I Became That Thing?

A clock ticked at the witching hour. Mireille Selune, a college student, dropped her head on the coffee table. Her eyes had little energy, yet strived to live up. To her side piled the pages of thesis papers like a tower.

It's 3:00 a.m.! Augh! I can't sleep. I wish I didn't need to sleep. No, I need to sleep! My pillow! Help me! I can't sleep! I want to kill insomnia!

She dozed off and woke up. It was an unsatisfactory sleep.

Her class would start at seven in the morning. She wrapped up her usual routine and went for a five-minute walk from her apartment to university. However, her vision started to get funny.

The electric post, there are three of them. No, it's the world. It's multiplying. It's waving. It's spinning. What's going on? No, I know what's happening. No, I don't. Ahh! Lord, help me! I'm dying!

She collapsed and everything snapped into the darkness. In a heartbeat, she found herself in a place that she had never been to.

An all-rocky room.

Waking up from an urban city to a caveman's house took place in a few seconds.

The moment she figured out that she wore nothing, she covered her chest and her bottom. "Hyaa!" She looked at every corner. What if there was a group of men peeping at her?

No, why am I–tch. What am I thinking?

She smacked her head as to why it was the first thing she thought up. It turned out she was all alone. The dreadful concern about being assaulted had eased, but it did not help since being isolated while naked got her anxious.

Okay, I woke up here and what on earth is this? This whole thing is beyond belief.

Does something in the universe have a bug? Or does this mean that going to university is a dream? And this is a dream in that dream? No, if I'm aware that I'm dreaming, I should wake up, but I don't. Then, is this what they call the "lucid dream"? But I have never done that.

Her senses went back to what she used to have and became much sharper than before. Drops of water underneath soothed her ears, yet the place she rested on was a rocky rough floor.

She gaped at the cute stalactites hanging on the rusty ceiling. Her eyesight should have provided her with blurry images, but now, she could pinpoint those tiny fractures in a distance so clearly. With this kind of vision, she was happy, yet afraid.

She stood up and felt so light like a feather. She could move her body with no weight dragging her down. However, when she held up her hands, her face tensed up and a jolt of chill shivered her spirit from an ominous sight. Her nails were so sharp that got her thinking about peeling them off. 

She calmed down, but it did not help. Maybe, this was the effect of a dream she thought of. She was aware of what was going on, but she remained worried about these inhuman nails being part of her.

The cave room had a bright ambiance, but this was in the depths of a cave, a place where nothing could be seen but total darkness. Yet, why did this place shine like daylight?

In her mind, she laughed with such low energy that she chuckled it off. Hahaha. I have a night vision. Amazing. Amaziiing. Haha.

No! I don't like how real this is! It's creeping me out! Is this really a lucid dream?! Or am I having a nightmare?! A backroom?! A rocky backroom?!

As most people would do to confirm if they were dreaming, she bit her lips. It hurt a lot. A piercing pain heated up inside, and a metallic taste gushed into her tongue. Blood should be warm, but hers was cold? A second later, the searing pang cooled off and the bleeding stopped. Hold on, did the pain just vanish like that?

She closed her eyes and thought so hard. To think that the pain went off so fast, it mushed up her brain. How could this be possible?!

So, with her experiences getting cut by barbed wires and having a nail staked into her foot, a wound must swell like an uneven surface. However, when she licked the area where she nibbled her lips, it was spotless as if her body's regeneration skipped the healing process.

What? At the stony ceiling, she gawked like a person who lost hope of escaping from this damned dream. That could not be possible! She contemplated life and wished for a random breeze to answer her.

A second later, another dumbstruck of a mind twisted her brain. First, having a night vision, sharp nails, and absurd regeneration. Next, she had canine teeth so pointy that they were almost like needles themselves.

Huh? Huh? Huh? What are these?! Are these fangs?! FANGS?! What kind of dream is this?! Is a lucid dream supposed to mirror what you have imagined? But I never thought of having these things!

She pushed her thumb against her fang, and a sting flinched her back a good distance. "Ouch!"

Her sudden movement caused her hair to sway into her face. She always had long hair and took care of it, making it healthy, silky, and pretty. However, her once jet-black hair had turned into a silvery one and had grown longer than it used to be. From the hip level, her hair lengthened below the knee.

Am I a long-haired grandma?

The hole in her bleeding thumb healed in a matter of seconds. With her own eyes, she witnessed it. Her new body was abnormal. The damaged tissues regenerated into one point like a vortex and restored to what it was.

I don't like being in denial, but OMG! This can't be happening! If this is a lucid dream, why can't I manipulate it on my own? Why can't I change these haunting nails and fangs into normal ones?

Why am I not the god of my dreams?!

She confirmed herself once again.

Raised her hands in the air. Clapped her hands. Swung her arms like a pendulum. Danced her hips like Shakira. Marched and stomped her feet like a soldier. Pinched her cheeks, her belly, and her thighs. Slapped her face back and forth until she got a headache.

All these were genuine. Everything was real! Aware of what was going on, and she was! Maybe, this was the cause of lack of sleep, thus making her hallucinate, but that could not be. Her mind did not feel deteriorated at all. She felt so fresh as if she always had enough sleep since she awakened.

She took the deepest breath she could to settle down. This was real. The truth. If all was valid, then this must be a reality. All of her senses were showing her that everything had happened.

Getting over the event that occurred right in her face, she sighed another long breath. From walking in the city to waking up in the cave, it was simply unimaginable. In that transition of reality, she had accepted this bombshell of the fact that she died on Earth and got reincarnated here.

Having supernatural features proved to her that she was no longer a human. Talking about her inhuman appearance, she touched her ears and they were shaped like knives.

Now, even if she had not seen her image in a mirror yet, her appearance got her thinking about what kind of creature she was.

She assessed herself, and there was no doubt she became a thing that sucked the life out of people. All of a sudden, she began to imagine a red viscous juice served in her mouth.

The instant she thought about that, her fangs itched. Her mind raced and pushed her reasoning that it would be much better if it was raw, fresh, and warm. This was something immoral and repulsive, but now, she had a strong urge to drink it directly from a living being.

Resisting this desire would make it worse. She salivated when she fantasized about a neck gushing with blood. She gulped, and a surge of impulse electrified her body. Her fangs never stopped tingling until she impaled an appetizing flesh.

No, no, no! What's happening?! What's happening to me?! I'm craving blood?! BLOOD?! Why do I yearn for it?! It's disgus– it's– it's–

It's delicious! No, why?! Ahh! It hurts! My fangs are stinging! They're shaking! Ugh! My throat. So dry, it's like hot sand. Why did I think of it? I need to–

Should she bite her arm and suck her blood? But that would not work. She did not crave it and would have an aversion towards her own.

This craving lust, she had a hard time fitting this into her moral sense. She had not even sucked blood for real, yet just imagining it made her crazy.

She shook her head so hard that her brain jerked inside her skull and slapped her face multiple times until she got dizzy. All of it just to make sure she was still sane. To think the vampiric urge was this strong that she had to snap herself back to her sanity.

"To see is to believe." Right, that quote hits me hard and makes me embrace this new life of mine, but not everything I see is real. So, it can mean that I'm in a dream–augh! I get it! Okay! Fine! I'm a vampire now!

–––

Mireille went into a cave hole that should lead her to the outside. However, the tunnel was too tight to get through. She had to adjust her posture like an acrobat to avoid the sharp edges from scratching her skin.

As she advanced, the ground slanted upwards.

If I have claustrophobia, this place will be my ultimate nightmare. All sides are burying me alive.

Come to think of it, vampires have shapeshifting abilities, right? If I can turn into a small and flexible animal, then I can cheese my way through these narrow paths like a ninja!

Alright, here I go. One. Two. Three!

I can't. This sucks. What is the point of becoming a vampire then? For a model display? Maybe, my magic is not enough, if I have it?

Minutes had passed, and she could finally see the end of the cave tunnel. When she got out of it, she pouted. This got her mad a bit. This was still the same part of the place, but a bigger one, the cavern. When could she step on the grass outside?

Dying to escape from here, she searched for a true exit, and since the space widened that much, she covered her chest and her bottom.

I can make men cry by crushing their balls and ending their bloodline. If any guy lays a finger on me, I dare you. I will show no mercy.

Oh? An exit to the outside? Yay, finally!

A wide smile beamed on her face. She finally found the grand exit where a starry night sky dazzled in her eyes. When she stepped foot on the greenfield, a tropical lush forest under the silver moon stood before her.

To her right was a distinct footpath. It must have histories of people visiting here, so she followed the trail to start her journey.

As she went through the woods, she made sure she kept herself safe from perverted eyes, again. Her silver hair covered her rear. Even though it was nighttime, the moonlight was bright enough to expose her nude figure.

I think it's midnight, even so, I can't get over being all naked. It's too uncomfortable without something to cover myself.

Hmm, can I use that banana leaf over there as my apparel?

At the moment, her first objective was to find sustenance, proper clothes, and shelter. And, more importantly, information. Since she reincarnated as a vampire, blood should be her concern now, instead of water.

Might be revolting on my part, but I'm that thing now. I will bite someone and suck their life out. Augh! This conflicting ethical sense is giving me a headache.

As she walked in the dense woods, she spotted a cabin. It looked small in her perspective from this distance. Like finding a treasure, the joy in her smile beamed wide, and she was charmed to go after it as her curiosity tickled.

The cabin was all closed and was stationed in a neat arrangement of gardens, but it did not have a gate to secure the yard. Like a thief, she made careful steps not to snap a dried leaf or trip herself on a rock.

When she got into the doorway, she knocked on the wooden door, but no response. There was no doorknob to twist open, only a handle, so she pushed the door.

As she opened it with a slight screech, wooden planks snapped behind and fell onto the floor, tumbling all over. The door had no lock? So no one lived here? Assuming the answer, she sighed in a low breath. No blood to drink then.

However, a faint orange glare between the gaps in the walls gave her hope. There must be candle lighting in the room, so she went after it. She heard a relaxed heartbeat that was not hers.

As she got closer to the source of the candlelight, a scent of living she desired to drink its blood from came into her nose. Once again, her fangs tingled more and more to the point she would lose herself.

When she found the candle, a girl in a white dress surprised her, sleeping like a starfish. Beside the girl, a sepia book was put on the floor with a circular shape printed on the cover.

At last, a meal! But would she attack a defenseless girl? No, in the first place, why was a girl here sleeping alone in this cabin? It was mysterious for her and got her worried.

That neck, why does it look so inviting? I can't take it anymore. I want it now!

However, locking her eyes on that pulsating neck was too much to hold. A surge of lust thrilled her whole being. Her thirst won over her. Her saliva kept flowing out and making a clear sticky trail in the air. She could not stop drooling, even gulping it fast.

Before she knew it, she was on the top and sank her fangs into the girl's neck, stabbing the arteries. Blood gushed straight into her sucking mouth. Lukewarm, sweet like honey with a hint of iron filings. She liked it fresh and slurped it fast. She made sure nothing leaked out.

Sho good~! Why does this make me excited? This was disgusting on my part, I said. Now, this is my drug! I'm so high! I'm on cloud nine! 

She drank a good amount before the girl's voice shattered her eardrums. "Ahhh! Wha–! How did you–stop! STOOOP!!! You're killing me!!!"