Bloodline of Asza

I descended on my enemies. Those who had put themselves in my path. I was death, I was hunger, I was power. My mind sharpened, the thirst calmed, I was an instrument of death.

They were nothing before me, so slow and so weak. I dove on the Suul leader, my hand grabbing hold of his head and pulling him down, ramming it into the ground and squeezing. His skull burst in my hands.

My wings beat, instinct guiding me, and I flew into the other Suul. The tips of my fingers had elongated, everything above the top joint grew out of my skin and hardened into a claw-like extensions—similar to the shifter hoof-claws, only far more elegant.

I dropped next to a Suul and backhanded him, obliterating his head. I moved to the next before the others even had the chance to realize what had happened. The next one I caught by the shoulder, my claws biting deeply and with a beat of my wings I lifted him up in the air above the battlefield.

He struggled, but it was no use. With my free arm, I grabbed his hip, claws digging into bone. Then, I pulled him apart in two above my head. Pink blood dripped over me, and I threw the two parts down at my enemies. They stared up at me, as I beat my wings and hovered above them. They looked upon their death, and they knew it.

Screaming started, I tasted their fear on my lips, heard their hearts attempting to escape their chests. They ran, and I followed. My vision had changed, it sharpened, and I could see things around them, like heat, pulsing in beat with their hearts. I could see their blood beneath their skin, flowing rapidly.

I was faster than a bullet as I dove into the closest humans, and I ripped them apart. I tore their limbs off, carved their bodies apart, ripped their spines out and crushed heart inside their ribcages.

[Blood Gout] erupted, pulling all the blood around me into my mouth.

The world became just the sound of tearing flesh and cracking bone. I ripped and tore, and I drank, blood flowed down my throat and nourished me. They weren’t even able to touch me.

When all the warm ones were dead, my attention was drawn to another in the distance, wrapped in metal that hid his heat and the scent of his blood. I flew after him, reaching him quickly.

I slammed into his back, intent to rip through his metal shell. My claws bit into his back, tearing metal apart. Then his armor glowed, and a flash of light burned my eyes out. Something smashed into me and sent me flying back. I hit a tree and crashed through it, then hit another that sent me into a spin. I fell on my wing and shattered its bone as I rolled over it, until I finally came to a stop.

I growled, my head killing me, and my eyes itching as they regenerated, filling with tears and leaving my vision blurry.

I rose to my feet and looked at the form in the distance. The armored human was on his knees, rummaging through a sack at his waist. I rolled my shoulder as my wing healed, and rushed at him again.

I couldn’t see well, but I didn’t need detail to know that Dubois was in front of me. As I reached him, he pulled out something out of his sack, then crushed it in his hand. A blue light wrapped around him, and swung my arm at him.

It passed through, finding only air. The light washed out, and Dubois was gone. I took three quick breaths, then I roared with all that I had, shaking everything around me with the force of it.

With the roar went my frustration. There was no need to let myself get consumed by it, emotion was not the enemy, but I guided it, not it me.

I stood up, blinking rapidly to clear my vision, then I turned and started walking back toward the clearing. As I walked, I felt both calm and not. It was a strange sensation to describe. I could feel the thirst, I could actually sense its attention. As if it was looking through my eyes. Its words were a low rumble, but the blood I had just consumed seemed to have calmed it.

There was a pressure in my head, and what I had unconsciously suppressed made itself known.

Mask of the Sanguine Reaper — Third Investment; First Carving

I’ve advanced my Mask, I’ve entered the Third Investment. I would have to take a look at all the changes once I had the time.

I walked out of the forest and into the clearing, the rest of my group was standing next to the boulder. I saw Diana, Matt and Mark, next to Jason’s body, mourning him. Khalil was helping Matt, tending to his wound.

Jiyun was leaning on her sword as Aurora bandaged a wound on her leg, while Daehyun sat on the ground, half of his face covered in blood from a long gash on his head.

Saia was nearby, her drone had been damaged, but she had repaired herself.

The clearing was a scene of horror. Corpses, or rather what remained of them, lay scattered across the ravaged ground like worthless playthings discarded by a bored god. Limbs, twisted at unnatural angles, jutted from the crimson-soaked earth. Torsos, ripped open and emptied of their contents, it was a grotesque painting. Heads, some still bearing expressions of terror, stared blankly at the indifferent heavens. I had given them no choice, no mercy.

The once verdant grass was now a matted carpet of red and brown, each blade slick with gore. The earth beneath it, cracked, trampled, and churned, had become thick with viscous scarlet mud that clung to everything it touched. The air was heavy with the coppery scent of blood, it teased my nostrils, making them flare.

It was a scene of violence, of brutality and indifference.

I didn’t feel sorry, I felt no sadness or regret. I had made my decision and this was just the first such field I would walk. There would be no more second guessing.

They noticed my approach and froze. I came to a stop next to them. Saia trotted over to stand at my side, then spoke.

“Query: May I consume biomass?”

I glanced at her, at the dead, then nodded. She walked behind me, heading toward the dead. For a moment I paused, realizing that I was topless, again, but then I shook my head, it didn’t matter to me.

I looked at the others, their expressions were a wide range of emotions. Fear and awe were mingled together. Aurora was the first that approached me. She walked up to me, her eyes reserved.

“Uh, Marianna?”

I tilted my head. “Yes?”

She nodded, then looked me over, her throat moved up and down as she swallowed. She opened her mouth, then closed it. She took a deep breath, seemingly steeling herself, then raised her head and looked me in the eyes without flinching.

“Are you alright?” She asked.

I leaned back, I knew that this had to be strange for her, not just the way I looked but the rest too. The result of my rampage was behind me. We had fought for a month together, seen a lot of death and blood, but most of it were beasts, and none had been this violent.

Yet I saw no fear in her eyes, no disgust. There was trepidation, sure, but I would’ve been more worried if she was completely fine with it.

“I’m fine Aurora,” I answered her.

She smiled. “I’m glad.”

“You’re not afraid?” I asked.

She shook her head, perhaps a bit too hastily. “No, of course not.”

A strange scent filled my nostrils, and I realized it was my new skill. Somehow, I knew that she had lied. She was afraid.

“You don’t need to lie to me Aurora,” I told her gently.

She looked up at me, her smile shaky. “I… okay, I am afraid, but not that you’ll hurt me or anything like that. It’s just, well, you are terrifying.”

The scent of the lie didn’t return, so I knew that she spoke the truth. That made me feel better. I didn’t want her to be afraid of me, not in that way at least.

My wings twitched, and her eyes slid over to them. She took a step closer, then paused, her eyes finding mine again. “Can I… can I touch them?”

I blinked, not expecting her question. “Uh, sure.”

She reached out with her hands, tentatively, and touched my feathers.

“Wow, they’re beautiful, and soft.”

I just stared at her, unsure how to react. I could feel her touch and it was… pleasant. My worry that she would look at me like I was a monster vanished. I was a monster, but it didn’t seem to matter to her, or the rest of my friends. I saw them approaching. The twins were propping each other up, and Khalil walked a step behind them, his eyes looking everywhere but at me.

“So,” Aurora stepped back as the others got close, suddenly feeling self-conscious. “Is this a Mask thing, or a vampire thing?”

I looked at Jiyun, she was the only one that knew more about my parentage. Then my eyes slid to Khalil. He was my friend, I trusted him, I just didn’t trust his people. Some wounds were too deep. I couldn’t trust in his judgment, not without meeting his superiors first.

“It’s a vampire thing,” I said slowly.

“Marianna,” Khalil started, his eyes taking me in with an intensity that made me frown.

“You are not surprised,” I said finally as the little micro-expressions on his face slid into place.

“You’re like him, only he didn’t look like this,” Khalil was speaking in a whisper, his eyes had a faraway look to them, his hands were clenched into fists. But then they relaxed, one of his hands reached up and grabbed the cross around his neck, and his eyes passed over me again. “You look like an angel,” he whispered, almost as if he didn’t even realize he had spoken out loud.

There was something in his voice and gaze that made me look away. It was the same look he got when he spoke about God, about his faith. I pushed that aside, and spoke quickly.

“The vampire on Elvaros,” I said put it together. He had to have encountered an Ancient Vampire. His reluctance, his thoughts about vampires, it all made sense. If he had seen a vampire who had fully matured, who had Ascended, and seen it attacking indiscriminately, I understood. “That’s where you’ve seen this.”

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My words seemed to get him out of his trance, and his gaze hardened.

“Did you lie to me?” Khalil asked finally, though I could tell that he was afraid of the answer. “Only Ancient Vampires can do that.”

“I—no, I didn’t lie to you,” I said simply.

We looked at each other for a long while. He opened his mouth to speak, but I turned sharply as I heard someone approaching.

Soon, he walked out of cover of trees and into the clearing, heading our way. My friends tensed, their hands going for their weapons.

I raised my hand to stop them. “It’s okay, that’s my sire.”

That didn’t make seem to calm them down, I heard their hearts speed up.

I stepped in front of them, and waited for him to approach. He stopped a few steps away, then bowed.

“Marianna, may we speak?” He asked, his eyes going behind me to look at the others. “Alone, preferably.”

I waited for the onslaught of emotion, for my anger and resentment to bubble up. They were there, but I felt a lot more in control. The thirst was the weirdest thing, it was almost as if it was submissive.

I nodded my head, then glanced at the others over my shoulder. “I’ll be right back.”

I walked over and we headed into the forest. We didn’t go far, just far enough that we wouldn’t be overheard.

“Ten years, huh?” I looked at him.

He met my eyes, his expression the same picture of calm serenity it always was. He still wore the shirt he borrowed from me, it was surprisingly clean.

“It was not a lie, it was an educated guess,” my sire said after a moment. “I simply did not properly account for the quality of blood available to you now, nor your Mask’s effect on you.”

I narrowed my eyes, then nodded. I didn’t smell the lie in his words.

“So, you were watching me still,” I said.

He shook his head. “I explored a bit, but returned to find you today, as it is the last day in this place. There are things I wished you to know. It was a good thing I did, as is evident.”

I tilted my head and raised my eyebrows. “Evident in what way?”

“I did not expect, initially, for you to reach this stage so soon. You don’t know how to turn back, do you?”

I blinked, then realized that he was right. “Uh, yeah,” I looked down on myself, covered in blood, my skin the color of the deepest sapphire. “That might be a problem.”

The corner of his mouth raised up. “Sit, let us speak and I shall guide you through it.”

----------------------------------------

It took me an hour to relax enough and force the thirst to turn me back. And that was what it entailed in gist, communicating with the thirst. It was a strange, almost meditative trance. The thirst was alien, it wanted to feed and grow, at least the thirst within me wanted that. I could feel it influencing my emotions, trying to force me to do what it wanted. I realized why vampires learned to suppress it.

Though my way seemed to work too. For my sire, he had to force the thirst to submit, make it do what he wanted. I didn’t do that. I guided it, almost reasoned with it. My emotions and its were tools, I didn’t suppress them, its were as valid as my own. The transformation back came as an agreement, I would feed it more blood and it would do as I wanted. A simple deal between us.

“Good,” my sire, Akatsuki Jin said as I shifted back. “I was worried that you would be unable to do it without knowing how to suppress your and the thirst’s emotions. I am glad to have been proven wrong.”

I sighed and rolled my shoulders.

“That was unpleasant,” I said, feeling your bones shifting around, your flesh molding and reshaping as your mass moved around, was not a nice sensation.

“It will get better and faster with time,” my sire added.

“I hope so,” I said. “I don’t want to have to spend an hour every time I want to shift back.”

He didn’t respond, and a silence settled over us. Then, I broke it. “Was that all you wanted to speak about?”

He shook his head. “No, I wanted to speak more of our bloodline, your parentage. As you are now, you are one of the very few vampires in the world who can assume an Ascended form. As far as I know, there are, besides the two of us and the two remaining originals, only another five vampires able to do the same.”

Another five? Nine total, that was a small number. “I think that one of those might be dead.”

My sire tilted his head. “How so?”

“Khalil, my friend, he told me that he encountered a vampire who could change like me, only he didn’t look like I did.”

“Another bloodline, Desert probably, if he didn’t mention a swarm of creatures.”

I inclined my head. “The elves killed him.”

I bowed his head. “I see. The danger you spoke is seemingly greater than I realized, if they managed to kill a vampire of such power.”

He paused for a few seconds, then straightened. “Eight then. There used to be rules, made by younger vampires in times that they ruled from the shadows. Not to show such transformation to the humans, they tended to believe us demons, or angels depending, and crusades and pogroms were the usual results.”

I grimaced. “I broke the rules?”

He waved his hand. “Rules made by your lesser. You are of the Bloodline of Asza, second in line, they don’t make rules for you my daughter.”

Okay, that was a lot to unwrap. It was the first time he had ever referred to me as his daughter. I was not equipped to deal with that, not now, maybe not ever. So, I ignored it and steered the conversation away from the minefield of a topic.

“Asza?”

“The name of my sire, my mother,” he said slowly.

“Grandma, got it,” I tried to make a joke if it. I regretted it even before he winced.

“She… perhaps do not call her that in person. Grand sire would be proper.”

I shifted uncomfortably. “Yeah, I doubt I will ever get the chance, not that I would even be able to tell if I ever met her.”

“You will, all vampires of our bloodline know her, you will see in time. And she will know you and that you came from me.”

“Oh. Well, good, I guess.”

“There are a few more things you should know, if you are to interact with the other vampires of this age. The oldest of the current generation reside in Constantinople, one of them is Ascended. He is a child, but then all are to me. He knows some of our history, twisted and half forgotten remnants. He will know the truth about how vampires grow, though your case is unique.”

“Should I keep you a secret?”

“You are closer to Asza than any of the other still living other than me, you may do as you wish, in all matters. I do not care, the young like to believe that such truths matter, they do not, not in the face of time. They will know her name, all Elders and older know, though to them she is a figure out of legend. A god to some. Your parentage has a clear line, a link to hers. The rest have lost their history, they do not know how close to her they are. Some will consider you a threat, others a messiah. It is always such. You do as you wish.”

I swallowed, that was a lot of authority he was putting in my hands.

“I did plan on visiting Constantinople, I need allies if I am to give us a chance to resist. How will I compare to him, to other vampires?”

“You will be stronger than all but the oldest of the ancient ones. Though, you should not dismiss the Elders, they will have lived longer than you, have more experience. But, ultimately you will eclipse them all in time, perhaps even by the time you meet them. There is still room for you to grow. The whelp in Constantinople is the weakest of the Ascended. Three others usually dwell in Asia, mostly asleep, though they will most certainly be awake now. One moves around, traveling. I do not know which one is dead, so it could be any one of them.”

I nodded my head. I would have to prepare to meet other vampires. “What about the other original?”

“Kark,” my sire said. “He moved to the frozen waste during the last ice age, I do not believe he had left since.”

“Frozen waste?” I asked.

“Antarctica is what it is called now.”

I blinked. “Huh, anything I should know about him?”

“He is of the Desert bloodline, a loner, he and Asza were brother and sister, though such relations weren’t that important in their time or mine. I do not know what he will do now that the world is changed. I believe that this event will draw out the oldest of our kind out, and there could be more than I know. Some could’ve just gone to ground and not made any waves to be noticed. The same can be said of shifters. Many of their kind had moved into the wild unexplored areas of our world, living away from civilization in the recent years.”

I nodded in understanding, he was telling me that his knowledge might not be complete, which did make sense. The communication age was a recent thing. He had to be relying on actually running into other people over a great period of time.

“One more thing,” he started. “Before I left the cartel, I spoke with them. It was Pascual’s intent to return to Europe, he was exiled to the new world, and he believes that now is his chance to return and rise in ranks. With the state of the world as it is, Constantinople is a likely destination for him.”

I struggled not to react, anger surged within me. My old Master, the leader of the cartel that took me as a child and had my sire turn me. The man that ordered my hanging. A hand reached up to my throat, the scar around my neck had faded further, but it was still there. A silver inflicted wound, a permanent reminder of how close to death I came.

“I see,” I said slowly. “Your debt to him is settled?”

My sire inclined his head. “It is.”

“So I may do as I want?”

“Yes.”

I nodded, there was a lot that I wanted to do.

“If you meet with others of our kind, and they challenge you, though your power should be apparent to them all. Tell them that you are blood of Asza, and blood of Ji.”

“Ji?” I asked.

“My name, Akatsuki Jin is a recent one, most will not know it. Ji is my first name, and one that most will know.”

“Just Ji?”

He smiled. “We had no surnames in my time, that is a recent thing.”

“Right,” sometimes I forgot just how old he was.

We lapsed into silence again, but it wasn’t exactly uncomfortable. I was glad that I had someone to talk with about what I was, about all the changes I was going through. Being lonely was not something anyone enjoyed. Despite everything that happened between us, I did care for him, somehow. He gave me the gift of the life I now had, even if he had failed me.

I turned my eyes to the sky. I was on top of the list, my points pulling ahead of everyone else by a large margin. I gained all the points of everyone I killed, human, shifter, and Suul alike.

Earth was in the lead, sizable one too. We were going to win this, I was sure of it. There wasn’t much time left.

My sire stood, and I followed him.

“Once this challenge ends, I shall return to the search for my sire. Asza will need me to understand the changes to our world and all the things that had happened during her slumber. Assuming that she hadn’t been walking among the humans the last few centuries.”

“That’s a possibility?” I asked, wondering what the original vampire was like.

My sire nodded. “I do not know if she went back to sleep after what happened, or if she stayed awake. We shall see.”

I took a deep breath. “And after you find her?”

My sire looked away, his eyes going unfocused. “I will find you, and help you with what you wish to do.”

“You don’t want to do it yourself?” I asked.

“I am less equipped to adapt to this new world. You are young, you were an Exemplar, sent to other continents. And besides, I can see it in you, the desire, the need. Neither I nor my sire crave to rule, we had a long time to do all the things we wished. It is your turn now.”

I didn’t know how to respond to that, but a part of me was excited. I did want to rule, I did want to be the one that stood at the top of the world. For myself, yes, but also because I didn’t trust anybody else to do it. There was danger out there, something that all of this shit was created to fight against. I didn’t trust anyone to take it seriously enough.

It had to be me.

“You should return to your friends, the challenge will end soon.”

I nodded. “I…”

“Until we see each other again, daughter.”

“Wait!” I said, and he paused.

“Could you do me a favor?” I asked, and he raised an eyebrow.

I told him, and he inclined his head.

“If it is on my way, I shall do as you ask.”

“Thank you,” I bowed my head. He returned my bow, and then turned.

My sire, Akatsuki Jin, Ji, said, then walked away. Leaving me alone.

After a moment, I turned and walked back into the clearing.

----------------------------------------

“I’ll come for you,” I looked at Aurora. We were sitting in a makeshift camp, waiting for the end. Saia, or rather her drone sat next to me, close enough for me to keep my hand on top of her back for when the challenge ended.

“What if my town was shifted around? If I’m not—”

“If you are, then it will be on you to find your way to Khalil at Constantinople. I’ll make my way there eventually.”

“You’ll come?” Khalil asked, almost as if he couldn’t believe it.

I nodded my head. “I will, eventually. I have people around me that I want to take care of. And I don’t plan on just saving myself. We need organization, and if I have to threaten and bully every group of survivors I find, then that is what I’ll do.”

“You sound more like a conqueror than a savior,” Khalil said.

I shrugged. “We are at the edge of extinction, the end of our way of life already. The time for diplomacy and good intentions is over.”

“Your way or no way?” Khalil asked.

“What do you want me to say Khalil? You saw what happened earlier today. They came to kill us because I refused their offer, they gathered others, and they followed, even the Suul. Just because of greed, and because of their fear of my nature. I’m not going to let that happen again.”

Khalil looked conflicted, but nodded. “I’ll speak with the council, let them know that you’ll be coming, and… I’ll be asked to tell them about you.”

I had already assumed as much. “Then tell them the truth. I’ll explain the rest once I’m there.”

He nodded, looking relieved that I didn’t ask him to keep secrets from his order. I knew better than to do that. Loyalty was more than just blind obedience, but there was more to it. I trusted Khalil, but I understood his obligations, I wasn’t going to ask him to choose between me and an order that had raised him, that has been his home.

I turned to Jiyun and Daehyun. “I’ve asked my sire to look in on you two if he is in the area, help you if he’s able.”

They blinked, then exchanged looks. “He’s… like you?” Daehyun asked.

I knew what he was referring to. “Yes,” I answered. “But older, and stronger.”

They bowed their heads. “Thank you,” Jiyun said. “You didn’t need to do that.”

I waved my hand. “We are friends, and I promise that in time, we will see each other again. Soon, if you join the next challenge,” I grinned at them, showing my fangs.

Jiyun chuckled. “I don’t know if I want a repeat of this. We were not prepared, if not for you, we would most likely be dead.”

“We’ll have to see how the situation back home is,” Daehyun interjected. “It’s been a month here, but only five days back there. Still, five days is a long time in this new world. Especially when rifts can break at any moment.”

I nodded, I was a bit worried about the military camp back on earth, but I would be back there soon enough.

I glanced behind at the other group. Diana, Matt, and Mark sat a bit away. They had lost one of their own, for which I was sorry, Jason wasn’t involved in Dubois’s beef with me.

“If you can, make your way to the inland sea, head north and find Constantinople and Khalil,” I told them. “I’m sure that the city will provide shelter to any you chose to bring with you.”

At my words, Khalil nodded his head. “I can promise that. We’ve been looking for survivors, you’ll be welcome.”

They nodded, but didn’t say anything. I didn’t press.

Then it happened, the light shone, gathering around us.

I looked at my friends and smiled.

“See you soon.”

Then I was gone.