The young man opened the doors of his study and ushered in the group of far older, distinguished ladies and gentlemen with amicable urgency. The man was a stark contrast to his guests; not only in his age but his attire, too, was far more modest, only wearing a vest as opposed to an elaborate suit or dress.

"Please," he smiled, "I am so glad you all accepted my offer. Do come in."

The group walked in with an air of arrogance and contempt one would expect from nobility or, in this particular case, elder vampires. They sat down in the luxurious leather armchairs prepared for the occasion.

"Very well, Viktor," one of the oldest men said. "What is this all about? We may have all eternity, but not all the patience," he chortled.

"Trust me," Viktor said eagerly, "what I am about to show you will change your lives." He looked expectantly at his guests but when he realized he didn't quite grip their attention yet, nervously continued.

"Up until today," Viktor said, "we have had to rely on a regular intake of human blood to survive. This not only put us in a morally questionable position, it would sometimes endanger our lives and well-being when the human world caught onto our existence - not to mention professional vampire hunters."

"Viktor," one of the women near the front interrupted, "get to the point."

"Y- yes, of course, Miss Cosmescu," he sputtered out. "There is another way."

He reached below his desk and pulled out a leather case containing several syringes. The elders exchanged puzzled looks.

"These are supplements - iron, vitamin D, some designer medications that are not widely available to the human world, but - in short... they remove our dependence on blood. We still need to eat to gain other nutrients and fat but we will no longer need-"

His eager, enthusiastic presentation ended when one of the men laughed loudly, soon joined by almost everyone else in the room.

"Is this it, boy?" the man said when he, at last, stopped laughing. "A way to stop drinking blood?"

Viktor seemed confused. "Yes, we will finally be able to live peacefully with-"

"The cattle?" a woman interrupted. "Why do you think we possibly care about them?"

"They're intelligent beings like we are," Viktor protested. "We have no right-"

"No, boy, we do have the right," another man interrupted. "We are inherently superior. We take what we want. I will not stoop to the level of injecting myself with some trash just to spare the lives of the worms who writhe in the dirt."

"Please, if you would just consider-"

"If this is all, boy," the man interrupted again, "you have wasted enough of our time."

He started standing up, but Viktor raised his hands. "Please! There is... one more thing. Just a minute more of your time, I beg of you!"

The elders sighed collectively but sat back down.

"You are on thin ice, boy," the man hissed.

"I- I'll just need to gather a few items. Please, I will be right back. Claudia," he said and turned to one of the younger handmaidens standing meekly in the corner, "if you would please help me?"

He stepped out of the room together with the woman before sliding the doors shut. He sighed and rested his head against the door itself in defeat.

"Viktor?" Claudia asked. He looked at her with a weak smile, but then narrowed his eyes and his smile grew wider, happier.

"Your eyes... you... you took the supplements," he gasped. She smiled and nodded.

"I saw the Sun today, Viktor," she breathed quietly. "I saw the Sun."

"Did it meet your expectations?"

"I..." she said, but left her mouth open, incapable of describing her feelings, yet the tears that welled up in her eyes told more than enough.

Viktor smiled before slumping back into a defeated slouch as he walked to a panel beside the door and pressed several buttons. A metallic click rumbled the doors, followed by a spooling, rising whoosh of electricity within the room.

"What are you doing?" Claudia asked. Viktor did not turn to face her. He couldn't.

He pressed another button.

A loud, electric buzzing filled the study, a streak of ultraviolet light escaping it just at the threshold of the door. Screaming filled the room, followed by the sickening smell of burning flesh.

Claudia screamed and grabbed Viktor by the shoulder.

"VIKTOR! WHAT DID YOU DO?"

He looked at her somberly.

"They- they left me no choice. I promised I'd change their lives today," he said. "And I keep my promises."