It took us three hours to reach the gates of the inner city; predictably, they were broken down and all the cogs, wires, and bars were left on the destroyed ground. Ava has been keeping us aware of people with her body projection since sleeping wasn't an option for me. There were a few groups we almost bumped into on our way here but we managed to sneak past them.
Past the gates, screams and fights could be heard. There were surely monsters everywhere, and by monsters I meant humans. Selfish celebrities became selfish fighters.
"Jesus Christ..."
I stared at the puddles and stains of dark red blood. Footprints spread from them in all sorts of directions, how long did it take for the blood to dry?
"I don't think this was a good idea..."
"Me too."
Khai and Ava criticised my idea now that we reached the inner city.
"It's gonna be okay, we just got to stick together."
"Yeah, sure."
Our party continued to walk through the grotesque streets that were once the top forms of architecture and design. The pristine marble structures had cracked and collapsed, left abandoned by the people they represented. Buildings that once were lived in by elites were now left empty for the less fortunate who likely raided this part when the games began.
For such a populated city, London sure seemed empty at this point. What cataclysm occurred here for so many people to disappear into thin air? A majority of people lived in the middle ring so it wasn't a surprise that the inner ring seemed empty. But with nobody in the middle or outer ring, the inner ring should be the crowded one.
"I'll use my ability to find an empty house."
"Alright Ava."
She was already adjusting to her powers and learning to plan their uses. I watched the aether flow out of her body to form the humanoids her mind imagined. Some were tall, some short; some had long hair, some had short hair; some wore futuristic clothes, and some wore low-quality fabrics. She summoned 4. One walked north, one east, one south, and one west.
"I love your power, Ava."
Khai's compliment brightened her mood which soon dimmed from exhaustion.
"Thank you Khai."
Using so much power likely had a large toll on her body and the amount of aether being used surely wasn't minuscule, but Mistress of Twilight was prepared to help Ava by any means. The bond they shared was like she took the role of Ava's mother, even if she was entirely another form of being.
"There's a fair house near the wall not that far from here."
"Lead the way Ava."
The inner ring itself was divided: the closer to the wall, the less influential you were.
We got there in a few minutes. Ava was right, it was quite fair. It wasn't built from any exquisite materials and its design was simple. It was an anomaly on its street as it visibly stood out from the uniform houses around it.
"What is a house like this doing here?"
Khai's question was understandable. It looked like something you'd find in the middle ring at best; it did not fit the inner ring standard at all.
"That doesn't matter, let's just check it out."
"If we get ambushed that's on you."
Thankfully, we didn't get ambushed but we did get faced with a lack of resources. All the 3 floors were looted and mildly destroyed apart from some parts like the kitchen and bathroom - not many things to take in such places. Furniture and decorations were all over the place, and anything of material value was taken. If only that mattered now.
"I'll use Sky's View and scout this part of the ring, I don't want Ava to use so much energy."
"Alright, I'll make sure to protect you."
I pulled Thousand Dreams out of my pocket after Khai and I flipped one of the couches back onto its legs. Unlike in the dental clinic, it was extremely comfortable. I spread my entire body out and slipped Thousand Dreams onto my eyes.
「 Thousand Dreams lulls you to sleep. 」
「 Stellar Form, Sky's View, has activated. 」
My senses detached from their physical holding and moved freely around the house before leaving through the open window. I made my way to the centre of the inner ring and the closer I got, the more people were present. Only a few seemed remotely dangerous until one aspect shocked my core and almost sent me back into my body.
The Vampiric Duke (COMPREHENSIVE)
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A thief of blood with a heart of glass.
----
Stellar Form 1 || Blood Feed
You're able to digest human blood while receiving all the nutrition your body requires from it. However, digesting your own blood will cause severe food poisoning. This form can't be manually activated as it will activate the moment external blood enters your stomach.
Stellar Form 2 || Bodily Transmutation
Become a bat, a mammal capable of sustainable flight with high levels of agility. Your stats, apart from stamina, are halved while in this form. If, at any point during the use of this form, you get knocked unconscious, you will automatically transform back into your human body. The longer you stay in this form, the harder it will be to transform back.
Stellar Form 3 || Haemokinesis - Level 2
Gain telepathic control over the movement of blood when it is out of an organism. The amount of blood you can control at any point depends on this form's level with the max level being 50. You're able to shape blood into solid-like objects but the blood will remain liquid-like although dense. Any blood under your use will begin to turn into aether over time until it fully disappears.
Stellar Form 4 || Vampiric Speed
Increase your movement speed fivefold and gain a proportional resistance to friction. While this ability is active, the Stellar Games will judge your actions. Any actions deemed to be aggressive or combative will result in the cancellation of Vampiric Speed.
. . .
A literal vampire? Fun enemy.
「 ■■■■■ is tearing. 」
What's going on?
The last time I got that notification, I was in the secondary game. I looked around and I saw a young boy, most likely around Ava's age, staring right at me. His eyes were glowing ocean blue and blood lightly poured from his nose. Could he see me?
「 The defense of ■■■■■ is activating. 」
No, stop. Please, don't activate. I need to get out.
「 Sky's View is unable to cancel. 」
What? What is this kid's aspect...?
「 Stellar Form, Aspect Insight, has activated. 」
「 Aspect Insight has been cancelled due to an error. 」
Huh? Where's the error? Last time I used it and it threw an error I got told the error. My consciousness started shattering into pieces and it felt like I became omnipresent. The senses which ruled over my mind spread out across existence making me feel everything at once.
「 Your control over ■■■■■ is weak. 」
The pieces continued to crack even further, turning my consciousness into a cloud of dust that blew around the cosmos.
.
.
.
「 The defense of ■■■■■ has cancelled. 」
The dust of my consciousness gathered back into one and tied down my feelings once more. The boy's eyes stopped glowing and he wiped the blood off his upper lip but continued to stare in my direction.
「 Sky's View has been cancelled due to stress. 」
Shivers climbed up and down my skin before I was pulled back into my body and I woke up. My back shot upright and I took in a deep breath. The pounding of my heart echoed loudly through the room and my two friends rushed towards me.
"Is everything ok?"
Khai spoke and Ava remained silent, most likely as scared as I was.
"Yeah everything's alright..."
I dragged my hand across my forehead and the sweat that came from nowhere got wiped away.
"Doesn't seem like it."
"This kid. He saw me, I think."
"What was his aspect."
Khai passed me some water and I drank some before responding.
"I couldn't check, it didn't work."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean it didn't work, I couldn't check it."
He rubbed my back and remained silent so I continued to talk.
"His eyes glowed and I felt unable to move or do anything. I tried to cancel Sky's View but it wouldn't work and when the kid stopped I woke up."
"Poor Wyatt."
"Shut up. Also, I saw another guy who was basically Edward from Twilight."
"A vampire?"
"Obviously."
My pounding heart started to return to its normal pace.
"We need to kill him quick then. Stake to the heart?"
"We can try. By the way, what's the time?"
"Uhh, no idea but it's night right now. Probably around midnight?"
"Great..."
That meant the new game was beginning soon. Hopefully my aspect was strong enough to compare with others.
「 Astral Wanderer hates your audacity. 」
Good.
"Do you want to cook with us?"
"Hm?"
"Cook with us. The kitchen stuff still works here somehow, probably because it's in the inner ring and they can afford something to keep it going."
"Aren't you guys tired?"
"Not sure. Are we, Ava?"
He turned to look at her.
"Yes!"
She broke out of her fear and calmed down with me.
"Then let's cook."
----------------------------------------
For a rich household with hired chefs, it sure had a lot of personal cooking equipment - probably just for collections. Khai and I put on some aprons and washed our hands in the sink; Ava mimicked us and we gave her a children's apron.
"So, what are we making?"
I wiped my hands with the hand towel while Khai shook his dry and Ava copied him.
"Let's make cookies!"
「 Mistress of Twilight grins at Ava's happiness. 」
"Do we have everything we need?"
Khai checked the shelves and fridge then gave me a thumbs up as a reply.
"I guess we're making cookies."
Ava hopped onto the counter and I set the oven to heat up to 170°c. Khai took out the baking trays and lined them with baking paper; Ava and I got a bowl out of the top shelf. We filled it with softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar - then took turns beating it until it became creamy. Khai was doing the same thing with another bowl, following our steps.
I took out the measuring spoons and vanilla extract, measured out 2 teaspoons and poured it into the mixture. After that, I let Ava crack an egg into the bowl. We mixed in the two new ingredients and some almost got onto Ava. Her apron took the hit and all three of us chuckled.
"Time for the flour and baking soda. Where is it Khai?"
"Over there."
He stopped mixing and pointed to the pantry. I headed in and retrieved the two ingredients we were still missing.
"Got it."
I sifted the flour into our bowl and then put a small amount into my open palm before putting it onto the counter. Blowing at it, the flour flew swiftly at Ava, slowing down the further it got.
"Hey!"
She started to rub the flour off her apron and face. As I was distracted, I didn't notice Khai's hand coming for the back of my head. When it hit my head, flour burst out and shot towards the ceiling before falling back down.
"Karma."
"I deserved it."
"Your turn now."
Ava got the final word and grabbed a chunk of flour she threw at Khai; now we were all covered in it but continued to prepare our cookies. I measured out half a teaspoon of baking soda and plopped it into the bowl then got to mixing it in along with the flour. Ava was still giggling about our short fight.
To finish off, I put a fourth of a teaspoon of salt into the mixture and finished mixing it in before Ava poured a seriously generous amount of chocolate chips in that she demanded to mix in herself and I let her. Once she finished, we used teaspoons to get small scoops of the mixture and placed them onto the baking trays.
When Ava, Khai, and I were done, we put the trays into the high-quality oven and sat on the counters. We waited for about 10 minutes before taking the trays out and letting them cool.
While we feasted on the sweet cookies, the dreaded notifications came through.
「 You have completed: primary game 'A New Life for Homo Sapiens.' 」
「 Awards will arrive soon. 」
「 The second primary game will now begin! 」