Dark Moon: The Awakening Vol.1

Chapter 12: Shadows of the Past (Part 1)

As Sooha stood frozen in shock, the weight of the boys' revelation pressed down on her like a heavy blanket. The room was filled with an eerie silence, only broken by the soft crackling of a nearby fireplace. The boys exchanged solemn glances, their eyes reflecting a shared pain-a past they had kept hidden for so long.

Solon, who had been the most composed throughout the evening, took a deep breath and began to speak.

"We didn't always live like this, Sooha. The life you see us leading now is a far cry from where we came from."

The room seemed to darken as Solon's voice carried them back in time to the late 18th century.

---

18th Century, England

The air was damp, and the sky overcast, casting a grey hue over the stone buildings of an isolated orphanage nestled deep within a dense forest. It was a place shrouded in mystery, where the echoes of children's laughter were rare and quickly snuffed out by the stern, cold faces of the caretakers.

The boys-Heli, Solon, Shion, Jino, Jaan, Jakah, and Noa-were brought to the orphanage at different times, but they quickly bonded over their shared loneliness. Each of them had a tragic story, losing their families to war, famine, or disease. The orphanage, though far from a haven, was all they had left.

From the very beginning, there was something strange about the orphanage. The other children who arrived seemed to disappear after a short time, and whispers of strange experiments conducted by the staff floated among the remaining children. The boys, despite their youth, were observant and knew that something was deeply wrong.

It wasn't long before they discovered the horrific truth. The orphanage was not just a place for abandoned children; it was a front for a series of dark and twisted experiments. The children were subjects in these experiments-tested on with various substances and forced to endure unimaginable pain, all under the guise of "treatment."

The boys watched in horror as their friends and fellow orphans were taken away, never to return. Fear gripped them, but they swore to protect each other, determined to survive whatever horrors awaited them.

Years passed, and the boys grew older, their bond strengthening as they clung to each other for support. They knew it was only a matter of time before they too would be subjected to the most terrifying experiment of all.

One cold winter night, their time came. They were taken from their beds and led to a dimly lit chamber deep within the orphanage, where an ominous figure awaited them. The man was tall, with an air of malevolence that sent shivers down their spines. He was the head of the experiments, a figure they had only heard about in hushed whispers-the Doctor.

The Doctor's latest experiment was something entirely new. He had obtained the blood of a creature that was neither human nor beast-a vampire. His goal was to create beings that could withstand the power of the vampire's blood, turning them into immortal warriors under his control.

One by one, the boys were injected with the blood, their bodies wracked with unbearable pain as the foreign substance coursed through their veins. The transformation was excruciating, and they watched in horror as one of their own, a boy they had grown up with, succumbed to the blood, his body unable to handle the strain.

But then, something remarkable happened. Shion, the most resilient of them, began to adapt. The pain subsided, and his eyes gleamed with a newfound power. He had survived the transformation, becoming the very thing the Doctor had desired-a vampire.

Realizing what had been done to him, Shion was filled with rage. He could feel the power coursing through his veins, and with it came a thirst for freedom. With newfound strength, Shion turned on the Doctor, overpowering him in a matter of moments. The other boys watched in awe and fear as their friend defeated the one who had tormented them for years.

But Shion knew he couldn't leave them behind. He had tasted the power of the vampire's blood, and though it was a curse, it was also the only way to protect those he cared about. With a heavy heart, Shion shared his blood with the others, turning them into vampires as well.

Together, the boys escaped the orphanage, leaving behind a burning building as a testament to their suffering and the horrors that had taken place within its walls. They went into hiding, spending the next centuries learning to control their powers, always on the run, always looking over their shoulders.

---

As Solon finished recounting their past, the room returned to the present, the weight of their history hanging in the air. Sooha's mind raced, trying to process everything she had just heard.

"We've been running ever since," Heli added quietly. "But now, things are different. We're tired of hiding, tired of living in the shadows."

"And we trust you, Sooha," Shion said, his voice steady. "That's why we wanted you to know the truth."

Sooha looked around at the boys, seeing them in a new light. They weren't just her friends-they were survivors of a cruel past, bound by a shared destiny. And now, she was a part of their world, whether she was ready for it or not.