Elzed chuckled as he walked back to his bed, picking up a wine glass along the way.
"Ah, Noctis being his usual self," he said, taking a sip of the blood-red liquid. "Always using us lower progenitors for his dirty work."
He turned to look at Fetoria and Velrossa, a cruel grin spreading across his face.
"But of course, since you outrank me, my dear Fetoria, I'll happily accept this 'assignment'," he uttered, his voice dripping with derision.
Velrossa gritted his teeth, struggling to keep his composure.
He hated Elzed's arrogance, his utter disregard for human life.
He could feel the rage building up inside him, but he knew he couldn't act on it.
Fetoria gave Elzed a sharp look.
"Don't underestimate the importance of this task, Elzed, the labyrinth in Aalakhor Archipelago is the gateway to our ultimate goal. We can't afford any mistakes." (Fetoria)
Elzed rolled his eyes, taking another sip from his glass.
"Of course, of course," he said, waving his hand dismissively. "I'll make sure to keep a close eye on it, don't worry."
Fetoria raised an eyebrow, clearly not convinced.
"You better do more than just 'keep an eye' on it, Elzed," she said, her voice firm.
Elzed scoffed. "What do you want me to do, Fetoria?" he asked in a mocking tone. "Throw myself at your feet and beg for forgiveness? I have better things to do than waste my time on some maze."
Velrossa stepped forward, his own voice laced with anger.
"You're nothing but a selfish, cold-hearted monster." (Velrossa)
Elzed turned to face him, his eyes glinting dangerously.
No one could see Velrossaʼs face, but he was relatively calm.
Elzed approached him slowly.
"And who are you to judge me, little boy?" he said, his voice low and menacing. "I've seen the depths of depravity, and I've embraced it. What have you done?"
Velrossa had no response - he knew it was useless to argue with Elzed.
He turned to Fetoria. "We should go," he said.
Fetoria nodded, acknowledging his words.
"Stay focused on the task, Elzed," she warned him.
"Yes, yes, whatever... shall I go back to my feast? There still more human virgins I have to turn into my playthings. No one's going to defile them for me after all, hah!" (Elzed)
...
Fetoria and Velrossa left the castle behind.
They approached the Red Sea, a body of water that surrounded the castle, serving as a moat.
But this was no ordinary moat.
The water within was not blue nor green or any other natural color of water.
Instead, it was an eerie and unsettling red, the same color as blood.
And if anyone had thought it was just a dye or natural occurrence, they were gravely mistaken.
The Red Sea was a collection of blood from the fallen, a macabre reminder of the castle's violent past.
Looking out, one could see the lifeless bodies of various races at the bottom, a warning to anyone foolish enough to try to traverse its depths.
The sight was a foreboding omen, a reminder of the brutal reality of the world they inhabited.
On approaching the Necropolis Region, Velrossa's curiosity got the better of him.
"What kind of ritual is this that we're preparing for?" he asked, his voice laced with a tone of unease.
Fetoria hesitated before responding.
"I don't exactly know what the ritual is for," she began, carefully choosing her words. "But I do know that it's related to the revival of a supreme being."
"Supreme being?" Velrossa raised his eyebrow, intrigued by the mysterious description.
Fetoria nodded, "Yes, one that surpasses even Lord Noctis in power."
Velrossa's eyes widened with surprise, "Lord Noctis, the supreme ruler of the vampyres, is not at the top of the hierarchy?"
Fetoria shrugged, "Lord Noctis may be the supreme ruler, but this being is something else entirely. It's the ultimate body that we're planning to create, and Lord Noctis will take its form."
Velrossa was taken aback, "What kind of being is this? Is it a living creature?"
Fetoria's expression darkened as she replied, "It's not a living creature, but it's something far more sinister."
Velrossa's unease grew as he realized the magnitude of what they were dealing with.
"I don't know much about Lord Noctis, but the amount of power that he emanated just by standing next to him made me feel utterly insignificant. What kind of power must this being have that exceeds even Noctis?" (Velrossa)
"The kind of power that can plunge the world into eternal darkness," Fetoria replied ominously.
Eternal Darkness, the epithet Noctis answered.
Velrossa shuddered at the thought, feeling a sense of apprehension building inside him.
Before he could ask more questions, Fetoria changed the subject to the upcoming battle they were about to face against the ogre army.
But the conversation had left its mark on Velrossa.
He couldn't shake off the foreboding feeling that this new being they were creating would bring about catastrophic consequences.
The five progenitors looked like ordinary individuals.
But their demeanor suggested that there was something deeply sinister lurking beneath the surface.
The way they spoke and laughed sent a chill down his spine.
Their laughter seemed to have no joy, no warmth.
It was a mockery of the world around them.
Their cold eyes revealed a malevolence that was hard to comprehend.
It was as if they looked upon the world with disdain.
Their egos towering over everything else like a dark cloud that refused to be dispelled.
There was no kindness, no empathy in their very being.
It was as though they had been stripped of every humane quality.
As though corrupted by an inner darkness that could not be extinguished.
Velrossa felt like a mere pawn on a chessboard, expendable and insignificant.
In their eyes, nothing had any real value, except for power and control.
Whatever the progenitors had planned for the future, would be nothing but a nightmare that would consume all in its wake.
Velrossa couldn't predict the future, but humans were their random victims.
The thought of losing Archibald at their hands filled him with despair.
"(Archibald, I miss you..)" (Velrossa)
...
Amid the carnage of his gruesome conquests, Elzed sat, his eyes scanning the decapitated bodies of the women he defiled.
His surroundings were a twisted reflection of his tortured psyche; the white sheets that had once enclosed them were now drenched in blood, an ominous reminder of his destructive power.
As he looked around the room with a yawn, Elzed knew that his boredom would not last.
The time to act was near.
But the fear that it would not be enough to satisfy his insatiable bloodlust filled him with a twisted sense of excitement.
A chilling smile crept up his face as he spoke, a deep resonance in his voice that echoed with cold malice.
"I hope the humans are there to stop me," he mused to himself.
Humans were his favorite test subjects.
"Humanity is scum. Wrath, gluttony, fear, envy, revenge, destruction, malice… I want to see all of these in a human at the brink of despair." (Velrossa)
He paused, his eyes gleaming with a dark fire.
"If demons are the vilest creatures, then humans are the personification of it. I'm not amused by the current feeble race I've been forced to witness... to the ones who will stop me, I want to know what kind of human you are... poultry or fiend?" (Velrossa)
With a flick of his wrist, Elzed rose from his perch and strode across the room, his movements predatory and dangerous.