Boots rang on stone.
Kairn flattened himself against the broken wall, half-hidden behind a chunk of rock that had once been part of the mine roof. His fingers dug into the cracks. Dust bit under his nails. His new body was still, but inside, his blood felt like it boiled. [czepeku](
Below him, on the broken path, Lysa crouched in the open.
Too close.
Too slow.
Her eyes kept cutting between him and the tunnel where the voices came from.
"Get up higher," he hissed down to her. His voice was a rough whisper. "Now. Hide."
She shook her head, teeth chattering. "I–I can't. My ribs—"
"Do it," he snapped.
The sharpness in his tone made her flinch.
Good.
Fear moved people faster.
She grabbed the rock face and tried to pull herself up, but her arms trembled. Her breath came in short, fast gasps. She slipped after two steps and slid back to the ground, biting back a cry.
Kairn swore under his breath.
[ QUEST UPDATE: CHOOSE YOUR PREY ]
[ OPTION A: FLEE – LOW GAIN, LOWER RISK ]
[ OPTION B: HUNT – HIGHER GAIN, HIGH RISK ]
The sense of the choices pressed at him. He could almost see them, hanging in front of him like signs at a fork in a tunnel. [reddit](
Run.
Or kill.
Boots clanged again. The first guard stepped into view around a jut of stone.
He wore the same black iron plate as the man Kairn had drained, but his armor was not broken. A short sword hung at his hip. A hooked whip lay coiled at his belt. His face was narrow, his eyes sharp and mean. Two more men came behind him, one with a spear, one with a lantern on a long pole, sending ugly yellow light across the ruin. [reddit](
They stopped when they saw the dead guard.
"Brenn," the first man muttered. "By the pit…"
The one with the spear grunted. "Neck's torn out. Something chewed him."
The lantern man lifted the light higher. The glow slid over the rocks, over the broken stones, over Lysa's thin shape.
He pointed.
"There. Slave."
Lysa froze like a rabbit under a hawk.
Kairn's hands clenched.
The first guard's lip curled. "You. Girl. On your feet."
She tried to stand. Her legs shook. She got halfway up and dropped back down with a grimace.
"I said on your feet!" he shouted.
The sound echoed through the broken mine, loud as a blow. [kingdompen](
Lysa flinched again. "I–I can't, sir. My ribs, they—"
"Liar," the spear man spat. He stepped forward, raising the butt of his weapon. "They always lie."
Kairn's teeth ground together. His new senses picked up the sound of Lysa's heart, fast and thin. He smelled her fear. It rolled off her like steam.
The hunger inside him rose like a wave, drawn not just to blood now but to that fear. It tasted bright and sharp in the air.
He hated that too.
The spear man lifted his weapon higher, ready to bring it down on Lysa's shoulders.
"Stop," Kairn said.
The word came out before he chose it.
All three men stiffened.
Their heads turned toward his voice.
The lantern swung, light sliding across the rocks, up the broken slope.
It caught him.
A thin boy, in torn slave rags, dust-streaked and bloody. Pale skin. Dark hair. Cold red eyes that gleamed in the lantern light. Blood dried around his mouth, on his chin, across his hands.
He did not look like a guard.
He did not look like a slave.
He looked like something in between.
"Who's that?" the lantern man hissed.
"That is another rat," the first guard said, but his voice had tightened. His hand fell to his sword hilt. "Come down here, boy."
Kairn stayed where he was.
He did not tremble.
He did not bow.
He met the man's eyes and let his lips peel back just enough to show the points of his teeth.
The guards went still.
"What… happened to your mouth?" the spear man said slowly.
Kairn said nothing.
He did not have to.
The dead guard at their feet answered for him.
[ NEW TITLE CONDITION MET ]
[ TITLE GAINED: FIRST FEEDER ]
[ EFFECT: +1 INTIMIDATION WHEN BLOOD IS VISIBLE ON HOST ]
The sense of the words flashed through his mind. He did not know exactly what "+1" meant, but he knew this: the guards felt it.
Fear.
They tried to hide it, but he smelled the sour tang of it under their sweat.
"Back away from the girl," the first guard said. His sword scraped free of its sheath. "Slow. Hands where I can see them."
He wanted to obey.
He wanted to leap.
Two wants pulled at him like chains in different directions.
[ OPTION A: FLEE – Chance of Success: 62% ]
[ OPTION B: HUNT – Chance of Success: 38% – HIGH REWARD: POTENTIAL LEVEL UP ]
Numbers edged into his vision. They were not real, not in the air, but they felt real inside his mind. [reddit](
Run with Lysa and maybe live.
Or fight three armed men and maybe die, but if he won…
More blood.
More strength.
He knew one thing from a life underground: slaves who stayed weak stayed dead.
The first guard took a step up the path toward him.
"Drop down," he snarled. "Now. Or I cut that girl's throat and make you watch."
He grabbed Lysa by the hair and yanked her up, dragging a scream from her. The spear man laughed, though it sounded forced.
Kairn's vision narrowed.
The guard's fingers in her hair.
Her cry.
The memory of the whip on his back.
The taste of Brenn's blood in his mouth.
Something inside him clicked.
Cold.
Hard.
A thought slid into place like a blade into a sheath.
If he ran, they would kill her. Then they would hunt him anyway. Word of a "monster slave" would spread. There would be nowhere to hide in the mines, in the pens, in the pits.
If he killed them here, while they thought he was only a scared boy, he might live.
Hunt.
He moved.
One heartbeat, he was on the broken slope.
The next, he was jumping.
His new body flowed without thought, like he had done this a hundred times. He pushed off the rock with all his strength. The world blurred around him. He flew through the smoky air, straight down at the man holding Lysa.
[ SKILL ACTIVATED: CLAW I ]
His fingers curled. His nails hardened, lengthening in a blink. For an instant, they felt like iron hooked to his bones. [reddit](
The guard's eyes widened.
He tried to bring his sword up, but he was slow.
Kairn's hand slammed into his face.
His claws tore flesh like wet cloth.
Four deep lines opened across the man's cheek and jaw. One claw ripped through an eye. Blood sprayed hot across Kairn's arm. The guard screamed and staggered back, dropping Lysa.
She fell to the ground, gasping.
Kairn hit the stone, rolled, and came up in a crouch.
The spear man roared and drove his spear at Kairn's chest.
Kairn twisted.
The tip grazed his side, cutting cloth and skin. Pain flared, bright and sharp. He hissed, more beast than boy.
The lantern man dropped his light and scrambled back, fumbling for the short knife at his belt. The lantern rolled, fire spilling to one side. Oil ignited, licking across dry splinters.
Smoke thickened.
"Monster!" the spear man shouted. "He's a monster!"
Kairn's lips pulled back. "You made this," he rasped. His voice sounded wrong even to him, deeper, colder.
He rushed the spear man.
The spear jabbed again, faster this time, aimed at his throat.
Kairn ducked low.
His fingers brushed the shaft.
He grabbed it, feeling the smooth wood under his bloody hands. He pulled.
The man held on.
For a moment, they struggled.
The guard was bigger, older, trained. In the old days, before this night, Kairn would not have lasted a breath.
Now his muscles felt like cables of wire.
He wrenched.
The guard stumbled forward as the spear jerked from his grip.
Kairn stepped in and slammed his forehead into the man's nose.
Bone crunched.
The guard reeled, howling, hands flying to his face.
Kairn turned the spear around without thinking, point finding soft flesh.
He drove it up into the guard's throat.
The man made a wet choking sound. Blood bubbled around the wood. He fell to his knees, then onto his side, twitching.
[ BLOOD AVAILABLE: 1.3 L ]
[ NOTE: ABSORBING IN COMBAT WILL LOWER FOCUS ]
His hunger howled for him to drop and drink.
Not yet.
The half-blind first guard staggered, one hand on his ruined eye, blood pouring down his cheek. He swung his sword wildly, the blade whistling through smoke.
"Where are you?" he shouted. "Where—"
Kairn stepped in behind him.
He did not think. He simply moved.
His claws slid across the man's exposed throat in a clean line.
Warmth splashed his hand.
The guard dropped his sword, fingers clutching at the gash. He gurgled, falling to his knees, then onto his back beside Brenn.
The lantern man had finally gotten his knife free.
He held it out with shaking hands.
"S–stay back," he stammered. "I'll— I'll gut you, freak, I swear—"
Kairn looked at him.
Really looked.
This one was softer. Not a fighter. Lantern duty. The knife in his hand was clean, barely used.
Once, Kairn might have begged this man for help.
Now, he smelled the man's fear like a spice on a meat dish.
He took one slow step forward.
The lantern man took one back.
His heel caught on a loose stone. He slipped and fell, landing hard on his back. The knife clattered away.
"Please," he gasped. "Please, don't—"
Kairn's hunger surged at the word.
Please.
As if they had ever listened when slaves said that.
He stepped over the fallen man and dropped down onto his chest, pinning him to the ground.
The man's hands pushed uselessly at his shoulders.
Kairn leaned down.
"Don't what?" he asked softly.
The man's eyes went wider.
"Don't eat you?" Kairn said. "Like you ate us?"
He did not wait for an answer.
He bit.
His fangs punched through skin. The man shrieked, then choked as blood filled his mouth. Kairn drank, pulling deep, drawing not just the hot fluid but something thicker, something that hummed through his new veins.
Strength.
Heat.
Life.
He drank until the man stopped moving.
[ BLOOD CONSUMED: 1.9 L ]
[ BLOOD GAUGE: 20 / 20 – FULL ]
[ EXCESS BLOOD CONVERTED TO ESSENCE: 0.4 L ]
[ EXPERIENCE GAINED: +40 ]
[ LEVEL UP! ]
The rush hit him like a second heartbeat.
His status shifted.
[ LEVEL: 2 ]
[ ATTRIBUTE POINTS GAINED: +5 ]
[ BLOOD GAUGE MAX +5 ]
He felt his body change again, but softer this time. His muscles tightened. His senses stretched. The tunnel became clearer. The sound of crackling fire, of shifting stone, of Lysa's ragged breath, all grew sharp and separate.
He pulled his teeth free and sat back, panting.
The three guards lay around him.
Broken.
Silent.
He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. The blood smeared, but did not all come off. His skin was a mess of cuts and stains.
Lysa made a soft sound.
Kairn turned.
She had pushed herself up onto her elbows.
Her face was white.
Her eyes were huge.
She stared at him like he was a stranger.
He supposed he was.
"Kairn," she whispered. "What… what are you?"
He opened his mouth.
The truth was simple.
He was a vampire.
A monster.
The word tasted cold in his mind.
But if she ran and told anyone that, his life would be even shorter than it already promised to be.
Smoke thickened in the air. The lantern's spilled fire had caught dry beams. Flames climbed, licking up toward the broken roof.
He did not have time to argue with himself.
[ DISTRIBUTION RECOMMENDATION: +2 STRENGTH, +2 AGILITY, +1 ENDURANCE ]
The System's voice slid through his head like oil.
He agreed.
Strength meant he could fight.
Agility meant he could move.
Endurance meant he could take one more hit before he fell.
He pushed the points where they fit.
[ UPDATED ATTRIBUTES ]
Strength: 8
Agility: 9
Endurance: 6
Perception: 9
Will: 8
Charisma: 3
Unspent Points: 0
His limbs felt lighter.
His chest felt tighter, in a good way.
Another thought pushed up in his mind.
The dragon.
The huge body still lay further down the torn tunnel, smoke rising from its wounds. No one else had reached it yet. No masters from the upper levels, no elite guards, no robed blood-priests.
If he wanted what flowed in that black pool, this was his chance.
Dragon blood.
The word alone made his new hunger stir in a strange way.
He looked back at Lysa.
She tried to sit up again and failed. Pain crossed her face in hard lines.
"Can you walk?" he asked.
She shook her head. "I… I don't know. Maybe. If you help."
If he took her with him, he would slow down. If he left her here, smoke and fire would reach her, or more guards would come and find the bodies and her alive among them.
They would not ask gentle questions.
"You killed them," she said, voice shaking. "All of them. Kairn… you…"
He moved to her and crouched.
"Do you want to live?" he asked.
She blinked at him.
"What?"
"Do you want to live?" he repeated.
Tears streaked through the dust on her cheeks. "Of course I do."
"Then you come," he said. "Or you stay and take your chances."
Her eyes flicked to the dead guards, the spreading fire, the cracking roof.
She swallowed.
"I'll come," she whispered.
He slid one arm under her knees, one under her back, and lifted.
She cried out as her ribs pressed against him, then bit down on the sound. She was light as a bundle of rags. He had carried heavier loads of ore than this, even before tonight.
He rose.
Every movement felt strange, like he was wearing a new body that fit almost right, but not yet perfect.
He stepped over the dead men and moved deeper into the ruined tunnel.
Behind him, the flames crawled higher.
Ahead, the dragon's bulk lay like a fallen hill.
As they got closer, the heat changed.
It was not the wild, sharp heat of fire.
It was a slow, deep warmth that seemed to come from the stone itself. The air grew heavy and thick. The red light from the comet above mixed with a dull, dark glow from the dragon's blood pool.
Kairn's eyes fixed on it.
[ BLOODLINE REQUIREMENT IN RANGE ]
[ WARNING: DRAGON BLOOD IS HIGHLY TOXIC TO HUMANS ]
[ HOST RACE: LESSER VAMPIRE – RESISTANCE: MEDIUM ]
[ NOTE: CONSUMPTION MAY ALTER HOST BEYOND STANDARD PATHS ]
He could not say why, but that last line made him smile.
Alter.
Good.
He had been born to a path that led from slave pens to a shallow grave. That path had burned. He did not want a "standard" anything. [andrewkrowe.wordpress](
They reached the edge of the dragon's neck.
Up close, the beast was worse and better than he had thought.
Each scale was the size of a plate, dark as char, with thin lines of dull red between them, like veins of lava cooled on the surface. Its horns were cracked. One eye was open, cloudy and fixed.
It did not move.
If it still lived at all, it was in some deep place far from this broken tunnel.
The blood at its throat pooled in a hollow in the rock.
It was thick as tar, almost black, but faint red light pulsed inside it, slow and steady, like a huge, distant heartbeat.
The smell hit Kairn like a punch.
It was not like human blood.
Human blood was sharp and bright and messy.
This was heavy.
Old.
It smelled like storm air, like hot stone, like burnt iron.
His hunger did not scream this time.
It stared.
It reached.
"Kairn?" Lysa whispered on his back. "What is that?"
"Dragon," he said simply.
He set her down a safe distance from the pool, propped against a stone. She winced but did not complain.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
He did not answer.
If he said it out loud, it would sound mad even to him.
He stepped to the edge of the pool.
The dragon blood was so thick it barely rippled.
He reached out and dipped two fingers in.
Pain shot up his arm.
It was like plunging his hand into a forge.
He hissed and jerked back, but not fast enough. The black-red liquid clung to his skin, hot and burning, eating at the flesh.
Steam rose.
His pale skin blistered and split.
"Kairn!" Lysa cried.
He gritted his teeth.
He did not wipe it off.
He lifted his hand to his mouth and, before his fear could catch up to his hunger, he licked his fingers clean.
Fire poured down his throat.
He fell to his knees.
The world vanished in heat.
His veins turned to molten metal. His bones felt like they would crack from the inside. His eyes burned. His teeth felt like they might shatter. He clawed at the stone, leaving deep grooves.
He dimly heard Lysa screaming his name, but it was far away.
[ DRAGON ESSENCE DETECTED ]
[ BLOODLINE PATH: DRACONIC BLOODBOUND – UNLOCK CONDITION MET ]
[ WARNING: HOST STRUCTURE INADEQUATE – ADJUSTING ]
His spine arched.
Something moved under his skin, along his shoulders, his back, his chest. Not bones. Not muscle. Lines of heat, like brands pressed from the inside.
He smelled his own flesh cooking.
He expected to die.
It would fit. Slave boy reaches for power too big and burns out in the first step. The world would not even notice.
But he did not die.
The fire peaked.
Held.
Then, slowly, it cooled.
He dropped forward, catching himself on his hands.
Smoke rose from the burns on his fingers.
Before his eyes, the skin knit back together.
New.
Paler, with thin lines of darker veins under it.
He coughed.
Black-red drool spilled onto the stone and hissed.
He spat until it ran clear again.
Then he laughed once, soft and rough.
He was still here.
Broken, but here.
[ BLOODLINE UPDATED: DRACONIC BLOODBOUND (AWAKENED – FRACTIONAL) ]
[ NEW TRAIT GAINED: EMBER VEINS (MINOR) ]
[ EFFECT: +1 FIRE RESISTANCE, +1 BLOOD POTENCY, UNIQUE EVOLUTION PATH OPENED ]
His heart, or whatever he had now, beat once, hard.
Unique.
Good.
He pushed himself up, trembling, and turned to look at Lysa.
She stared back, shaking.
"You drank dragon blood," she said in a thin voice. "Kairn. That's… that's…" Words failed her.
"Stupid?" he offered.
"Suicidal," she whispered.
"Maybe," he said. He flexed his burned-then-healed hand. Power buzzed faint in his limbs. "But we're still alive."
For now.
Smoke thickened again, rolling toward them. The fire behind had grown. Cracks popped in the stone above.
This place would not stay standing much longer.
"Up," he said.
He went to Lysa and lifted her again, more gently this time.
She did not resist.
"Where are we going?" she asked into his shoulder.
He looked up, past the fallen dragon, to the jagged crack in the roof where the comet's red light shone.
"Up," he repeated.
Away from the mine.
Away from the pens.
Into a world that did not know yet that a boy named Kairn had crawled out of its dark with vampire fangs and dragon fire in his veins.
He took his first step toward that broken sky.