10 – The Final

In the late afternoon, the sun lit up Aldric's room with yellow and orange colours, and tiny bits of dust floated around in the light.

Velmira was sitting in the chair she had been sitting in for many months, and where she could reach him quickly if she needed to. The chair had made grooves in the floorboards from being moved closer to the bed, then back to give him space, then closer again when the nights got harder.

Aldric was lying on pillows, a shadow of the excited scholar who had first approached her outside the Continental Magic Association six months ago. His face was gaunt and his cheekbones were sharp beneath the thin skin. His brown hair had become thin, and his breathing was now slow and steady, as if he had to think carefully about each breath because his lungs weren't working well.

But his eyes were still bright. Still smart. It's still him.

"Page forty-seven," he said, his voice weak but clear. "The part about K.M.'s timeline. Did we confirm the date in the fifth message?"

Velmira looked at their book. It was a thick stack of papers. They had spent six months working on it:

Anomalous Architecture and Displaced Peoples: A Study of the Northern Ruins.

It's almost finished. Just the final revisions are left to do.

"I checked the mana decay rate in the stone around it," she confirmed. "It's been five years since K.M. arrived, and about forty-three years in total based on how things have been deteriorating."

"Good. This means they were around during the early days of the Continental Magic Association." Aldric coughed gently — he was very careful not to make it too loud, as if he could not cope with a bigger cough. "Serie would have been establishing her authority. K.M. might have tried to approach her."

"And been rejected. Or worse."

"Or worse," Aldric agreed. He reached for the water glass on his bedside table, and Velmira gave it to him before he could strain. Another action that has been done many times.

He drank carefully, then continued. "Your analysis of the demon encounter — the one that killed K.M. — is good. Hunter-class demon, specialized for tracking anomalous mana signatures. He's not a frontline fighter, but a scout."

Velmira didn't look upset, but her hands were a bit tighter around the manuscript. That demon – the one she'd killed while Aldric was unconscious – had been a scout. A hunter. This meant that there were others. A plan to get rid of players who are on loan to other teams.

"It confirms the pattern," she said. "Displaced individuals attract demon attention. They're systematically hunted."

"This makes your survival even more amazing." Aldric put the glass down, his hand shaking a bit. "You've been here for seven months now. You have killed at least one demon that we know about. There might be others you haven't mentioned."

She didn't say yes or no. Some truths were still too dangerous to say out loud.

"The question is why," Aldric continued, using his analytical voice, the one that suggested he was thinking through a problem rather than slowly dying. "Why do demons hunt displaced individuals? What threat do they pose?"

"Perhaps we're disruptions," Velmira suggested. "Foreign elements in a balanced system. The magic we have, the things we know – they don't fit with the natural order here."

"Or maybe demons can tell when there's a rival around." Aldric's smile was thin. "You're powerful, Velmira. You are more powerful than I have ever seen. A demon might see that as a threat to their place in the world's order."

"Aldric—"

"I'm not asking you to explain." He raised one hand, his signal was weak but he meant it. "I've never asked you to tell me everything. But I'm not blind or stupid. Whatever you really are, whatever power you actually possess — it's enough to make demons hunt you and survive their hunting."

She didn't say anything, she just looked at him.

"I trust you," Aldric said simply. "That's what matters. I want this research to be published as a warning. Other people might move here in the future. They need to know the dangers. They need to know about K.M.'s fate and the demons that hunt anomalies."

"We'll finish it," Velmira promised. "Every single word of it."

They went back to their work, checking sections and making any final changes. The manuscript was almost perfect now – it had been months of careful research, cross-referencing and documentation. It would be Aldric's best work. He wanted to show that he had existed and that he had done something important for the world.

That he had been important.

The sun continued to go down, making the shadows longer in the messy room. Velmira's Moonveil Cloak was on a hook near the door because she didn't need it indoors, and Aldric had stopped asking about how much sunlight it was safe for her to be in.

Just like he had stopped asking why she never ate in his presence anymore, or where she went on certain nights, or why her appearance never changed while his withered.

Trust built over months. Understanding without full disclosure. Acceptance of mysteries because the person beneath them was worth accepting.

It was more than Velmira had ever expected to find.

The knock on the door came just as it got dark.

Petra went in without waiting for permission – she had been coming often enough that she didn't think it was necessary to ask. The healer's face showed no emotion, but Velmira had learned to read the subtle signs.

The bags under her eyes. The set of her jaw.

Bad news. It's worse than usual.

"How are you feeling today, Aldric?" Petra asked, putting her bag down and moving to look at him.

"About the same," Aldric lied. He had been unwell all week, with more coughing, blood and pain.

Petra listened to his chest, checked his pulse, and examined the colour of his skin and lips. Her face got more and more serious with each test.

When she finished, she sat down on the side of the bed and took his hand.

"I need to be honest with you," she said quietly. "The disease has got worse. The head injury from months ago made everything happen more quickly. Your body has been fighting a lot of different problems, and it's losing."

Aldric nodded slowly, as if he'd been expecting this. "How long?"

"Days. Maybe a week if you're lucky." Petra spoke gently but firmly. "There's nothing more that magic or medicine can do for you at this point. I'm sorry."

Velmira stood in the corner, completely still. She looked calm and in control, and had been a vampire for only months, despite appearing centuries older. Inside, something was falling apart.

Days. It will take a week at the most.

"Thank you for being honest," Aldric said, and he sounded almost relieved. It's as if it's harder to be uncertain than to have certainty.

Petra stood up and squeezed his hand once. She turned to Velmira. "He'll need care. Comfort. Someone with him." Her eyes showed that she understood. "I think he has that."

"He does," Velmira said.

After Petra left, the room was silent. Aldric looked at the document on the desk, then at Velmira.

"We should finish the final revisions tomorrow," he said. "While I'm still conscious."

"Aldric—"

"Please." His voice was a little shaky. "Let me spend my last days doing something that matters. Not just waiting."

She nodded, not wanting to speak.

They didn't talk about what the doctor's report said that evening. As night fell, two people sat together in the room. They clung to a sense of normalcy because to accept that they were nearing the end would be unbearable.

The coughing fit came just after midnight.

Velmira had been resting in her chair, not asleep but not fully conscious either, like a vampire can be. Aldric's gasp made her wake up.

He was lying on his side, his body shaking with violent coughs that seemed to tear him apart from within. She was there for him straight away, helping him sit up so he could breathe more easily.

The coughing continued. And on. This was the worst fit I've had.

When it finally stopped, the handkerchief in his hand was covered in blood. Not just spots, but real colour that seems to jump off the page. The cloth was red and wet.

Aldric looked at it, his eyes wide with fear. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—"

"Don't say sorry." Velmira took the handkerchief, swapped it for a clean one, and helped him lie back against the pillows. She was calm on the outside, but on the inside she was screaming.

This was it. Not days, but hours. Maybe less.

"I'm scared," Aldric admitted, his voice small. Childlike. "I thought I had accepted it, but now it's here, I'm just scared."

"I know."

"The manuscript—"

"Will be published. I promise."

"My parents never knew what I became. What I achieved." He was breathing hard, struggling to say each word. "They wanted me to be a merchant. It's practical. Safe. I disappointed them."

"You became a scholar. A researcher. Someone who contributed to human knowledge." Velmira carefully adjusted the pillows. "That's not a disappointment. That's amazing."

"I won't see it published. I'm not sure if it makes a difference."

"It will. I'll make sure of it."

Aldric was starting to feel very tired. "Don't be alone, Velmira. Promise me. Find others. Connect. Don't let my death make you retreat into isolation."

"I promise," she lied, because what else could she say?

He fell asleep very quickly, breathing slowly and unevenly. Velmira stayed at his bedside, watching the slight rise and fall of his chest, and counting each breath like a prayer.

The candles were low and their flames cast shadows across the room. Outside, Waal slept. There were thousands of humans living their short lives, unaware that in this small room, one of their number was dying and a monster was learning what it meant to be sad.

Velmira looked closely at Aldric's throat.

At the pulse beating beneath the skin that can be seen through. It is weak and irregular, but it is still there. He's still alive.

She was always hungry, but she learned to deal with that over time. But now it moved forward quickly, because of the smell of fresh blood on that old handkerchief, because of the knowledge that his body was failing, and because of the desperate, selfish need to not be alone again.

You can save him.

The thought came suddenly, and was both terrible and tempting. Her vampiric nature offering a solution with cold logic.

One bite. Just one. Turn him. He doesn't have to die. You don't have to lose him.

Velmira stood, her hands gripping the bedpost until it made a noise. Her fangs had grown longer without her realising, aching with desire and possibility.

She could do it. Right now, while he slept. If he bit him, the vampire's power would be transferred, and he would turn into a vampire too. Make him immortal. They'd have centuries together instead of hours.

But he would hate you for it.

The thought cut through temptation like a blade.

He would awaken a monster, one who shared her hunger. He would watch everyone he might have loved get older and die while he remained the same. He'd lose his compassion, and that's what made him worth saving.

And he'd never forgive her for taking his choice. His death. His natural end.

Velmira moved closer to the bed and looked down at his sleeping face. It's so peaceful now, the pain has gone because the exhaustion has worn away. She could still see the boy in his features; curious, intelligent, and passionate about learning.

She loved him. Not romantically — that's too simple. But he was her friend. Her anchor in this world. The person who had seen past her horrible nature and chosen to trust her anyway.

And love means accepting loss. It meant treating him like a person, even when it meant he was in pain. He chose to die naturally, not like her, who just wanted to keep him alive.

Velmira leaned down close to his throat. She could hear his heartbeat, smell his blood and feel the warmth of his skin.

Her fangs ached.

She breathed in sharply, then moved away from the bed. Her hand flew to her mouth, covering her extended fangs, horror flooding through her.

She'd almost done it. She almost let everything they had built together down. Almost stolen his humanity to ease her own loneliness.

Velmira sank into her chair, shaking. Her fangs slowly retracted, reluctantly, the hunger still gnawing at her insides, but now contained. It's all in the power of the mind.

She had made her choice. Chosen his humanity over her desires. Chosen grief over selfishness. Chosen to let him go.

It was the most human thing she had done since becoming a vampire.

She sat in the dark, listening to him breathe heavily, waiting for sunrise. She would have liked to cry – it would have helped to get rid of the pain she was feeling. But vampires don't cry. Just another thing she'd lost.

So she sat down. And waited. And held vigil over the dying friend she refused to save.

***

Aldric woke just before dawn, as if some part of him knew.

His eyes opened slowly, focusing on Velmira's face. She had moved back to the bedside at some point, because she wanted to be close for whatever was going to happen.

"You're still here," he said quietly.

"Where else would I be?"

He smiled slightly. "You look terrible. Like you've been crying, except..." He stopped talking, realising something. "You can't, can you?"

"No."

"I'm sorry. That seems cruel."

"Many things about me are cruel."

Aldric's hand moved gently as he reached for hers. She took it, feeling how cold his fingers were. How fragile.

"I know what you almost did," he said quietly.

Velmira stopped moving. "Aldric—"

"I wasn't fully asleep. I felt you standing over me. I could feel your struggle." He gently moved his thumb across her knuckles to show that he was there for her. "Thank you for choosing not to."

"I couldn't—"

"You could have. But you didn't." His eyes met hers, clear even though his body was dying. "That's the difference between a monster and a person. It's not about what you are, but what you choose to be. And you chose to be human. My humanity."

"I don't want to lose you," Velmira said, her voice breaking. "I don't want to be alone again."

"I know. But this is my story, Velmira. Let it have its ending." He squeezed her hand, using the little strength he had left. "Don't take that from me. Don't make me into what you are just because you're afraid of grief."

"It hurts."

"Good. This means it was important. That I mattered." He coughed lightly and looked uncomfortable. "Promise me something."

"Anything."

"Finish our work. Send it to the Association. Make them see. Make them acknowledge K.M. and the others who came before. Make them know you were here. His breathing was getting more and more difficult. "Give me that legacy. Give me that meaning."

"I promise," Velmira said, and meant it. "I'll make them see. I'll make your work matter."

"Thank you." His eyes were closing again because he was tired. "And Velmira? Don't give up after this. Find others. Connect. You're too good at being human to give up on it."

"I'll try."

"That's all anyone can do."

His breathing got slower and deeper. It became irregular. Velmira held his hand, counting heartbeats, watching the pulse in his throat grow weaker.

Dawn was coming. The first hint of light touched the window, and she felt the familiar drain begin, sunlight pressing against her nature even through the glass.

But she didn't move. Didn't seek shade. I sat with Aldric as morning came, as his breathing grew shallower, as the spaces between beats lengthened.

The sun got higher in the sky. The light got stronger. The room was filled with golden light as the sun came up.

And between one breath and the next, Aldric's heart stopped.

Velmira felt it — the exact moment his pulse stopped, the warmth leaving his skin, the deep emptiness where life had been.

He was gone.

She sat holding his hand for a long time, watching the sunlight make patterns on his calm face. He looked younger in death – pain gone, worry gone. He was just a young man who had fallen asleep and wouldn't wake up.

The sun felt too hot on her skin. The Moonveil Cloak was hanging on the far wall, out of reach. But Velmira didn't move. She didn't protect herself. Let the pain come—sharp, real and deserved.

This was grief. This feeling of emptiness that you can't shake. This feeling that something very important had been taken away, leaving an injury that would never fully get better.

She had lost people before. She had lost her human family when she was transported. Other players she had known in Yggdrasil had either moved on or quit the game. But this was different. This was real loss, real death, a person who'd been alive and warm and here and now was simply... gone.

Velmira looked from Aldric's face to the desk where their manuscript was. It took months of work. His legacy. It was proof that he had existed, that he had done something important, that his short life had been meaningful.

She would finish it. Would submit it to the Continental Magic Association. Would fight through red tape, doubt and politics until his work was acknowledged. She would make sure the world knew about K.M. and the others who had been forced to leave their homes, who had struggled, and who had died far from home.

She would give him the legacy he'd asked for.

The sun got higher in the sky, and the heat got stronger. But Velmira didn't move until she could feel that Aldric was really dead and not just asleep.

She stood up, her movements stiff because she had been sitting still for hours. She closed his eyes gently, arranged his hands across his chest and made him look peaceful.

"Thank you," she whispered. "For trusting me. For seeing me as more than a monster. For choosing to be my friend."

The manuscript caught her attention again. Six months of collaboration. Their shared purpose. His final gift to her was not just the research itself, but the mission to complete it. To make it matter.

Velmira's sad face changed to show something else. He was determined. Resolve. It's a grim purpose.

She had lost her friend. But she had found her purpose.

She would publish their work. Would protect other people who had to leave their homes if they arrived. Would make sure Aldric's death was important and not just another life ending.

And she would survive. She would carry on. To honour his memory, she would stay connected to the world he helped her understand, and choose to be human even when it hurt.

That's what he'd asked. And she'd promised.

The sun was now fully up, and its light was flooding the room. Velmira finally got her Moonveil Cloak and wrapped it around herself. The protection was switched on and the burning got a bit easier.

She looked at Aldric one last time. He looked pale and peaceful, and he was gone.

"Goodbye, my friend," she said quietly. "Rest well. I'll take it from here."

Then she looked at the manuscript, the work they'd created together, the legacy he'd left behind.

And she started making a plan.

End of Chapter 10