In the midst of the fierce battle, Kaizer started to show a little bit more of his supernatural side. He began to phase in and out of visibility, becoming a fleeting, ghostly figure that seemed to materialize and vanish with each passing moment. The man in the black suit — a Reptilian — already disoriented by Kaizer's speed and ferocity, was further confounded by this ghostly dance of shadows.
As Kaizer's form flickered, he closed the distance between them with unnerving swiftness. In a moment of perfect timing, he launched himself into the air, executing a dropkick with devastating force. His foot collided with the man's abdomen with a bone-crushing impact.
The man's body was sent hurtling across the parking lot, rolling uncontrollably and leaving streaks of blood in his wake. The eerie alien firearm clattered to the ground, momentarily forgotten. The man groaned in agony, his Reptilian features contorted with pain, disrupting his Human form.
In a stunning display of supernatural prowess, Kaizer summoned his shadowy tendrils, propelling himself off the ground with explosive force. He shot through the air like a malevolent specter, closing the distance between himself and the man with breathtaking speed.
In the very split second that he was airborne, Kaizer phased out of visibility, disappearing into the ethereal realm of shadows. As he reappeared above the man, the element of surprise was on his side. With a savage and unstoppable force, Kaizer swung his leg downward with unrestrained power, aiming a vicious, decapitating kick at the man's head.
The impact was cataclysmic. The man's head exploded in a gruesome eruption of blood and gore, severed from his body with a sickening crunch. His lifeless body crumpled to the ground in a grotesque display, the ground around him splattered with a grotesque mosaic of crimson.
As the man's life force ebbed away, a startling transformation overtook his lifeless form. His body contorted and expanded, elongating into a grotesque, human-sized lizard-like creature, taller than a man but with a mangled, decapitated head.
The skin that once clad him in human form took on a scaly texture, shimmering with eerie iridescence in the setting sun. Jagged, uneven rows of sharp teeth lined his gaping maw, where his Human head had once been.
The limbs twisted and grew into long, clawed appendages, and the fingers elongated into gnarled talons. The clothing that once adorned him now hung in tatters from his transformed, monstrous body. It was a nightmarish metamorphosis. His form now resembled a hybrid of man and lizard, a grotesque fusion of two worlds that defied all logic and reason.
Kaizer landed gracefully, his shadow tendrils retracting as he stood among the remains of his vanquished adversary. He pulled out his phone and, again, opened the Camera app.
SNAP!
This time, he added a caption. "Happy birthday to me!"
He laughed and saved the photo, a sadistic grin on his face.
As a mother and her child emerged from the McDonald's, their eyes fell upon the gruesome scene before them, and horror gripped their hearts. They let out piercing screams of terror, their voices echoing through the night, a stark contrast to the normalcy of the fast-food restaurant they had just left.
The mother, trembling with fear, fumbled for her phone, her fingers shaking as she dialed the emergency number to summon the police. She desperately described the macabre tableau that lay before her, struggling to find words to convey the horror.
Amidst the chaos and panic, Kaizer, having fulfilled his grim impulse, took responsibility by casting a Deception Spell on all who had seen his violence, making them blind and amnesiac of it, then he disappeared into the shadows once more.
He found refuge under a random bridge, where he spent time planning his next moves against Queen Hundred. He threw stones and pebbles down the concrete hills beneath the bridge, deep in thought. He sat there doing this all night, only getting up to relieve himself.
Later in the night, nestled in the shadows beneath the bridge, he found a strangely comforting symphony of noises that enveloped him.
From above, the city's nightlife whispered to him. The distant wail of sirens echoed through the concrete canyons, like mournful spirits calling out in the night. The steady hum of traffic provided a rhythmic backdrop, a constant reminder of the ceaseless movement of the Human world.
Amidst the urban cacophony, Kaizer could discern the hushed voices of pedestrians, their footsteps creating a delicate percussion as they traversed the pavement. Laughter and conversation drifted on the breeze, punctuated by the occasional burst of raucous merriment from nearby bars and clubs.
Above, the city's skyline was a tapestry of twinkling lights, stars in their own right. Each flickering streetlamp and neon sign added to the mesmerizing dance of illumination.
For Kaizer, these unfamiliar sounds were a stark departure from the haunting echoes of Sanguine, and in their strangeness, he found a peculiar comfort. The Overworld's nighttime symphony provided a brief respite from his turbulent existence, a reminder that even in the mundanity of the Overworld, there was a beauty to be found.
With the dawn of a new day approaching, Kaizer knew it was time to return to Sanguine. As he had learned, a single day here equated to a week in his otherworldly realm, and their plan should have been set into motion by now.
Leaving the shelter of the bridge behind, he moved with purpose through the bustling city streets, hidden in plain sight among the throngs of people. His destination: the movie theater.
As Kaizer returned to the movie theater, he understood the unpredictable nature of his journeys between the Overworld and Sanguine. Despite his best efforts, the place he materialized in within the Overworld remained a random and enigmatic facet of his travels.
With each transition, he would find himself in a new, unfamiliar corner of the Overworld, and in order to return, he had to go back to whatever specific place he originally spawned at. This made him better his sense of direction and memory, for he always had to be sure that he could make it back to what he personally liked to call the Splice-Point; In his mind, he had begun to develop a faint understanding of the technology he was using after watching a sci-fi movie during his time at the theater.
His theory being that all three of the realms — the Overworld, Sanguine, and the Underworld — at one point had been joined together, all operating on the same system of space, time, and gravity, but when the Barrier — or Time Splicer — was put in place, it was used to split the realities at a quantum level, forcing them to each change their respective universal laws, therefore resulting in Sanguine and the Overworld operating on their own individual systems of time and entropy; a single decade in the Overworld equaled 70 years in Sanguine.
With a deep breath, Kaizer entered the establishment and made his way back to the exact same seat in the exact same row of the theater where he originally emerged in the Overworld. He was certain that this was the precise spot where his interdimensional journey had begun.
He closed his eyes, the echoes of past experiences flooding his mind. Focused on the intricate art of shifting timelines, he willed himself to traverse the rift between the realms. And just like before, as if guided by an unseen hand, he found himself in another place.
As Kaizer opened his eyes in the aftermath of his timeline shift, he was greeted not by the black room but by the Black Forest in Sanguine. His surprise was palpable, and he couldn't help but blink in astonishment. Kaizer stood amidst this surreal landscape, his senses heightened as he took in his surroundings.
Surrounded by towering trees, their bark dark as coal, the Black Forest was an eerie, subterranean wonderland. The very air seemed to vibrate with an otherworldly energy. Bioluminescent fungi cast an eerie, pale blue glow over the gnarled roots and twisted branches, creating an ethereal, almost haunting ambiance.
Moss-covered rocks and thick underbrush lined the forest floor, their textures and colors seeming to absorb the dim light, rendering the forest an intriguing mix of shadow and luminescence. Faint echoes of unknown creatures, some distant and others much closer, added to the sense of mystery that clung to this subterranean realm.
As Kaizer stood amidst the haunting beauty of the Black Forest, memories of his previous time in this place with Thalia, Justice, and Emma washed over him like a tidal wave. He remembered their camaraderie, the laughter, and the moments of solace they had found in the deepest, darkest depths of this realm.
For a fleeting moment, he wondered about his friends' fates, whether their bodies rested in the Catacombs or had been left to decay beneath the earth. The thought stung like a blade to his heart, and he felt a lump rise in his throat. The weight of their absence hung heavy on his soul.
But just as he was enveloped by this bittersweet reverie, the sound of rustling bushes shattered the stillness. His instincts, sharpened by his time in this eerie realm, immediately kicked in. Merle's words resurfaced in his mind, promising that he would find her. Without hesitation, he followed the source of the rustling.
The path led him to a humble cabin nestled deep within the woods. It was a quaint, rustic dwelling, surrounded by the eerie luminescence of the Black Forest. The anticipation welled within Kaizer as he approached the cabin.
Kaizer stepped into the cabin, and there, as if awaiting his arrival, was Merle, the enigmatic witch of the Black Forest. She greeted him with a warm, toothy smile that contrasted with her crooked, pointy nose, and her hobbled gait as she approached him with the support of a cane.
"You have returned," Merle said, her voice carrying a sense of ancient wisdom. She was a diminutive figure, not much taller than the table she stood beside, but her presence exuded an aura of significance.
"Come, young one," she beckoned him, her eyes locking onto the contents of the table. Kaizer felt a sense of anticipation as he joined her at the table, wondering what secrets lay before him.
Upon the table lay a curious array of items: a weathered photo album, a tiny pacifier, and a sealed letter, each holding its own mysterious significance in this cryptic encounter with the witch of the Black Forest.
In the dimly lit cabin of the enigmatic witch, Kaizer and Merle locked eyes, their silent exchange pregnant with unspoken understanding. The young man couldn't contain his curiosity any longer and voiced the question that hung in the air, "Is this for me?" Merle, wise and mysterious, responded with a sage nod, her eyes holding a glimmer of ancient knowledge that danced like fireflies.
With a trembling hand, Kaizer gingerly explored the contents before him, choosing to open the weathered photo album first. Inside, two pages were adorned with an array of Polaroid photos, each carefully placed within plastic pockets. The images that met his eyes took his breath away.
In every photograph, a couple—a brunette, Human man and a blonde, Vampire woman—radiated boundless joy and love. Their smiles were infectious, capturing the inner worlds of their love and happiness through the gradients of the Polaroid. Kaizer gasped, unable to tear his eyes away as he turned to the third page, where his name was meticulously labeled beneath the first photo in the top row:
'Little Kaizer's Sonogram'.
The sonogram image revealed an ethereal entity suspended within a bubble of black and white gradients. Its form resembled that of a fetus, with tiny arms and legs stretching outward as if in a joyous greeting. What seized Kaizer's attention were the enigmatic features that set it apart—an innocent pair of minuscule horns protruded from its head, crafted from the same skin-like material as the rest of its body, and at the end of its spine, a tiny, wispy tail swirled like a wisp of smoke. It was a captivating sight that left Kaizer at a loss for words, each pocket of the album revealing a new truth about his enigmatic origins.
The following pictures unveiled the Vampire woman in a Human hospital, nestled on a hospital bed, cradling a healthy baby in her arms. She appeared to have shed tears and lacked sleep, the faint, dark bags under her eyes apparent in the photograph. Yet, her smile was as radiant as the sun, spreading from ear to ear. Standing by her side were Human doctors, each holding a thumbs-up gesture, their hands encased in gloves. A young man, seemingly in his early thirties, wrapped his arm around the Vampire woman, while his other arm stretched awkwardly over her front, for the baby, now looking like an ordinary Human infant, had a firm grasp on his pointer finger. The man beamed with unbridled joy in the picture.
The label on this Polaroid read: 'Kaizer Enters The World!'
In that moment, Kaizer found himself suspended between emotions—awe, curiosity, and a profound connection to the past. The album's enigmatic contents had unlocked a treasury of memories and questions, revealing glimpses into a world he had only begun to comprehend.
As Kaizer continued to peruse the contents of the photo album, he turned to the third and fourth pages, where the imagery wove an increasingly intricate narrative. Amidst the collection of snapshots, he noticed a consistent addition—a new character, small and innocent, had become an integral part of the story.
One photograph captured an infant, still in the early stages of life and not yet capable of sight, swaddled in warm blankets. The exhausted yet undeniably joyful Vampire woman cradled the child close to her, providing nourishment through breastfeeding. Meanwhile, the Human man, his once-clean-shaven face now adorned with a messy beard, playfully held up two bunny ears behind the woman, his eyes wide with a sense of silliness and uncontainable happiness.
The label beneath this photo read: 'I Love My Family!'
Further down in the rows, another snapshot emerged—a close-up of baby Kaizer, his tiny crib serving as his world. His once-closed eyes had now opened, revealing orbs as dark as the night sky, wide and staring in bewildered wonder. The label beneath this image affectionately read: 'My Little Kai's Beautiful Eyes.'
Overwhelmed by the torrent of emotions and revelations, Kaizer felt tears silently cascade down his cheeks. His heart ached with a mix of joy, sorrow, and an overpowering sense of connection. The visual story within the album had unlocked a flood of memories and unearthed questions that left him grappling with the profound significance of his existence.
His hands trembled as he turned another page, and with each image, the lines between his past and his present blurred. The parents he had known all his life, the Human couple who had raised him in the Overworld—were they truly his parents? Where did he come from? The uncertainty gnawed at him, and a deep sense of disorientation settled in. Kaizer now found himself grappling with the weight of identity.
As Kaizer continued to turn the pages of the photo album, he encountered an unexpected and haunting image. Amidst an otherwise empty canvas of pockets, there was a solitary photograph that seemed to stand in stark contrast to the usual tones of joy and love that had permeated the previous pictures.
In this lone snapshot, baby Kaizer, still an infant to be cradled and carried, was curled up in the Human man's arm. However, the man's appearance was markedly different from the joyful figure in the previous photographs. They were in an office of some sort, with carpeted flooring and a solitary waiting chair nearby. The room seemed out of place in the context of the previous images.
The man, despite his obvious distress, held the camera with a trembling hand, looking up at it with sad, tired eyes, his lips contorted into a forced smile. He seemed beaten, bloodied, and gravely distressed, casting an eerie pallor over the image. Meanwhile, baby Kaizer stared up at him, crying loudly, his mouth shaped into a distressed scream. It was a jarring departure from the previous images of happiness.
Kaizer's gaze lingered on the label beneath the photograph, which bore a cryptic message: 'Godspeed, Kaizer.'
The dissonance between this picture and the previous ones deepened the mystery surrounding his origins, leaving Kaizer to grapple with a sense of foreboding and an urgent need to unravel the enigma that shrouded his past.
Kaizer closed the photo album, its empty pages a stark reminder of the mysteries left unsolved. He turned his gaze to Merle, who met him with a knowing and empathetic expression. Her solemn demeanor conveyed the gravity of the situation, and Kaizer could feel the weight of his own distress pressing down upon him.
"Please tell me what this is before I lose my mind," Kaizer pleaded, his voice trembling with the emotional turmoil that swirled within him.
Merle, in response, nodded toward the other objects on the table—the sealed letter positioned beside the pacifier. Her gesture indicated that there were answers to be found within those pages.
With trembling hands, Kaizer reached for the sealed letter, his fingers deftly breaking the seal. Inside, he found a sheet of notebook paper, one he recognized from the countless school-supply shopping trips he had undertaken with his false Human parents.
As he read the contents of the letter silently, his breaths grew heavy.
'Dear Kaizer,' it read.
'I hope this letter finds you in a moment of respite, for the words I'm about to put to paper bear a weight I can scarcely imagine. There are truths that have been kept hidden from you, and it's time you knew the history that led us to this point.'
'Your mother is Alessia, a woman of remarkable strength and resilience. And I, Grant Anderson, am your father. Our love was a powerful force, but it forged a path filled with complexities and destinies that could not be foreseen.'
'You, Kaizer, are not an ordinary being. You are a Half-Vampire, blessed with immortality, magical abilities, and elemental powers—a result of divine intervention from the Daemon Cratos. As you developed in the womb, the sheer magnitude of energy required to create the intricate and profound DNA structure of a Half-Vampire, coupled with Daemigod blood that blessed you with the inherent affinity for fire Elemental Magic, nearly consumed your mother. You hold a combination of both of our abilities; her Vampire magic and time manipulation abilities, though I am not sure to what extent; As well as my fire. These combinations produce a powerful, ancient art only ever to be used by the gods, 'Bloodfire.' It is a power unique to you, the first Half-Vampire."
'During her pregnancy, Alessia grew gravely ill, as the life-giving force within her flowed into you, a tiny fetus with unimaginable potential. To survive, you unknowingly drew sustenance not only from her but also from the blood of other Vampires, ensuring your healthy birth while preserving her life as well.'
'But our world was unforgiving, even more so before the Barrier was fully constructed. A member of Noble House Cazarum, sent by Lord Drako, discovered Alessia in the Overworld. Her secret—your existence—was exposed. This henchman, under orders, stole you away from us, taking you to the underground realm of Sanguine while condemning Alessia.'
'In a cascade of events that followed, Queen Hundred and the Cauldron became involved, striking an agreement to discard you into the depths of the Underworld beneath Sanguine, obfuscating the truth as if it had never occurred, and ensuring Alessia remained oblivious to your whereabouts.'
'It was a quartet of Cauldron members who bore you up Mount Mortem, a hollow mountain that serves as the gateway to the Underworld. It should be closed now because of the Barrier."
'When your mother discovered your disappearance, she was filled with a fierce determination to locate you, for her love for you knows no bounds. She descended into Sanguine, determined to seek aid from her parents. However, what she discovered shattered her world. It was her own father, Lord Drako, who had initiated the events that separated you from her. Her mother, Lady Gertrude, on the other hand, was sympathetic to Alessia's plight and sought to help her. Together, they took matters into their own hands, and Lord Drako paid the ultimate price.'
'Alessia, worried for your grandmother after the sacrifice she had made to help her, urged Lady Gertrude to flee and go to a place hidden from Vampire Society. So she did, and if you have found this letter, then you have met your grandmother. She is Gertrude, a Noble Vampire—known as Merle, the witch of the Black Forest—who has disguised herself in illusion to conceal her true identity. You can trust her—she is family.'
Kaizer looked up at Merle, who returned a warm smile. Kaizer's breath was quickening by the moment, and he felt he might feint at any second, but he looked down at the letter and kept reading.
'Alessia, now left alone with the responsibility of finding you, resorted to desperate measures. Consumed by grief and determination, she made a choice that would forever alter her fate. In her quest to gain the strength needed to locate you, she drank her father's blood, the final catalyst that transformed her into the monster known as The Scorpion.'
'The Scorpion, relentless in her search for you, brought chaos and destruction upon the Vampire Society, not out of malice, but out of sheer desperation. Her actions, though destructive, were born of love and the burning desire to reunite with her child. The lives lost were unintended consequences, byproducts of her longing for you. She was willing to destroy everything in search of you.'
'As for myself, I was far from the epicenter of these events. I was in the company of Roshan, my old friend the Elephas, and a Reptilian inventor named Zykor, and a Werewolf necromancer named Ryder The Wolf, discussing the ongoing construction of the Barrier when I received an urgent message from an Avian Sylvari who delivered your grandmother Merle's letter.'
'Upon learning of your kidnapping and your mother's transformation, I was overcome with a righteous fury. Fueled by the divine power of Cratos, I hastened to Mount Mortem, determined to rescue you from eternal imprisonment in the Underworld. I caught up to those who sought to discard you and took decisive action, ending their dark plans and saving you from a fate worse than death.'
'But my journey was not yet complete. Alessia, my beloved wife, had become The Scorpion, and it fell upon me to put an end to her torment. Cratos, understanding the gravity of my situation, instructed me to return you to the Overworld without explanation. I followed his guidance, for he possessed knowledge far beyond my own.'
'Upon my return to Sanguine, I allowed Cratos to inhabit my mortal form, and I transformed into a fearsome entity known as The Dragon. I wielded a colossal sword of fire, a divine gift from Cratos himself, to engage her in a battle of titanic proportions.'
'The situation pained me deeply, and I could not find the strength to end your mother's life. Instead, I bound her to the sword's grip by stabbing her in her Abominable Heart, a second heart that had formed alongside her Human heart. It served as a blood clot, effectively blocking the powers that emanated from the monstrous heart. However, it's important to know that your mother's Human heart still beats within her.'
Kaizer's heart jumped, and his stomach churned. He couldn't decipher his emotions anymore, for they were too jumbled. He wanted to cry, but he also wanted to scream in rage; he wanted to smile knowing that his true parents had sacrificed so much for him, but he also wanted to curse their names for putting him in this cruel world in the first place. He reread the sentence about his mother, Alessia, still being alive, over and over again, his heart pounding. But, determined to know the full story, he kept reading:
'With Cratos's Sword, I subdued The Scorpion, rendering her powerless in terms of magical abilities. Yet, her enormous size remained a threat. Using the godly strength bestowed to me by Cratos, I lifted her and hurled her into the depths of Mount Mortem and chained her to the realm, trapping her in the Underworld. There, she would forever search for her lost son, her powers rendered impotent by the cosmic sword that bound her.'
'After defeating The Scorpion, I was too far gone. By taking on the transformation that I had accepted when I allowed Cratos to possess me, I sentenced myself to death. I had only a few hours to do anything I needed to do before my body withered away like ash, a price I had to pay for the power I gained. Therefore, I am writing this letter to you and leaving it with your grandmother, and I hope you will one day cross paths with her so that you can know the truth.'
'I hope this letter provides some semblance of understanding amidst the tumult of your emotions, for I know that if you've come so far as to read this letter, then you've faced horrific things. The choices I made in my lifetime were not easy either, my boy. The cost was immeasurable — you were the only good thing that came out of it. You are a being of immense potential and unique heritage.'
'I truly apologize for the harsh realities you must endure in your path to destiny, but I implore you to seek out powers beyond yourself. The Daemon — the God of War, Cratos, favors you. You were his gift to us. Seek out his guidance in your many quests, and he will guide you. Ask him for strength in your battles, and he will provide it to you. Commune with him, Kaizer. Believe me when I say that the world you are now a part of will kneel to you one day, and Cratos will glorify you.'
'As you tread this path, remember that you carry within you the legacy of those who loved you, and the power to shape your own destiny. May you find the answers you seek and the strength to face the truths that lie ahead. I love you, Kaizer. No matter how distant our lives may be due to the time-splicing of the Barrier, you will always be my son.'
'With love and hope,
Grant Anderson.'