Vampire Nightlife

The Blood of Nightmares consumed and brought many of the inhabitants of the Dark Forest into ruin. Their dilapidated and sunken husks strewn the forest floor and yet it was ravenous still.

'Rise…'

'Join…'

'Me…'

Dark words tried to penetrate into its being, orders from a being that laid dreaming but the Blood of Nightmares refused to listen to its heed and was instead concentrated on one thing along: Feeding.

The more it fed from the creatures and even to the very trees that perpetuated inside of the Dark Forest, the stronger she became and yet it was nothing more but a gnawing hunger that continued to provoke her into more.

Deeper into the forest she went, bringing chaos and death to whomever she encounter.

It wouldn't be too long until she had her fill, and then once she did—she'd eat the greatest being that currently lay asleep.

Oh, it would devour everything in its path until the very foundations of the earth would tremble at her presence.

And oh, did the voice that beckoned to her grew weaker and weaker, almost as if its reach was waning even further.

Was it a time to finally act?

Perhaps it was.

***

[You Have Unlocked A Non-Vampire Skill]

[Would You Like To Accept Wand Slinger As A Permanent Skill?]

"…" The status that appeared in Lukas' vision was unsatisfying. He wanted to learn magic for himself and not become reliant on a single weapon to do it for him.

"Are you alright, Lukas?" Matthew asked.

Behind Lukas, Matthew somehow carried both Philip and Anthony through nothing more but sheer mental power alone. That was enough to make any man envious, his potential was right up there—and Lukas could only wonder what a noble Vampire would be like.

'I mean, I've already seen Serena—but even that's… I just want magic. It's been locked as a Vampire archetype and I want to unlock it. Even if it means that I have to learn Purification as a Spell, or something else not in my preferred list of spells.' Lukas thought.

Actually, now that Lukas thought of it, who had actually prevented Vampires from using their Arcane powers in the first place?

"Now isn't really the time." Lukas muttered.

"Sorry?" Matthew asked.

"Not you—I… I was just talking with myself." Lukas sighed as he lifted the wand and concentrated on its powers once more. Another blast of purification magic hit a tree and transformed it back to its usual self.

"That's thirty down." Lukas said. "How do I… do the Mass Purification thing. I've been trying for the past ten minutes to no avail."

Cerisedel used magic in such a way that seemed natural. Almost as if she was breathing magic in and out of her body—whereas, Lukas had some kind of mental block that prevented him from doing it.

"Come on, I'm not even an actual…" Lukas grumbled but paused from saying the words aloud. Even though he had gotten used to the presence of Matthew everyone in the span of the hours they've been together, it didn't mean that he'd reveal everything.

And yet again, Lukas had already said quite a lot in regards to what he had done and what he was.

"Lukas, I'm sure that you'll be able to handle it. You've allowed me to grow much stronger than what I would consider possible—something like handling that item will be within your grasp very soon."

"Thank you, I appreciate that." Lukas said, but then momentarily glanced at his hand. He had cut himself earlier, but the wound was gone and hadn't even left a single scar as far as he remembered.

"Is there something else on your mind?" Matthew asked.

"Well, with Cerisedel not around… oh heck, I forgot to warn her about the Blood of Nightmares." Lukas nearly smacked himself with the wand and cursed.

Any and all thoughts of wanting to unlock the Arcane vanished as he concentrated on checking the Thread that tied him with Rhea.

It was still there, transformed but still present and if he tugged it just once—she'd come looking for him in an instant.

But better that she come to him than someone like Cerise right? Cerise was a dragon, so she probably would kill Rhea in a heartbeat.

"Hey, I'm going this way. I have to find…"

All of a sudden, a large and powerful pulse exploded in the Dark Forest and brought Lukas and Matthew to their knees. Philip and Anthony both dropped into the floor.

It was a palpable sensation, and unnatural as well.

Its cadence was enough to make one uneasy and Lukas gritted his teeth knowing what they've just encountered.

"We're nearing the center of this thing." Lukas said and quickly pushed Matthew to his feet. "Wake up, you guys got to get away from here."

"Nnghh… what about—argh, my head." Matthew's red eyes suddenly glowed pitch black in a moment and he stared up at Lukas with a frightening blank stare.

"A vessel. Join me—"

Lukas' hand slapped across Matthew and sent him back down on the floor. He ground his teeth and pointed in the direction where the pulse came from and sent another blast of Purification.

"I hope Cerisedel's okay. She's ought to have a stronger mind and willpower than me." Lukas muttered to himself before he grabbed the three men and dragged them away from the location.

Since it didn't work out, he had to slung two of them across his shoulder and he carried Matthew bridal style.

"Ugh, definitely not a thing you'd do with your girlfriends." Lukas muttered. He had two, but somehow the idea of carrying three came to his mind.

It was a hard thing to balance all of them.

But Lukas did his best as he huffed slightly, not out of exhaustion, but general difficulty of trying to carry three and not have them knock against each other.

"Maybe I can try to…" Lukas closed his eyes and imagined the blood that flowed within their bodies. He could have tried to go for telekinesis like Matthew, but he wanted to do something else.

[Attempted To Learn New Blood Skill]