Chapter 133 - Sound And Soul

Ofelia's mother told her that mermaids can heal all sorts of diseases. But it is not a natural skill, it should be honed. And someone as young as her could not even close a scratch yet.

"You must focus on invoking the power of sound, Ofelia. You shouldn't try to control it, but instead, let it control you." Her mother suggested. "Once it calls out to you, knowing that you needed it, that it is when you must answer its call back."

"Ofelia doesn't understand, Mother..." The little siren scratched her head. "It's so difficult."

"Soon, love. Soon, you will. Sound travels through the wind, and like the wind, it is restless. It has no master, and yet, currents exist. Therefore, what you must do is let your voice swim along with these currents, and let them take you to where you want to be. Like the sea, all things will be brought to their rightful place. Because we are creatures of the sea. And so, we may never get lost in it."

The little siren only listened, and keep these words in her tiny heart, yet was incapable of making any effort to understand them.

But just as the Mother said, in a fitting manner, she had learned it only when she needed. All things in their rightful place.

The "Song of the Sea" takes much precision and practice to be a healing song. But more importantly, it needs intention. Any strong intention can surpass even skill itself. 

At this moment, the siren did not sing, but yelled. It was only through strong intention that she momentarily harnessed the power of sound. 

Her intention for her fathers to stop fighting, to receive peace..... It was received by the wind, which helped her make this strong wish to be fulfilled. Her most important wish.....

Was to bring her Daddy Leron back.

"You.... You have returned....?" Her Daddy Vladstin asked after the awakened Leron looked utterly lost on what is happening. He took out the sword in his heart with a dubious look. "Is it really you are you acting again?"

"Acting? I don't understand what is going on! One moment, I was feeling faint while we were looking for you..... And now you're here! I.... Where have you been.... What is going on....."

It really was the former Leron, he can remember what happened last before he died.

But.....

"Ahhh!"

Vladstin grabbed hold of his chin and examined his mouth closely. Leron was even more confused by this, and was flustered. Vladstin frowned when he closed his mouth, and lifted his upper lip up with his thumb.

Sure enough, the sharp fangs were still there.

"Vhrstihn..... Whaarr ahhee you doinshhg..." Leron asked in gibberish due to his mouth being pried open.

He let go, but just as he did, he made a strange suggestion. "Leron, lick your teeth."

"Lick my teeth?" Leron doesn't understand a single thing, but did so anyway.....

He traced his own tongue over his own teeth, and felt something off. He did so in an are again, and noticed the sharpness.

"It's.....! I..... My teeth....." He could not believe it, but looked down at his hands that grew knife-like nails dripping in crimson blood.

"You're a Vampire Lord now." Vladstin revealed straight to the point, like he was merely stating a known fact, like the sky being blue. "You see Sangfroid over there? That was you too. If it hadn't been for Ofelia... doing whatever that was, that earthquake... you could have done worse."

"I... That's not true, I'm a human..... I'm a human..." Leron repeated over and over again, his eyes restless.

But even when one must deny it, everything is pointing to the same direction that it is hard to ignore. He must truly be the creature Vladstin had become, the one they are trying to revert him from.... He had transformed into it.... How.....

"That means that I'm..... I'm dead..." He chuckled in disbelief. "No... That can't be... I'm alive, I'm breathing and I'm....."

He was not breathing, he realized.

He is somewhat standing and moving and talking, and yet not breathing.

"How did this happen------Grah!"

He immediately took the fallen sword on the water and struck Vladstin again!

"How did you do that?" He asked with gritted teeth. "He is not supposed to come back! I'm the only one remaining, the only soul, why did you---"

"Vladstin!?" His angry face then turned into fright and worry. "How..... again..... Why did I---"

"Ahhhh! Shut up! Shut up!" He hit his head again and again. "I am the only one....Get out!"

Leron began thrashing about, falling on his knees and moving in disarray like in his transformation earlier. Like he was in a brawl with himself.

Vladstin was confused, but he took note of the most important thing Leron said. I am the only one soul. That moment when he glimpsed on Leron's memories, the night before the coronation....

He listened to Xiani explain the concept of how in Zhaulian belief, there are five souls in one body.

"They believe that there are five souls in a person, not one, and each of these corresponds to a certain organ like the heart, lungs, liver, spleen, and kidneys."

He and Leron were not really paying attention to this when they first heard, so he tried to grasp the memory. 

"The heart soul is the master of all, the one keeping the souls together. It judges all, and decides which direction to move forward. The kidney soul is the one that serves us our will, our desire to act, and what pushes us to move forward. The spleen soul is our intellect, the knowledge and wisdom we have gained. Without it, one is pensive and indicisive, not knowing the right course of action. They all sound very similar to each other, and they work over the same thing. But the other two, the lungs and liver, are different."

"The liver soul is believed by the Zhaulians to be our consciousness even after death. It is our identity, the one that continues even when the body is gone. Once we die, it leaves the body, but still exists. It holds morals above all else, and an especially clear and white liver soul is said to even glow, giving an aftereffect of an all-encompassing halo over the person right after death."

"The lungs soul on the other hand, is the exact opposite, it's color black. It is the consciousness of the body itself. It is restricted to its experiences in this lifetime, only driven by the worldly forces, not those beyond. It is also called 'the animal' soul out of the five. Upon death, it must dissolve, along with the others besides the liver soul, or else, the body would be its empty shell to be used for that single desire it wanted to have. It could not be reasoned with, nor tamed without the white soul."

It's difficult to believe things, but again, once it is before your own eyes, it's hard to keep on disbelieving.

In fact, Vladstin felt like he had encountered this Beast before he turned into a Vampire Lord.

He once told Leron: "It's because on the night you stabbed me, my lover had also died. You are not him. You had killed us both.... and for that, I can never forgive you."

He realized how foolish it was, because he had confused the two. The Leron he was talking to was not that person.

It was this one, this Beast.

This Beast exists because of the inexistence of 'Leron'. He is Leron, yet as well, not him. He is only Leron of this body, this dark, dark soul filled with greedy malicious desires, incapable of truly feeling, incapable of truly loving.

Ofelia's song brought back the white soul, the real Leron. Yet it did not keep together, and they are now fighting over their own body as they were the only two left, the rest dissolved when he died. 

"Quick, Ofelia! Do what you did again!" He said, holding down both of the Beast's hands before he could further hurt Leron or drive him away from the body again.

"Stop holding me!" He yelled. "Let go--- Vladstin! Vladstin help me!"

"I..... I don't know what I did...." Ofelia was dumbstruck by everything that was happening, feeling like it was her being cooked under fire of pressure into a delicious fish soup.

"Just yell!" Vladstin said. "Yell as you did before! Come on, I believe in you!"

Ofelia swallowed dry spit down her throat. She was unsure of herself, but she was being asked by her Daddy Vladstin of something, and she wanted to help. Daddy Sangfroid is fully unconscious, and she was the only one left to aid in the situation.

She took a deep breath.

And instead of shouting, she sang the 'Song of the Sea'.

It was rough at first, as she had forgotten about the lyrics. She instead remembered her Mother's advise, her words that was like an inheritance passed on to her. Yes..... That is how powerful sounds and words were.

They invoke emotion and new chances. They reach out to the soul. 

The soul may not see, nor feel, nor touch something. But it is still around, among the wind before it reaches the afterlife, and it listens. It listens, and can be called out to. Beckoned.

Swim in this current that I have made for you. Swim towards me.

Vladstin and Ofelia waited, as Leron had grown silent. He did not move for a long while...

And had fallen asleep from the song, directly into his arms.

Vampires don't need sleep. Vampires don't feel sleepy.

He has returned. Yet Vladstin felt like this is not over...

He had only returned temporarily for the body to rest, but when he wakes up, he will struggle to take control of the Beast again. They are stuck in a stalemate until someone wins.

Vladstin sighed, genuinely sighed, and had never felt so tired before in his unlife. He carried Leron, and patted Ofelia's head.

"Ofelia, sleep well. If you can't sleep, practice that song again and again.. We sorely need it."