Vlad continued his grim narrative. "I warned him about human greed and what they would do if they had a chance. Serbas ignored my warning, and I asked for my soul back. Serbas, however, showed no sign of returning it. I retaliated, fighting him inside. I pierced and cut him, realizing that he had hidden his soul, just like how my soul is hidden. Our bodies became invulnerable, unable to be killed. Serbas, though, held my soul and threatened that he would destroy it in a blink of an eye. Serbas told me that he didn't want to do it, but if he had to, he would. He still needed me when the time came, so he would never let go of my heart."
"Ever since then, I stopped returning there. Decades went by, with his human minions meeting me to relay messages from Serbas. That's when the pandemic happened. A piece of the artifact was taken by the humans, causing the outbreak. It triggered an apocalyptic event as humans turned into zombies. I went back to confront Serbas when it started, and his reply was, 'It isn't my fault if the humans want to take it.' He laughed, not caring about anything anymore. He went back, smiling sinisterly, knowing he would continue being trapped inside. I watched as civilization crumbled; weeks turned into months, society failed, and humans dwindled. I gave food to some humans in return for their blood, even killing those who wanted to kill other humans. They were what was left of the blood I needed."
"Suddenly, everyone vanished. I searched every village and city looking for humans. As I looked around, I realized mana filled the whole world. Everywhere I went were remnants of mana. As I looked for humans, the zombies evolved with the mana, causing variants. This made me wonder if Serbas knew; he would start killing the humans now, able to have mana due to the virus. Since the artifact can only collect human souls, Serbas will hunt the humans down to unseal and revive his family. Johan came to me asking about his family as I watched the first variants growing intelligence. I gave Johan my blood, knowing it could help him survive to meet his family. I went to search for the civilization after and finally, I encountered both Adam and Lyra. Knowing that now he can get human souls with mana, he will take the human souls no matter what it takes. That includes using me as well," Vlad explained.
"The humans? They don't have mana, right?" Adam asked, having just woken up from returning to civilization.
"They have mana now, from the food they eat by your magic to the walls created by your powers, Adam," Lyra concluded. "You have unknowingly made humans adapt to mana and caused an evolution in their bodies from your magic. Everything you did that makes the civilization are all mana."
"Dad, it's true. I have seen the humans living here. They have evolved as well, having mana in their bodies. That means they can join us to fight against the variants with their powers," Azrael explained.
"Not quite," Vlad clarified. "They don't realize it yet and haven't learned any basic magic casting. Their powers are still dormant."