The orb that seemed to absorb all light in the room hovered closer to Dink, arriving at the discarded dragon sword beside his corpse. The bone hilt melted into liquid, merging with the demon heart. His skeletal remains imperceptibly jolted as an alien energy entered his frame, forming a connection to his physical body. A foreign heartbeat drummed in his ears as his distraught companions arrived at his side.

They scrambled at his corpse in panic, unwilling to accept the fact no one could face the corrupted avatar of a god and hope to survive that level of damage. They wept over his broken corpse, hugging him to their buxom chests with tears streaming down their faces. Completely oblivious to the dragon, Akarad, working in tangent with the demon heart to repair him from within.

After a time had passed, Axion scooped him up, his face fighting to remain stoic. Suppressing his own sorrow to be the support the others needed. They began to carry Dink from the underground chamber, leaving the dragon sword behind.

He perceived all of this through the demon heart gem, somehow his consciousness had taken refuge inside. He banged and battered the intangible walls of his prison, futilely shouting to be heard. It did cause the gem to pulse with ominous red light, successfully drawing their attention.

“Wait a moment, we should take his sword and bury it with him. I don’t know what that gem is that attached itself to it, but I don’t like it,” Riva suggested, picking the dragon sword from the ground and tentatively carrying it at arm's length.

The group placed his body in the catacombs under the monastery for a period of mourning. And the Sisters of Mercy conducted funeral rites over his body, shrouding his body in coarse linen wraps. Eventually, his companions stopped coming to visit him and they left to continue their journey, likely planning to substitute Dink with someone else during the ritual.

He heard many whispers among the Sisters. First, the sister transformed by Jackin into a Minotaur was named Rineth. Sister Eos was still in shock at her bloodline being awakened by the Succubus, Jiltea. Secondly, there was a mounting distrust of Attuned and Magus throughout Tordrana, the kingdom in which they were hosted.

An anti-magic movement was gaining momentum in the three main cities, they had discovered a way to use tools to disrupt mana. It quickly devolved into a witch hunt as unsatisfied regular people rose up in rebellion against their superiors. The movement adopted the monicker used by those without access to mana to identify themselves for centuries, the Unmarked.

Time passed with no visible changes to his body. He found he could indirectly influence the emotions of the Sisters of Mercy or any others that came within range of the demon heart gem. After a series of disturbances, they traced the feeling of unease within the monastery to the dragon sword.

He watched in surly silence as they relocated his corpse to a cavern at the base of the mountain, burying his body along with the sword on consecrated ground. Throughout it all, Wart refused to leave his side, taking root in the dirt above him and spreading them deep.

More time passed and the cloth encasing his body rotted away in the damp earth. And ever so slowly, his body recovered until he was finally able to pry himself free.

Now, he was standing naked in the cave opening, the dragon sword in hand as he enjoyed the sensation of the setting sun warming his skin. There was one slight problem though, his mind was still separated from his body. It was operating purely on instinct while he observed from inside the demon heart.

***

Dink mindlessly sniffed the air, turning to peer deep into the shadows of the cavern with a feral growl. A silhouette stood outlined in the darkness, just out of reach of the sunlight, moving closer as the light retreated. Dink gripped the dragon sword tighter and started walking to confront the observer. He stumbled over something at his feet.

Looking down, he discovered what he tripped on, Wart, the mushroom creature. Wart innocently blinked up at Dink with a cute expression. Without a second thought, Dink looked back at the darkness, only to discover the silhouette gone.

Inside the demon heart gem, the true Dink never took his focus from the shadows, he could see the figure watching at the back of the cavern with perfect clarity. It watched his body with a mixture of disgust yet overwhelming hunger. He stared at the creature with consternation.

Fledgling Vampire. So much for being on consecrated ground, the avatar clearly allowed that to lapse too. Sigh, things aren’t going to go well for my body, the sun is about to go down. Let’s see if it’s up to the task or just acting on instinct.

He focused all of his influence on his body to prepare it as a flash of light over the horizon, submerging the cave in dim light. Dink’s body immediately tensed at alert, accompanied by the ring of bone on bone as he deflected iron sharp claws from the Vampire’s ambush.

The creature spun with inhuman agility, claws directed at his exposed throat. He shifted his weight an indiscernible amount, lifting the upside-down dragon sword upward to block. His subtle movements gave the Vampire intangible pressure as he controlled the tempo of the fight. Bringing the large sword behind his shoulders while stepping off-centre, slamming it down with crushing weight.

The Vampire danced out of reach before quickly recovering and leaping forward. Dink allowed the sword’s momentum to carry it past as he reversed his grip. He stepped forward and thrust the pommel into the Vampire’s midsection, knocking a gasp of breath from its undead lips.

The demon heart pulsed in satisfaction as the fledgeling Vampire stumbled out of the cave into the rising moonlight of the first moon, Lunaris. She appeared stunning, despite being battered and disorientated from the unexpected resistance.

Her fangs were bared, revealing her vampiric nature. Despite the ferocity of her expression, there is a delicate and alluring quality to her appearance, making it easy to see how she could easily lure unsuspecting victims to their doom. Dink wasn’t immune to her appeal, his manhood became engorged with anticipation.

The female Vampire looked at his shameless arousal with an expression of disgust. Her complexion was fair, almost porcelain, with a hint of a healthy flush in her cheeks. Her eyes were a vivid shade of green glittering in the moonlight. Long lashes frame her eyes, and her eyebrows were perfectly arched.

She brushed aside unruly hair in annoyance, it was a deep shade of brown, cascading in loose waves around her shoulders. A few strands fell back into place over her forehead. Despite the chaos of the battle, her hair seemed to be relatively untouched, shining under the Three Sister's rays.

Her stature was small, with a toned and athletic build, with long, slender legs and a curvy figure. Her clothing, tattered from unknown causes, revealed a hint of her pale, smooth skin.