Soulbound

Desire To Live

The weight of immortality was a burden that crushed Isabella's soul day after day, year after year. Each night she rose with the same hunger, the same emptiness gnawing at her insides, and each night she longed for the one thing she could no longer have: an end. The world around her moved on, time flowing in its unstoppable current, but she remained stagnant, a prisoner of an existence she had never asked for. It was a curse, one that she carried like a chain around her neck, and no matter how far she ran, no matter how much time passed, she could never escape it.

At first, after Vincent had turned her, she had fought the idea of immortality. She had resisted the monstrous urges that now governed her life, the bloodlust that surged through her veins, consuming her thoughts. She had thought she could fight it, that perhaps, with enough willpower, she could maintain some semblance of her former self. But it hadn't taken long for her to realize how futile that hope was. The hunger never went away. It was always there, lurking just beneath the surface, an insatiable beast that demanded to be fed.

She had learned to survive, to control it, but control didn't mean peace. It didn't mean acceptance. Each time she fed, even on the animals she hunted to avoid harming humans, a piece of her humanity slipped away. The memories of her life before this curse faded with each passing year, until all that was left was a hollow shell, filled only with the knowledge of what she had lost.

The nights were long, and the isolation was worse. Every town she visited, every place she stayed, was just another stop in a long line of temporary refuges. She never stayed long enough to make connections, to form bonds, because she knew what she was. She knew the danger that came with letting people get too close. It wasn't just her hunger that put them at risk—it was the Council, the looming threat of Vincent, always searching for her. The closer someone got to her, the more they would be in danger, and she couldn't bear the thought of anyone else suffering because of her.

But more than the isolation, more than the hunger, it was the endlessness of it all that weighed on her the most. There was no finish line, no peaceful end to look forward to. It was just an eternity of night after night, the same hunger, the same emptiness. She had lived for decades now, long enough to see the world change around her, but it all blurred together in a haze of unchanging monotony. The years meant nothing to her anymore.

There had been a time when immortality had seemed like a gift. She had seen it in the eyes of other vampires she had encountered—newly turned ones, full of excitement, power, the thrill of eternal life coursing through them. They saw the world stretched out before them, a playground where they could do anything, be anything. They reveled in their new power, unburdened by the fear of death, and for a while, Isabella had tried to see it that way too.

But that excitement had faded quickly. The truth was, living forever wasn't a gift—it was a prison. She was trapped in a body that never aged, never changed, while the world moved on without her. She was a spectator, watching from the sidelines as the people around her grew old, loved, lost, and died. They lived full, meaningful lives while she was stuck, frozen in time, unable to join them.

It was that desire to be part of the world again—to live, to die, to feel the passage of time in her bones—that drove her now. She had no desire for power, no interest in the games that other vampires played, manipulating mortals from behind the scenes. All she wanted was her humanity back. She wanted the choice to live a life that could end, a life that had meaning because it was finite.

She had tried to numb herself to the pain, to find distractions in the endless nights. She traveled from city to city, from continent to continent, trying to lose herself in the world's vastness, but it never worked. The hunger always followed her, the thirst always grew stronger, and the emptiness always returned.

There had been moments—dark, lonely moments—when she had considered ending it all. She knew how. It would be easy, really. A sunrise, a moment of carelessness, and it would all be over. The sun, the one thing she could never face again, would burn her to ash in moments, and she would finally be free of the curse that haunted her. She had come close to doing it more than once. She had stood on the rooftops of buildings as dawn approached, watching the horizon for the first glimpse of sunlight, waiting for that final moment when she could step into its embrace and be released.

But something always stopped her. Some deep, instinctual part of her that refused to give up. A flicker of hope, buried deep inside, that maybe—just maybe—there was another way.

And now, for the first time in years, she had a reason to keep going.

The Heart of Eternity.

The rumors of the artifact had ignited a spark within her that she hadn't felt in decades. If the legends were true, if the Heart of Eternity could reverse the curse of vampirism, then there was hope. She could be free. She could have her life back. The thought of it was almost too much to bear—after all this time, after everything she had been through, the idea that she might be able to return to the life she had lost seemed like a distant dream. But it was a dream she couldn't let go of.

For years, she had accepted her fate, resigned herself to the idea that this was her life now—endless, hollow, and lonely. But the Heart of Eternity had changed that. It had given her something to fight for again, something worth risking everything for.

The desire to end immortality was no longer just a longing, no longer just a wish whispered in the quiet hours of the night. It had become a mission, a goal she couldn't ignore. The artifact was her only chance, her only hope of escaping the nightmare she was trapped in.

But it wouldn't be easy. The Council guarded the Heart of Eternity fiercely, and Vincent was one of their strongest. He would never let her near it without a fight, and even if she managed to find it, there was no guarantee that it would work. She knew the risks—knew that the journey ahead of her was dangerous, and that she might not survive it.

But that was the point, wasn't it?

Isabella was no longer afraid of dying. She welcomed it, in fact. If her quest for the Heart of Eternity ended in her death, then at least she would be free. At least she would finally know peace. But if she succeeded... if the legends were true, and she could undo what had been done to her, then she would have her life back.

For the first time in decades, the prospect of living again filled her with hope.

The desire to end her immortality wasn't just about escaping the hunger, the loneliness, the endlessness of it all. It was about reclaiming her humanity. It was about living a life that meant something, a life that could end naturally, on her own terms.

And she would do whatever it took to make that happen.

Isabella's journey wasn't just about survival anymore. It was about freedom.

It was about finally finding a way to be alive again.