For what that is already dust

Chapter 1 : Grey lines

Vykaria was an ancient being with primordial origin,to any onlookers she was a normal human in her boring office job. Honestly she has long lost interest in mortal affairs however she was curious of the modern world since her awakening.

Vykaria had to admit the technological advancement in the mortal was quite commendable she had to had hand the credit to them.

Though if it wasnt for her Dale (her 40th generation grandson) she would've been lost,she just found out she still had distant relatives,at this point its not a family tree its a family snail,thanks to the awkward age gap.

However one thing she didnt understand is how Dale was still alive after everything.

From what she heard,his parents were well off,and peaceful. But because of his father's vampiric descent,Dale's father (Tyrone) attacked his wife who barely survived,her son was only an infant then so she left her child on Antobias's family doorstep, under the care of his aunt Engrid and his uncle Arilius ,while Dale's mother recovered from the traumatic experience, wise decision she made but messed up to say nonetheless.

Dale was now under the care of his cousin Antobias & (allegedly) Vykaria herself ,they were her descendants, she was their great-great,great 50th soemthign grandmother or aunt? Honestly she has lost count.

But Dale was no longer that boy to be pitied ,he's grown up now curious, optimistic and resilient despite his past horrors,including the brutal wars that followed suit in early-mid 20th century ,his enthusiasm was a painful reminder of the nostalgia Vykaria held when she was his age 6800 years ago and back.

For someone as prudish as Antobias (who existed since the victorian era 200 years ago) ,he was strangely bright. Better question is how does this man not get bored?

Vykaria was surprised her family line even lived this long.

Vykaria stares blankly at her computer screen, fingers hovering over the keyboard as she processes Dale's latest text. The glow of the monitor reflects in her ancient eyes-eyes that have seen empires rise and fall, yet here she is, dealing with a family drama spanning millennia.

"Dale just sent me 47 memes about 'eternal suffering' she mutters to no one in particular."And I don't know if he's joking or confessing."

A pause. She pinches the bridge of her nose. "...Why does he think Edgar Allan Poe is a how-to manual?"

She sighs deeply (a habit she picked up from mortals) and starts typing:

[To Dale] "You are 200 years old acting like a Victorian ghost who read too much cheap romance novels."

[Pause.]*[Add] "Also stop sending me cryptic poetry unless you want Antobias to write an interpretive dance about it."

She heard hushed whispers from her coworkers and some shuffles as they quickly switched tabs when their boss entered,whatever she was done with her family's (whatever remains of it) nonesense for one day.

Vykaria was just minding her business as she resumed her office work,its been morbid lately,the type that spoke 'bad things are about to happen',and no it's not because the depression of these mortals was enoguh to reek off souls of the damned. But rather the latest gossip of recent ,was a scandal about a secretary and the manager from department A upstairs,apparently Landon cheated on Belinda with his secretary Melione,no one knew much all they knew was the video his ex posted about her catching them on the act,and 2 days later Landon conveniently died of a car crash,but Vykaria for all the eons she lived knew better than to trust ideal gossip they're only half truths at best and only serves to complicate things further.

As the gossip swirls around the office, Vykaria's ancient mind races with thoughts. Humans and their dramas... how pitiful, yet so familiar. Her thoughts drift back to times long ago.

She remembers ancient Rome's Colosseum, bloody and barbaric... and yet, the thrill of a gladiatorial match was exhilarating. She remembers ancient Greece's philosophers, their witty exchanges and endless debates about the universe.

But here she was now, stuck in modern tech office hell, listening to the modern equivalent of mortals' gossip and tragedy soap opera apparently.

Honestly she lived too many lifetimes to give a damn. Not that she excuses the evil she witnessed no. Just stopped caring. (She was too exhausted to anyway.)

Vykaria seemed to have had enough of this drama,and decided to head up the balcony upstairs. She needed a break.

Its impressive what years of endeavour and hardship resulted in,this was the highest Vykaria stood upon a building. The last time she thought she stood high was on top of mountains or pyramids in Egypt.

However one thing she didnt expect was that she was not alone when her sightseeing was interrupted by...Wait who was that woman again? Recognition flooded as she registered it was Melissa standing opposite beside her. It seems Melissa didnt seem to notice her prescence as she was too preoccupied on her own thoughts while tears shed down her face,wait was Melissa crying? No doubt something turned into a disaster after that scandal.

Her peace was disturbed by phoneline.

"Melissa have a lost your mind? Did you truly cheat?" The voice from the phone.

"Yes you can call the engagement off"

A faint voice she recognised which sounded resigned.

"How can your embarrass us like that? How will we live this down?" The voice from that phone was persuemably her mother.

"Dont worry I'll take care of it" Melissa reassured.

"And how would you do that?" She asked.

Melissa then hung up the call as she looked down the building.

For some reason this made Vykaria feel uneasy she was never good at comforting other people,never knew what to do with anyone who displayed vulnerability so she just stayed quite,and let them figure it out on their own.

And by letting them deal with themselves wasnt because Vykaria was uncomfortable but rather it was too overwhelming she can hear their minds distress from years of residing upon mortals she could easily decipher their thoughts or emotion even with the most stoic faces.

And right now she can hear Melissa's thoughts which were something along the lines.

'If I ever feel down from this place would I instantly die? Another thought which didnt belong to her invaded Vykaria's mind.

'They say an ant can jump of a high-rise and doesnt die because it's so light. But no one watched until the very end so its impossible to know where that ant goes.'

Well she wasnt wrong no one would notice if one ant goes missing in this world.

To her dismay this will not be a normal day. Realization dawned across Vykaria's mind when she saw Melissa trying to jump off the balcony.

Oh hell no,she doesn't want to get involved with this,she can already picture the report headlines about Melissa and Landan's tragedy. And Vykaria doesnt want her name to be mentioned there as a witness,she's trying to keep a low profile here for goodness sake because she doesnt want society to uncover her true nature.

So instead she did what she always did,reach out recklessly so,small talk was futile it was best to act now instead of later.

Her hand grabbed the woman's forearm with sheer grip strength which almost triggered her primal nature that she wasnt exactly normal.

Despite Melissa's shock Vykaria's face didnt betray worry nor fear just severely desesitized after centuries of survival.

Her intervention interrupted the deadly fall,preventing a dangerous outcome,Melissa still fell but the chances of death is slim,the woman will live.

Though it was best she exits the scene and let others deal with the commotion.

Vykaria found it astounding after centuries morality still resided within her ,she thought it'd leave her or that she'd become numb,indifferent but it appears humanity is still just as complex as she expected and apparently that complexity involved herself.