The castle swallowed him whole.
Every step Seth took echoed off empty walls, bouncing through halls long forgotten by the world. Dust hung in the air like dead snow, disturbed only by his passing breath. Cobwebs wove across the ceiling like ghostly tapestries, and the smell — ancient stone, rot, and something metallic — lingered like a memory that wouldn't fade.
He passed shattered suits of armor, their helms caved in or twisted grotesquely. Some still clutched weapons, rusted and useless, as if they'd died trying to defend the place centuries ago. Torch sconces lined the walls, but no flame had touched them in lifetimes.
Doors creaked open with effort, revealing rooms in various states of decay.
One was a library — or what remained of it. Books lay scattered, some eaten through by moths, others still intact but filled with symbols that twisted unnaturally the longer he looked. The script seemed to shimmer at the edge of recognition, but the moment he tried to read it, a pressure would build behind his eyes, like invisible fingers pressing inward on his brain.
He pocketed a small tome with a leather cover, more out of instinct than sense.
Further in, he found a room lined with strange artifacts. Floating crystal shards embedded in petrified wood. A black chain that emitted no sound when rattled. A mirror that reflected not his image, but a version of the room without him in it. At the center stood a stone pedestal with a silver circlet atop it — the metal tarnished, but faintly humming.
He didn't touch it.
The deeper he went, the more he realized the castle wasn't just abandoned — it was preserved. Preserved by something that didn't want it touched. There were no signs of natural decay beyond dust. Just… emptiness.
And then, he reached the heart.
The throne room.
The doors were massive — black oak banded in iron, etched with markings like veins. They groaned as he pushed them open.
Inside was silence. Heavy and complete.
The room was vast, its ceiling lost in shadow. Cracked stained glass filtered pale light across a once-grand chamber. At the far end, upon a raised platform of black marble, stood a jagged, obsidian throne.
But what caught his attention was the altar.
At the foot of the dais, an ancient stone altar stood, carved from the same volcanic rock as the throne. Upon it, a single, perfectly round bowl — also stone — fused seamlessly to the altar's top. Faint channels carved into the surface spiraled toward the bowl like roots or veins.
Seth stepped forward, drawn by a strange curiosity. The air felt heavier here — not dangerous, but reverent, like the stillness before a thunderclap.
He reached out, brushing the rim of the bowl with his fingers.
A sharp sting.
He jerked his hand back. A small cut on his thumb — shallow, but enough.
A single drop of blood welled up.
Drip
It fell into the bowl.
The effect was immediate.
The stone shuddered.
A low vibration rolled through the floor, like the castle had taken a breath for the first time in centuries. The air tightened. Dust rose in swirling patterns, caught in unseen winds.
Seth stumbled back, eyes wide.
From behind the throne, a sound emerged.A heartbeat.Not his.
Then, a voice.
"Heh, so the ritual has finally finished then? Took you imbeciles long enough."
A vortex of red liquid, probably blood, suddenly appeared directly over the throne, and from it, a slender figure suddenly emerged, sitting on the once-abandoned throne.
His cloak was black velvet, torn in places but still lined with silver thread. His skin was pale, too pale, with a faint luminescence like moonlight. His hair was long, ink-black, and unkempt, trailing down over broad shoulders. His eyes glowed faintly red, not burning but watching, like a predator surveying prey it wasn't yet hungry for.
Seth stared.
The figure stared back.
A good few seconds of pin-drop silence occurred before the entity started talking.
"Wait, who the hell are you? You don't look like one of my servants."
Seth blinked.
"Uh, that's because I'm not. I have no idea who you are either."
"T-Then what about the blood of a god...?" The figure said in a somewhat panicked tone.
"The what?" Seth bluntly replied.
The figure suddenly became very visibly offended.
"How dare you mock me! I am Valtheriz. Last monarch of the Nightborne Throne, King of Hollowshade and Warden of the Bleeding Pact!"
"Such transgressions shall not be tolerated!"
"I shall exterminate you using my newfound divine power!"
"Take this! My Super Special Beam Hellbuster Roaring Earth-Cracking Final Form Blood Blast!"
Seth took a step back in fear.
Shit, is this guy really some ultra-powerful monarch who I just disturbed?!
Seth closed his eyes.
Dammit, I couldn't even survive for a week in this world...
Valtheriz finally finished charging the attack and let out a pitifully weak stream of blood that simply splattered over Seth's face and stained his clothes even more than before.
Seth opened his eyes, carefully processing what had just happened.
Valtheriz just stood there, not able to comprehend a mere mortal surviving his strongest attack.
"Oh, so you're a fraud," Seth said calmly.
"H-Huh? What! No! I really am the Vampire King, Gah! Damn you!"
"That last attack was just a fluke, now prepare to be crushed!"
Seth felt a tinge of fear again, but it was nowhere near the level of fear he first felt.
What if that really was just a fluke? I might be dead for real now!
"Alright, now take this! My Ultra Twin Dragon Blood Bombs!"
Seth kept his eyes open this time and found himself staring at two tiny, almost fish-like structures made out of blood slowly floating towards him.
They finally made contact with him and burst like bubbles, splattering more blood and leaving his shirt completely soaked with blood now.
They both stared at each other for another period of pin-drop silence.
"Alright, if you are finished, can you tell me where I can find some Gravebloom flowers?"
Valtheriz stared at him, jaw dropped to the floor.
"I'll take that as a no, then, I'll get going now..."
"Wait!" Valtheriz yelled.
"Huh?"
"Make a pact with me, it's clear that something obviously went wrong with my current magic's...uh, state."
"And why would I make a random pact with a weirdo soaking me in blood for no reason?"
"I uh, have lots of money..."
"How much?"
"Let's just say, enough to buy a mid-sized kingdom."
Seth didn't have to think twice.
"Deal, but I wanna see some proof first."
"Sure, let me take you to my uh... treasury"