The sun hung high in the sky, casting slivers of light through the thick canopy above. The forest was a maze of twisting trees, their trunks stretching so high they seemed to touch the sky. Everything felt alive—not just in the way plants grow or animals move, but in the sense that magic hummed beneath the earth, in the air, and through the very bark of the trees. The longer I stayed here, the more I felt it—the pulse of the world around me. It was magical, and it was alive.
I had been wandering deeper into the forest than I ever had before. There was a curious pull in me—a desire to explore, to see beyond the limits of the hollowed-out tree I had called home. I felt like I could learn more—about this place, about myself, about the magic I was still trying to control.
But it was also reckless, wasn't it? The forest was beautiful, yes, but it was full of dangers, too. I had learned that much from the Appraisal Magic I had created. The creatures here weren't always kind, and the thought of them crossing my path sent a small shiver down my spine.
I felt the tug of the air before I saw it—like the quiet before a storm. The earth beneath my feet trembled slightly, a soft vibration that made me pause. I slowly turned, and that's when I saw it.
A giant snake, its massive body coiling through the underbrush, its scales dark like the night, glinting with an unnatural sheen in the sunlight. It was huge, easily as large as the trees themselves. Its eyes locked onto mine—bright yellow slits, filled with hunger. And before I could react, it moved.
Faster than I could process.
It lunged, its giant mouth opening to reveal rows of sharp teeth, its massive form hurtling toward me. A predator. A monster. No time.
I scrambled, my legs unsteady beneath me. A wave of panic surged through me, and my breath caught in my throat as I ran, barely avoiding the first strike of the snake's tail. The world around me blurred, the forest becoming a chaotic mess of trees and shadows as I dashed between them, trying to find cover. My heart raced, blood pounding in my ears, and my body felt like it was on fire.
There was no time to think. Fight or flight.
I wasn't sure I could outrun it, and I didn't have a weapon. The knife I had taken from the dead adventurer would do nothing against a creature this big. I needed magic.
But then I remembered. I hadn't used my magic creation for the day. It was already late afternoon—so late that I could feel my energy waning from the constant use of my powers.
What could I create? What would be best in this situation?
As the snake slithered through the trees, I could feel it closing in. Nature Magic, I thought. That's what I need.
The world around me began to pulse. I had no time to think through the steps, no time to hesitate. With the snake getting closer and the realization that I was cornered, I focused all of my energy into the surrounding trees. I'm not going to die here, I thought. Not like this.
I didn't have to wait long. The trees responded to me. Roots stretched out from the ground, pulling up from the earth like serpents themselves, twisting around the snake. Vines shot from the ground, wrapping themselves tightly around the snake's body, holding it in place as I tried to impale it with branches and sharp tree spikes I had created. The snake thrashed and hissed, its body writhing and snapping in fury, but I wasn't about to let it win.
The magic was draining me, though. Every twist of the vine, every sharp branch, every spike that pierced its scales came with a cost. The toll was immense. My body felt weak, and my vision blurred. I'm going to faint, I thought. I have to finish it.
Finally, with one last, desperate push, I drove a spiked branch deep into the snake's underbelly, and it screeched, its body going still.
Panting, I staggered back, leaning against a nearby tree. The magic fizzled out and the vines and branches faded back into the ground, leaving the giant snake lifeless in front of me.
I stood there for a moment, hands trembling. My mind spun. The forest was silent once again, save for the sound of my breath, which came in short, shallow bursts. I had done it. I had killed it.
But I wasn't happy about it.
I never wanted to kill. I had always seen myself as someone who didn't want to hurt anyone—an observer of the world, a quiet person who stayed out of conflicts. I wasn't like others. I wasn't supposed to be like this. But now... I had killed a living creature. A monster, yes, but still a life.
I closed my eyes, trying to push the guilt away.
It's survival, I told myself. Survival comes first. This world—this life—it's different. Things are different now.
But then, as I stood over the lifeless body of the snake, my thoughts shifted.
I felt it—the hunger.
A deep, gnawing thirst that coursed through my body, sharp and insistent. I hadn't fed yet. The vampiric side of me was growing restless, demanding blood.
My mind screamed at me. I didn't want to feed, didn't want to become that. But I was weak. I would pass out if I didn't take some of its blood.
The hesitation was agonizing. I didn't want to do this. But in the end, I couldn't ignore the thirst. I knelt down beside the snake, taking a deep breath as I gave in to the inevitable.
I drank.
The moment I tasted the blood, the hunger subsided. The sharp, burning ache in my throat—the one that gnawed at the edges of my mind like a constant, gnawing force—was suddenly gone. I felt the dizziness lift, the fog clouding my thoughts beginning to dissipate as the fresh blood ran down my throat. It wasn't pleasant. Not at all. The taste was metallic, bitter, and it left a sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach. But it was necessary.
I had no choice.
Survival.
That's what this was. A necessary evil.
I didn't want to think about it, but I had to. I had no memories of my past life—no recollection of who I was before waking up in this strange, new world. But the more I faced my vampiric nature, the more I realized that something deep inside of me was being reawakened—a hunger that had always been there, even when I was human. In my past life, I had always been the one left in the shadows. My family, my supposed loved ones, had treated me like I was nothing. I was a tool. I was a burden. They didn't care for me—no one ever did. It was easy to shut myself off and pretend it didn't matter.
But now, in this world, I had to face a truth I had never wanted to confront: I was a vampire. A creature of darkness. A predator. And that meant I had to feed.
The cold bitter truth was that, in this world, either I kill animals or humans. Either I stay hidden, live in the shadows, and watch others live—or I embrace what I had become. There was no in-between.
I felt my hands tremble as I pulled back from the snake's carcass. The hunger was gone, but disgust swept over me. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, trying to rid myself of the vile taste that lingered. It wasn't me. This wasn't who I wanted to be. But it was the only way to survive. If I didn't feed, I would die. And if I didn't feed again soon, I would become someone else entirely—a creature that could no longer control the thirst, the rage, the need to kill.
I staggered backward, my legs weak from the effort of the battle.
I didn't want to kill. But there was something inside me, a part of me, that whispered it was justified. I had been abused in my past life—used as a tool, a servant, left to suffer. I had never been allowed to live freely, never given the space to breathe. And now that I had power, I could finally take control of my life. Couldn't I? Wouldn't it be fair to make sure those who wronged me in the past suffered the way I did? Was it wrong to think that the world might be better off if some people disappeared? The vampire side of me was already pushing those thoughts forward, stirring the bloodlust I had just started to fight.
I shook my head, trying to clear my mind. No. I couldn't think like that. I wasn't going to become that monster.
I breathed in deeply and forced myself to stand straight, my body shaking with exhaustion. The snake was gone now—stored in my inventory. It vanished in a shimmer of light, and in that instant, I realized that nothing living could be kept in the storage space. Only dead and inanimate things could be stored.
A strange feeling swept over me, a numbness in my chest, as I stumbled back toward my shelter. The hollowed-out tree where I had made my temporary home, where I had hoped to find peace, now seemed far too empty. The silence of the forest was deafening, the weight of my actions pressing down on me.
The world was so beautiful, full of possibilities. But I wasn't part of it. Not really. I was something else—a creature of the night, a predator in a world full of prey. And every time I fed, every time I allowed my vampiric side to take over, I became more and more of a stranger to myself.
I reached my shelter, stumbling inside. The cool darkness of the hollowed tree seemed to calm me, but it also felt like a prison. This is my reality, I reminded myself. I can't escape it.
As I slumped against the tree, my thoughts swirled with questions and doubts. I had crossed a line today—no, not the first line, and not the last. Killing the snake hadn't been the worst thing I could do, but it felt wrong.
But was it really wrong to kill when it was for survival? The vampire inside of me was telling me it was necessary. It was necessary to feed, necessary to fight. But then the other side of me—the part that wanted peace, that wanted to be human again—rejected it.
I stared into the darkness of the tree, the world outside eerily quiet. How much longer could I keep fighting this?
The battle had drained me, but there was more to come. The world outside was dangerous, and I couldn't afford to be weak. But I didn't know how much longer I could keep suppressing the hunger and the rage.
I had crossed a line today.
And I didn't know if I could ever go back.