In December 2019, the COVID pandemic began. By early 2020, it had spread across the globe, claiming countless lives.
During that time, Dr.Victor was working in one of the hospital's isolation wards. Fully covered in PPE during the scorching heat of May, he was forced to work around the clock.
Due to strict safety protocols, the central air conditioning had been shut off. Wrapped from head to toe for over 24 hours, Dr. Victor's exhaustion only deepened.
He sat in the break room, exhausted, taking a brief moment to sip water—trying to gather enough strength to return to the patients who desperately needed him.
He had been working non-stop for more than 36 hours.
With a heavy sigh, he muttered,"I like saving lives. I want to be there for people—to help them. But this… this is exhausting. I've spent my entire life studying to become a good doctor… only to return each day to the empty walls."
A voice called from outside,"Doctor, a patient is serious!"
He placed his mask back on, adjusted his glasses, and donning his PPE once again, stepped out."Lead me," he said.
The nurse led him to an elderly patient—80 years old.
As he entered the room, he saw the man wheezing heavily. He rushed toward him, checking his oxygen saturation. It was dropping—slowly but steadily. From 94%, it plunged to 50%.
He quickly propped the patient up and increased the oxygen flow."Nurse, please nebulize him and give him one shot of Dexa injection," he instructed.
The nurse followed the orders without hesitation.
Dr.Victor stood nearby, watching closely as, little by little, the patient's oxygen saturation began to improve. He finally relaxed, gave final instructions to monitor the patient closely, and stepped out of the room.
This continued. Many patients were saved by him—pulled back from the brink of death. But he was only one man, and the patients were many.
He lost some, too—despite all his efforts.
After 72 hours, he was still there—working without sleep, fighting to save lives.
Exhaustion was finally catching up with him. He began zoning out while standing, sleep overtaking him even on his feet.
But what could he do? No other doctors came. Most were too afraid—afraid they might catch COVID and pass it on to their families.
Now, Dr. Victor was carrying the burden all by himself.
As he went to take a short break in the break room, he removed his mask to breathe. The constant wear had left deep marks across his face—lines above his nose, stretching to his cheeks.
He exhaled heavily. His mind was too tired to think.He sat down on the chair and drifted into sleep.
But when the nurse came and knocked on the door, he didn't respond.
Concerned, the nurse entered the room and gently touched his shoulder.The doctor's lifeless body slipped from the chair and collapsed to the floor.
Her mouth opened in shock.
She immediately crouched down, checking for a pulse—nothing.She checked the carotid pulse—still nothing.She opened his eyes. Both pupils were dilated.
She screamed.
Later, it was confirmed: Dr. Victor had died from exhaustion.
There was no honour given to him for saving so many lives.No medals. No tribute. Nothing.He just vanished from the world like he had never existed.
Perhaps… only a few patients he had saved would remember him.
He opened his eyes in darkness.
Confused, he stood up and looked around.He muttered,"Wasn't I in the hospital?"
He looked again—his heart gripped by fear."Is anyone there?" he called out loudly into the void.
No answer came.The fear deepened.He clenched his fists and tried to adjust his glasses—but they were gone."Where are my glasses?""Did I… become completely blind?"
Then, a tall man emerged from the shadows—his footsteps making no sound.
He approached Dr. Victor, towering above him. He barely reached his shoulder.
The stranger looked down, as if inspecting an insect.With glowing crimson eyes, he said,"So… you're the chosen one? A human?"
Then he glanced into the surrounding darkness and raised his voice, as if complaining to someone unseen."You chose a mortal for my body? I, the Vlad Lunastre, Prince of the Moonshadow Royal Family, waited so long… just to merge with this inferior being?"
No reply came.
Then the tall man turned to Dr. Victor, looking at him condescendingly."Mortal, bow before me. You stand in the presence of the Immortal Vlad of the Moon."
A confident and calm voice responded,"Ahh, hello there. Thank you for introducing yourself first. My name is Dr. Victor Hansen. Pleased to meet you, Mr. Vlad of the Moon.Can you please tell me—where are we?"
Vlad scrunched his face in irritation but replied,"I said, bow before me, mortal!"
Dr. Victor fell into thought, adjusting his nonexistent glasses."Am I hallucinating? But why? COVID-19? There isn't enough evidence to prove that it doesn't cause hallucinations..."
"But hallucinations can also be from lack of sleep.Since I've been posted in the COVID-19 ward, I haven't slept for three days.That must be it."
Vlad asked curiously,"What is that you're mumbling about? This 'COVID'—is it a dragon, werewolf, or something else?"
Dr. Victor looked back at him and said in a serious tone,"COVID-19 is not a fictional thing. It's a real pandemic killing people across the Earth."
Vlad was stunned."What? What is a pandemic?"
Dr. Victor stared at him with deadpan eyes, as if asking—are you for real?
He looked around the darkness and mumbled,"How do I get out of this hallucination?"
Vlad replied, crossing his arms,"This is not a hallucination, mortal."
Dr. Victor responded logically,"All hallucinations say that, but it's always unreal."
Vlad hissed,"This is real. You're in my body, talking to my remnant soul—and you're truly not a likeable person."
A blue screen flashed in front of Dr. Victor's eyes.
[Ding][Welcome, Doctor][You have 60 minutes to merge your soul with the remnant soul of the Vampire Prince or you'll die again.]