Progenitor Vampire: I Have Many Skills!

543  Paul Dreweed (2)

Paul Dreweed did not let him speak, for he had not yet finished speaking.

"Some regrets come with the years; I have felt many of those. But this is the first time someone has made me regret my decision in so few seconds."

Egon didn't understand what he was referring to, but he thought he was talking about regretting not talking about Cecily's. "As long as you say so, I can restore that little shack with the most perfect materials."

Paul smiled. "No, that shack can no longer be repaired. It was built in a way that only my late wife knew, so it is already lost. That is why it is my regret. I hesitated before letting you near my abode; it seems my hesitation made sense." Saying so, Paul looked at Egon.

There seemed to be a little pain in his eyes at that small loss, but he didn't give it much thought.

"Living in regret is never an option, so I will forget about it in time, and everything will go back to normal. But, there are regrets from which there is no going back. Those are the regrets I hope Clan Edevane will not have."

Egon frowned. "What the hell do you mean?"

Paul then grabbed his small cane to the side and stood in front of Egon.

Paul was already old. Over 900 years is not something anyone can withstand. Many don't even make it halfway through his life and die a natural death, despite being more powerful than him. So this man looked extremely old, but somehow he looked warm.

He put his cane a step in front of him.

"Egon, do you remember the time I told you that your father didn't choose you but that it was the Inheritance Token who did?" He asked suddenly.

Egon nodded but did not answer.

Paul then smiled, "The same thing happened to Cecily. Therefore, she is free within the freedom the Inheritance Token grants her, just as you and your father were. That is why you do not have the right to choose for her and her territory. The territory was granted to her by ancestral orders, the same orders that created the Inheritance Token, which gave you your current power and status, not by your own choice. And you know, within the freedom that the Inheritance Token grants you both, one chose the path of idiocy."

"The path of the Ego, a path that will make you believe you are the owner of everything, the greatest. The other took, in her freedom, a different path. Perhaps it was her curiosity that won her over, or she desired to fight with someone powerful, or simply perhaps, she understood a superior existence. That's why one gets my support and the other doesn't."

"For one path will lead you to regret at the end of it, and the other will lead you to at least be able to say that you were true to the race. Egon Edevane, my dear disciple and little master of old, my name is Paul Dreweed, and I have lived for almost 1,000 years. I may not stand before you, but at least I will be worthy to keep secrets. Be true to your path and kill this old man who opposes you. Just be careful; a hand you don't expect will be waiting for you at the end of the road. Good luck getting through it." He said, smiling softly with his face full of wrinkles.

Somehow, his words seemed to be what he had wanted to say for over 300 years. Maybe he always wanted to say this to his little disciples and masters.

Maybe...

What kept him alive was the bitterness of not having enough guts to say it.

So, when those words came out of his mouth, his face suddenly became even older, and his power withdrew.

Egon allowed his power to flow everywhere out of the moment's fury. Naturally, he expected Paul, a vampire with 100,000 power, to be able to resist it.

But Paul's body seemed to wither at an absurd speed.

At that moment, memories of over 900 years of life crossed Paul's eyes. He did not wipe the smile from his mouth as his body began to fall backward.

'Cecily... You are the most worthy woman my eyes have ever seen, and that is why my thoughts will always be with you... Do not seize hatred because this old man dies; understand your father, too... Help him out of his wrong path, but if you think he may divert you from yours, think of the clan. Our promise will remain until the day you die. Only... Think of the clan; don't take the wrong path. Best of luck, my daughter. You do not carry my blood, but I am proud to have had a daughter as good as you.' Paul Dreweed smiled even wider at the end of his thoughts and tried to speak.

But his vocal cords had withered.

His mind soon clouded over; his vision dimmed. His hands and arms lost whatever strength might have remained in his body and he collapsed to the ground like a once lush tree, but his time had come.

Pitifully, the promise he made to his late wife also remained to the end.

'The day when that thousand-year-old wood that you so painstakingly procured for me ceases to fulfill its function, that day will be the end of this old body. I will go with you and accompany you once more. Here's to another 500-year relationship.' Those were his words then when his wife died.

This was a long-lived body full of promise, secrets, and life's little mysteries.

Who knew? Just as simply and poorly as he came into the world, just as simply and poorly he was gone.

Seeing him slumped lifeless on the ground, Egon Edevane felt his every muscle tense and tremble. Even Cynfael and Leader Becker behind trembled a little at this.

What echoed in the Egon head was... Did I kill him? The man who cared for me for so many years?

Perhaps this would be his greatest regret.

Or maybe... He wouldn't care.