stopped. Her hand went to her mouth.
"Clara?" Rose looked up, concerned.
Clara didn’t answer. She was on her feet as she moved quickly, a blur of blonde hair and pale skin rushing toward the hallway.
The sound of a door slamming. Then retching.
Ryan was immediately followed on his feet. "Clara! Open up!"
Silence.
"Clara!"
Lucian stood and walked to the bathroom door. Ryan shot him a venomous look but didn’t try to stop him.
System. What’s wrong with her?
╔═══════════════════════╗
║ ◀ ANALYSIS: CLARA DUNCAN ▶ ║
║ Issue: Dietary Incompatibility ║
║ Turned vampires cannot digest normal human food. The taste will be repulsive and consumption will trigger involuntary rejection. ║
║ Host is an exception due to Ancient Vampire bloodline mutations. Standard turned vampires do not share this trait. ║
║ Viable Food Sources: ║
║ ├─ Raw or cooked meat ║
║ └─ Your vampire blood ║
║ Note: Feeding from host’s blood will satisfy hunger completely and provide BE replenishment. ║
╚════════════════════════╝
Is there a way to remove this limitation?
║ Answer: No. This is a permanent aspect of the vampiric condition. ║
Lucian’s frown deepened.
Ryan turned to him, arms crossed. "You better fix this."
He walked away, back to the parlor, leaving Lucian alone at the door.
Lucian knocked. "It’s Lucian. Please open up."
Silence.
He waited. Thirty seconds. A minute.
He sighed and turned to leave.
The door opened.
Clara stood in the doorway, her crimson eyes wet with tears, her lips trembling. She looked small — not the Ice Queen, not the powerful cultivator who had frozen E-rank beasts, just a girl who had been turned into something she didn’t understand.
"Lucian..."
She stepped forward and buried her face in his chest, her arms wrapping around him, her body shaking with silent sobs.
Lucian stood still for a moment. Then he raised his hand and slowly rubbed her head, his fingers tangling in her blonde hair.
"Please tell me everything is going to be okay."
"Everything is going to be okay."
"Liar."
Lucian paused. "Well, you told me to tell you everything will be okay." fгeewebnovёl.com
Clara pulled back slightly, looking up at him with tear-streaked cheeks. "You’re so dense."
Lucian scratched his head. "Well, you can eat meat. And..." He paused. "And my blood."
Clara turned toward him with a weak, joking smile. "Hope it’s not raw meat."
Lucian’s expression turned serious.
Silence stretched between them.
Then Lucian smiled. "Don’t worry. It doesn’t have to be raw."
Clara punched his chest lightly and pouted. "You really scared me with that pause."
---
They found an empty bedroom on the second floor. Clara sat on the edge of the mattress while Lucian reached into his shadow storage.
"I got you something."
He pulled out a ring — silver band, similar to his own, warm to the touch.
Clara took it, turning it in her fingers. "Are you proposing?"
"Not yet." Lucian sat beside her. "It’s a Daywalker Ring. It’ll protect you from the sun — you just have to channel mana into it regularly. It’s an upgraded version of mine."
Clara slipped the ring onto her finger. It glowed faintly, then settled.
"Thanks." She looked at him. "So what happens now? What can I do?"
"You should have three abilities now. Your original two from when you were human, plus one from your vampire side." Lucian’s eyes shifted to gold. "Let me check."
╔══════════════════════╗
║ ◀ EYES OF THE ETERNALS ▶ ║
║ Name: Clara Duncan ║
║ Age: 19 ║
║ Race: Vampire (Turned) ║
║ Cultivation: Peak Neophyte Realm ║
║ Mana: 5,600 / 5,600 MPU ║
║ Abilities: ║
║ ├─ Ice Control — A-Rank ║
║ ├─ Frost Domain — B-Rank ║
║ ├─ Psychokinesis — S-Rank ║
║ │ (Vampire ability — newly ║
║ │ awakened) ║
║ └─ Minor Regeneration — C-Rank ║
║ (Vampire passive) ║
╚═════════════════════════╝
"S-Rank Psychokinesis," Lucian said, raising an eyebrow. "That’s... impressive."
"Psychokinesis?" Clara looked at her hands. "Like... moving things with my mind?"
"Yeah. Try it."
Clara closed her eyes.
The air in the room shifted.
Lucian felt it — like a pressure, a weight, like the atmosphere itself was responding to Clara’s will. Then, slowly, objects began to rise.
The mattress beneath them lifted. The dust-covered lamp in the corner floated upward. A broken chair. A stack of old books. Clothes from the closet. Even the loose floorboards began to tremble.
Everything in the room was suspended in the air — hovering, spinning slowly, held aloft by nothing but Clara’s mind.
Her eyes opened.
Crimson irises glowing with power, she smiled.
"Cool, right?"
Lucian looked around at the floating room.
"Really cool."
---
