The vampire that was led down to the zones was so emaciated; that I wondered if he's ever had a drop of blood go through his body at all in his immortal long life. His clothes were ragged, and in strips. He looked to be in an even worse condition than the human who was brought here mere moments ago, comparing him to a reed or a stalk of grass at the mercy of the elements would have been a compliment. Then I heard the elder of the Bediako coven burst out in anger as he yelled at the Hom'rugr bloodline elder.
"Bien what's the meaning of this? Why the hell is he here!"
She didn't pay him any attention and instead chose to focus on me and the spectating vampires. But the Bediako elder seemed to have lost his mind as he attempted to jump over the balcony of the podium they were sitting on.
But Bien had moved so fast all I had seen was a flicker and she was already beside him with a ridiculously serrated and serpentine forged dagger four inches into his neck.
Once again the entire basin broke into a clamor of whispers, hung jaws and surprised looks. An elder lost his cool, and another had stabbed a dagger into his throat.
"You have no right to interfere Maze, not anymore. You've had your chance to do the right thing, but you indulged him and turned him into something horrific. His life is no longer in your hands, or mine. And please behave yourself, you're an elder, what's one life to you?" she said to him, only to be interrupted by Maze yelling at her.
"But he's my son!"
"I know. That's why he's down there. As a warning to you, and the rest of the elders and vampires in the pit." She answered him.
"I'll make you pay for this bitch!" Maze threatened with his eyes glowing a blood red luster.
But Bien did not even looked fazed, in fact it was as if the entire scenario was just one amusing snooze fest for her. She pulled her dagger out of his neck as she gave him the brightest smile she could muster.
"Be my guest Maze, I'm ready for you anytime, anywhere, that's if you survive your upcoming fight anyway."
Maze gave the emancipated vampire in front of me a long hard glance, and the vampire looked back, with a pitiful gaze and his eyes glistening with tears. And to my incredible shock, a tear actually slid down from the eyes of the 'pinnacle of vampiric masculinity' that is the elder of the Bediako bloodline coven.
Maze was sad and hurt, but that look rapidly disappeared the moment he shifted his gaze to mine, glaring so hard at me, I was afraid he would burn a hole through my body. Maze cleared her throat dragging everyone's attention back to her.
"This is the eldest and only son of the Bediako bloodline coven's grand elder; Maze. He was born healthy, strong, and one of the few vampires with the privilege to escape the torture of having Ionite and silver shoved down his throat at birth. But everything he gained and everything he became was by virtue of his father's love for him. A love that was so strong it destroyed his son.
From the moment he was born, his star was bright, though he was born a Nosferatu, Galen was destined for great things in the Bediako coven. And to actualize that greatness his father had started feeding him human blood from a young age, hoping that the greatest and the most forbidden taboo and pleasure available to a vampire would make him stronger.
And it did make him stronger, for fifteen long years, I've never had an apprentice that was as good as Galen. But his father's sin in feeding him human blood on a regular basis, woke the monster within. Deep inside of him was bred a bloodlust and a thirst for one particular entity. Humans. It started small, imperceptible in its manner that no one noticed it at first. He rejected normal blood, and snuck out for hours at a time. He had friends who were humans, deviants just like him who were slaves to the pleasure and euphoric high caused by a vampire's bite and the chemicals in our saliva.
But eventually the little sips around hidden corners were no longer enough, he became the very monster they all said we were. Human guards died in droves, and even humans who were not guards, his friends, the tourists, or the merchants.
They were all victims of his bloodlust. When vengeance was about to be wreaked, and it was! numerous innocent vampires lost their lives, including my own mother, and sister. Two elders who were important to the Hom'rugr bloodline coven.
And as for the culprit? His father hid him away, and fed him human blood secretly, unable to stand seeing his son screaming and starving in pain, he also committed the same sin, and many more vampires suffered. Including the wife of the lord standing right in front of you.
Many of you know elder Asha, she was a vampire who took care of a lot of you. But did you know that for the ten years she disappeared, it was because she was sold into slavery by Maze, after he had his cousin who was bonded to her, trick her, and then betray her. A monster of a man, who bred a monster of a son. Now Galen has gotten to a point of no return, he's hooked on human blood now, so much so that it's the only kind of blood that can settle in his stomach. Let the third task begin!"
That was a lot of information. I didn't really expect something on this level. And I didn't know what to feel, because no matter how it seemed as if a part of me wanted to get angry, another part of me couldn't help but understand Galen's situation. I knew what it was like to be ruined by the sins of a parents.
In my old life my dad and I paid the price for my mom's infidelity, it destroyed our family in more ways than one, so I couldn't judge him. But I really didn't think there was anything else I could do other than to give him a merciful death, but even then that did not seat well with me.
I took his wrist, and had him unsealed in seconds. I watched him breath as he became connected to the way for the first time. The sense of power he felt as all of his senses became what they're supposed to be as a vampire. He cried, weeped and sobbed as he fell to his knees.
He was broken, that much I could understand because I could relate with that feeling. Nobody would choose this kind of life for themselves, but sometimes life had a way of fucking with people. He looked at me and mouthed the words "thank you", and then he raised his hands to his chest, as if he wanted to pluck his own heart out. And then that's when things went horribly wrong.
A cool wind blew through zones, stirring up the sands and the water, lighting up the blazing coal area as it caressed the skin of everyone present in delicate and soft manner. But the wind brought along a scent, a very powerful and strong scent that Galen recognized almost immediately. It was the smell of blood...….human blood!
I realized it too late, but Galen had already shot towards the seats, right where the human I had arrested was being held by the Envoys. Kodak stepped forward to meet the approaching vampire, but without his armor, it was too much to ask a BloodChild to fight against a Nosferatu that was being strengthened by intense bloodlust and addiction. He blasted Kodak into another group of vampires, leaving a stream of broken bones and bleeding faces in the crowd.
I wanted to move, but I couldn't, not even a muscle. I looked down to see a hand made of lava holding on fast to my ankles, burning through my flesh as I was held trapped by it's surprising strength.
I looked at the elders to see the so called young master of the Inferno bloodline coven looking at me, as both his hand were on fire, and making a grasping motion around something invisible.
So those two covens were aligned; I figured as much. The smiling Maze was enough proof. But this guys were stupid, didn't they know that what they were doing was cultivating chaos.
But I don't think they cared. Galen had already reached the seats, and the human was curled up in fright, helpless in doing anything but watching as a very hungry vampire leaped for his neck.
But it would be stupid to completely write off my Envoys just because Kodak underestimated Galen a bit. Xaseah appeared in front of Galen, and swung her foot in a twist and an impressive display of athleticism.
The spinning heel kick caught Galen on his jaw, dislocating it with a crack, and sending him into the air where Teluna was waiting with a flying knee strike that sent Galen right back to the zones.
After hearing what Maze did to Asha, they were all angry, which was why none of them held back when attacking Galen. I don't think that even though I tell them Bien was manipulating us with that story to carry out her revenge, they would care.
That story was true and the fact that Maze did not refute it, cemented his guilt.
I used the minor teleportation skill from my power crest, and appeared behind the still falling Galen. I wrapped my hands around his chest, and placed a rune I've not had a chance to use since I got it, [DREAM].
At first he was snarling and biting, kicking and clawing, trying to find a way out of my grip and back to the veins currently pumping hot human blood and seasoning it with adrenaline and fear. But he just suddenly stopped and closed his eyes, a wide smile plastered right over his face as his fangs poked out of his lips.
Galen was not innocent, but he was not guilty either. What he became today, came as a result of a father who did the wrong thing in the name of love. I understood love, and I'm sure if my kids were born I would, without a shred of doubt, do anything! Good or bad just to protect them.
But not if I'll destroy their life in the process, if that's the case, then I'd much rather die than to raise them in such a way. A parent who destroys their own child's future, are a million times worse than a murderer, because a child expects their parents to protect that future.
I released my soul energy, and pushed it into his body. I could crush his heart, but I wanted to leave him intact. So I pushed my soul energy to the top of his head, letting it come in contact to the very sense of his being, his soul. And then I used my soul energy to cover it, then slowly began to pull it out.
And during that process, I made sure to disconnect every nerve and electrical synapses in his brain, interrupting the flow of power to it. Taking his soul would have made him brain dead, doing this would kill him, silently. My soul energy spilled out of his body, and with it was a yellow apparition of a smiling Galen.
It was unlike anything I've ever seen before, it was majestic and it was beautiful. This was who he truly was, pure, unfettered and free. I let his soul go, even though it might have pushed me to the next soul realm, I think it was the right thing to do. As his soul floated away, I placed his body on the sands, and crossed his hands over his chest, a smile still etched on his sunken and hollow face. Then I turned to Bien who had stood up and had a look I couldn't read on her face.
"The third and fourth task has been passed, and by extension the fifth task too. For the fifth you're supposed to show trust in the members of your coven. They subdued Galen and sent him right back to you without you ever having to lift a finger or give a single order. That's impressive. You now need to pass two more tasks to get the eligibility to be a leader. Well done."