The world dissolved into red.
My vision narrowed to a tunnel of pulsing crimson, the wounded man's heartbeat hammering in my skull like a war drum. Thump-thump. Thump-thump. Each beat sent jolts of agony through my bones. My gums split as fangs tore through—longer, sharper than before—until they scraped against my lower lip. The scent of blood was no longer just in the air; it was inside me, a living thing coiling in my veins.
"Get back!" I roared, but the sound that ripped from my throat was a guttural snarl, more beast than man. I stumbled toward the door, my hands clawing at the bookshelf to keep from lunging. Mira needs this serum. You can't lose control. NOT NOW.
Marcus grabbed a fire axe. "Everyone out! Now!"
The safehouse erupted into chaos. Aria dragged the wounded man behind the bookshelf. Others scrambled for exits. I was alone in the center of the room, my body betraying me. My spine arched with a sickening crack as my muscles swelled, tendons snapping into predatory strength. Shadows clung to me like liquid, coalescing into a dark aura around my limbs.
[SYSTEM ALERT: TRANSFORMATION SEQUENCE 78% COMPLETE]
[BLOODLUST LEVEL: 99% — CRITICAL FAILURE IMMINENT]
[WARNING: HOST WILL BECOME A MINDLESS HUNTER IN 30 SECONDS]
No. I won't become a monster.
I drove my fist into the concrete floor. Pain flared—real, human pain—but it barely registered. The hunger was a ravenous god demanding sacrifice. I saw the wounded man's bloodstained shirt. The way his pulse fluttered at his throat. Just a taste. One drop.
[EMERGENCY PROTOCOL ACTIVATED: BLOOD OATH]
[OFFER: SUPPRESS BLOODLUST IN EXCHANGE FOR 5% HUMANITY]
[ACCEPT? Y/N]
A translucent interface materialized before my eyes, glowing crimson against the dark room. The words burned with urgency:
[Y: ACCEPT BLOOD OATH]
[N: REJECT AND RISK PERMANENT TRANSFORMATION]
I had no choice.
Y.
The moment I accepted, ice flooded my veins. My fangs retracted with a pained click. The red haze lifted, replaced by cold, mechanical clarity. My vision snapped into focus—Blood Vision activating automatically. I saw the safehouse through infrared: the survivors' heat signatures cowering behind the bookshelf, the wounded man's feverish glow, and my own body radiating a dangerous crimson aura.
[BLOOD OATH ACCEPTED]
[HUMANITY DECREASED: 95% → 90%]
[BLOODLUST SUPPRESSED (TEMPORARY)]
[NEW SKILL UNLOCKED: BLOOD BOND (LEVEL 1)]
[SKILL DESCRIPTION: FORGE A TEMPORARY ALLIANCE WITH A BLOOD SOURCE. COST: 10% HUMANITY PER USE. COOLDOWN: 24 HOURS.]
The wounded man's labored breathing cut through the silence. He'd collapsed near the bookshelf, his shirt soaked red. Aria knelt beside him, tears streaking her dirt-streaked face. "He's losing too much blood," she whispered. "He won't make it without a transfusion."
I walked over, my steps unnaturally silent. "Let me help."
Marcus blocked my path, axe raised. "Stay back! You nearly killed him!"
"The System can save him," I said, the words tasting clinical. I knelt beside the wounded man. His skin was ice-cold. I placed my hand on his wound. "I need to use Blood Bond. It'll stabilize him—but it'll cost him some of his humanity."
Aria's eyes widened. "What does that mean?"
"Less empathy. More aggression. But it's better than death." I met her gaze. "Give me permission, or he dies."
She hesitated, then nodded.
I activated Blood Bond.
Dark tendrils of shadow erupted from my palm, sinking into the wound. The man gasped as his blood surged into my veins—a cool, metallic tide. For a split second, I was him: his name (Elias), his fear of the dark, the memory of his sister dying from the same plague as Mira. Then the System took over, processing the exchange.
[BLOOD BOND SUCCESSFUL]
[ELIAS: HUMANITY DECREASED TO 85%]
[KAEL: BLOODLUST SUPPRESSED (100%)]
[ELIAS STABILIZED: WOUND HEALED 70%]
Elias's breathing slowed. Color returned to his cheeks. But when he opened his eyes, they held a new hardness. A predator's glint.
"Thank you," he said, his voice rougher. "But I feel... different."
"Survival has costs," I muttered. My own humanity gauge flickered in my vision: 90%. 5% gone. Forever.
Marcus lowered the axe, but his distrust burned hotter than ever. "You're not human. What are you?"
Before I could answer, the bookshelf door burst open. Two Purge hunters in black armor flooded in, crossbows raised.
"Freeze!" the leader barked. "We traced the blood signature. That vampire is coming with us."
Aria moved like lightning, shoving a bookshelf into one hunter's path. I blurred forward using Shadow Step, disarming the other before he could fire. My claws raked his chest, but I stopped short of killing him—just.
[NEW QUEST: ELIMINATE PURGE THREAT]
[REWARD: 250 XP, UNLOCK "BLOOD ARMOR" SKILL]
[PENALTY: FAILURE = EXPOSURE OF SAFEHOUSE LOCATION]
The wounded hunter gasped, clutching his bleeding arm. "You're one of them... but you're different." He spat blood. "The First Vampire. The System's pet."
My blood ran cold. They know about the System.
"Where did you hear that?" I snarled.
The hunter laughed, a wet, gurgling sound. "The Inquisitor knows everything. He's coming for you."
Marcus slammed the axe into the hunter's shoulder. "Talk, or I'll make you."
The hunter's eyes rolled back. "He'll burn this city to ash to get you. And when he's done..." He coughed crimson. "You'll wish the System had let you die."
Then he went still.
Silence crashed over the room.
[QUEST COMPLETE: ELIMINATE PURGE THREAT]
[REWARD: 250 XP, UNLOCKED "BLOOD ARMOR (LEVEL 1)"]
[SKILL DESCRIPTION: SOLIDIFY BLOOD INTO TEMPORARY ARMOR. DURABILITY: 3 HITS. COST: 15% BLOODLUST.]
I absorbed the skill, feeling a thin layer of hardened crimson energy coat my skin. But the hunter's last words echoed: The Inquisitor is coming.
Marcus kicked the corpse. "We need to move. Now."
Aria helped Elias stand. "The safehouse is compromised."
I pulled the vial of serum from my pocket. It felt heavier now. "I need to get this to my sister. She's in the old subway tunnels—Block 7."
Elias's eyes narrowed. "Block 7 is a death zone. Vampires own it now."
"Then I'll own it too." I turned toward the exit. "I'll find a way."
"Wait." Elias stepped forward, his new Blood Bond strength evident in his stance. "Take me with you. I owe you."
I shook my head. "You're not ready."
"Neither are you," he shot back. "But you're going anyway."
A flicker of the old Kael surfaced—a trace of humanity. He's right. I can't do this alone.
I activated Blood Vision. The safehouse was clear, but outside... shadows moved. Too fast. Too precise. Vampires.
[SYSTEM ALERT: MULTIPLE VAMPIRIC PRESENCE DETECTED]
[DISTANCE: 200 METERS. APPROACHING RAPIDLY]
"Change of plan," I said. "We leave now. Through the tunnels."
We fled into the catacombs beneath the city, the dead Purge hunters left behind like discarded armor. The tunnels were a labyrinth of dripping pipes and shattered concrete, lit only by bioluminescent fungi clinging to the walls. I led the way, Blood Vision piercing the darkness.
Elias stayed close. "Why do they call you 'The First'?"
I didn't answer. The System's voice filled my mind instead:
[PERSONAL JOURNAL ENTRY: DAY 1 AFTER ASCENSION]
[OBSERVATION: HUMANITY DEGRADATION IS ACCELERATING FASTER THAN PREDICTED.]
[NOTE: ELIAS IS A USEFUL ASSET. MONITOR FOR BETRAYAL.]
Useful asset. The words felt like ash in my mouth. Elias wasn't a person—he was data to the System.
We reached a fork in the tunnel. Left led deeper underground; right led toward the surface. My Blood Vision showed a group of vampires converging on the right path.
"Left," I ordered.
Elias hesitated. "That way leads to the old sewer junction. It's flooded."
"Better than death." I turned to face him. "You wanted to come. Trust me."
He nodded, but his eyes held a new calculation. The Blood Bond changed him. He's already thinking like a hunter.
We waded through ankle-deep sludge, the stench of decay thick in the air. My Blood Armor protected me from the worst of it, but Elias shivered, his humanity now a liability.
Then—screams.
High-pitched. Human.
We froze.
A child's voice echoed from a side tunnel: "Please... don't hurt me!"
Elias moved first, charging toward the sound. I followed, Blood Vision flaring.
In a small chamber, a vampire had a little girl pinned against the wall. Her scavenger tag read TIER 1. Mira's age.
The vampire turned, red eyes gleaming. "Dinner's here early."
Elias snarled—a sound that was more beast than human—and lunged. But the vampire was faster, throwing him into the wall with a sickening crack.
I moved.
Shadow Step closed the distance in a heartbeat. My fist connected with the vampire's jaw, shattering bone. He staggered back, snarling.
[NEW QUEST: RESCUE SCRAP CHILD]
[REWARD: 300 XP, UNLOCK "BLOOD SENSE" SKILL]
[PENALTY: CHILD'S DEATH = PERMANENT HUMANITY LOSS]
The vampire circled me, his voice a hiss. "You're strong. For a pet." He glanced at the girl. "But you won't save her. They never do."
I activated Blood Armor. Crimson energy flared around my fists. "Try me."
The fight was brutal. The vampire was older, stronger. His claws tore through my Blood Armor on the third hit, sending me reeling. But I used Shadow Step to dodge, Blood Vision showing me his blind spots.
One opening.
I drove my knee into his gut, then grabbed his throat. "Run," I rasped to the girl.
She didn't hesitate.
The vampire laughed, blood bubbling from his lips. "You think you're a hero? You're just the first domino. When the Inquisitor comes—"
I snapped his neck.
[QUEST COMPLETE: RESCUE SCRAP CHILD]
[REWARD: 300 XP, UNLOCKED "BLOOD SENSE (LEVEL 1)"]
[SKILL DESCRIPTION: DETECT LIVING BLOOD SOURCES WITHIN 100 METERS. COST: 5% BLOODLUST PER USE.]
I turned to find the girl gone. But Blood Sense flared to life—her heartbeat, faint but steady, retreating toward the surface. She'll make it.
Elias stood shakily, his shoulder dislocated. "You saved her."
I looked at my bloodied hands. The System had saved me. At the cost of 5% of my soul.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: HUMANITY DEGRADED TO 85%]
[WARNING: FURTHER BLOODLUST SUPPRESSION WILL ACCELERATE DEHUMANIZATION.]
The truth settled in my bones: I was becoming what I hunted.
"Let's move," I said. "Mira's waiting."
As we continued through the tunnels, I felt it—a presence watching from the shadows. Not a vampire. Not a Purge hunter.
Something else.
[SYSTEM ALERT: UNKNOWN ENTITY DETECTED]
[PROBABILITY: 97.3% — A SECOND SYSTEM USER]
I clenched my fists. Vex-7.
The Inquisitor wasn't the only threat coming for me.
And I was running out of humanity to lose.