"Father, you must hold on!"
Coming out of the shadows a hooded young man saw an ashen-haired boy screaming while holding the hand of a dying man in a basement, said men was wearing the same black leather raincoat and formal clothes as the young man.
Looking at this, the young man sighed and after approaching, he looked at the man and thought to himself without making a sound.
[How many times will I have to see this ...]
After that, the young man lowered his hood and what he revealed was the same face and hair as the boy holding the man's hand.
Knowing that he could not do anything the young man saw his father take out a locket and continued to speak to the younger version of him totally ignoring his presence as if he was not there.
"Deimos, it's our- {cough cough} ... it's our last chance {ghaa! Huff huff}"
Saying that the man tried to sit up, seeing that the young Deimos tried to help him only to receive the locket from the hands of his father before he collapsed again on the stone bed which was covered by his blood.
"This locket belonged to your mother, treasure it since it is the only memory that remained of her in this world"
Opening the locket the young Deimos could see the image of a woman with white hair and crimson eyes, what was inside said locket was nothing more than the photo of his mother who was forced to separate from them when Deimos was only five years old.
Giving young Deimos a few seconds, Cron his father continued speaking
"Along with the locket, there is a medal of the royal promise which was won by our clan more than a millennium ago during the wars against chaos.
The idiots who caused the downfall of our clan forgot about it, your grandfather found it and hid it from his father of him ... use it when you need it "
The young Deimos listened to his father, who after having talked too much began to cough and looking into each other's eyes, they both understood that Cron did not have much left.
"Even though our enemies were numerous as the head of the Cornerstone clan you must stand firm"
With the light in his eyes rapidly fading, Deimos's father took a deep breath and spoke his last words.
"Remember, I will always be with you ... our clan ... is in ... your hands ... son"
After that, a red mist began to flow from Cron's palm towards the body of the young Deimos which began to be absorbed by him and after a few seconds, Cron's hand lost all his strength.
"... Father ... I promise, even if it costs me my life, I will protect the honor of our clan ..."
Without wanting to continue watching this scene, Deimos began to walk towards the basement stairs to try to get out of there while behind him the young Deimos tried to contain his crying.
…
After opening the cellar door in front of Deimos, there was a tall, elegant corridor covered in decorations in dark shades.
On the floor, a green carpet was spread throughout the corridor, and pictures of people with unrecognizable faces were spread on the walls. Thanks to that, Deimos could identify that he was in one of the corridors of the royal family's palace in the capital.
Closing his eyes as if he wanted to remember something, Deimos began to walk and soon found himself again with the younger version of him who was waiting in front of the great hall where the king conducted his audiences.
[So this time is this day… If I remember correctly, I had to wait for several hours in that place until they called me].
For his good or bad luck, before Deimos had time to continue walking, the doors of the room opened causing Deimos to look inside the room and before he knew it he was already inside the room with the doors closed.
With no other option since he knew that he could not open the doors, Deimos followed his younger version which was under the gaze of dozens of nobles at the sides of the room who did not stop murmuring
When Deimos tried to see his faces, like the ones in the paintings, he couldn't discern any features
[I should have looked at their faces, so it would have been easier to identify them now ...]
{So that's the last Cornerstone.}
{How daring that they still maintain that family name}
{Well it's the family name given by the goddess Eris after the war, what did you expect?}
{It seems that these last generations are not so bad, they can be useful}
{You really want to risk yourself to control that clan?}
Ignoring the voices of criticism and conspiracy, the young Deimos continued to advance while he clenched his teeth and after arriving in front of the king he knelt.
Seeing this the king raised his hand to which all the nobles in the hall stopped talking.
After that, the king recapitulates the achievements and contributions that Deimos' grandfather and father had made for the kingdom and his race.
So after a long speech he ended up assigning Deimos the title of Blood Lord which caused a great commotion in the room.
Seeing how the rest of the nobles began to protest at his decision, the king ordered them to be quiet, recovering the order of Salon with a single word.
"Deimos Cornerstone given the amount of Ether your clan has managed to accumulate in the last two generations as well as its military achievements that allowed for an alliance between humans and us vampires, your clan has obtained enough merits and over time strength to advance to the ranks of viscounts
Unfortunately given the history of your clan I cannot risk giving yourself such a rank, instead, we will grant you a territory to the south of the corrupted battlefields where you can prove your loyalty, in exchange we will take all the ether that your clan has accumulated to pay for this territory and strengthening our forces, you do not have to thank me, I know that the territory is worth much more than this little ether but I have great expectations in your clan "
Hearing that, several nobles try to not laugh and start muttering among themselves.
{So that's why ... That boy is finished}
{Damn, that boy is now out of my reach ... I guess I'll have to find other lords to donate some ether}
{What bad luck, the last one who had that territory could only build a small fort before surrendering and returning to the capital, a pity that boy does not have that option hohoho}
Hearing that the young Deimos understood that all that audience was nothing more than another attempt to ridicule the Cornerstone clan by not giving me what my father and grandfather had sacrificed to obtain over the years.
Knowing that if he wanted to survive he had no other options, the young Deimos clenched his fists trying to calm himself.
"I ... I accept it, Your Majesty"
"Very well, from today on, you will be a blood lord, for the next eight years no other lord will be able to challenge you and neither will you"
", Thank you, your majesty"
Standing next to him and seeing the face of the king which was the one he could distinguish in that place besides that of his younger version, Deimos waited and as soon as his younger version left the room, Deimos's surroundings were engulfed in shadow, including him.
…
Opening his eyes Deimos looked around only to find himself in his room which had not been attended to for several days, as proof of this, dust was beginning to accumulate on some furniture.
Usually, the nobles would live in a more dignified place but for Deimos that was normal, considering that he had no servants under his hand.
Sighing Deimos got up and went to his balcony from where he could look out over his fortress and take in some icy air to clear his thoughts.
[Even after almost eight years I still have those dreams ...
Soon my period of protection would end, so I guess that's what caused me to have this dream again.
I just hope that this exile has been enough for them to forget about me]
Letting his mind wander for several minutes enjoying the icy breeze coming from the mountains to the east, Demios returned to his room, and donning his leather armor and raincoat, he took the rest of his equipment, and leaving the fortress he headed north.
Passing through the abandoned village that surrounded his fortress and after a few kilometers, Deimos began to encounter more and more undead.
These were only low-level monsters, so when they felt the presence of Deimos who was much stronger than them, they instinctively moved away and returned to their crypts or holes.
Seeing that there was nothing worthwhile, Deimos continued.
At first, Deimos took the trouble to destroy the nests, but being so close to the battlefields, the undead continue to appear no matter how many he destroys and the essence they grant is insignificant to the point that it is not worth the time.is a great source of essence so it is worth killing them.
Likewise, Deimos found the occasional scavenger spider that came out of the woods to the west but like the undead, upon sensing their presence, they left the undead they had hunted and fled.
Arriving at the edge of the battlefield, Deimos began patrolling hoping to find some monster that has decided to leave that place.
Since the battlefields are a place of death, the beasts that reside there are strong, so if they leave their territory, they will most likely be injured, so for Deimos it
After a couple of hours and some occasional battle, Deimos began to feel somewhat tired, so sitting down to regain his strength and stabilize the essence he had obtained, he began to think about how to prepare since the next day his period of protection would end as he faces the foggy battlefield.
While Deimos was deep in thought, an explosion behind him took him by surprise and interrupted his thoughts as it sent him flying, slightly wounding him.
"What the hell!?"
After recovering, Deimos looked around for what had attacked him, without taking long to find the culprit.
It was a vampire followed by two hooded figures, which after seeing Deimos standing up clicked his tongue
"You are more robust than I thought"
Trying to remember without success who it was in front of him, Deimos asked him about his identity and why he had attacked him without warning, but the vampire just ignored him and began to criticize him.
"What manners, for things like that, should never give the rank of noble to anyone, but since you ask, I am Lord Butterflap, leader of the Butterfalp clan who has been lords for four generations, feel honored by my presence"
"And what may bring you to my territory Mr. Butterflap"
Understanding that he was a noble, Deimos was able to guess his motive but still asked, to which Butterflap replied that he came to claim Deimos´s essence, that he should feel honored that his inferior essence will help him to purify the ether that will help him raise the rank of his clan.
Seeing that Deimos took a deep breath trying to stabilize his own condition and looking at Butterflap in the eyes Deimos start talking
"I am sorry to inform you that I am still in the protection period given by His Majesty, so we could not compete for the essence and our clan name with each other yet.
A little annoyed since this was taking longer than he thought, Butterflap discarded Deimos words and told him that for a couple of hours or so, no one would know the difference
"now ... die for me"
With those words and leaving the two hooded figures behind, Butterflap lunged at Deimos who managed to dodge his attack with some ease and counterattacked by hitting Butterflap in the face and sending him rolling for several meters.
Confused by the pain and shocked by what had just happened, Butterflap got up and while holding his face he started yelling.
"YOU, YOU, YOU ... How dare you to dodge my attack and commit the crime of raising your hand against a nobleman"
"In case you have forgotten, I am also a noble and one superior to you, so your vain threats do not affect me"
Understanding that his nobility card would not work this time, Butterflap felt a little fear, but mostly hatred
"Shut up, my servants, finish him off!"
After giving the order, Butterflap began to send magic power to his servants increasing their combat capacity, realizing what was happening Deimos yelled at Butterflap for his stupidity
"How stupid are you, how could you spend your clan links just like that"
With his ego inflated because he thought Deimos was scared, Butterflap laughed
"It doesn't matter, the count promised me that after finishing you, my clan will finally be promoted to Barons, two bonds are nothing if I can save my clan.
"Being pressed lightly and being forced to block some blows from the first servant while he dodged the blows from the second servant's daggers, Deimos heard Butterflap and, taking a little distance, asked what he was referring to.
"Count? what Count? "
Knowing that he had said too much, Butterflap cursed and after calming down after a few seconds he looked at Deimos
"it does not matter if you heard what I say about the count since you will soon be dead."
Joining the fight, Butterflam, staying away from him, began to apply pressure using feints and other tricks, giving her servants opportunities to start landing blows on me.
[Damn, I can't finish them off and I can't neglect that bastard either, even though he doesn't seem to have any fighting experience, I can't underestimate the strength of a vampire with the same rank as me ... I have to get out of here]
Seeing that he would have no chance of survival if he continued at this rate, Deimos tried to escape into the forest of the scavenging spiders hoping to use the terrain to lose them but unfortunately, Butterflap continued to block.
Seeking to regain some of his breath, Deimos began to speak to Butterflap who stopped to respond by slightly reducing the pressure on Deimos.
"Do you not realize, you are being manipulated, my family has only just become lords this decade, so no matter how much essence we had, it will not be enough for you to raise the rank of your clan if not, I will already purify it to become a baron myself "
"What? No, you must be lying for me to forgive your pathetic life."
"I do not!"
Not wanting to listen to Deimos since he didn't want to accept that he was being manipulated, Butterflap continued to yell at Deimos to shut up and that he was just saying shit.
But after a few seconds, Butteflap called out and began to mutter
"... yes ... it must be that"
"What?"
Without saying anything, Butterflap looked Deimos directly in the eye and after a few seconds, he continued speaking.
"According to the count, your clan once also were counts, surely you have some hidden treasure ... yes ... that's what he meant"
With clear confusion on his face, Deimos asked Butterflap what he was referring to as he took advantage of the fact that the servants' attacks had stopped to regain his strength a bit while he looked for a way to escape.
"What the hell you're talking about, my clan does not possess any treasure of that kind."
Unfortunately for Deimos, Butterflap decided not to listen to him any longer.
"Shut up, I already saw through your lies and so stop resisting"
Understanding that Butterflap would not listen anymore, Deimos used all my strength to separate myself from the servants, and entered the first layer of the corrupted battlefields.
Unfortunately, Butterflap mistook what he did and followed Deimos into the battlefield while laughing hysterically as he screamed
"I knew it, you must have the treasure in you, if not, how you dare to enter these cursed fields"
After entering the first layer of the battlefields, soon one of the two servants stood in front of Butterflap to stop him and warned him that he had a bad feeling, that they should leave that place as it was too dangerous to continue.
Ignoring his servant de él and annoyed that Deimos was moving further and further away, Butterflap slapped his servant
"You idiot, we should be safe as soon as we obtain that bastard treasure, so better-"
But before Butterflap finished speaking, the other servant interrupted them.
"Yin watch out!"
"hiiii"
Being surprised by the attack of a mass of flesh, Butterflap fell on his butt in fright and when the mass was about to jump on him and the servant he had slapped, the other servant stepped in front to protect them from being caught by the mass of flesh
Unfortunately for him, his daggers didn't do much damage to the expanding mass of flesh that captured the servant and once on the ground began to engulf the servant.
"help"
Seeing that he was out of danger, Butterflap looked around and after he saw Deimos with some difficulties because of the fog, who had taken a considerable advantage over them, started cursing as he kicked the first servant who had stopped him as he rushed him to get up and continue chasing Deimos.
Looking at the mass of flesh, the first servant pleaded with Butterflap upon hearing the cries of pain from the second servant "Master, we have to help Yun"
Ignoring his servant's pleas, Butterflap said that dying in his stead is the greatest honor they could have, plus she is resilient and it would not be too late to save her after obtaining the treasure.
Seeing that they weren't planning to help her, the trapped servant struggled to break free and scream before being engulfed again by the mass of flesh
"Yin r-"
Understanding that he had no choice but to follow Butterflap, the servant continued as the second servant's screams were heard even from the mass of meat until they eventually got far enough away.
...
Being quickly reached by Butterflap which advanced without the intention of conserving strength to try to leave the battlefields, Deimos began to feel how he reached his limits and looked over his shoulder as he continued running he thought.
[Damn bastards, first I did not let them control my clan and I am not going to let them get it now, I will drag this idiot with me and by the time they find us it will be too late]
With that in mind, Deimos changed direction and went straight to the second layer of the battlefields and after making sure they would not be found so easily, Deimos stopped and faced Butterflap.
Seeing that Deimos had stopped, Butterflap laughed
"There is no way you can get out of here alive, but if you give me your treasure I will consider killing you without making you suffer too much."
"... ha ... hahaha… Stupid, there is no such thing as a treasure, if my clan must die, then I will make sure to drag yours along with mine, your soul, essence, and clan will be lost forever on this battlefield.
Being surprised by Deimos's words, Butterflap tried to deny them, but seeing Deimos keep calm and look at him like he was looking at a corpse, he knew that Deimos was telling the truth, that all this time he had been being manipulated and that everything that he had done had been in vain.
"You ... ghaaaaaa die!"
[Sorry father, it seems that as far as I go ... and sorry ... ceci]
Closing his eyes, Deimos waited for Butterflap's blow to arrive but what he felt was nothing more than a strong impact caused by the wind which sent him flying for several meters.
Opening his eyes to the strange situation, Deimos saw Butterflap or what was left of it in a crater in the ground from where a crack began to form in the air.
"I've finally broken the seal ... Or at least part of it, I hope those kids are okay, they will have a hard time without me if those two bastards show up while I'm gone"
"..."
Confused by the situation, Deimos just looked in front of him where a small nucleus covered in flames was floating and flapping sideways as if looking at its surroundings.
"Now where am I?… You, the blood handler on the ground, what is the situation?"
Not knowing how to respond to the situation, Deimos was silent for a few seconds and asked what had happened, to which the floating flame replied telling him to not waste his time
"I needed to know how long it took me to break the seal since the others will not be able to endure without me"
Without being able to understand what the floating flame was referring to, Deimos asked what he was saying, what or who he was, causing the flame to sigh and complain.
"It is always the same with mortals ... you know me as Abaddon, you should already know who I am and that I am not an enemy, so can you tell me now the situation of the battle?"
"The primal of destruction, it can't be true, how could you revive?"
"Destruction? ..."
Abaddon asked as his flame fluttered as if he was looking around.
"Wait, this place, this corruption… What happened to the battle? How long did it take? Boy, answer me!"
Abaddon's rapid change in mood surprised Deimos who feel great pressure as if he was in front of an unscalable mountain.
"… It is 1364 after the victory against the agents of chaos ... and the primal of destruction ... you to be more specific"
After saying that, Deimos felt the pressure around him disappear as if it had never existed and hear Abaddon sigh as he spoke to himself relieved that they had won, but also confused with the nickname that I had mentioned.
"What is that of the primal of destruction? I am the primal of evolution, where did you get those ideas boy?"
Knowing that he was facing an existence that he could not easily provoke, Deimos thought for a few seconds and decided to speak while avoiding revealing too much
"As I said, we know you with that title since they were the teachings of the apostles of the gods which arose when the gods of order withdrew to the core of the planet to regain their strength after the battle ..."
"{Phff} Gods of order, you say, those children couldn't even organize themselves when I asked them to create mortals."
But Abaddon's laugh did not last long as he soon realized that something was wrong
"Wait, now that I think about it ... those ungrateful bastards, that would explain why it took more than a millennium to break the seal, damn Tariel, he must have convinced the rest to seal me"
After saying that, the flames around Abaddon's core turned more and more bright while giving off an unbearable heat that quickly subsided, after which he began to mutter to himself
"Sure they thought they had the battle won, but then they all ended up badly injured and giving those abominations a chance to recover"
"..."
"... no, I didn't create them to be like this ... there must be a reason why they did it… You, the descendant of the blood handlers, I need to talk to them, but in my current situation that's impossible, most of my power it's still sealed, so do you want to form a pact with me? I can see that you are in a precarious situation like me "
Hearing his offer, Deimos became annoyed and, preparing to resist, looked at Abaddon.
"I will not join the forces of chaos like those damned ones who betrayed us, so even if I can't fight against you, I'll make sure that you can't take advantage of my body."
"{Sigh} As I said before, I'm not part of the chaos, my only purpose is to protect this plane from external threats and to make it evolve, changing the original laws that govern the plane itself."
Upon hearing Abaddon's words, Deimos thought of and soon realized the identity or at least what the flame in front of him claimed to be.
"So… are you a planar guardian? I thought… Everyone thinks that the guardian had died centuries ago."
"Some call us that boy"
Hearing his response, Deimos considered everything that had happened as Abaddon waited while flotating in front of him.
"... Let's say that you really are who you say you are, how can I be sure that you are telling the truth?"
"You can not"
"... then how do you expect me to believe in you, how do you expect me not to believe that you are an aberration of chaos, it is not that many other things that possess that power ..."
"I do not expect you to believe it boy, but it is your only way out of here, I offer you the deal since it seems to be the fastest way for me"
Seeing that Abaddon did not plan to say more, Deimos continued
"Very good ... you win, let's do it"
"Good decision"
After accepting the deal, Abaddon approached Deimos as the crack through which he had emerged began to close and after standing up Deimos interrupted Abaddon who was a few centimeters from him.
"If you are not really who you say you were, I would destroy my own soul and you with it"
"Do whatever makes you feel better boy… now don't speak anymore, the process will be painful and you may bite your tongue.
After that and without wasting any more time, Abaddon began to spread his fire over Deimos and after covering him completely and after a few seconds, Deimos began to feel how his body absorbed the fire causing an indescribable pain that brought him to his knees.
Feeling how his soul was strengthened over and over again, Deimos watched as his wounds were quickly healed and how Abaddon's core embedded itself in his chest, lodging on the opposite side from where his heart is.
So for a minute which to Deimos seemed like weeks on fire he felt the pain subside and drenched in sweat and black blood he tried to catch his breath as he heard Abaddon's voice in his head.
"With this, our pact is sealed, now let's get out of here."
....