Nicholas, after leaving the Gary's Table, went to his pet house in Brighton Beach. The place where he used to torture Claude.
Arriving there, the same chain-linked gate that he crossed to get inside last time was now melted like someone burned the gate right through.
Nicholas knows what that means, yet he didn't rush to get inside the building.
As he made the same route, the clear burnt footprints were everywhere.
Inside the room that Claude was hanging in those chains last time, Nicholas noticed the vampire laying on the floor, the spot on his chest where Nicholas stabbed the nail was full of veins spread like a spider web to the rest of his body.
Seemingly enjoying the situation that Claude was in, Nicholas' face showed a smile as he walked around the room and reached for a shelf where a bottle with red liquid was placed.
Opening the bottle cap, Nicholas took a big sip from the content inside and rolled his eyes at the pleasuring smell.
Bending down to get closer to Claude's face, Nicholas looked at him.
His face showed pain. Greats amounts of pain. His eyes were tightly shut, his mouth opened slightly as little breath came and went inside his lungs.
Still looking at Claude, Nicholas had the same smile, not a sadistic one, but a gentle smile.
"You see, what I am about to say applied even for me and all the people I've been friends with." Nicholas said as he paused a little.
"The best wine is made by the time. The best warriors are made by battles. The best discoveries are made after numerous mistakes. What these things have in common? They are all made through experience. And for sentient creatures cases, like humans, vampires, and every other race, the best of these are made through pain." Nicholas finished.
Pulling Claude's chin to open his mouth, Nicholas poured the bottle's red liquid inside.
"This right here is the shiit for us vampires. It's the best blood a vampire might drink in his whole life. It's a shame that its race died a long time ago. Although we, vampires, hunted them for the most part, I did enjoy fighting them, their blood is just on another level, so our instincts in battle with them reaches new heights." Explained Nicholas.
After Claude managed to drink that special blood, his complexion turned for the better.
Reaching Claude's chest, Nicholas's red-gem ring shinned as the nail stabbed previously, came out cleanly and floated above his right hand.
Getting up, Nicholas grabbed another bottle and put the nail inside, leaving it on the shelf to his right.
Waiting a little while for Claude to wake up, but it didn't happen, so Nicholas grabbed the Light Wand and struck his chest again.
Springing up, Claude looked with wide eyes at his surrounding. Seeing Nicholas by his side and the pain in his chest, it seemed he was back at the damn cave that the former had dragged the poor vampire in.
Feeling the pain in his chest, Claude knew it should be the nail burning again, but surprise, surprise. The nail wasn't there anymore, the black dot that the nail left on his chest while stabbed wasn't there. And to sum, Claude also didn't have the burning pain.
Looking at Nicholas in search of an explanation, Claude felt something was wrong.
Nicholas had that smile on his face, but this time was a smirk.
"You are wondering why I took out the nail, right? Well, as I said, sentient beings are the best when they experience pain. You felt it, right? You know how powerless you are in front of me. And you know I control your life as simple as that." Nicholas snapped his fingers as he said the last sentence.
Although Claude didn't seem to remember the words that Nicholas spoke about, Nicholas knows that he would later.
"The nail was part of your test, it was made to monitor you and it knows when you are afraid. Afraid of that same burning pain. I stabbed you with it because I want you to remember that I can take your power, like when you fell to the enemy. And I can give you power, that's why you are still present." Nicholas finished.
Claude had a different feeling at Nicholas' words. A different feeling from when he was angry and cursed the hell out of Nicholas. His current feeling was of resentment, but not to Nicholas. It was towards himself.
Resentment that he couldn't fight for himself, and indeed Nicholas was right when he said that Claude felt afraid of that pain. He was angry, surely. But he didn't have the strength to fight it out against Julius, and in the end, he couldn't even run for himself, it was Nicholas again that made him do it. And despite the fact that Nicholas put him in that situation, but he as easily got him out, with all the powers that he had, Claude knows that he is under Nicholas' control right now.
All that rests is to just stay alive and find a way to get rid of Nicholas.
After a few hours, in another part of NYC, Julius was back in his base of operations.
Grabbing the full head black mask, Julius took it off as he also got rid of his whole black outfit. Taking a while to make sure that no one was following him or that he was being tracked, Julius had just now arrived and was exhausted.
Walking to the bathroom, he turned on the water to the bathtub and laid inside. The encounter with Jonathan made another toll on his body.
Indeed, Julius was the black-masked man that Jonathan had chased earlier.
His left arm, which that berzerker Claude had blasted with weird black flames and Julius was obliged to cut off, was now another arm. His naked body showed the glaring sewing that was left at the arm attached to his black skin.
Throughout the fight, Julius couldn't even move it yet as his magical energy didn't sync with the new limb. That's why, during the whole fight Julius only used his right arm, and later decided to leave in order to not strain even more his body.
Thinking about it, Julius raised his right hand to eye level.
Clenching his fist hard and opening his hand again, claws started to sprout from that same hand.
Realizing his fangs also grew remarkably, so much that he felt the change inside his mouth. Not only his fangs grew, but his other teeth became sharp.
"My transformation is finally happening." Thought Julius.