Heartless - Chapter 33：Stagnant

There was no practice, no one to learn from and no one to teach me. There were already vampires within the forest when she was made keeper, but there was much more outside then within. At that time, it was the forest that prevented them from coming out. However, it could never stop anyone from coming in.

It was that forest that taught her, though teaching is a far stretch from what it was truly doing. The first vampires were strong. As time passed on, the pool started to get contaminated by the small things, like the dust and the rain that fell into the pond. After that, those who drank from the pond could only get a small taste of the power that was promised.

But as the pond grew weaker, so did the forest. For even gentle water can carve caves. For every skirmish the vampires fought, dents the forest. That dent would build up over time, of course and Death knew that which is why she needed a keeper.

Only the strongest could escape the forest, and when they did, I was the only one in their way. Escaping took a toll on them, the forest is not that easy to escape. By the time they reached me, they were on the verge of collapsing, or so it was in the beginning.

Things weaken over time, nothing is constant. Ever so slowly, my opponents have grown stronger, and I can’t say I’ve won every battle. There were those, of course, that have escaped.

That was a long time ago, though, when there were knights who could stand their ground against a few recovering vampires, and every man and woman knew a few defensive moves. Times change, and the people along with it. Perhaps we are mentally stronger, but we are also physically weaker.

Now the forest is resting, as it has for a few hundred years. Recovering and growing stronger, smarter.

When I stare at the forest and smell the bloodlust, not all of it is the vampires, now is it? The cracks in the roads without trees near them, the moments of silence in the forest. The draining of the lake and the greater determination of a vampires escape.

Would I be wrong to say that I will have to protect the world from the forest, yes?

But………..

The first species that the forest will attack will be those that live in it, the ones that are easiest to digest. Once the vampires are gone, I will most likely die. At this moment, however, I don’t want to…