Chapter 14 You Think I Came Willingly?

~~~~

When Atlas had closed his eyes and lost his consciousness after coming down the stairs, he was really expecting him to die and never wake up.

To open my eyes once again, it was a really different and surprising feeling, especially when all the pain was gone. Moreover, the pain wasn't gone because his body had grown numb. He could still feel his senses and his movement.

As he woke up, he forgot entirely about meeting someone in what appeared to be a dream just a few moments ago. He only remembered the time before losing consciousness and nothing more.

"Where am I?" he exclaimed, finding himself in a dark place.

After getting over his initial daze and the happiness for his survival, he realized that everything wasn't normal. There was something odd.

Previously when he lost his consciousness, he was lying at the end of the stairs, but he wasn't there anymore. He found himself trapped in a closed space now. It appeared like a small box from the inside that was made to fit his body.

In fact, only now did he realize that it felt awfully a lot like the coffins in which Vampires slept; it was just a bit different.

"How did I end up from an open space to this place? Did someone carry me? Did those people catch me? Don't tell me the Vampires found me and sealed me here? But why would they heal me? Did they also heal me so I could die a slow death inside the coffin?"

There were many questions in his head, and all of them were valid. He couldn't have walked inside the coffin on his own after all.

"I need to get out of here!"

Feeling like he was suffocating in the close space, he tried to get out. He placed his hands on the top of the coffin, trying to push it open, but it didn't even move an inch. "Is this locked?"

???????????????? ???????????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????????????? ???????? ????????????????????-????????????.????????????

The coffin had a wooden texture from the inside, as if its interior was made of wood; however, it was firmly sealed. Atlas was sure that its outer exterior was made from a different material which made it strong.

There was also something soft under his body, making him feel like he was lying on a mattress made from the softest of materials. After sleeping on the ground all this while, he was sure this comfort was something he would have appreciated more if he wasn't inside a freaking coffin!

"After surviving an inevitable death, is this how I'll die? Buried alive inside a coffin for an eternity?"

"No! This can't be how it ends! I didn't survive all this while just to die like this!"

Clenching my fist and getting impatient, he started punching the coffin with his full strength, not caring about hurting himself. Even as he punched, he hadn't expected the coffin to open, but something miraculous happened on the first punch itself.

"Boom!"

The top of the coffin flew off high in the sky, just after a single punch. After staying in the sky for a few seconds, the top fell in the distance.

"W-what just... What happened? How did I do that? Just one punch to send it flying?"

He hadn't been so shocked ever in his life as he was now. A single punch of his had broken the coffin.

"My wrist? It doesn't look hurt either, even after all this. Am I still dreaming or something? How is my strength so high suddenly? Huh, wait. Why is my wrist looking even paler than it usually did? Is it because I lost even more blood?"

"But that's not it. My wrist is thicker as well. It's not as skinny as before. My fingers are also longer. And what is it that I'm wearing? I was wearing blood-covered clothes? How come my clothes are different and perfectly clean now?"

"No, the clothes are entirely different. They look... Even more expensive. What's going on here?" He was so overwhelmed that he didn't realize how different he was entirely.

His legs were longer; his height also seemed more. He looked even paler. It was all completely different. And more importantly, his legs were perfectly fine now, whereas they were completely broken before. He could move them now.

In the back of his head, he believed that he was still dreaming. He even thought that maybe he was already in a coma or something of similar nature. Still, he decided to explore.

He sat up. No matter how dream-like this whole thing was, he started observing his surroundings.

The room had nothing out of the ordinary. It was a room that was mostly empty. The place seemed mostly dark. In front of him, the top of the coffin was lying. There was a dent on it.

"Is it made of silver?" The coffin head was made of pure silver, which surprised Atlas even more. How was he able to punch it so easily? That convinced his suspicions even more. It was certainly a dream, but he went along with it.

The coffin also had some strange markings on top that appeared to be made from blood. For some reason, he was unable to read them even though he felt that he was familiar with them.

Shaking his head, he stopped thinking about these words.

"Maybe my head can't come up with the words for my dream, so it made up some random stuff." Making up a reason, he turned to his left.

Even in his dreams, he wouldn't have expected to see what he saw next.

"W-what?!" A shocked voice left his throat.

A horrifying sight was waiting for him on the left.

There it was, a body lying at the foot of the stairs. The body belonged to a young boy. It was covered in Blood that had finally stopped seeping out of the body, but not before turning the entire floor under the body red.

~~~

Current time~

Atlas stood before the body which had belonged to none other than him. He hadn't even come out of the initial shock of being in someone else's body when he was told that he was in the body of one of the first Vampires to walk on this earth?

"Are you sure you aren't joking with me?" That's the only thing he could ask Lilith.

"You think I will jest with a human? You aren't even worthy of talking to me, let alone occupy my Master's body!" Lilith snorted. "In fact, it would be much better if you leave his body instead! Let him sleep right here, so everything is ready for when he is to return!"

"Leave his body? You think I came here willingly so that I could leave willingly? It's not a house with a door where I could come and leave. And even if I could leave, I won't leave! I have more important things to do! And this body is going to help me!" Atlas exclaimed with a determined look on his face.

He needed strength, and this body had the strength! There was no way he was going to miss this opportunity!

"You want to use my Master's body for your selfish gains? Insolence!" Lilith snapped.

"I don't care what you say. God has given me this opportunity, and I'm taking it! I will take my sister's body back from those Vampires! I'm not returning this body until I get her body!" Atlas responded firmly.

Without taking a break, he continued. "Now I am in the body of a Progenitor! Those Vampires must listen to my commands and return her body! I couldn't protect her when she was alive, but I won't let her body be used by them!"

"Your sister...?" Lilith asked oddly.

Atlas didn't know why, but the reply of Lilith was slightly odd. She didn't have that commanding tone anymore. Instead, she seemed a bit serious, as if she was somewhat... concerned.

"Yeah. My sister. She was killed by the Vampires right before I came to this place..." Atlas let out as he stepped closer to his body. He picked his old body up from the puddle of blood while telling his life story to Lilith, forgetting that it hadn't been long since he told this story to another person.

He carried his body away from the blood and placed it inside the coffin. For some reason, he had assumed that Lilith was going to scold him for dirtying the coffin of her master, but she remained engrossed in his story.

He picked up the dented top of his coffin that he had sent flying. He carried it to the casket, observing his real face one last time. He was sure he was never going to come back here in the future after he left with his new body. This was the last time he was going to see his old face.

As he gazed at his real face, he noticed that it was slightly similar to the face of his mother. His body was so thin, reminding him of how weak and malnourished he truly was.  But not anymore! Now he had the body of the Vampire Progenitor. He was going to leave this place at any cost!

"And that's how I got here... I lost my consciousness. I don't know what happened after that. When I opened my eyes, I was in the body of your Master."

While finishing his story, he covered the coffin, sealing his real body here forever, not knowing what was going to happen with it and if he could ever return to it.

"This world never changes, does it?" Lilith asked, letting out a sigh.

"What?" Atlas didn't know why but for some reason, he felt as if he had heard the exact words before. Someone else had uttered those same words, but he couldn't remember who.