"What was once one ,and became split and divided, was tied to one place to return over and over ,then became one of many, and is now one, this is my riddle "said the sphinx. "
Zack thought for a moment before answering.
" The answer is me ,I split from my power, my power was divided amongst my items, my blood and the crystal .
My soul was trapped in one world ,where i reincarnated over and over ,then I became a Vampire, by the very blood of my former body and the crystal ,I became one of many ,the memories of many lifetimes as a human, and the thousands of years as the Vampire king,left me with many personalities, the personalities all merged together, to create me Zachary Vincent, Eldridge the one and only vampire king" said Zack.
" You are correct ,King of all Vampires I can see that you truly have returned " said the sphinx.
Yes I have returned, and I intend to claim what is mine, I will return to the throne, and I will return balance to the Lands of Night "said Zack.
"Then my king I wish you fortune, for I want the return of balance to the worlds, as much as any guardian" said the sphinx.
" Guardian , are you telling me you are one of the guardians of the web of life ?" Asked Zack.
"You are correct again , I will give you your reward Vampire King ,I will evolve your body,and this will release more of your knowledge and powers, I hope that it will be enough when you face the Griffin "said the sphinx.
The sphinx looked at the king of Vampires, before him and said " this will most likely hurt a lot. "
A golden ball of magic formed in front of the sphinx ,and suddenly it surrounded Zack, the magic entered his body ,and he immediately fell to the floor ,pain erupted throughout his entire body ,
Zack was evolving ,his body breaking down cell by cell ,and rebuilding again, after what seemed like an eternity of pain.
Zack finally finished evolving ,and the pain stopped,his body was covered in sweat .
Zack stood up,and looked at the sphinx .
" Thank you for aiding me in my evolution "said Zack.
" That was your reward, for passing the test.
As a guardian of the web of life,I will give you a gift , come and drink of my blood, the blood of a guardian, it will give you more power.
I can do no more than this to aid you" said the sphinx .
The sphinx presented her paw to Zack .
Zack took hold of her paw and bit her paw ,the blood of the sphinx a guardian of the web of life ,flowed into his mouth, the blood tasted exquisite , Zack had never tasted anything like it before,he could only describe it as the nectar of the gods.
Zack had been feeling stronger and more powerful, after each evolution he had experienced .
He felt powerful but after going through the evolution, he also felt hunger he needed blood, he had not drank blood for a few days, and going through the process of evolving had left him in need of blood.
Drinking the sweet nectar, that was the blood of the sphinx, restored him and his bloodlust had been quenched .
Now Zack could feel the full power, he had access to ,now he had evolved ,and with the power boost ,he received from the blood of the guardian, Zack was stronger than he could have hoped for ,so soon after becoming a Vampire .
Zack had been turned ,by the blood of his former body, the body of the Vampire King ,a vampire that had existed for hundreds of thousands of years ,before becoming a mortal man, he had given some of his blood, and entrusted it to his Dark Legion commander Ninx Salvatore .
The king's blood had turned Zack, and that made him unique, he skipped levels or ranks, as a new born he was different from any other vampire, his was the soul of the true king, the blood of the true king flows within him.
Zack had become a noble knight vampire, and missed the rank of fledgling and noble vampire, he awoke after his turning .a vampire Noble knight .
When Zack evolved the first time, he became a vampire Lord ,only rising in one rank ,this time was different .
Zack had evolved into a Marquess, one rank below Duke ,and four ranks above Lord .
Zack had skipped over Earl ,viscount ,and Baron.
" I am grateful for your assistance Sphinx" said Zack.
" My name is Nin , and you are welcome Zachary, Vincent Eldridge Vampire King " said Nin.
She spread her wings and a bright green light engulfed her and she was gone she had disappeared in a flash of light .
Zack returned to the rest of the group ,and they continued on their way .
It took a hour ,to reach the back of the large chamber that they were in ,at the back of the chamber ,was a stone staircase leading down.
The stone walls of the staircase ,just like the cavern before, gave off a glow that helped illuminate the darkness, even though the group all had incredible night vision, they found a little comfort from the light.
The group stopped on a large landing .
"let's rest here a while "said Zack.
" I am so hungry " said Louise .
Zack moved over to Louise .
" Come drink " said Zack biting his wrist.
Louise grabbed his arm, and locked her mouth to the open wound on Zack's wrist .
She suckled the blood of the Vampire King, and she could feel the powerful blood filling her body, the hunger that only moments before, had her close to going crazy, and if she was in the presence of humans, she would have given in to blood lust, and killed them with out a second thought .
Now she felt peace and contentment.
Louise let go of Zack's arm ,she could feel power surge through her she suddenly doubled over in pain and collapsed to the floor .
Louise could not stand the pain, and she passed out ,her body started shaking she was going through and evolution .
The magic she had been slowly gaining, by eating the meat of the creatures of Arcadia, along with all the bat creatures she had killed, and the blood of the King, had forced her body to evolve.
Louise suddenly stopped shaking and opened her eyes she stood up and looked around .
" I feel stronger than before ,what happened?"
" You drank my blood after I evolved, and now you too have evolved ,Louise you are now a Baroness you have jumped two ranks of vampire.
My dear you have gone from Noble Vampire,and skipped Noble Knight Vampire ,as well as Vampire Lord and are a Baroness .
I could not be more pleased that you my dear have grown in power .
Louise looked at Zack, and a feeling started to grow ,she was attracted to him not because he was beautiful, which is exactly what Zack had become ,and not because he was the King, but because he was honest and kind, and treated her with respect.
Zack was a caring person ,and he didn't want anything from her ,he only wanted to see her strong and happy .
Nyla shared what meat that they had left ,from the night before and they all ate, and rested on the landing of the staircase.
After a couple of hours the group continued on towards the sword .
The staircase that had gone down in a spiral suddenly came to an end ,it ,opened out on to a long corridor that stretched out in the distance .
The group walked along the corridor, and after a while they noticed large doors at the end of the corridor.
The group approached the large stone doors.
Zack pushed on the doors and they swung inward .
Entering into a large circular hall, the group slowly approached the stone platform, that the sword of the King was placed upon .
The Blood Armor of the King started to glow with a faint red light , the Armor was reacting to being in close proximity to the king's sword,the sword and armor were close for the first time in a thousand years .
The sword started to glow a soft blue, reacting to the presence of the Armor.
Zack stepped across a circle that was marked in the stone floor ,and as soon as he crossed the circle ,a bright red glow appeared in front of the sword .
The light faded just as quickly as it had came.
Appearing in front of the sword, was a large creature with the head and wings of an eagle, and the body of a lion.
The creature had the back legs of a lion ,and the talons of an eagle.
"Why have you entered my hall "asked the Griffin.
"I am the true King of Vampires .
I am Zachary, Vincent Eldridge , and I have come to claim what is mine" said Zack.