I awoke the next day, sighing as I felt like I slept longer than normal. This body's clock is used to sleeping for 18 hours a day, it seems.
I stood up, stretching a little as I went to the mirror. I brushed some strands of hair out of my face, grumbling a little.
As I was thinking of how to cut this long mess, I heard a knock at the door.
"Come in." I said, the door opening to reveal Alice.
"Well, what brings you here?" I asked, messing with my hair.
"It is my manor." She said, having a fair point. "I've come to discuss your plans moving forward. Any ideas?"
I thought about it. I was wondering if I should tell her about Selene. Maybe that would give me some insight as to her as a person.
Should I?
"Hey, Alice." I said, a bit of caution in my voice.
"Hm?" She tilted her head, a small smile on her face.
"So, Selene came in here last night. She said that she would help me out with territory and followers, basically saying we're the same." I said, examining her facial expression.
However, she looked more surprised than concerned. "Weird. She's not the social type. You said she came here?"
I nodded.
"Wait..." Alice rushed out of the room, to which I followed behind her.
We rushed through the long corridors before a butler came running down the hall in the opposite direction. "Madam Alice!"
We stopped, the guard panting. "The maid's room! They—"
Alice shushed him, walking to a room labeled 'Quarter of Maidens.' She opened the door, remaining silent.
I peeked inside, and my eyes widened. A gruesome scene that would probably make anyone else throw up.
There were various maids dismembered, with organs and body parts across the entire room.
One of the maids, still alive, unfortunately, but being paralyzed from the neck down. She was lying in a pool of blood.
To be honest, all of this smell was intoxicating. I guess suppression of vampiric nature may be in order.
On the wall, written in blood, it said: I'll be waiting, Envy!
There was a heart next to that exclamation point. I didn't know why, but I felt no fear or anxiety from this.
Alice turned around, sighing. "I'll need new maids." She said, snapping her fingers, and a spike impaled the paralyzed maid, putting her out of misery.
"As for you. She never liked Envy sins, but for some reason, she sees something different in you." She said, walking up to me.
"She killed the last one; now she wants to be buddy with you. I want you to accept her deal and see what's going on." She said, starting to walk down the hall.
"Maybe she's had a change of heart towards the other Sins."
"Wait!" I called out; Alice turned around.
Killed? What does she mean?
"What do you mean she killed the last Sin of Envy?" I asked.
Alice sighed, walking back toward me. "A little before you showed up as the new Sin of Envy, something happened."
"Well, yeah, if the previous one ended up dying, I would suspect so." I said, leaning against the wall.
"You see, Selene isn't a normal person. Not just because she's a Sin, but because she's a Proxy." She explained, crossing her arms.
"Proxies are alternate versions of another person at any point in time. More often than not equal, if not stronger, than them."
"Okay? What does that have to do with anything?" I asked, Alice shaking her head.
"Jeez. Clueless as per usual. It's kind of endearing, but anyway, Proxies kill their originals on sight, or at least attack them." She said, trying to recollect the moment.
"So, her original was the Sin of Envy; however, you might ask, then how is she Gluttony?
Honestly, I was curious about that. Wouldn't she just inherit her original's abilities? Or something of that nature?
"The reason why she's Gluttony is because she ate the Original Sin." Alice said, my eyes widening.
"How many of you... fought her?" I asked.
"All of them except me. I was away on a mission. If she was able to fend off all of them and kill two in the process... She's truly a terrifying woman." Alice said, turning around.
"She called down after she killed her original, but she's the one who left the power vacuum. Leaving her and you to become the new Original Sins." She started walking down the hall.
"I'd go see what she wants. Having a Proxy on your side is like having a Route Taker."
"Wait!" I called out once more.
"What is it?" She sounded exhausted.
"Where's the bathroom?" I asked.
Alice smiled and chuckled a little. "The bathroom should be in your room. It's the only other door other than the closet in there."
I nodded. Walking away from her and to my room.
I went into the bathroom, which looked extremely nice. The tiled floor was clean and reflective; the walls were also tiled as well.
The bathtub itself was extremely big, having enough space for what would be three or four people.
I started up the water, nice and hot, and undressed. I stepped in, feeling quite relaxed as I felt the water envelop my body.
"Ahh... This feels nice. You know what? Now would be a good time to look at an overview of what I have. System-" Just before I could give the order, an interface akin to a stat sheet appeared in front of me.
[Star Noir.]
[Race: Undead]
[Subtype: Nightbound Vampire.]
[Vampiric abilities include:]
[Charm: You are able to hypnotize enemies.]
[Immunity to sunlight.]
[Mastery of internal blood manipulation.]
[A degree of external blood manipulation and conjuration.]
[Wings for flight.]
[Enhanced physicals.]
[Blood is explosive and/or corrosive.]
[You can infect others, turning them into Getemeds.]
[Sin of Envy (Obsessive Emperor) abilities:]
[Even in Spite: You can take or destroy three abilities from another entity. However, these will likely have a much higher output and potency, likely harming the user.]
[Singular Focus: You primarily focus on one target, leading to often bad group situations. However, all physicals are boosted, as well as mental speed.]
[Domination of Rulers: You can force others to submit to your will. Whether it be through direct commands, coercion, subtle directives, etc. The stronger your tyranny grows, so does this ability.]
[Crushing presence: You can focus on weakening the will of others. This, obviously, supports your first abilities.]
[World Breaker Route abilities:]
[ERROR, UNKNOWN.]
[You won't know until you find out.]
[As obsession and tyranny mix, so will the birth of new abilities.]
[You can steal the abilities, memories, or personality traits of those who are under your command.]
[You can impose your will on entire groups of people. As a ruler, you must be suited for it.]
"Alright, alright. I think I've seen enough. So it doesn't list any physical traits I've taken. Alright." I said, just relaxing in the tub. Soon, I washed off, rubbing the back of my head as I tried to dry my hair.
I looked in the mirror, sighing. Then, there was a knock at the door.
I quickly got on a towel, opening it. "Yes?"
It was a maid. "Oh! I see you've already cleaned yourself up. Would you like assistance with something else?"
I thought for a moment. "Could you cut my hair?"
"How much?" She asked. She had short silver hair, circular glasses, fair skin, and green eyes.
"Just to my shoulders." I said, sitting down on a small stool in front of the mirror.
"Very well." She said, pulling out a pair of scissors.
I felt the weight on my head lessen as my hair was being cut. I breathed a sigh of relief as I finally would have less stuff to worry about.
She cut off my bangs partially to prevent it getting in my head. Eventually, she finished.
"How does it look?" She asked as I looked into the mirror.
It looked good. Not too much hair over my face, and it draped over my shoulders as well. It was nice.
I stood up, nodding. "Thank you."
"Any time!" She said, stepping out before coming back with a broom and dustpan.
I left the bathroom, closing the door behind me and opening the wardrobe. To my surprise, they had my exact type of clothes.
"Ahh, no hat though." I said, taking out of pants akin to sweatpants. "These look like sweats." They were gray in color.
[This world does have some degree of modern clothing. Things such as hoodies are more commonly worn among the poorer population of the world.]
I put on the sweatpants, tying them so they wouldn't fall off. "Modernized clothing, hm? This world is full of surprises."
I checked out my body, which looked pretty slim. "I need to work out..." I mumbled, putting on a black shirt and a gray trench coat.
I stepped out of the room, heading down the hall. "Alice. I'm off!" I yelled through the hall, hoping she would hear me.
I made my way outside, the sun shining brightly on me. I stared up into the sky, the sun being a bright blue.
The sun, something I haven't felt since I became a vampire. Now it doesn't even affect me.
"I can't wait..." I chuckled. "I can choose to be good or evil! I can do what I want! My life starts anew!" I began to laugh.
"Now, off to find Selene." I said, walking into the snow-filled forest.