This interlude steps away from the main narrative to depict a man's experience of being Turned into a vampire. The narrator reflects on how Turning is a fate worse than death—a destruction of one's former self that born vampires can never truly comprehend. The man clings to his humanity throughout a brutal transformation that nearly kills him, losing weeks or months to delirium filled with dreams of his home, his mistakes, and the family he will never see again.

When the man finally emerges from his delirium, he finds a king sitting at his bedside, watching him with detached curiosity. The king offers him a goblet, which the man drinks desperately, finding it unbearably delicious. Only when he wipes his face and sees red smears on his hand does a flicker of confusion arise—he does not yet understand what he has become. Despite his disorientation, his first thought is of his family and his need to return home.

The man asks to leave, speaking slowly in the only language he knows, pointing to the window overlooking the sea. The king smiles but does not grant his request. Instead, he tells the man plainly: "You have no more home. You exist only here." These four words become a defining truth of the man's new existence—his life now belongs entirely to the king who Turned him. When the man tries to rise and resist, the king pushes him back easily. The man is too weak to fight, and the king offers his wrist, the scent overwhelming the man's remaining will, assuring him it will not be so bad.