As Cain descended further into the earth, the surrounding structure underwent a gradual transformation.
The once adorned walls shifted from wood to aged steel, then to solid stone, creating the impression of historical regression, transporting him back to medieval times.
"This building wasn't originally here, but it seems there were always structures present. The Family built over them. All that remains of the original architecture is this sanctuary below the earth." Cain remarked.
With a final step, he found himself in an ancient structure constructed from stacked stones. Rocks and pebbles fell from the ceiling. On either side, coffins lined the hall with water running through cracks, creating basins on parts of the floor.
At the end of the hall, lit torches surrounded an altar with a bowl of blood. Beside the altar stood a cloaked figure, engrossed in their duties.
"Are you the Ancestor of the Family?" Cain inquired.
The figure continued its tasks, tending to the altar with utmost persistence. It spoke after completing them.
"Yes, and no. To those above, I am, but I am not the Ancestor of the Family. I am also a descendant of it." It chucked.
Cain didn't care how ancestral this person was, only if they were one. "Well, that works. I wish to know the power of this place. You seem to consume flesh for power; is it only human flesh?"
Unveiling their hood, the ancestor turned to face Cain.
Their skin wasn't gray but pale, almost turning white. Their nose and ears resembled those of a bat, and their eyes were pure red. Their figure thin and malnourished, resembling a starved beast.
"Human flesh is the requirement. The more consumed, the more the transformation takes hold..."
Seeing the ancestor posed no threat, Cain approached, asking more questions.
"Transformation? Into what?"
"Why do you think we guard against the outside? Some beasts lurk in the dark, beings my Family can become as well. Vampires." The Ancestor snickered.
"Vampires? What are they?"
The ancestor looked back to the altar, observing the blood. He then gazed back at Cain and continued, "Creatures that have overcome the mortal coil. They are immortal beasts that feast on blood. They possess strength beyond logic, and some even have strange abilities, but those ancient Vampires died a long time ago."
Cain was already in front of the ancestor. "I must say I am very interested in this knowledge. What would be the price for you to tell me all of it?"
"The price would have to be determined by my Ancestor. He is behind the door; I will take you to meet him."
The malnourished man stepped before a large, heavy double door leading into an ancient crypt. The doors creaked open, revealing a massive cavern. The ceiling held ancient pipes that bled moonlight through to shine upon a plateau in the center of this massive place
Stairs led up to the top of the plateau, where a small stone gazebo was built long ago. As they ascended, Cain asked more questions, this time related to the situation outside.
"Why don't you address the problems on the surface? Also, aren't you wary of me making it this far?"
The ancestor spoke half heartily, "The surface doesn't concern us; eventually, our blood will return to nobility. As for you, my Lord already informed me I could do nothing to you, and so far, you have done negligible things to our family. The young blood's spirits burn hot; it is expected for them to burn themselves."
"Thank you for the clarification," Cain was enlightened.
'How ruthless. I've not met many who are like this.'
"We're here." Coming up the last step, the Ancestor stepped aside. He then bowed. "I've met the Ancestor." Standing up he kept his head lowered. "I have done as you asked and brought the guest."
Surveying his surroundings, Cain found the plateau held what appeared to be ruins, with a crumbling gazebo was a single throne. On the throne was a dried body with an orb shoved into its chest, beating like a heart.
It was the Ancestor of the Family.
'The territory core!' Cain's eyes shined.
In the Ancestor's chest was the core of the territory! No wonder the Family could rule for so long, but this Ancestor didn't seem to be a ruler?
A tired and weak voice echoed, the cavern walls reverberating the sentence tenfold.
"Why come here? We have nothing for you here, half-gatherer."
Cain remained indifferent. "Why can't I come? I am simply traveling and got interested in this place's history and power. I wish to learn more about these Vampires. Though I'm surprised to always be running into occurrences like this. I wonder if I'll ever be able to have a normal time within a territory." He joked.
The voice let out a low bellow.
"Heh, I would be concerned if uneventful things weren't happening all the time. Influences are always coming from the higher beings and laws that set everything in place. The "normal" you speak of does not exist, you will forever run into some plot or interesting development out here. It's bound to happen. By the laws that be...hehe. I became how I am through the same."
Cain remained cold, "I would appreciate it if you could tell me about Vampires and your history now."
The voice lowly chuckled. "Ha...there isn't much to tell. They are creatures born of absolute destruction. When the old world fell to the Gods, they were born. They ran rampant and were the apex predators of this place.
"That was until I found the core, then we humans had a chance. My brethren sacrificed themselves so I could gain the power to hunt the beasts down one by one. And now, none are left beyond the weak not worthy of my hunt. Beyond that, my Family could be called Vampires, though this is only due to my tampering with the core, which ultimately left me like this...."
Cain wasn't listening. Once the Ancestor said "Gods," his head spiraled out of control. He couldn't contain himself; he had long wished to learn what a God was, ever since he acted as a false one.
He learned little in the Dream Realm, Gods were one of the rare topics that were a convoluted mess of falsehoods.
Cain couldn't keep his mouth from salivating. "This....what is a God? Who were the Gods?"
The eyes in the dried body glowed. "That is what we called them; I do not know where they came from. The old world kept to itself, and not many people knew we were in the landfill to begin with.
"What I do know is that these beings were hunting something called a 'World Bane', I learned of this truth and left it in my Family's texts. It's a being who comes from another world and holds immense power. The World Bane fought the Gods here and died; it is said their flesh bred the first Ancient Vampires."
'Gods.....'
Cain couldn't help but take in the word once more. They were beings that could make a territory perish like this, barren and forever blocked by countless dark clouds.
"Wait, one thing I don't understand is why only you would have this power; you mentioned you did something to give it to your bloodline?"
The Ancestor acknowledged Cain's question, "Yes, I do know cores usually give powers to everyone; I know that much. I believe it was due to the influence of the World Bane, or even the Gods. Only one being could use the powers of Vampire. I broke this restriction eventually, giving my bloodline this gift, but doing so caused a backlash.
"I could no longer become a 'Ruler,' the blue screen spoke of, and I was left like this, a corpse still living."
'So he became a Vampire using the core and killed the other vampires, saving the humans? But then he gave his Family his power, and they built the Complex here? In addition, as a result of his tampering with the territory's power, he ended up stuck and in a state of a corpse. Why? Why do it?' He summed up everything in a few thoughts.
Cain didn't need to ask his next question because the Ancestor long knew what he was going to say.
"You are curious why I did this right? Put simply, I too was becoming an irrational monster; I didn't know if becoming a ruler would save me, so I did what I had to. My Family instead took the brunt of this for me and slowly removed the corrosion of the core, the curse of a beast.
"Now, the core is close to being pure. A thousand years of waiting done, and you so happen to come here. Coincidence." The wrinkled corpse revealed its gums, Cain almost barfed as a result.
The Ancestor then revealed something important.
"With the deaths of my descendants, the restriction on me will be removed, and I will once more walk the land as a being beyond morality, an apex hunter that will rule over mortals. A God!"
Understanding, Cain raised one last question, "So you wanted to meet me to help kill this fellow beside me?"
The "ancestor" beside Cain gave no reaction.
The voice erupted into laughter, "Hahaha! No, I don't need you for that. I will be thirsty when I wake up; I'll need a decent meal is all."
"I see. Then we're enemies." Cain took a courtesy step back.
The cavern became silent; no one moved. It seemed Cain was waiting for the Ancestor to wake, once more reaching his old strength.
'The Dream Core is almost finished digesting; a fight with a proper ruler at that time will be good for me.'
...
Zoe fired the last few bullets in her gun's chamber. All around her were corpses; they were people who had abruptly turned into the vicious monsters that would attack the Complex every few years.
She couldn't help but remember a scene she had seen a few years ago.
At that time, she had gone to report to her superior, but when she creaked open the door, she realized her boss was "with" his secretary. This was normal; she waited outside like usual. Only this time, screams soon erupted.
Peering through again, her heart dropped. The secretary was bleeding everywhere, flesh ripped apart by teeth alone, which now had two sharp fangs.
Zoe didn't dare move or reveal herself. She ran into a different hallway in fear and threw up.
Ever since that day, she knew something was wrong with the Family, but she was trapped. She was only a pawn; she couldn't do anything.
Instead, she compiled some evidence of the exiles' disappearances and sent it to an influential man. That man became Omega.
She was the beginning of all this; she caused this upstart to happen. But all she focused on right now was survival.
"All my men are dead, but...I think that's the last of them. That new organization should be led by that guy right? Then is the Family destroyed?"
As she spoke to herself, a massive earthquake shook the city. In the distance, the compound of the Family exploded in a cacophony of blood. Suddenly, the bleeding scratches on her body and the pools of blood around her rose; defying the laws of physics, it all headed toward the explosion.
"What happened? What's going on?!"
It was then she felt a pressure. She felt like her neck gained a chain that spread out into the distance; she felt her life drain from her body. She became even more tired than before and collapsed to the ground.
"What....why...I thought we won..."
Exhausted, she collapsed, unconscious.