Chapter 26: Returning Your Immortality (Part I)  

Leaning against Alastor, I gradually lost consciousness.  

The path was an endless stretch of darkness. In my grogginess, a soft, fluffy object crawled into my arms, gently nuzzling against me and making a "purring" sound.  

Struggling slightly, I slowly opened my eyes to see a pair of beady black eyes and a furry head.  

"Squeak..." It blinked its pitch-black eyes and rubbed against my cheek.  

Snowy?  

I reached out to hug him, but I felt as if I had just been run over by a giant wheel; every bone in my body felt dismantled and reorganized, aching terribly. After finally managing to gather some strength, I patted Snowy’s furry head and sat up, holding him.  

Looking around, I realized I was back in the bedroom.  

Where were Sol, Alastor, and the others?  

Slowly crawling out of bed, I held Snowy in one arm and leaned against the wall with the other, walking out of the room.  

As I exited the corridor, the path was silent; not a single soul was in sight. This castle, which looked so gloomy from the outside, was exceptionally solemn and grand within, covering a massive area. By the time I had walked a distance, I was exhausted.  

Then, with a sense of profound tragedy, I discovered once again that I was lost.  

"Master?" Lily’s voice sounded behind me.  

I exhaled in relief and turned to look at her. I had finally found someone to lead the way.  

"It is broad daylight; do you not need to rest?" Lily asked, looking at me.  

It dawned on me then that the members of the Blood Kind had all gone to sleep. No wonder I hadn't seen even a ghostly shadow along the way.  

"Have you seen Sol? Where is he?" Sol must have been captured by Alastor, and I wondered what they would do to him.  

"Are you referring to the traitor Lord Alastor brought back?" Lily hesitated for a moment before saying, "He has been imprisoned in the underground palace by Her Majesty the Queen."  

"Underground palace?"  

"Beneath the ninth tower, there is an underground entrance leading to the lakeshore. That man is being held down there."  

I nodded. "Take me there."  

Lily led the way. The tower was shrouded in darkness, with white candles burning along the walls. Occasionally, a spark would jump, making a tiny sound.  

After walking for a long time, I looked at Lily’s slender back with doubt. "Are we not there yet?"  

"We are here." Lily stopped.  

I turned my head, searching for the underground entrance Lily had mentioned. Suddenly, with a loud "clang," Lily pulled open a large door.  

Snowy immediately burrowed inside my clothes.  

Dazzling sunlight burst in. I let out a cry of shock, instinctively raising my hand to shield my eyes.  

"Forgive me, but my master can only ever be Lord Alastor," Lily spoke slowly, smiling.  

I squinted my eyes, but the Reaper did not come for me. Bathed in the sunlight, I found a warmth I hadn't felt in a long time.  

"Tell that to Alastor yourself."  

"You... you! No... impossible!" Lily looked at me, her smile freezing on her face. she slumped to the ground, staring at me in terror.  

I was unafraid of the sun because of Sol’s blood, wasn't I? Because I had consumed the blood of a Daywalker, I could withstand the sunlight.  

Extreme terror made her heart race. I looked at Lily’s fair, delicate neck and could see the warm liquid flowing through her veins.  

Without resisting the craving for fresh blood, I bit into her neck and drank greedily until I was half-full.  

After a while, I let go.  

"Where is Sol?" Looking at Lily’s deathly pale face, my voice was very calm.  

Lily was already paralyzed with fear.  

I had no choice but to turn and walk out the door. The sound of flowing water reached my ears. Following that sound, I found a thicket of brambles.  

Within the brambles lay a set of stairs leading straight into an unpredictable darkness.  

Without hesitation, I pushed aside the thorns and walked in.  

With a crisp "crack," I seemed to step on something. Looking down, I saw a pale white skull staring at me with two hollow eye sockets. Only then did I notice that the ground was covered in skeletal remains—it looked like hell itself.  

As I hesitated, I heard the faint, indistinct sound of dripping water coming from not far away, carrying the metallic sweetness of blood. Following the sound, I entered a secret chamber and froze at the sight before me.  

On a high platform hung a naked man. His head hung low, wine-red hair partially veiling his face. Sharp silver hooks pierced his wrists, and crimson blood slid down his slender body drop by drop...  

"Sol..."  

The man moved slightly and looked up at me.  

"I am Malachi." He looked at me and actually smiled.  

I was stunned. "You... you know everything now?"  

"Yes, I know everything," Malachi nodded. "In an instant, it was as if I remembered everything. I feel much more at peace."  

At peace? He was being hung up and bled like this, and he said he felt at peace?  

I stepped forward to let him down, but I found I couldn't get close at all.  

"It is no use; Her Majesty has set a barrier," Malachi looked down at me with a soft, soul-stirring smile. "The blood of the Daywalker belongs to you in the end."  

"How can I save you? You’ll die like this!" I stomped my feet in anxiety.   "No rush, there is still time. Listen to me tell a story," Malachi said with a beam, as if the blood dripping down didn't belong to his own body.  

I practically jumped. "The house is on fire, and you’re telling stories!"  

Malachi laughed, though his face was deathly pale. "Sol was a pitiful child. When I found him, he was eating a person—literally eating a person, swallowing chunks of a corpse..."  

I shivered. Personally, I thought the person he was eating was even more pitiful.  

"Because Sol had red eyes, his birth was not blessed. When he was six, his mother died. The village fortune-teller said his pupils bore a curse, so his father personally blinded him and drove him from the house..."  

Ignoring my protests, he began to tell me a story.  

A tale of a peerless prophet and a young vampire lad's romance... I was left speechless.