Alexia

“My daughter,” the Quantum Architect glances at the Hound and Gramps with his eyes narrowed as he says this, “is the very first being to fulfill all of the requirements of the role and has thus been given it.” He turns his gaze towards me while ignoring the glares sent his way. “Whether she wants it or not, it is her role now.”

I can’t help but scowl at the bat on my shoulder for that. But he just ignores me as he flies off, avoiding the Hound’s hand when the man tries to grab him.

“Boy, try that again and you’ll be losing your hand,” the quantum being says, his voice reverberating throughout the room as a slight chill runs down my spine.

The Hound glares at him but doesn’t say anything. And Gramps just continues glaring from his place beside the bed with his arms crossed.

Astrid just ignores everything as she leans her head onto my shoulder, her eyes drooping close before opening again. As if she’s very close to falling asleep but wants to stay awake to hear this.

What surprises me though is that Mom seems resigned to the idea that he’s my father. The Quantum Architect.

Is it because of how powerful they are? Or maybe she just understands there’s no fighting fact?

Since he’s technically not wrong, assuming he’s not making this up. Which I doubt he is.

“And what exactly does her role entail?” the Hound asks, bringing my attention back to the problem children.

A certain quantum being turns a glare on me for that thought but quickly turns back to the Hound as he answers, “We don’t know.”

Silence fills the room.

“You don’t… seriously?” the Hound mutters, sounding rather incredulous.

To be honest, I don’t really care about this whole role thing. So I don’t really care much about this conversation.

Or, rather, about my part of it.

“I can’t believe I chose such a reckless child as my daughter…” the Quantum Architect mutters, only for both Gramps and the Hound to glare at him again for calling me his daughter. Which is starting to get old. “The only one who knows what the Quantum Reaper role is, is my father, the Quantum Ruler. And he doesn’t deign to lower himself into explaining himself or anything to anyone.” He glances at Mom as he adds, “You can ask the Devourer. She’s recently experienced just what he’s like.”

We all turn to look at Mom, putting her on the spot as she scowls.

“The Quantum Ruler is the absolute power in existence, only below that of reality itself,” Mom says, shocking me slightly at just how powerful the man the Quantum Architect is calling my grandfather is. “It’s his role. To rule over existence fairly.”

“Fairly?” Gramps asks with a frown, only to shake his head. “Doubtful.”

Mom’s eyes widen at that, but not with surprise or agreement or anything like that.

They widen with fear.

Then a powerful force fills the room. One so powerful that I’m sure whoever it belongs to can just crush me with nothing more than a single thought.

“Do not test me, hydra, for you will not like how things play out,” a powerful voice that has the entire room, no, the entire house shaking echoes through my clearing. But no one appears who might be the owner of the voice.

Almost as soon as the voice arrives along with the presence, the Quantum Architect flies to the ground and begins bowing in his little bat body. Which looks ridiculous.

Apparently the Quantum Ruler agrees as the voice returns, “Son, are you trying to mock me, bowing in that form?”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

I blink before looking up at the ceiling, then at the bat who is the Quantum Architect. And for the first time since I’ve met the man, he grits his little bat teeth before sighing and answering, “Of course not, Royal Father. I will advance the original vessel now.”

What does he…

My thoughts trail off when the Quantum Architect flies into the air and lets out a screech, sending out a pulse of quantum energy. And to my surprise, I sense Luna – who was off hunting – immediately making a beeline straight towards us. Then when she arrives, she stops right in front of the Quantum Architect while tilting her head slightly in confusion.

I open my mouth to say something, only for the Quantum Architect to place a claw on Luna’s head, making her begin glowing purple.

“Luna!” I exclaim, worried about her. But when I try to move, I feel that oppressive power from the Quantum Ruler holding me down. “Let me go! I don’t care if you’re the Quantum Ruler!”

“Child, you will refer to me the correct way,” the Quantum Ruler says, but for some reason I can feel a strange sense of warmth from his words. Unlike the coldness he used to refer to his own son.

“Quantum Ruler, if Luna is hurt, I won’t stop until I ruin everything you’ve made!” I make a threat that’s probably stupid and not very good for my lifespan, but I don’t care.

Luna is precious to me. At this point she's almost as important to me as Astrid is.

The Quantum Ruler actually laughs at that, meanwhile the purple light shining from Luna fades, and she opens her eyes, tilting her head again in confusion.

I blink in surprise before tilting my own head.

Then a System Message echoes in my head.

[*New Soul-Bound Companion Racial Skill* – Quantum Vampire Form: Allows the user to transform back and forth between their true form and their Quantum Vampire form.]

Wait… so… was he trying to help her?

“Yes, now refer to me in the correct way, child,” the Quantum Ruler’s voice says again, making me blink.

Um… “I apologize for my rudeness earlier, Quantum Ruler.”

“Call me Grandfather,” he says, confusing me. And his son as well, judging by the look the bat is sending me.

But I can’t do that. Gramps is my only grandfather, regardless of what genes may say now.

And if what the Quantum Architect said is true, he and I are in a separate hierarchy in the chain of quantum being command. I think.

“I’m sorry, Quantum Ruler-” I begin to reject him, only for him to interrupt me, “Grandfather.”

I purse my lips, frowning at the man.

“Quantum Ruler, with all due-” I begin, but he just says the same thing. “Grandfather.”

Before anything can come about from this bizarre situation, the Quantum Ruler turns the focus of his presence back to his son, as if giving up on trying to get me to call him Grandfather.

“What are you waiting for? The Universe will grow angry if you don’t fulfil your role, son,” the Quantum Ruler says, making me blink in surprise.

Wait, so he’s not making him bow just because he’s pe-

The Quantum Ruler glances at me with a sensation running through his presence equivalent to a raised brow, quickly making me realize that he can read my thoughts too.

-because he’s a great father?

He turns back to his son without a word. And as if the universe itself were upset, everything begins to shake around the Quantum Architect as a powerful pressure covers him and purple cracks begin to appear on his bat body.

“The backlash is beginning,” the Quantum Ruler states rather plainly. “I understand you don’t like me and even spent time creating this System of yours to avoid me, but the Universe will take its price in blood should you ignore your role.”

Several more seconds pass in silence before I hear a muttered, “Fuck…” followed by a strange vortex of violet and blue quantum energy around the Quantum Architect. And when the vortex vanishes, a teenage girl appears in the bat’s place, confusing everyone in the room but the Quantum Ruler.

The girl has long purple hair with a purple set of armor that looks conspicuously like mine. In fact, the girl looks like a younger version of me. Except with my current appearance as a quantum being.

“Uh… so, Quantum Ruler?” I ask, bringing his gaze towards me. A gaze that I swear contains a hint of amusement. “Your son is a guy, right?”

Silence fills the room for a few seconds before the Quantum Ruler looks at the girl who is now bowing, the previous cracks and pressure vanishing as he or she does so. And with a completely indifferent tone of voice that I still swear sounds amused despite that, the Quantum Ruler says, “He cloned your soul-bound companion to recover, so of course his temporary form until he recovers will be the same as your soul-bound companion’s.”

I open my mouth to say something at that, only to close it again.

Right. I never really thought about the fact that his temporary vessel is a copy of Luna.

And Luna is a female quantum vampire bat.

Guess that’s why he held off on giving Luna this power until now?

A smile comes to my face at the thought of Luna finally having a humanoid form, even if she’s just looking around in confusion right now, still in her bat form.

The Hound lets out a cough seemingly to hide a laugh, bringing everyone’s gaze to him with the Ruler and Architect’s gazes turning cold in an instant. Or, rather, colder in the Architect’s case.

He bows his head once, making them return their attention to me.

“Your father should return to his original form again once you unlock your true form, Granddaughter,” the Quantum Ruler says, answering the next question I was going to ask. Only to leave me with another I want to ask. “I don’t foresee him taking on this form unless he has to.”

I have to ask. “What true form?”

He narrows his eyes slightly and slowly says, “Now that, Granddaughter, is my reason for coming here.”