The grand and majestic Westminster Abbey seemed more splendid in the twilight, but the long shadows it casted, as if piercing into the earth like sharp swords, appeared unusually sharp and ferocious.
Here, it's no longer a place of sanctity, but a base for the villainous vampires that invaded London. The magnificent columns are covered with fresh blood and stains, and when leather shoes stepped on the long carpet, it was tainted with a bit of filth.
Cain's brows slightly furrowed. With a wave of his hand, the breeze caused by his energy swept over the carpet, causing the dirt on it to disappear instantly. But his complexion didn't ease up, his eyebrows furrowed even more.
Still, he followed the carpet to the end where there was a private prayer room for receiving distinguished guests. When Cain stood at the door and peered in through the observation window, a young man with dark hair was sound asleep in a chair.
The expression on Cain's face finally softened a bit. He pushed the door open and walked in. The young man, like a frightened lamb, shuddered, but quickly feigned calm and coughed twice with his hand in a clenched fist covering his mouth, then looked up at Cain and said, "You, why didn't you knock?"
"I came to check on your condition." Cain stood by the door, adjusting the cuff links on his wrist.
"I'm fine."
"So, you're ready for the Initiation Ceremony."
"You need to prepare for that? Wait, you didn't tell me what this ceremony involves..." Bruce wore a puzzled expression.
But Cain smirked coldly, saying, "You surely didn't think that by chanting a few incantations you would be transformed into my progeny, did you? The Initiation Ceremony is one of the most brutal rites in the magic realm. To gain my power, this process will inevitably be lengthy."
"So what is it exactly?"
Cain began pacing at the door, he himself didn't know where he found the patience to explain these things to a human, or perhaps it was because Blood Queen Mary had repeatedly reeled off the same plan to him again and again, stressing its importance over and over until he was tired of hearing it.
"First, I will drain all your blood." Cain glared coldly at Bruce with his red vertical pupils. When he saw the flash of fear in the young man's eyes that was quickly suppressed, he nodded in satisfaction.
One who knows fear can be tamed, and the ability to suppress fear indicates sufficient greed. This is a perfect lamb.
"The moment you die from the loss of blood, I will feed you my blood. It will replace all the blood in your body."
"This process often takes seven to ten days. You will lie in the coffin I have prepared for you, feeling my blood flowing through your heart, flowing through your soul."
"During this process, you will feel the power of the blood and also feel an echo with my bloodline, thus becoming my most devout follower, with nothing hidden from me. The stronger the blood, the more devout the offspring."
"Uh, what kind of preparation do I need to make?" Bruce couldn't help but ask.
"You don't need to do anything, just stay healthy." Cain was very satisfied with his reaction. Just as he was about to say something, a high-pitched call suddenly came from outside the door.
"Great ancestor, the chief of the van Dracula clan is here to visit. Queen Mary invites you to go immediately..."
Whether it was because of the first half of the sentence or the latter half, Cain's brow furrowed again. But he didn't show it, instead, he turned around and left.
After Cain left, Beelzebub's voice rang in Bruce's mind, saying, "What now? He's about to perform the Initiation Ceremony on you. I warned you before; this ceremony is extremely potent, almost impossible to reverse."
"I've heard that Cain's status isn't particularly high, but it's very old?"
Beelzebub sent an affirmative emotion and said, "He's the son of Adam and Eve, how could he not be ancient?"
"I read in a book recording theological history that when he was expelled from Eden and cast down into the Red Sea, Adam's sister and wife Lilith once gave him a drop of her blood. Is that true?"
"That's true. But why ask this?"
"So he has the bloodline of Adam, and also of Lilith, meaning he's actually closer to God than Abel?"
"By the time he received Lilith's blood, Abel was already dead. But from a genealogical point of view, that is indeed the case." Beelzebub swiftly explained, relishing the rare opportunity to chat, "He is more like a son of Adam and Lilith, and other than the beings personally created by God, no one else is as close to Him."
"Aren't you going to run now?" Beelzebub's tone conveyed some disappointment. "Cain's bloodline is noble, his blood has even greater power, and thus, the Initiation Ceremony he performs is more potent. When the ceremony is complete, I'm afraid you'll really obey him."
"But the ceremony won't be completed."
"If you have a plan, you'd better start acting now. All vampire fangs are poisonous. Once they pierce your body, you will immediately be immobilised, and I can't save you."
"Let's not talk about this yet, but I do need to go out at the moment."
After saying that, Bruce pried open the door lock and walked along the corridor of the prayer room into the empty chapel. He nimbly scaled the patterns on the exterior wall of the Gothic Church and made his way up to the roof.