Frighteningly so and control is...unknown.

You move your hand away and pull back. Both you and Maxius pause, wary of what might happen. Several seconds passed that made it feel much longer as you wait in silence.

Oddly enough, you want Maxius to say something as he stares ahead, his eyes glowing still.

"Hey, say something already, Maxius," you instruct, a little nervous. All you could do is stare at the drop of blood that is stained on the sorcerer's skull.

Finally, Maxius hums sadly. "How disappointing. It appears that I won't get a second chance in this world, it seems."

Just as he expresses himself, you widen your eyes to see that the drop of blood on his skull fade.

"Oh, shit..."

Maxius emits a grunt of confusion. "W-what? Is something happening that I can't feel? Wait...what am I saying? Of course I can't feel-"

His usual rambles and corrections halts and he emits a strange groan.

"Maxius!?" you call, worryingly.

"I...I think Araatris...you best prepare for...the worst," he utters as if he is in pain.

You can see the glow in his eye is fading and you feel your sixth sense alerting you. Skeletons? No...

As you are surrounded by the darkness of the mountain as the last of the light within Maxius fades, he screams. It is terrible enough that you feel sweat gathering at your back. You channel your ki, ready to strike if necessary. You aren't sure if this is what happens when one awakens, but if so, there may be a right to fear as you feel nothing but darkness.

Seeing darkness is one thing, but feeling it, chilling you to the literal bone is another.

A blast of wind hits you, pulling you forward from behind. Gritting your teeth, you shift your feet to the side and put your hand to your hips, channelling energy to your hips. You frown with sadness filling you.

I'm sorry Maxius, but I don't like the feeling of this. I'm ending this while I can, you think, uncertain to whether Maxius would remain human...or become something else entirely. From what he told you about dhampirs, they could end up anywhere on the spectrum after they awaken - closer to vampires or closer to human.

Just as you gathered enough energy and blast forward with your fist, you feel a sudden hand plop on your shoulder. You couldn't see anything, but the presence was so sudden, that you had no time to feel alerted.

A hot breath is felt against your face and you shake, wondering what will happen to you. Did you make a mistake in trying to help Maxius? Maybe it was better to let him die as a mortal while he could.

You aren't sure, but you don't have time to dwell on these thoughts as you feel the wind against your back finally pull you forward further into the darkness and unknown.