Kaius woke up after a long night of tossing and turning in his bed, his mind replaying the conversation with his brother over and over like an echo that refused to fade. The ceiling seemed heavier than usual, and every shadow in the room reminded him of the words he hadn’t said. Maybe I should apologize, he thought as he shifted under the sheets, though he knew it wouldn’t be that simple.

—“Good morning, young master. Are you awake so early?”

The voice was deep, refined, almost melodic. It was Rouge, his butler.

Where had he come from? The answer was complicated. Kaius had spent most of the night awake, unable to sleep, requesting impossible materials: clay from a place whose name was nearly unpronounceable, a medium-level memory crystal. With the help of the fairies and the energy crystals that filled the house, he had channeled external magic and his own blood, blending it with memories of a butler from an anime that had once fascinated him.

The result was Rouge: tall, slender, with long silver hair cascading down his shoulders, eyes both green and red at once, and an elegant monocle that gleamed in the dim morning light. An extension of himself, but with a will of its own.

—“Rouge, could you bring me a bag of blood and a breakfast of fruit and poached eggs?”

—“Of course, young master.” Rouge bowed gracefully. “Did you sleep well?”

Kaius almost laughed at the question.

—“Not really. But I suppose you already know that, don’t you?”

—“Indeed, young master.”

Kaius dragged himself toward the bathroom. The day ahead would be demanding, and the first thing on his list was to speak with the angels about his destructive behavior. The hot water of the shower enveloped him, and with it came the strange habit he had acquired: speaking to the angels in that intimate space, as if steam and water were a bridge to the divine.

He opened the ring.

—“Hello, Michael. Or God. I need help. I have a problem with my personality. And… it feels like I’m having a heart attack.”

Silence stretched for several minutes, until a voice thundered in his mind.

—“HELLO, BOY. I AM YARIX. WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOUR BEHAVIOR? AND WHAT’S THIS ABOUT A HEART ATTACK? YOU CAN’T HAVE ONE. YOU’RE A VAMPIRE, YOU HAVE MAGIC. THAT MAKES YOU ALMOST INVULNERABLE.”

Kaius clenched his teeth, the water pounding against his back.

—“Yes… ever since I arrived in town, I’ve been feeling this way. It’s a pain in my chest I can’t explain. It happens whenever I question something about myself.”

And then the pain returned. A stabbing, indescribable agony, as if something inside him were exploding. His body nearly collapsed in the shower. He gripped the metal handle to keep from falling.

—“Mhhh… there it is! It hurts so much!”

The ring reacted. Its third level opened, and a radiant glow burst forth, flooding the shower with golden light. It was a scan. Kaius felt the energy sweep through him, examining every fiber of his body. The pain subsided, vanishing as quickly as it had come.

He returned to “normal,” though trembling. Minutes passed before another voice spoke.

—“VAMPIRE BOY, I AM RAPHAEL, THE ANGEL OF MEDICINE. AND TO YOUR MISFORTUNE, THERE IS SOMETHING INSIDE YOU THAT IS KILLING YOU. WORSE STILL, IT IS STRIPPING YOU OF YOUR TRUE PERSONALITY.”

Kaius froze. The water continued to fall, but he no longer felt it.

—“UNFORTUNATELY, I DON’T KNOW WHAT IT IS OR HOW IT WORKS. BUT THE FATHER MENTIONED THAT EVERYTHING WAS RUINED BECAUSE OF THIS. IT IS NO LONGER FEASIBLE OR CONVENIENT FOR YOU TO FOLLOW THE STORY. IT ALSO AFFECTS THE CHANGE FACTOR WE GAVE YOU. YOU ALTERED SOMETHING YOU WEREN’T SUPPOSED TO, AND YOU FELT NOTHING. THAT IS WHAT DISRUPTS EVERYTHING AND FORCES YOU NOT ONLY TO DO WHAT IS REQUIRED, BUT IF YOU DON’T… IT CREATES A HEART ATTACK.”

Kaius clenched his fists. The steam mingled with his ragged breathing.

—“BUT SINCE YOU ARE A VAMPIRE AND HAVE THE PROTECTION OF MAGIC, YOU CAN REBEL. I WILL GIVE YOU SPECIAL PILLS SO YOU CAN CONTROL IT… WHILE I FIGURE OUT WHAT THE HELL IT IS.”

Kaius was shocked, to say the least. Afraid. In that year he had never realized it. He had literally arrived and already died—or nearly died—several times, and not even the angels knew why. And to make matters worse, if he had waited longer to say it, perhaps everything he had done that year could have been ruined, since that magic forced him to follow whatever it wanted.

The only good thing was that he didn’t need to follow even the first seasons, though he would still do some things. If he changed everything at once, he wouldn’t even have an idea of what could happen next—and not knowing that terrified him. Although they explained that at some point he wouldn’t be able to know anymore, since the world would act based on the small changes.

He left the shower with trembling legs. Back in his bedroom, he saw on the nightstand a glass vial with silver pills and a note:

TAKE ONE PER DAY OR TWO AT MOST. I RECOMMEND IN THE MORNING AND AT NIGHT. SIGNED: RAPHAEL

Kaius picked up the vial. The pills were extraordinary. They were shaped like silver drops, but inside the colors made no sense. It was a river of rainbows that he could almost swear would have given a human epilepsy if they stared too closely.

Rouge entered the room with a clean change of clothes and a blood bag. He insisted on helping him dress, and Kaius accepted. He mockingly regretted the height he had given him, since Rouge had been created from his memories of that anime butler—who happened to be 1.88 meters tall. Kaius hadn’t thought about that detail when setting the specifications. But he liked it. It was as if someone else cared for him, even if it was himself.

As Rouge helped him, Kaius remembered everything he had to do.

1. He would apologize to Nicolas for being harsh, but make it clear he would not abandon his vampiric nature.

2. He would torture those girls as the original had done, but change the motive. The original did it to hurt his brother, but now Kaius would do it for revenge—and for pleasure.

★ ★ ★

After finishing in the bedroom, they went directly to the first floor where breakfast awaited him, along with a second blood bag. There he took out the medicine. The pills were shaped like silver drops, but inside the colors made no sense. A river of rainbows that could almost trigger epilepsy in a human eye.

He swallowed one with his glass of blood. And then, deliberately, he questioned himself. He thought about his relationship with Nicolas. Was he truly his brother, or just playing a role? Who was he really: Kaius? Daniela? Something new?

He waited for the stabbing pain.

But it didn’t come.

He was so happy—because at last he could apologize to Nicolas. Yet he knew Nicolas wouldn’t believe him, so he decided he would prove it with actions. How? Very simple: he would take care of his brother’s enemies. And since he didn’t know if time would shift because of that, Rouge would watch them while Kaius focused on the main cast.

He finished breakfast. Went to the door. Rouge handed him a crystal canteen filled with blood, enchanted to look like water.

—“Good luck, young master.”

Kaius left his house, got into his car, and drove toward the city. It was Saturday, and the teenagers were gathered at a popular tavern called Gage Grill. Emmet would be working there, but also a character Kaius wanted to help. And since he had already been given permission to change more things, it didn’t matter anymore.

He stopped in front. The place smelled of fried food, beer, and adolescent sweat. There he saw the boy he was looking for, sitting at the bar. Ethan Wildwood was tall—damn height—but not too much, and an athlete. His body was well built, with black hair.

Kaius approached the spot right beside him. He ordered a virgin mojito. He knew he didn’t have to start the conversation, so he let his eyes wander across the bar. And there they were. Nicolas sat with the wretched scum.

So Kaius approached with a plan already in motion. Nicolas saw him coming. He looked at him with hatred, but Kaius didn’t care.

—“Well, Nico. I didn’t know you had friends. Ah, I’m glad my little brother is more sociable.”

The girls all turned to look at him. Rebeka was the one who stared most lustfully. That was the plan: he would start with her. Even though of the three she was the least guilty, she would pay for insinuating that his brother was a toy. He was pulled from his thoughts when the main protagonist spoke.

—“Nicolas never mentioned he had brothers.” Ivana extended her hand. “I’m Ivana Forbes.”

She introduced herself without introducing her friends. The first mistake. Her mask fell right there. She revealed she only cared about being noticed by the newcomer. But Kaius would play his game. He brushed past her with a signal that she wasn’t important and introduced himself to her friends.

—“Beautiful ladies, allow me to present myself. My name is Kaius Lindverg, and I am practically Nicolas’s older brother. A pleasure.”

He took Andrea’s hand first. The witch glimpsed for a moment the magic surrounding the newcomer, but it was magic she didn’t recognize. When she let go, it was gone.

Then he took Rebeka’s hand. She blushed immediately.

Kaius returned to the bar, listening as his brother told them not to trust him, that he was a womanizer. Kaius only laughed and set about drinking.

It was past noon when he saw Ethan’s mother, Margaret. She entered the bar with a posture that screamed exhaustion. A middle-aged woman with chestnut hair tied in a messy bun, clothes that had seen better days, and an expression carrying years of accumulated fatigue.