Chapter 67: I am Aware

Chapter 67: I am AwareFrom the moment Caius was turned, Lucian knew there was something about his transformation that was incomplete. It was he who first said Caius was a Vampire Spawn and not a True Vampire, but there was very little he knew about Vampire Spawns. Actually, there was very little that anyone anywhere knew about Vampire Spawns. Whenever a Vampire turns a person, it’s for a purpose and that purpose can never really be served if the turned can’t even access the true ’worth’ of being a Vampire. It took a different kind of vendetta for Anthenodora to do what she did to Caius; She didn’t want him strong and didn’t need him to serve her. She just needed him to change enough to make Lucian be forced to make the tough decision to end his own son. Anyway, it was because of the lack of any real knowledge on Vampire Spawns that Caius felt he could get away with embracing his Vampirism without divulging the truth to his father for fear of how he would take it. If he talked about his body being already at the very peak of physicality it could be unless he advanced to the next Magic Circle, he had a feeling his father would deduce he was now a True Vampire because, while Lucian knew next to nothing about Vampire Spawns, he knew a lot about Actual Vampires. Hell, he knew everything about them. Eventually, due to the burning he was feeling and the way he sweated profusely through his clothes due to exercise patterns he was sure he didn’t need, Caius decided he might as well try to tell Lucian enough to at least turn the Exercises to more productive patterns. "Father..." he said with a groan. "Yes, son?" Lucian answered gently. "I— well, I—" Caius started and found he was finding it difficult to get the words out. "Do you think you don’t need this?" Lucian asked. "Yes," he answered the question honestly. "Why do you think that?" Lucian asked. "Well, I’m a Vampire," Caius said. "I’m aware," Lucian said. Caius let out a sigh. "No, you don’t," he said, and funny enough, he found that the burn he was still feeling in his muscles gave him a clarity and he found the courage to finally come clean. Caius had just opened his mouth when Lucian cut in to say, "Yes, actually, Caius. I am aware." Caius paused then. He had detected something in his father’s voice that made him turn his head to find his face. Lucian’s face was somber. His lips pressed together in a hard line but while he looked very serious, the expression in his eyes was one Caius found that he recognized; It was wise and knowing. And then it dawned on him that his father knew already that his Vampirism had undergone a change. Caius remembered how Lucian had looked when he admitted he had gotten stronger two days ago and had a strong feeling it was from that moment on that his father had been making the required connections to now decide he could not possibly ignore what was happening; His son was embracing his Vampirism. "Are you safe?" Lucian asked after a moment. "I am," Caius said and then added, "I’ve not killed anyone. In case you were worried. I’m not going on an all-out feeding spree or anything." "And how long before you have to?" Lucian asked. "Never," Caius answered. "You can’t be sure about that," Lucian said. He had a hard look on his face as he said that and the corner of his lips twitched but like ever, the look in his eyes was not anger, just guilt. Any hatred in those black orbs was directed at himself that he let this happen. That he let his son be infected with a disease that would likely consume him eventually. "I AM sure," Caius said, "I’m in control." Even as he said that, Caius could tell it came off as naive. Like he didn’t know the true depth of the lure of Vampirism and how much he could descend into the abyss of sanguine need. Sure enough, Lucian looked at him like he pitied the fact that his resolve would not last in the long run. Eventually, he sighed. "You’re wrong," he said. "No, I’m telling you, I’m sure I can—" Caius started and might have launched into an embarrassing explanation on how his Evolution Trigger worked had Lucian cut in with one hand raised. "Not about that. You’re wrong about thinking you don’t need to train your muscles. Having your body at the physical peak it could possibly be isn’t necessarily the ceiling of physical prowess. When you train, you need to listen to the pain you feel. To the strain each individual muscle is under. You need to be attentive to how they tear and how they repair and you’ll find that when you need it, you can pull from dredges you never even thought existed. Also, training your body is not only about getting stronger. You need to ingrain certain memories within yourself that will react before your brain even has a chance to. In short, Son, continue." And so Caius did. For the entire day, he kept at it with ever-changing regimens and barely any rest. Lucian had sourced high-quality Beast Blood in a seemingly never-ending supply of canisters that he handed out and, by drinking them, Caius always recovered enough strength and alertness to push on and continue. The concept of overworking might as well not exist because, besides the occasional blood-drinking breaks, there were no stops until the moon was high in the sky late at night. The concrete floor of the Arena had a wide circle of sweat that never had the chance to dry because Caius’ body never stopped dripping with it. When he got back to his room, washed off his perspiration in his gigantic tub, and then slipped into bed, he fell asleep almost immediately only to be woken up by that terrible alarm in what felt like just a few hours later. With a groan and even more tempted than he was yesterday to toss a fireball at the annoying thing, he got out of bed and returned to the Arena to pick up where he left off the day before. By noon of the second day of the weekend, Caius started to understand what he was meant to be feeling. He was starting to be able to separately pick out the various muscles that were granting him his strength and stamina and there was an interesting phenomenon where he could just feel some latent potential within them that he wasn’t yet tapping into. Alas, the strain of the exercise regimen clouded what could have been a triumphant feeling. Worse yet, at the end of the day, and a time when Caius just wanted to slip off to his room and sleep off the hectic day, his father asked him for a light spar to see just how much progress he’d made. "I doubt I’ll be showing results after just two days," Caius said in a drowsy tone. "You’ll be surprised," Lucian said and gestured for him to get up and for them to get to it. "First, I have to ask for a Movement spell," Caius said then as he let out a groan while getting to his feet. Lucian looked surprised. "A movement spell?" he said, "Do you not have one already?" "Yeah, I do. ~Wispy Feet~," Caius said and his father’s eyes widened in realization. "Oh, that’s right," he said, "I taught you that when—" "When I was nine, yes," Caius completed. Every spell he knew, besides Dark Magic spells, he had learnt from his father. Spells are usually passed down like that. Or they are bought. Or found. They can also be created but it usually takes an extreme situation for that to be needed. Either due to a lack of money to buy or just having an Affinity that is not common enough for you to learn from someone. Lucian laughed. "~Wispy Feet~! You have to have outgrown that by now," he said. "Only by one Circle," Caius said with a smile, "But I would like an upgrade." Lucian placed a hand on his son’s shoulder. "And you will get one son," he said, and then stepped back before he said energetically, "But first, we spar!" Caius sighed. "Alright," he said not at all enthusiastic, "First, we Spar."