109. Endless Void

Clarice stayed in her room the whole morning. When she went to the kitchen to prepare lunch, Demetria was nowhere in sight. She spent the rest of her afternoon reading a book. In the evening, she had just finished dinner and was relaxing in the living room when Demetria arrived. "Evening, dear. How's your day?" she asked. "Fine," Clarice replied. "Where have you been?" "Got some important things to take care of at the vampire association headquarters. I'm retiring soon, so I need to iron things out before I disappear," Demetria answered. "Can we proceed with my transformation tonight if you are not busy?" Clarice requested with urgency in her voice. "Sure!" Demetria grinned. "You refused my offer before, but now you are eager for the transformation to happen. I love your willingness to upgrade yourself," she commented cheerily. Clarice smiled. "I want to go home. I'm afraid that if I took so long to go home they might forget about me. We should hurry up with the transformation, training and all, so I can finally visit my family. I miss my family so much," she said, teary-eyed, feeling emotional. Demetria sighed. "So, you want to hurry up your transformation, obtain power, then go home to see your family? Is that all there is to it? You are not excited about becoming a powerful woman so you can do great things for yourself and others?" "Don't get me wrong, I love the power that comes with huge responsibility. For someone like me who is physically weak, I really needed all the help I could get. I'm grateful and thankful that you have chosen me as your successor. It's my great honor. Thank you so much, Demetria for choosing me. I'm forever grateful to you for giving me this wonderful opportunity of a lifetime," Clarice said sincerely. Demetria smiled, pleased with the sincerity in her eyes. "You're welcome, dear. We are destined to meet for a reason. It's like divine intervention. You are meant to become my successor and safeguard this world on my behalf. I can finally proceed with my retirement in peace, knowing my replacement is a good person that I can trust. Don't let me down, dear. Make me proud." "I will try my best. I mean it," Clarice responded solemnly. "Good. Now let me rest a little bit. You should go to your room. I'll see you later," Demetria said, heading for the staircase. "Do I need to prepare something, anything for the transformation?" Clarice asked. Demetria shook her head. "No. You don't have to prepare anything. Your willingness to become a vampire is more than enough for me." "OK." Clarice nodded her head, closed the main door and went to her room to get herself mentally ready for tonight's transformation. She lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling of her room, feeling nervous. "Calm down. Everything will be alright, Clarice," she told herself over and over again. She closed her eyes, calming herself. Nothing can go wrong, right? One hour later, Demetria entered the room. "Dear, it's now time for your transformation. We shall do it in the core room." "OK." Clarice stood up and walked to the door, following her mentor outside. They climbed the stairs in silence and reached their destination. Inside the core room. Demetria ordered Clarice, "Lay down on the table, dear." "OK." Clarice gets up on the table and lies down in a sleeping position. "I want to be awake during the transformation process," she requested. "Sure." Demetria smiled and commented, "You are a brave girl." Clarice responded, "I just want to know how the process is done." "Alright, I'll explain to you now what's going to happen next," Demetria said, getting ready. "Go on, I'm listening," Clarice replied. "The core will release tentacles to harvest your blood. Then, when you feel you are about to faint, you have to tell me, so I can order the core to stop. Then I will bite your neck and begin the transformation. Don't worry, the tentacle bite isn't that painful. You survived my fangs. The degree of pain is the same," Demetria explained. "Ah, okay, I got it," Clarice murmured anxiously. "Let's begin now." "Alright, let's get started," Demetria replied. She raised her head and looked at the precious stone floating in the air. "Please release your tentacles, Clarice is ready to give you a blood offering tonight," she informed the core. Clarice watched the core release the tentacles, gradually descending, attaching to her arms like tiny needles. Her eyes widened with fear. She winced when the tentacles began sucking on her blood. Demetria patted Clarice's hands, calming her. "Relax dear. You will get used to it one day." Clarice nodded her head, sighing heavily, closing her eyes to blur the scary image and the unpleasant sensation of her blood being sucked out of her veins. A few minutes later she felt dizzy. "I think I'm going to pass out," she blurted worriedly. "Close your eyes, dear, and leave everything to me," Demetria orders. "OK." Clarice shut her eyes, drifting into a deep sleep. She heard Demetria order the core to stop sucking on her blood. She felt the tentacles leaving her skin, and that's when she passed out. That's all she can remember... When she opened her eyes, she was already back in her room, lying on her bed. Demetria was peering down at her face. "Do you feel better now?" she asked. Clarice nodded her head. "Yeah." "I will transform you now into a vampire. Just relax," Demetria says softly, opening her mouth, revealing her scary-looking fangs. "Bring it on!" Clarice replied boldly, wanting the transformation to be over quickly. "Are you sure you remain wide awake?" Demetria asked. Clarice responded, "Yes, I want to see and feel everything." "Alright, let's proceed," Demetria murmured. Clarice looked the other way when Demetria sank her sharp fangs into her neck. She grimaced in pain but relaxed afterward. The longer Demetria siphoned her blood, the dizziness returned in full force. She thought all the blood in her body had been drained. She began to hallucinate, seeing herself being sucked into an endless void. The darkness was terrifying and suffocating. She was terrified because all she saw around her was darkness, as if she had been transported to another dimension. She could no longer see and feel Demetria's presence. Is she dying? Did Demetria bleed her to death and she pass away? Why was she in this black void? What is this place? What's going on? Fear enveloped her senses. "Demetria, where are you? I can't see you! I'm in a dark place. I'm afraid I'm already dead!" she screamed, panicking. "Please help me! Save me!" "I don't want to die yet! I want to go home!" She shouted in despair. But Demetria was not responding to her call. She could hear her own voice echoing around the black void. "I'm dying," she said, sobbing hard. "I can't die yet! I want to continue living!" she sobbed hysterically, her body trembling as desperation sank in. She can't believe that Demetria betrayed her and killed her for real! Just when she was about to give up, Demetria's gentle voice whispered in her ears, "I'm still here, dear. I'm still completing the process of your transformation into a vampire. The process is long. Go to sleep. You will feel better after you wake up later." "OK," Clarice replied. Tears of relief flooded her face after hearing Demetria's reassuring voice. Calm took over her consciousness. She closed her eyes and gave in completely to the power of darkness. Clarice's consciousness was floating in clouds of endless darkness. Her dark journey lasted for a long time, never ending, always moving, no light in sight. During those moments of uncertainty, she couldn't even cry or open her mouth to speak and call for Demetria's help. She was awake, fully aware of her surroundings, but she couldn't move her body. She's like a statue, forever drifting in the sea of endless voids. She started to feel scared again, desperately longing to hear Demetria's assurance that she was still technically alive. In her mind she felt a century had passed... Yet, she still couldn't get out of the sea of darkness. She begins to believe that she is now dead, and her soul was about to enter the netherworld. Just when she thought all hope was gone, she saw a ray of light in the far distance. She still can't move her body, but thankfully, the invisible current is pushing her towards the light. She's getting closer to the light and it's getting brighter and brighter. The moment a ray of light hits her face, darkness fades into oblivion. She opened her eyes and saw her mentor smiling at her. "Congratulation! Welcome back to the land of the living, dear!" Demetria said in a congratulatory tone. A sudden craving for food hit Clarice's stomach. She felt hungry and thirsty. "I'm starving! I'm thirsty! I need food. Please give me water!" she begged urgently. Demetria smiled. "I think it's not water you need, dear. It's my blood. Go ahead and sip my blood," she said, and cut her index finger with the knife she was holding in her right hand. The moment Clarice saw fresh blood oozing from the wound, she grabbed Demetria's finger and sucked in the sweet blood ravenously. "Take it easy, dear. Don't be greedy," Demetria reminded Clarice in a soothing tone, patting her head gently, pleased with the successful transformation. Clarice continued sucking Demetria's blood like there was no tomorrow.