Mel was never any good with tears or emotions. She didn’t know what to do as Sabrina sobbed quietly to herself, surrounded by the wreckage of their fight.

While Mel had been glad to be alive and to get a new power, she realized that she was different from Sabrina. And as the others woke up, she realized that difference was greater than she first feared.

Maybe there’s something wrong with me.

One by one, each of Mel’s friends woke up to roasted food by the campfire’s warmth. Despite her efforts, it wasn’t enough of a comfort to banish the mental trauma of fighting in a bloody, gruesome battle.

They didn’t speak, didn’t say a word as they huddled around the fire. Mel couldn’t help but feel guilty about the whole thing. It was a weight that pressed continually on her chest.

She had been the one to bring them here. Falling into the pit hadn’t been intentional, but they could have taken a path out instead of seeking the source of the chanting.

They had followed her.

Why am I nothing like them? Mel asked herself, and repeated an earlier phrase as if that might bring some clarity. They’re normal people from a normal Earth.

When she had gotten a new power, she immediately wanted to learn how it worked and the best ways to improve herself. She had barely thought about the lives lost or how close she had come to being eaten by that horrible monstrosity still there behind the altar.

Am I broken?

Mel searched inside herself. She was glad to have finished off the Bloodtide Covenant. They couldn’t keep sacrificing people or doing whatever grisly deeds they were up to any longer.

That portal was shut. Nothing else like that monster could come through.

The fact that they were gone was a good thing. Mel didn’t exactly feel too comfortable around all those corpses, but neither was she horrified by them.

On the other hand, that hellish portal and finger-mawed monster were deeply disturbing.

The good outweighed the horror, and she found that she felt strangely numb to the death and bloodshed. It was all in service of something greater, wasn’t it?

Even if she disregarded the addictive thrill of battle, it was worth it to fight. Besides, the times she didn’t know if she would come out alive or dead were the best moments of her life. There was no greater test.

Maybe I really do belong in this competition, she realized.

“There’s some food here, and I have a bit of spare water,” Mel said, trying to sound friendly. “I figured we’d be hungry and should probably eat before we left.”

Hollow, shellshocked faces looked up at her, as if just realizing she was there. They turned to the roasted mushrooms, taking small mechanical bites more to satisfy her than their own hunger.

A hunger that Mel knew must be gnawing at their middle after so much fighting and traveling.

Mel didn’t know why she felt so guilty. She didn’t do this to them.

They had fallen into that water geyser together. They chose to seek out the reward of an aspect together. It was supposed to help them all survive.

Yeah, but they chose to follow you into battle. You were the one who led them here. You could have led them out to safety and freedom. It’s not like you saved anybody, Mel. There were no victims to be freed. All you accomplished was bloody posthumous vengeance.

She took a deep breath. No, she told herself, we stopped them from hurting anybody else. Sure, I did it for selfish reasons, but show me a person who seems to do good for the sake of good and I’ll show you a closet full of skeletons. We are all selfish. Some of us choose to make some good in the world at the same time.

Why did it have to break her friends then?

Unable to deal with the troubling questions, Mel got up.

Nobody even batted an eye at the motion. She just couldn’t look at their crestfallen faces anymore. It hurt, and it made her mad, but she couldn’t be mad at them. They didn’t do anything to deserve this. All they did was exist and have the unfortunate timing to cross her path.

To believe in her.

Shaking her head, Mel decided to face the final trial. Dealing with the body of the monster. She had no idea if it had been a person before it was changed or not. Monsters seemed to vanish when looted, unlike humans.

Until now, she didn’t want to know if what she killed had been a person. Somehow, that was so much worse than a monster. If somebody had been turned into that creature…she shivered uncontrollably.

Perhaps it was seeing her friends in such a state that made her want to punish herself. Maybe it was a simple distraction. It didn’t matter. Not really.

All she knew with certainty was that she didn’t want any of them having to deal with it.

The bloodfiend was the only creature not looted in the room. Looting it would reveal the truth of its origins.

Maybe she could give it a proper burial.

She thought about warning them. However, as she turned to look across the altar at them, they weren’t paying her any attention.

She suddenly felt very alone. She hastily crushed and buried the cold, oppressive feeling.

Sidestepping the Priest, Mel dropped to one knee beside the grotesque creature. She could think of no joke to lighten the mood. She didn’t even shy away from touching the fleshy skin to loot it.

If you were a person, I owe you that much dignity.

(1) [Blood Aspect Gem] has been stored in your inventory.

(1) [Strip of Cursed Flesh] has been stored in your inventory.

(1) [Goretide Emblem] has been stored in your inventory.

(1) [Bloodtide Emblem] has been stored in your inventory.

(5) [Vials of Cursed Blood] have been stored in your inventory.

Mel squinted sharply at the aspect gem. “Of course it’s Blood aspect,” she said dryly. “Because why not?”

She ignored the other items, more out of self-preservation than anything else. That was a little too much to unpack at the moment.

The only silver lining was that the monster’s body vanished completely once she looted it. That, and no streamers of light went to her friends. They hadn’t fought the creature, so at least she could spare them the horror of its loot.

In any other situation, she would have felt selfish about getting all the spoils. She was pretty sure they were close to breaking, if not already broken. The least she could do was spare them further anguish.

Mel breathed a sigh of relief, a weight lifting from her shoulders.

Do I really want to do this? Mel thought, pulling out and examining the new aspect gem.

In its own way, it was beautiful. Scarlet like freshly spilled blood, it glowed with unimaginable power, just like her Omen gem had. She knew without examining it what rarity it would be.

[Blood Aspect Gem]

(Aspect Item)

(Legendary)

A distilled manifestation of Blood Aspect in the form of a raw gem. Rivers of red run beneath the rough surface, bringing life to a desolate realm captured within crystal.

Imprint: Use to bind Blood aspect to an attribute.

Could she really forgo her fourth aspect just because it was distasteful? She didn’t have any problem using [Bloodseeker] or [Blood Tax]. What made Blood aspect so different?

You’re not a damn vampyr, for one.

The other was that when she paired it with Serpent and Omen, she was definitely getting a “villain origin story” vibe. It wasn’t that she disliked being a villain necessarily, but nobody wants to be forced into that role.

Having the system go, “hey, you look pretty dark and brooding, let’s make you evil!” isn’t the sort of thing you want to hear when you can barely remember your own past much less know what you want to be.

“Mel?” a quiet voice called from the base of the dais.

Mel poked her head up over the altar, “What’s up, Sabrina?”

“I think we’re ready to go.”

Mel nodded. “Just a sec.”

She looked back at the Blood gem.

I don’t have to take it, she told herself. I could wait until another aspect appears or trade with somebody else.

Somehow, she knew she was fooling herself. Power, Legendary power, was right in the palm of her hand. Hadn’t she been the one to say that power was nothing without the wielder?

Her friends were likely never going to be the same. Even if they were, how likely were they to follow her into a den of monsters or cultists again?

She had to protect them, didn’t she? This was her mess. She did this to them. The least she could do was get strong enough to avoid putting them through such horrors again.

Or you’re just trying to convince yourself it’s okay to grab more power.

Perhaps that was true. Maybe she was nothing but a power-hungry woman who hardly cared about anything else.

Mel shook her head. No. I was right before. Power is just a weapon. A tool. The wielder chooses how to use it and in what way. Only the weak are controlled by their power. This is my power, and I will use it however the hell I want. It does not define me.

Do you wish to bind [Blood Aspect] to an attribute?

Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

Please select an attribute to bind: Strength, Vigor.

Are you sure you wish to bind [Blood Aspect] to Vigor? This choice cannot be undone.

Mel considered there to be a crucial element represented in every drop of blood.

It was life. The Bloodtide, meanwhile, clearly saw it as strength.

In this, Mel could choose how she interpreted the aspect’s power. Just like she had done for Mist, Serpent, and Omen.

Mel chose Vigor.

You bind [Blood Aspect] to your [Vigor] attribute.

Your [Vigor (Blood)] advances to [Copper Rank (Grade 0)].

You awaken the [Sanguine Coat] Blood aspect skill.

Mel eagerly checked her status.

[Mel Harper]

Race: Human

Standing: [#N/A] Exile (G-League) [1st Echelon]

Class: Mystic

Rank: Mundane

Next Rank: Copper (86%)

[==Attributes==]

Strength [No Aspect Bound]: Mundane (Grade 0)

Agility [Mist Aspect]: Copper (Grade 2)

Vigor [Blood Aspect]: Copper (Grade 0)

Sense [Serpent Aspect]: Copper (Grade 1)

Arcane [Omen Aspect]: Copper (Grade 0)

[==Aspects==]

[Mist Aspect] (Copper Rank) (Grade 2)

• [Hidden Mist] (Grade 3)

[Blood Aspect] (Copper Rank) (Grade 0)

• [Sanguine Coat] (Grade 0)

[Serpent Aspect] (Copper Rank) (Grade 1)

• [Gaze of the Serpent] (Grade 1)

[Omen Aspect] (Copper Rank) (Grade 0)

• [Omen Mark] (Grade 0)

[==Knowledge & Traits==]

Class: [Light Armor Knowledge], [Basic Weapon Knowledge], [Novice Ritual Magic Knowledge], [Mana Hardening]

Spells: [Armament Scrap Ritual (G-Tier)]

Combat Arts: [Quickstep]

[==Titles & Blessings==]

Titles: [Boss Rash (Legendary)], [Bloodseeker (Legendary)], [Blood Tax (Legendary)]

Blessings: [Wound Recovery (Common)]

[==Aspect Skills==]

(Mist/Agility)

[Hidden Mist]

(Serpent Aspect)

(Copper, Green/Spell)

(Grade 3 [10%])

Cost: Modest Mana

Cooldown: Moderate

Shroud an area in mist, obscuring the vision of your enemies and making them easy prey.

Imprint(Copper Rank): Create a layer of obfuscating fog that you and any allies you designate can see through. Area affected by fog is considered difficult terrain. Mana cost increases as the area of fog increases. Additional mana may be expended to illuminate the fog from within.

(Blood/Vigor)

[Sanguine Coat]

(Blood Aspect)

(Copper, Violet/Special)

(Grade 0 [0%])

Cost: Considerable Mana, Modest Health

Cooldown: Long

Summon a coat of blood to rest upon your shoulders, increasing healing received, resistance to toxins of the blood, and improving combat parameters. The coat persists so long as it has enough blood to sustain itself. Additional expenditures of mana allow for further customization.

Imprint(Copper Rank): Conjure a coat of blood from any sufficient quantity of blood. Properties of the coat will change based on what type of blood is used. Provides additional physical and magical defense. Grants a secondary health bar. All healing effects are increased. Resistances to afflictions are increased. Grants [In The Blood].

[In the Blood]: While wearing the sanguine coat, all Blood aspect skills are enhanced. Physical attacks inflict bleed damage-over-time. Your sanguine coat can be healed by consuming additional blood or through standard healing.

(Serpent/Sense)

[Gaze of the Serpent]

(Serpent Aspect)

(Copper, Green/Ability)

(Grade 1 [14%])

Cost: Low Mana

Cooldown: None

Borrow the eyes of a serpent, allowing you to view the world in gradations of colorful heat.

Imprint(Copper Rank): Grants infravision, replacing your normal eyesight with gradations of color based on the heat of surrounding objects. There is a brief delay when switching from one mode of perception to the other.

(Omen/Arcane)

[Omen Mark]

(Omen Aspect)

(Copper, Yellow/Spell)

(Grade 0 [0%])

Cost: Modest Mana & Stamina

Cooldown: Short

Single out a target for death, marking it with an ominous and debilitating sign.

Imprint(Copper Rank): Mark a target, enabling you to sense where they are within a 100-foot radius and triggering the [Marked for Death] affliction. Only one target can be marked at a time. Upon the death of a target, the mark can be moved at no additional cost.

[Marked for Death]: Creates a glowing sigil above the target’s head that only you and those you choose can see. Reduces the target’s physical and magical defenses proportional to your own. Afflictions placed upon this target will stack regardless of their original properties. Physical contact applies stacks of [Decay].

[Decay]: Withers the physical vessel of a target, dealing stacking damage-over-time and depleting stamina. Stacks accrue at a greater rate the longer you remain in physical contact.

Imprint(Iron Rank): You can transfer all afflictions a target gained while under Marked for Death to another target you can perceive up to 100 feet away. You do not gain additional effects from this.

[==Racial Abilities==]

[Shardscript System]

[Shardrune Quests]

[Wayward Traveler]

[Adaptability]

Mel stared at the flood of information. Huh, it reordered the aspects to match their position with my attributes. While the system was teaching her how to use [Sanguine Coat] behind the scenes, she busied herself reading it.

Looks like I won’t need to get another coat after all.

The fact that it seemed to be persistent was deeply interesting to her. Its obvious downside was the substantial cost of both health and mana. She had never seen anything list “considerable” before and could only guess at how much it would require.

More importantly, she had used up most of the readily accessible blood in the chapel. Draining her own blood just to conjure the coat seemed counterintuitive. Especially when the only way to heal that she knew of was eating and resting.

Wait, that’s not right!

Mel took out her earlier quest reward: a [Small Health Potion].

The ruby red liquid inside the glass vial couldn’t have been more than a shot glass’ worth.

[Small Health Potion]

(Copper Rank, Item)

(Common)

A stoppered bottle filled with a ruby-red liquid suffused with healing vital energies.

Imprint: Drink to apply a small amount of wound healing. All wounds are healed equally, splitting the available wound healing across them.

She shoved the vial back into her inventory. Son of a bitch.

Though she knew instinctively how to conjure the coat, Mel didn’t know if it required a constant supply of blood. If it didn’t, it would be the best aspect skill she had so far.

If it did…it would still be the best, but would require some creative thinking to keep it topped off.

I really hope I don’t need to go around draining everything dry, Mel thought to herself.

For the moment, it was a non-issue. She wasn’t going to sacrifice her health, and there wasn’t enough blood anymore. Even if she could use the vials of blood she received, wearing a coat of blood in front of her very traumatized friends was needlessly cruel.

She rose, heading back to the campfire and her friends. For some reason, she felt slightly guilty about what she had just done. As if she was hiding something important from them.

Mel looked around for something to put out the fire, then realized that there was no point. They weren’t coming back, and if it happened that the entire place burned down, she wouldn’t shed a tear.

“Ready?” Mel asked.

The others rose to their feet, one after the other. Shane mechanically picked up a scrap of moth-eaten carpet to put out the fire, but Mel put a hand on his arm.

He trembled slightly under her touch, but at least he didn’t flinch away from her. That would have hurt too much. “Don’t bother,” she said. When he continued to look confused, she added, “Let it burn.”

Mel kicked the fire as they passed it, scattering the burning embers across the room. “Let it all burn.”

Shane dropped the scrap of cloth and nodded, a bit of strength returning to his wide shoulders.

As it turned out, that had been the right thing to do. It was cathartic.

Together, they headed out of the chapel as the flames began to crawl across the wooden beams. Mel had a vague understanding that in some cultures, fire could be cleansing.

Before long, the grisly place would be gone, leaving only a bloody memory.