𝕯𝖎𝖆𝖇𝖔𝖑𝖎𝖐 𝕷𝖔𝖛𝖊𝖗𝖘: 𝕯𝖆𝖗𝖐 𝕱𝖆𝖙𝖊

Chapter 38

There's a phenomenon called the hypnic jerk.

When a person is falling asleep, their body suddenly jerks, a metaphorical break on the process of sleep. It is caused by a sudden involuntary contraction of muscles. Usually, it is the human body's way of protecting itself from unforeseen dangers. If you fall asleep too soon, there must be something wrong with your body. You must be too exhausted, and which means there would be something that has stressed you enough to be on alert. Perhaps something predatory. It is that primitive reflex that woke Yui up from her slumber.

The first thing she noticed was the sound of bullets. Shot after shot, she heard them go, her hands now shivering with the loss of blood. She saw the shadow of a particular dark haired vampire jump across her field of vision. Inside the sigil, her father shot at Reiji with an impeccable aim. He would have almost shot him on the heart, if Reiji wasn't as fast as he was. What was he doing here? Was he real? How did he match up to the immortal?

Yui knew she had to do something, with her blood draining fast and time running out. She noticed Ayato's fallen body on the ground, a hole where his heart should have been.

Her head spun at the sight.

Next to him, the headless form of Shu lay motionless.

Death had been promised to her, but she never expected Ayato and Shu. They were one of the strongest she had ever witnessed, and Ayato had fought off the First Bloods. This wasn't real. She must have been dreaming. She'd slipped in and out of dreamscapes so many times that she didn't know whether this was her own reality or a twisted nightmare crafted by Karlheinz. She carefully rolled Ayato's body, looking at his ghostly white face. His chest was smeared with scarlet blood stains, a head wound had opened up, leaving a trail of blood from his forehead to his chin. Behind Reiji and her father, Ruki was lying with his throat slit open. Azuza and Kanato had ripped open each other's belly. Subaru was staring at Yui in shock, perhaps seeing right through her, in a trance. Kou was slumped beside him, exhausted with blood loss. Laito was cowering in a corner, watching Reiji and her father fight it out.

She looked at Ruki, then at Ayato's body.

He was dead.

The thought brought tears to her eyes, as she held his corpse close to her. She didn't know what to do. She was caught in a crossroad. Should she decide to use the fruit of life on Ruki, she would have to abandon Ayato. Should she choose Ayato instead, she would have to let Ruki die.

She shook aside her irrational fears, and knew she had little choice in the matter. No matter who she would choose, she would become the sacrificial lamb at the end.

Gathering her wits, she brushed Ayato's bangs aside, and coughed up the piece of the golden apple she had bitten into. Her lips joined Ayato, as she pushed the piece into his mouth, her tongue slipping in. It scraped one of his fangs, drawing out her blood.

Nothing happened.

Her hands cradled his face, as she pulled away, observing him. "Ayato kun?"

He remained unresponsive. The tension kept swelling inside her, becoming unbearable for her. If she had just given the last piece of her hope to Ayato, who was quiet possibly and irreversibly dead, she had written out the fate of everyone surrounding her. The constant gun shots and the heaving cries of Subaru didn't help her concentrate. She was a mere pawn in this game, and if she had wasted her last move on meaningless emotional conflict, she was done for. Everyone she cared for would wind up dead.