The steward opened a thick door that swung silently on well oiled hinges. It opened to reveal a large banquet room with a single large table with several people seated around it. "Duke Armstrong, I present Lord Sanguine," he announced.

I recognized nearly everyone in the room. It was Eliara, Asha, Maya, James, his sister Elizabeth, Carl, Maya, and Rue. Sitting at the head of the table was Duke Armstrong who had been happily chatting while wetting her appetite with a salad. To her right was a pretty young lady that bore a striking resemblance to the Duke. To her immediate left was a middle aged human.

Eliara stood first, her beaming smile showing her excitement. Asha waved coquettishly as if saying it was about time I showed up. The rest exclaimed in joy upon seeing me, excluding the stoic Carl, of course. He simply gave a smile and a nod. Eliara ran over to me, apparently to the shock of the Duke who raised her brows and shot a glance to what I assume to be her daughter. The young lady returned her mother's gaze with an oddly smug smile.

The Half-Elf grabbed my hands and cheerfully asked, "So, how did it go? How many Pillars did you get? You're bursting with strength, I can tell! We should spar, I can finally go all out now that you're silver as well." Okay, now I was shocked. Eliara had always been kind and gentle once she warmed up to us, but I've never seen her so... bubbly. She blushed slightly and took a step back saying, "Sorry, I mean, congratulations Lord Sanguine, on your advancement."

Clearing away my surprise I smiled gently and grasped her hand gently, "Thank you Eli. It went well. How about we sit and I'll tell everyone about it. Though I'm in a bit of a hurry." She nodded a bit shyly and didn't remove her hand as I led her back to the table. I pulled out the chair for her and sat between her and Asha who nudged my ribs with her elbow. I rolled my eyes at her taunting grin and nearly laugh when I saw the same expression on the young Half-Dwarf who grinned at Eliara. This only caused her blush to deepen as she glared at the young lady.

Duke Armstrong cleared her throat and said, "Yes, congratulations Lord Sanguine. I am glad my old friend was able to assist you in your breakthrough."

"Thank you Duke, I just wish someone," I said pointedly at Asha, "had warned me how overwhelming it could be."

Asha merely shrugged, unabashed. The Duke chuckled, "Don't be too harsh on her, Lord. It is a delicate line mentors must tread between instruction and intrusion. We may walk the land together, but we face the heavens alone. This saying means that if you are given too much information early on, there's an increased risk of it negatively impacting your cultivation. Had she warned you of the dangers, a seed of fear could have rooted in your heart and distract you from the Dao."

I gave a lopsided smile, "So she says as well. I suppose it doesn't matter in the end, since I was successful."

Carl spoke up, "Well, don't keep us in suspense, Vic. What's this Pillar thing ya' got?"

The Duke's daughter nodded and agreed, "Yes Lord Sanguine, someone who garnered El's attention must have acquired quite strength. I am only at the Core Formation, so I can't sense your Dao."

"Fifi!" Eliara scolded.

"Where are my manners," said the Duke. "Lord Sanguine, allow me to introduce my husband Levi and my daughter Fionnaghal."

Levi nodded smoothly. He was not the regal man one would expect from the spouse of a noble. Instead he looked like a muscular and roguish mercenary leader. With a deep and surprisingly silky voice he said, "Glad to finally meet the man that impressed my wife. Our Eliara here has had nothing but good things to say about you." He had an odd accent, almost Middle-Eastern.

Fionnaghal grinned happily. Where her mother had raven black hair, she had roasted chestnut brunette tresses, clearly inherited from her father. She bore the height of her mother, but had the proportions of a human as opposed to the stocky build of Dwarves. She almost looked like a preteen if not for her mature features and womanly curves. "Just call me Fionna, Momma named me after her granny. Though, if you become my brother-in-law, you can call me Fifi!"

Eliara looked ready to murder Fionna, but the grinning woman was saved by her mother who asked me, "Well then, are you willing to regale us with your seclusion?"

I tore my cheerful gaze from Eli, I was enjoying seeing this side of her. Though always kind, she tended to keep a wall up; always willing to extend a helping hand, but never really letting anyone in. "Ah, yeah. I did succeed as I said, but it ain't all good news I'm afraid." As if punctuating my sentence, I winced in pain and the smiling faces faded to concern.

"What happened," asked the Duke.

"As I said, I did form some Pillars but tore myself up in the process. The first Pillar went swimmingly. The second, not so much. Apparently, that damn bitch Vacuolentia has some connection to me in a more literal sense. She somehow used an aspect of my Blood Dao to create a pathway to my soul. Using the aspect of Hunger, which I sensed was shared by the Void Dao, she crept into my soul space, albeit only a fragment of her. That was enough as she started to infect me with that Blight of hers. She warped the second Pillar I was building using the aspect of Purification. I don't know what her plan was for it, but instead of letting her get a better foothold in my soul, I used the change to my advantage and changed it to the Pillar of Malady."

I jolted in pain, "Ouch, okay, abridged version it is. Anyways, two wasn't enough, I needed more power to push her out. I needed more Pillars."

The Duke looked horrified, "That shouldn't be possible, you can't access another's soul using a Dao fragment."

I grasped my chest in pain. Ugh, the pill is wearing off. "Well, she didn't get the memo."

Asha asked, "What does she want with you?"

"Hell if I know. Though she did call me her new Apostle or something. Was kinda too distracted to pay attention to her."

Eliara added, "How many Pillars did you form?"

"Six. I formed six Pillars before I passed out. Thankfully, it was enough to sever the connection."

Those in the room let out a shocked gasp "Six? At once?" asked the Duke.

I doubled over in pain, oh boy, this is definitely worse than before. Through gritted teeth I let out, "Yep. Damn near tore my soul in half doing it. I've got a strained core, damaged Foundation, and a scarred soul. Though that last part is Vacuolentia's doing, I think. Got her nasty stench all over it. Wow, this hurts. Shit, Dreya wasn't kidding about that pill."

"Pill, what Pill?" asked Eli.

"I dunno, suppressed the, ah, pain until now. It was red."

"Oh, oh no," muttered the Duke, "Dreya, you cruel crone of a Gnome. You consumed the Hel's Debt Pill."

Eliara turned a touch green at that, "You don't mean that evil pill that doubles the pain once it wears off?" After the Duke's sympathetic nod Eli cursed, "Damn it, Victor, how are you conscious right now?"

Asha scoffed, using anger to mask her worry. "Obviously, with that hardheaded stubbornness he used to beat back a Goddess. Seriously, Victor? Six at once?"

I chuckled through the pain, "What can I say, I'm an overachiever."

The Duke waved over the steward, "Langstrom, help our guest to his quarters. After that, retrieve the appropriate pills."

"At once, my Duke," bowed the steward. Along with him, Eli grabbed my other arm and help half-drag my to a set of doors being held open by a pair of guards. I let out a ringing scream as a wave of pure agony scoured my very being. I convulsed knocking away my helpers as I fell to the ground, twitching. Langstrom only stumbled back, though he seemed quite baffled I managed that much. He must be stronger than he looks. Eli on the other hand was sent skidding back on the polished floors. She slid a good fifteen feet across the dining hall before a guard managed to catch her, though he was pushed back another foot before arresting their momentum.

The humans of our group where visibly panicked, James was jittering, not knowing how to help. "Jesus, is he dying?"

The Duke responded, "No, but I bet he's wishing he was at this point. It is one of the worst pains to damage your Dao Palace, even more so for your soul itself. How he managed to clean himself and make it to Dreya in the first place is a miracle. I have no doubt Dreya is fixing him some medication to repair his Foundation and soothe his soul." I didn't hear the rest of the Duke's words as sweet darkness finally took me.

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~Asha~

Asha glared in concern as she sat back from holding down her Lord. The idiot had another seizure. They began a few hours after he passed out and have been occurring every few hours. It was then that a device akin to an alarm clock buzzed on the nightstand announcing that its time for Victor's next round of medicine.

Asha gestured to the stressed looking Half-Elf to hand her the medication. Asha took the pill and potion from Eliara and placed the pill in Victor's mouth following up with slowly chasing the pill with the potion. Thankfully last night was the last time Victor was screaming so much that his throat bled. Dreya finally arrived a couple of days after Victor passed out, though she was quickly chased out by a screaming Duke and Eliara. According to Dreya, "Now the fool won't be so quick to throw away good advice to get stronger!" After a yelling match where Eliara told her some parts of what happened and how he needed the strength of six Pillars to survive, she showed a bit of guilt before departing.

Asha gazed at the Half-Elf as she dabbed Victor's drenched brow with a fresh rag. Not able to hold it in any longer she stated, "You seem to really care about him, despite knowing him for such a short time. Have you fallen in love with my Lord?"

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Eliara jolted and like always, blushed furiously, "You're not supposed to be so blunt in these matters." She thought for a moment before sighing, "I wouldn't say that. Victor is a kind man. He had no responsibility for the people he's sheltered, yet he still protects them. Though he is kind, he doesn't lay down and let the cruelties of the world walk over him. Plus... well, the Duke's family were the only people I've met that didn't care about my arm. Although, Fionna was scared of it in the beginning, though I can't blame her. We're as close as real sisters now, though. People always feared me, pitied me, or were envious of my strength. Then comes along this strange man who saw through my stealth abilities that can even fool some Pavilion stage cultivators. Yet does he kill the spy? Does he torture her for information? No, he instead treats me like a woman and gushes over my arm like it's an interesting quirk of mine."

After a moment of silence, Asha asked, "So what's up with your arm? How did you get it."

Eliara grimaced and hesitated before shaking her head, "I'm sorry Asha, I do consider you a friend now, but I'm not quite at the point of reliving that particular moment of my life. Needless to say, it was not a fun day."

Asha shrugged, "Fair enough, I won't press. Just curious is all." She paused a moment then chuckled.

"What?"

"Just how absurd our little trio is. A powerful Vampire Lord with the ability to reincarnate, a former Succubus turned Vampire Lord bound to him, and a lovestruck Half-Elf daughter of a Duke with a demon arm. It sounds like the premise to a tavern joke."

Eliara snorted, "I am not love struck."

"Oh please, you mean to tell me the constant flirting and blushing is how you are to every Vampiric King?"

Eliara laughed, "Technically speaking, yes. It's just some back and forth teasing, nothing more... for now." She muttered the last words so softly that Asha only heard thanks to her supernatural hearing, though she chose not to comment only smiled to herself.

Asha stood and stretched, "Well, we should go get something to eat. Sitting here with our stomachs rumbling won't do our dear Victor any good." Eliara hesitated before agreeing. A guard would stay and keep an eye on Victor's condition. The two ladies left the slumbering Victor to his dreamless sleep.

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~The Sanguine Lord~

Once again, I awoke to an unfamiliar sight. I was in a lush bed inside an ornate room. I'm getting tired of getting knocked out, especially after achieving some boost to my power. I groaned and sat up, bracing for the pain. To my delight, it never came. In fact, I felt better than ever. In the absence of pain, I was finally able to feel how powerful I was with six Pillars. Ooh boy, was I itching to try it; but first, I'm hungry... and thirsty.

A Dwarven guard poked her head inside with wide eyes, "Lord Sanguine, you're up! Please, rest there and I'll alert the Duke and your companions."

I swung my feet over the edge of the very comfortable bed and said, "Naw, that's okay. I've rested enough and I'm starving. How long was I out this time?"

"Ah, if you're sure. You've been out for almost two weeks. You've awoken at a good time, dinner is nearly being served. In fact, Lady Eliara and Miss Qi actually just left to— ah, here they are." The guard stepped back to allow a beaming Eliara and Asha inside. Eliara was holding a goblet of what I thought was wine at first. Then I smelled the tantalizing scent of blood and nearly drool buckets.

"Victor, you're awake! How do you feel?" asked Eli.

I smiled gratefully at her as I took the goblet and drank deeply. Blood dribbled down the corners of my mouth as I ravenously devoured the sweet ichor. With a loud gasp of contentment I moved the cup from my lips and absorbed the spilled fluid from my mouth. "I really needed that, thank you. I'm good. Very much so. I feel amazing. I think I'm all better."

Asha rolled her eyes, "Think again dingus. Your Foundation is being held together with the magical equivalent of duct tape and super glue. You will not even manipulate mana let alone cast any spells until you're cleared by the doctor."

I definitely didn't pout as I said, "But I've got twelve new toys to play with."

Asha crossed her arms, "And if you even touch one of those so called toys, you'll end up crippling yourself or worse. Shit Victor, you really scared us this time."

I flicked my eyes to Eliara who was fussing over me. I sighed, "I'm sorry. It was really bad this time, I know. But I really do feel better. I won't touch magic until I'm told I can, I promise."

Asha nodded, "Good, now come on and eat. Dinner's ready and everyone will want to see you."

I followed the two ladies back to the dining room I had entered before. Everyone was at the table already chatting amongst themselves, but paused as they saw me waving at them. There was a clamor of excitement as people fought to talk over each other, with the exception of the Duke and her husband, of course.

Greeting their well wishes and alleviating their concerns, I sat in between Asha and Eliara. Asha and I had been given what I had thought was wine, though upon closer inspection, it was blood. My eyes widened at the Duke when she smiled, knowing what I was going to ask. "That is Bastion tier beast blood harvested from a crystal stag. I'm not sure about the preferences in terms of taste when it comes to vampires, but Asha assures me that it is the power of the creature it comes from that is important. The cups and pitcher has been enchanted to hold its smell. While I am happy to provide for our guests, I'm sure you understand it could be unappetizing to the others."

"Oh, no problem about that. Thank you so much, ignoring the fact I haven't eaten in weeks, the formation itself drained me." The spread before us was delicious. There were plenty of spiced smoked meat, sweet and juicy fruit, and succulent vegetables. There was a pink tuber that looked like a sweet potato, but once I bit into it, it melted into a delicious starchy cream. I couldn't stop the groan of pleasure at the cakey texture and sweetness.

After the best meal I've had in my life, everyone filled me in on what they've been up to since we departed nearly a year ago. To no one's surprise, Rue and Maya were now a couple. Calling Maya a sponge for knowledge was like calling the Tsar Bomba a firecracker. She gained so much in the short several months she's been here. She took up the majority of the conversation rambling about all the things she could make and how she could improve our settlement. I was most impressed with her idea for a dome of protection that not only would act as a shield from attacks, but would also use a minor illusion to nudge the attention of monsters and beasts away from our base.

I praised her profusely, which she took in stride, though her new girlfriend, Rue swelled with enough pride for the both of them. At first, I thought it was pride in her teaching skills, but I rapidly understood it was simply pride in Maya herself. James lived the life of a tourist in the beginning, but after his sister got wounded in a fight against a monster and nearly died, he was inspired by the healers that saved her life. He put his nose to the grindstone to become a skilled healer. He made good progress and formed a Foundation using the Dao of Restoration. That was put to shame by his sister. Elizabeth, with a puffed chest, announced she was close to forming her first Pillar. She was a little disappointed that she couldn't brag that she caught up to me, but she was still plenty happy. She even joined up with a mercenary group that had been helping defend the city.

Carl, a man of few words, told me that he joined the city guard in order to train as a body cultivator. He claimed he didn't have much talent in magic, but instead found a passion in cultivating Ki. Ki was mana that was converted to a special energy in which its sole purpose was enhancing the body. It couldn't really manifest outside the body like mana could, but could bring a person's physical self to incredible heights much quicker than mana cultivators could. There was also less diversity in body cultivators.

"I'm proud of all of you. You've all made incredible progress and have represented Earth well by helping out. Once we take out the Gnolls, everyone will be ecstatic to see how much you've grown," I praised.

"Speaking of which, how close are you to being well enough to depart, Lord Sanguine?" asked the Duke, "I have a squad of our Elite soldiers ready to depart at a moment's notice."

I nodded in acknowledgement, "I should be good sooner rather than later. I can tell I'm mostly healed, a few days of rest, a week at the most is my guest. I'm excited to test out my new spells."

Eliza clapped her hands excitedly on the table, "Yeah, you've got twelve right? That's awesome. Everyone says people normally get like two to three Pillars total. What are your Pillars and spells?

I chuckled, "Yeah, I still need to go through and look at my spells. I wasn't really in the right mind to recall what I picked and what they do. So once I test them out I'll let you know. For the Pillars however, I can tell what they are. As I mentioned when I showed up, I have the Pillar of Malady. The first Pillar I formed was Exsanguination. Those two spells, I actually know. The first spell is called Hemorrhage it causes my enemies to bleed more and resist healing. The second is pretty cool, it's called Blood Clone. I can summon a copy of myself to fight made out of blood. Dunno what that'll look like." I paused to take a bite of food before continuing, "It's kinda fuzzy which Pillars came next but they're called Deluge, Rejuvination, Bonds, and Fluenta."

"Fluenta?" asked Elizabeth.

I shrugged, "I think it's Latin. I get the image of a flowing current or circulation. In any case, with this strength, the matriarch will have no chance against us."

Eliza beamed, "Definitely, we'll kick their asses,"

I held up my hands, "Woah there, by us, I mean Eliara, Asha, and I. You four are staying here."

"What? But we're strong now. I've even fought a couple of Gnolls."

I shook my head, "But not dozens if not hundreds at once. Who knows how many are in the camp. No, you'll wait here and that's final. Besides, I need you here to help out if there's more attacks."

There was a grumble of discontent from the girl, but they agreed to stay. James seemed relieved and Maya was happy to go if needed, but didn't care either way, as did Carl. We then chatted the day away until it the sunset and we decided to hit the hay. Eliara seemed a bit subdued throughout the day, once her excitement of my advancement faded. She kept glancing at me only to dart her gaze away once our eyes met. I'd like to say this was the typical shyness of a interested woman, but no, there was something akin to worry or fear in her eyes.

Everyone bid their goodnights and I began to disrobe. The room was quite homey. There was a small fireplace keeping the cold cave air at bay, lush carpet on the floor, and the most amazingly soft bed I've ever had the pleasure of sleeping on. There was also a full body mirror next to a small writing desk. I only managed to bare my muscular chest when I heard a hesitant knock at the door. I jumped because I was surprised someone would be there this late, not because I was nearly caught admiring my muscles. Definitely not. Okay fine, but can you blame me? You spend most of your adult life with a beer belly then suddenly get shredded and tell me you wouldn't be flexing in the mirror whenever you had a chance.

Shaking my head to clear the slight embarrassment, I opened the door. Eliara was about to knock again but froze, her eyes lingering on my abs for a moment longer than appropriate. I repressed a smirk and said, "Hey Eli, how can I help you?"

With a slight jolt and a cute shake of her head that mirrored my own from a moment ago, she responded, "Ah, I was hoping I could speak with you for a moment."

"Of course." I beckoned her inside and closed the door. She sat on my bed with a slight blush on her face.

My heart began to race as I wondered what she could want. Could this be— "I'm worried about tomorrow," she said abruptly. Of course, get your mind out of the gutter Victor. Pulling up a chair from the nearby desk, I sat in front of her.

"What's up? We've been in dangerous fights before, we'll be fine and worse case scenario, we'll cut our losses and run. I'm not exactly the 'death before dishonor' type of guy," I assured her.

She sighed and shook her head, "I know, its just there's something that's giving me a bad feeling. Like something terrible is going to happen. I know your people do not believe in this type of thing, but when the winds of fate focus, it can be sensed. Some even specialize as seers to read fate to an extent."

"Whatever happens, I promise that I won't let anything happen to you."

"Idiot, I'm not worried about me. I was really scared this time. You were screaming so much you bled. You were seizing nearly every few minutes. We thought you might die. We had no clue if that Void Goddess left some sort of poison, or if your soul damage was worse than it looked." She stood angrily, shocking me with the hint of wetness in her eyes.

I stood as well and wrapped her in a gentle hug, "Then watch my back, keep me safe and I'll do the same for you. With the famous Helfist at my side, not even Vacuolentia herself could stand a chance."

She leaned in to my hug, relaxing slightly and chuckled softly, "Dummy, who said anything about you? I meant Asha."

This time I let out a laugh, "I'm pretty sure that woman could wipe out the Gnoll camp herself if they pissed her off enough. We're just there as her backup." She looked in to my eyes, a Half-Elf with a monstrous arm and a Vampire Lord with a monstrous eye. She closed her eyes and her lips met mine. It was only brief, and despite how chaste the kiss was, I was melting.

She broke the kiss and, embarrassed, said, "Have a good sleep, Victor." She then quickly departed, her freckles highlighted by her blush and a quivering smile threatening to split her face. She gently closed the door and left my stunned dumbass to stare into the distance.

"Sleep, yeah right," I muttered.