Interlude III

Desert of Rua

Clan Rhia Territory

Rhia Capital, Parasan

Rascal leapt across the roofs of the buildings, the moon lighting up the night. But that didn’t matter, every shadow was as clear as day, no darkness obscuring his sight.

He tracked his prey, that which was running through an alley and calling out for help.

She was a pretty thing, with dark hair and olive skin. A beautiful, angular face and bright, brown eyes.

Rascal digs his red claws into the side of a building, using his supernatural speed and strength to crawl up the wall and onto the roof. He leaps to the next roof, tracking the smell of his prey.

She stinks of sweet fear and terror, her ragged breathing reaching his ears. Her calls go unheard, as he had made sure to lure her into the part of the city that is near abandoned. And those that could hear those calls would not heed them.

His lose beige robes don’t make a sound as he stalks his prey, not even his steps can be heard.

He lusts for warm blood, to sate his hunger for that sweet Life and Blood katra. To grow stronger.

Rascal follows his prey, his eyes glowing with red Blood aspect katra, allowing him to see in the night.

The woman turns a corner and runs into a dead end. She is crying, her white nightgown rumpled.

Rascal climbs down halfway from the building, holding himself in place with his strength. His red eyes glow with hunger. He lets out a hiss from between his fangs, “You’re a pretty one.”

The woman gasps, turning around. She lets out a scream, her back against the wall. Sobs of fear escape her lips, “Please! No! I-I’ll do any-anything!”

Rascal’s eyes glide over her form, he licks his lips. “Anything?”

The woman nods furiously, weeping.

His blood red eyes lock onto her terror stricken ones. “Then struggle!”

He leaps from the wall with enhanced strength, his claws extended, his mouth open and drooling.

The woman screams as he lands on her, his fangs sinking into her neck and claws impaling her shoulders.

He tears a chunk of flesh from her neck, bringing his prey to the ground. She screams in high pitched fear, struggling against him. Rascal hisses out, “Yes! That’s it!”

He pins her arms to the ground, his strength far more than hers. Even with High Steel strength, she is unable to break free from his grip.

Rascal feasts on her, lapping up the crimson spraying from her arteries and soon her cries fall silent.

The sweet, iron and coppery scent of blood fills his nose, the warm liquid settling in his stomach. Blood katra flows from his stomach as the flesh and crimson is broken down.

Rascal guides it into his Channels, storing it into his core.

He digs into the shredded corpse, reaching the heart. He tears it out, slicing it open.

Inside it shines a yellow-ish core, the orb covered in a layer of flesh and blood.

His chin drips with crimson, and he mutters, “A follower of the Shifting Dunes Path, how boring! At least it’ll provide a nice boost.”

He pops the core into his mouth, his teeth crunching down on it, shattering it in a few chomps. The katra stored inside disperses into his body, and he shivers at the pleasurable pain of it.

His unique aspect of katra surrounds the foreign katra, breaking it down to tiny bits of life katra. It drags it into his core, fueling his growth even more.

Rascal’s nostrils flare as he takes in the scent of the blood. “Oh, how I love it fresh! I don’t care what Vixen says, it is worth the risk!”

Rascal digs into the corpses again, feasting on it’s flesh and blood.

Then something catches his enhanced hearing, a crackling.

He looks up, his red eyes opening in surprise.

A cerulean blue vortex floats in front of him, at the mouth of the dead end. A fuzzy image peers through it with a horrified expression. It is the face of a young man, a long scar running along his cheek. He has dark brown hair and Gray power ebbs from his eyes.

Rascal narrows his red eyes to slits, his muscles tensing.

Then he pounces, sailing through the air at the vortex. As he reaches it, it closes in on itself and vanishes.

His blood red claws formed of Blood aspect katra slice through the empty air.

He howls in rage, the sound echoing off the walls of the alley.

Rascal burned the image of the boy’s face into his mind, intent on not forgetting it.

He would find this person who had seen him, and kill him.

***

Vey grumbled crankily, stretching with a groan. “God! Sitting here for hours is killing my back. Maybe I should go undead too.”

She stands up, going through more stretches.

The dark pool in front of her stands inert, fog slowly spilling out of it.

“Can't… believe… he has the... nerve to... be gone so long!” Vey finishes with her stretches, standing straight up. She glares down at the pool.

“I’m going to freaking ki-” She is interrupted by a loud BEEP! The pool in front of her flashes red.

Vey slumps, “What now?”

She spreads her fingers, swiping. Floating screens pop into existence, a large one dominating her view, colored a bright red.

WARNING! Inter-dimensional Breach Detected!

Locating...

Tracing…

Origin: The Abyss, Land of Howling Demons

Location: Tetakuma, Auren

Advanced Report?

Y/N

Vey sputters, saying. “Oh sh- shiitake mushrooms!”

Another beep resounds through the air, the pool flashing red. Then another, and another, and another. They keep coming, not slowing.

Vey takes a step back, fear creeping onto her face.

She curses, swiping away all the screens. The screens vanish, but the constant beeping and flashes of red continues. It casts her face in red, twisting the shadows on her face.

Vey falls to her knees, clutching her head. She groans in disbelief, “Ahhh, god darn it. Edo’s gonna kill me.”

***

A grin snakes its way onto Palmz’s muzzle, revealing sharpened teeth.

He stares at The All Seeing Eye, pocketing it a second later.

A growly voice erupts from his throat, “And so the game begins. It’s your turn now, Cereus.”

The Raavasta lets out a yipping laugh, rubbing his hands together in anticipation for what was to come. Then laughed harder at his imitation of being evil.

He willed his demonic astral energy to materialize, a multitude of dark colored circles forming around his outstretched, black clawed hand. Palmz snaps his fingers, and the circles move off as a hole in reality is torn open. They stabilize the portal and he steps through.

The last thing that can heard is the manic, yipping laughter of the Raavasta. Then the portal folds in on itself, closing with a muted pop.