I was walking through the Dark City again, but this time something felt off. The air was heavier, thicker—almost oily. I'd been here countless times, but this… this wasn't any place I remembered. The streets were narrower, the architecture sharper, the shadows deeper, almost liquid.
I realized I was in a part of the Dark City I had never seen before.
Huh. That was new. I wasn't sure if I'd wandered too far or if the city had grown again—like a tumor that decided to sprawl just to spite me.
Then I saw them.
A pack of Blood Beasts, twelve of them, standing guard around a massive rusted gate leading underground. Their blood-slick hides gleamed in the crimson light of the dream realm, claws twitching like they could smell prey. My blood.
Now that was interesting. Blood Beasts didn't hunt in packs. They hated each other almost as much as they hated anything that bled. The only reason they'd ever gather like this was if something powerful forced them to. But I didn't see a Tyrant or anything stronger nearby—just those ugly bastards standing around like soldiers waiting for a command.
That could only mean one thing: the Tyrant was down there.
I stared at the tunnel, at the way the air shimmered faintly around it, like it was alive. Why would something that strong stay underground instead of ruling over this district? Maybe it was trapped. Or maybe it liked the dark even more than I did.
I decided to check my little side project.
[Blood Beasts Destroyed: 7 / 20]
Damn. So, drunk me killed 3 of them? Not bad. Still, 13 more meant Beast could evolve soon, and that thought alone was enough to make my hands twitch with excitement.
I smiled like an idiot.
But twelve Awakened Blood Beasts? Yeah, no. Even sober me wasn't suicidal enough for that. Yet.
"Guess it's time to head back to the outskirts."
I formed a thin layer of blood beneath my feet and leaned forward, letting gravity and insanity do the rest. My new "blood skating" technique—something drunk me invented—was absurdly fast. The dark streets blurred into streaks of black and red as I zoomed across the city, slicing through the fog and the occasional low-rank nightmare that wandered too close.
I was fast, yeah… but not coordinated. I slammed into walls, kicked off lamp posts, and at one point accidentally glided through what looked like a nightmare brothel (don't ask). By the time I made it to the outskirts, I'd probably covered a hundred kilometers—about sixty miles in freedom units.
And that's when I heard it. Laughter.
Effie's laughter.
Oh no.
The moment I stepped into the camp, she was in the middle of a story, holding her stomach as two other Sleepers wheezed with her.
"Oh hey, Bloodsucker!" Effie grinned, spotting me instantly. "You won't believe this! Some maniac was running around naked in the Dark City last night—killed a nightmare creature with his bare hands! Bare hands, Alucard!"
I froze. My brain shut down.
'No. No way. Someone else. Please, someone else.'
Effie kept going, beaming like she'd discovered a new kind of comedy.
"Hell, I think he was even hard!"
My first thought: I was not.
My second thought: What does it mean to exist?
My third: This is character development. Remember that, Alucard. Pain builds growth.
Unfortunately, philosophy didn't hide embarrassment. Effie saw me turning red and snorted.
"Oh, don't tell me you're a prude, Bloodsucker? Lighten up! At least it wasn't you who was the Booty Warrior of the Dark City!"
I internally screamed. Booty Warrior? I was going to find whoever coined that title and stake them through the heart—with bureaucracy.
"Hey—I was just, uh—shocked, that's all!"
"Sure you were." She winked, fighting to hold back laughter. "You should've seen him, though! I swear I saw him beat a nightmare creature with it—"
Nope. That was my cue to leave. No god, no law of the universe could make me stay through that sentence.
I bolted out of there with the speed of divine shame. As I was making my escape, I spotted Kai.
He looked up from a pile of supplies, noticed me, and brightened. "Alucard! Haven't seen you in a while."
I exhaled in relief. A safe face. Someone who didn't just accuse me of phallic combat.
"Yeah," I said, trying to sound calm while internally dying. "Been… keeping busy."
Kai raised an eyebrow. "You look tired."
"Yeah. Let's go with that."
He didn't question it, thankfully. We walked for a bit, the sound of the city humming around us like a heart that refused to die.
And for a moment, as I glanced back toward the direction I came from—the heart of the Dark City, the path I'd wandered too far down—I felt something twist inside me. Like that city was calling me back. Whispering.