Awakening

In a dark and musty hall, a group of twelve men, women and creatures of all shapes and sizes sat around a black table. The sound of footsteps came from outside the hall. Heads turned as the heavy ebony doors creaked open. A lone figure hobbled through the doorway, leaning on a long staff, barely able to walk.

The man seated at the end of the table stood from his seat. His firm brows and stout face gave off the aura of a leader.

“The League welcomes the new Eye of the Gods.”

The other eleven members glanced at the figure lackadaisically. Such a minor figure was of little import to the League of Exorcists. But the Eye of the Gods was still very useful in their line of work, so they nodded towards him.

The figure took over a minute to awkwardly manuever to the empty end of the table where he continued to stand. A trembling hand unveiled a horrific appearance from under his hood. A face burnt so horribly it was beyond recognition and made even the League members slightly more interested.

The man’s orifices had been sealed by his melting flesh, his ears and hair had vanished entirely, only his eyes remained unscathed. The smooth skin over his eyelids made a sharp contrast with the mangled flesh on the remainder of his face.

This was the new oracle of the Order. The new Eye of the Gods.

“His name is Lionel Gracia, the only survivor of the Black Demon’s incident. Now that Bartimaeus’ usefulness has been exhausted, he was the most ideal candidate, especially when considering the escaped Demon had destroyed his eyes. Not only this, but the Demon kidnapped his daughter.”

Taking his seat once more, the other League members were intrigued by the new oracle. A man with such deep grudges against the Demon they were hunting would surely be a great asset. Lionel opened his eyes, revealing a golden light which projected a divine aura in the hall. None of the League members were perturbed, clearly each member wielded unimaginable power.

“The Black Demon is headed to the Northmost region of the Eventide Kingdom. There are few accompanying him, however, none are worthy of mention before the league. The group consists of my daughter, a dark elf, a strange minion the Demon created and six human soldiers. It is believed they are heading to the Grand Magus in the North, Grent Everfrost, wanting to take refuge under his wing.”

The League members glanced at each other greatly surprised, only the members towards the end of the table remained calm. It was well known that Grent Everfrost was an old monster, who had mysteriously appeared over five thousand years ago and killed several other mages of great power. A mere Grand Magus was not enough to shake the members of the League, but Grent Everfrost was a different matter.

In truth, no one was sure of his true power as no one had faced him and lived. The strongest who had faced him was a peak Grand Magus, and this was five thousand years ago hence he was certainly much more powerful, being at least a powerful Saint realm Mage.

While the League had dealt with many people far more powerful than Saint Mages, the uncertainty of his true strength was a deterring factor.

A foxy woman with a voluptuous figure looked sweetly at the head of the table and spoke in a voice which would make men and women melt.

“Zacheus, allow me to go, I have some interest in this ‘Black Demon’ and I know the Northern parts of the Eventide kingdom rather well.”

“Mmm, I was planning on sending you. Then it is settled, third ranked Vulpes will intercept the Demon before it meets Grent Everfrost. Capture it, dead or alive. With you I shall send seventh rank Ventus and tenth rank Lux. If something happens and that old monster shows up, try to probe his strength, but if he is above the Saint realm, retreat immediately.”

“As you wish, Zacheus.” Smiling flirtatiously the woman named Vulpes took long strides, showing off her ‘goods’ as she exited the hall. An ethereal bodied being floated from the table, robes fluttering, and a quiet silver haired man followed calmly.

“Now that the matter with the Black Demon has been dealt with,” smiling evilly Zacheus continued, “there is news of the Death God’s ancient legacy in the Western Continent.”

The gazes of the remaining league members and Lionel burned with fervent desire.

This was earthshattering news.

Weeks later…

Day after day of riding flitted by. In the Northernmost parts of the Eventide Kingdom, the silver masked and black clad Subere trudged through the knee-deep snow accompanied by the hulking figure of Thanatos. There was a solemn atmosphere surrounding them as they hauled through the terrain. They had been pursued by the Order for the past few weeks, yet three days ago the shadowy beings that tracked them disappeared.

Naturally this was reason enough to celebrate, but I knew the Order well and understood that something much more terrible had arrived. Despite the wolvish gazes of our pursuers on our backs, the group couldn’t last in the cold without some thick animal skins and food to warm their bellies. Hence Thanatos and I, the two greatest fighters and the only two which needed neither warmth nor nutrients in the group diverged when we spotted a Snow Deer prancing nearby. Caught between a rock and a hard place, the groups rumbling stomachs led to my less than ideal choice.

The snow-white deer met my gaze as I held out my hand, a pure black bow forming in my grasp. Thanatos had naturally crouched, readying himself to pounce and masking his presence in the snow forest. Nocking the arrow, I emotionlessly drew back the string, training my sights on the feast to be.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHH”

*Twang*

A bloodcurdling scream set the deer into motion, prancing forth, it narrowly avoided its whistling demise.

“Shit.”

Both Thanatos and I forgot entirely about the deer, swivelling towards the direction of the scream. The Order had finally acted. The gamble for food had not paid off, giving their pursuers the opportunity they sought. Thanatos’ muscles bulged as he ploughed through the snow, I shadowed his hulking figure sprinting in the trench he created.

“Nooooooooo-“

The wails were cut off as Thanatos and I neared, the thick stench of slaughter assaulted my magical perception. My black flesh tensed as I feared the worst, my withered heart began to sink, and an insatiable rage erupted inside of me.

We came to a clearing in the woods where a small path was carved by the occasional traveller. A bright crimson stained the pure snow, a steam rose from the ground, as if to signify the dissipation of life. A curvaceous woman had a sharp glint in her eyes as she stared at Thanatos and I emerging from the woods. In one of her dainty hands she held a head, in the other she grasped Helen by the throat. A cruel smile crept across her face.

Brent's expression of anguish was still written across his face as his headless body steamed in the snow, we were a step too late.

"KILL!"

Releasing Thanatos' seal he leapt forth with Heruclean strength, his qi erupted as did his insatiable rage.

*Crack*

An ungodly pressure erupted from that woman's body, instantly I was reduced to my knees, but Thanatos was far less fortunate.

*Crunch*

Clearly the closer you were to the woman, the greater the pressure. I watched helplessly as the fruit of my magic was crushed into a meat patty.

"THANATOS!"

Under the mountainous pressure I still managed to draw Python, my own magic attempting to fight back, however there was a suppression from something far beyond my comprehension hindering my retaliation. I couldn't understand how I, who thought myself powerful, would be reduced to such a state by a mere aura.

Taking aim I lined the woman in my sights, but she merely revealed an amused smile

*Zip*

A silver light flashed by as my hand exploded, Python similarly crumpled into waste. A silver haired man appeared, towering over me with a calm confidence. He had emotionlessly destroyed a magical weapon I thought to be indestructible, as if it were mere child's play. An illusory being floated into my view as he tossed five body-less heads at the feet of the woman.

"So this is what the 'Black Demon' amounts to? Truly a pitiful existence."

Despair. Utter despair. It was just like back then. I watched powerlessly as my sister was dragged away. I watched as they tortured her. I did nothing, for fear of my own life.

The woman before me gripped Helen, choking the life out of her, yet the aura from the woman’s body crushed me into the forest floor. Helen looked at me, a tear running down her cheek as her blood vessels popped. Even in her final moments, she smiled, as if to convince me it was alright.

*Snap*

She crumpled to the ground. Deader than dead.

My eyes turned a deep crimson as a tear of blood streaked down my withered cheek. My vision dimmed as I remembered something, a memory from a long time ago. In that memory, a Great war was waged, as beings of incomprehensible power slaughtered each other. The fluctuations of their war caused planets to crumble and stars to implode.

In the vastness of space, a deity blacker than night, strode through the emptiness slaughtering those in his path. A young woman stood by his side, as they accompanied one another through this chilling battle unimpeded. As I observed closer, I noticed something familiar about the woman. Getting a closer look at the woman, my soul itself trembled.

"Sister?" I asked aloud without realising.

The silver haired man standing over me turned to Vulpes with a calm smile.

"Looks like he has lost himself in despair."

"Hahaha, there is nothing more satisfying than a successful exorcism! But alas," sighing lightly, "he was simply too weak."

Pointing her finger out towards me, she spoke steadily, "Die, evil creature."

Thunder rang through my mind as I gazed upon that Great war in the depths of space. I was unable to believe it at first, but soon her gaze swept towards my eyes, and our gazes met through both space and time. She smiled, the warmth in her eyes melted the ice of despair which had shrouded my heart.

“Erebus, wake up.”

Jolting from my memories, enlightenment graced my mind. Who was I in the past? Who was that black deity?

*RUMBLE*

Just as energy swirled towards my head the earth trembled in the wake of a boundless energy.

*Kacha*

Vulpes' aura shattered completely causing her to cough a mouthful of blood as she visibly paled.

"Which expert has arrived?" she inquired respectfully, truly shaken by the energy fluctuations. Who wouldn't be shaken in her position? As a peak Saint realm Mage she could roam unfettered in the entire of the Eventide Kingdom, destroying the current King was as easy as flipping her palms yet she was injured in this desolate place.

Clearly, she did not even consider it was me. The fluctuations of energy locked her in place, threatening to crush her feeble body, but I was too busy to pay attention to her.

Once my despair had melted, the flames of anger in my soul acted as the key to the shackles locking my true being. Countless memories, flowed into my mind. Slowly I became more and more numb to the anger in my heart. The flames dimmed as my emotions became as tranquil as an ocean and steady as a mountain. I realised that in my years of existence, these few months had been a light breeze in the countless storms I had weathered.

Even this wealth of memories were barely scratching the surface. For some reason, as I gazed at my soul, layer after layer of shackles hid away my past. The reason why these memories were sealed was unclear to me, but I knew I would slowly unravel the many mysteries shrouding my existence. For the moment, merely the first layer was sufficient. Clearly, an intense stimulus was required to unlock the shackles.

Along with the memories, a suffocating energy erupted from my body nourishing it from within. Not only that, but it began to greedily absorb external energies siphoning magical essence in the air as well as the blood essence which splattered the ground.

My consciousness adopted a birds-eye view as my body began to drain the surrounding energies. It was going to evolve, that much I was certain of. My black, corpse-like body weaved a cocoon around itself, it swiftly drained the blood from the warm corpses in the snow, setting the evolution ablaze.

The silver haired man and illusory being were pressed deeper and deeper into the snow, completely suppressed by the energy. Now they understood that despair they once mocked him for.

"Spare us Senior!" they begged, but I could not hear them. Their bodies were reduced to pulps as my cocoon instantly sucked their vital essences dry reducing them to mummies.

The ancient blood arts in my memories spewed forth an irresistible urge to evolve into a terrifying being. My body within the cocoon quickly grew following the ancient arts, creating an ideal body to practise them. But for this, I required even more energy.

*Splat*

Vulpes' head exploded as the nourishing blood of a peak Saint realm mage nourished my dried body, turning the flesh red before coating it with a delicate white skin. That woman who had disregarded me as being too weak now became sustenance for me to grow stronger, I felt such an end was fitting.

Day after day went by as I meditated upon my new memories. I contemplated ancient martial techniques and magical attacks that resided within me. It seemed as though the first layer of memories each surrounded the laws behind slaughter and blood. Each blood art was able to release a power that shattered mountains and drained seas.

The one most worthy of my notice was namely The Bloodfiend’s Thirst. I had no knowledge of the origin of such a perverse art, but it’s destructive potential was enough to wipe out whole civilizations at its peak.

I contemplated the first stance of the art, The Bloodfiend’s claw. Firstly, a strange bloodmark would appear on the user’s palm, which when activated would abruptly extend a claw, similar to three sabers, piercing through whatever lay in its path. But the profundity of the technique lay behind the simple surface. This seemingly basic swipe contained the laws of Death, Blood and the Saber.

I submerged myself in contemplating the technique, forgetting about the passage of time, I quickly realised that there were four major stages of comprehension, namely basic, advanced, transformation and perfection. Of course, I realised this after perfecting the technique, giving me insights into the laws of Blood and Death, but also allowed me to comprehend some saber intents.

Little did I know, if an ancient expert discovered my comprehension abilities, they would keel over in shame of their uselessness.

Before I could begin on the second stance, the vibrant cocoon shrivelled and I fell into the boreal forest once more, revelling in my new form. My silky and smooth skin painted a sharp contrast to the black withered flesh I had previously. The white purity of this skin even shamed the snow. This unnatural paleness was offset by my crimson eyes and golden iris'. I realised my current form was still in its infant stages, resembling a fourteen to fifteen year-old boy. My long black hair fluttered past my hips.

I was the first of this ancient race to walk these lands for untold millenia. A progenitor to the divine Vampire race, my current form was that of a Blood Divinity.

I barely got a moment to take in the beauty of the forest before an old man appeared in the skies above, peering down in utter shock. As our gazes met his amazement grew, as did his fear, it was if he was being gazed upon by a natural predator.

I cast my gaze indifferently at the figure behind the man, a woman with a lithe figure and violet hair and eyes with long pointed ears. It was Alarielle!