"Mirela! You're alive! Oh, thank the gods!"
Her voice was strained beyond exhaustion. She winced and straightened slightly, one hand braced against her side, trying to look over her shoulder without turning. The intoxicating smell of blood coming off her told me why. For a moment, it was hard to think past that.
When I only stared at her in response, she risked turning a little more for a better look at me.
"Mirela? Please tell me you're okay. Why are you staring at me like that?"
"I'm… hungry," I managed, forcing my eyes away. "I smell blood. Are you alright?"
She tried to nod, but her face crumpled instead. “No, Mirela.” A breath shuddered out of her. “No. I’m really not.”
I blinked, focusing on her again, but she didn’t look at me when she spoke. “They’re all gone.”
I knew then she hadn’t been talking about her wounds, and as much as I didn’t want to, I knew what her words meant.
"I was too late."
She gave a small shake of her head. "No. No, you saved the city, Mirela. The ritual only reached the cathedral district. You stopped it from spilling further into the city."
But I knew what she meant. Our family lived in the cathedral district. Nearly everyone I knew in the city was there. I closed my eyes and pushed down the hollow pain growing in my chest. That wasn't what we needed right now.
“It’s a curse,” I said, forcing myself upright with a wince. “We may be able to reverse it. But we need to understand what it is first.”
Nadine let out a slow, unsteady breath, like she’d been bracing for that answer and hadn’t liked it any better for hearing it.
“Everyone says it can’t be undone,” she said quietly. “No one recognizes it. Clerics and scholars have both risked the same fate as the others trying to study it."
She shook her head faintly. "They don’t even agree on what kind of curse it is.”
“What do you mean, risked the same fate?” I asked, lifting my eyes from where they’d drifted to the pulse at her throat, then shaking my head to clear it.
“The artifact he used to focus his ritual. It’s still there,” she said. “It saturates the entire district with that magic.”
She took a shuddering breath and closed her eyes before continuing.
“Aunt Violette tried to protect us. She didn’t know what he was casting. None of us did. She wove her ritual broad, Mirela. General wards. Protection against curses, transfiguration, divine interference. Anything she could think of.”
Her eyes opened, dry and exhausted. “It held. But it wasn’t complete. And it’s fading.”
“How long?” I asked automatically. “How long before—”
She hesitated.
“The first fell within a day,” she said. “Days more for some. It will only be weeks, maybe, for others. The further they are from Aunt Violette’s ritual, the faster the protection fails.”
Her voice dropped.
“They think those inside the cathedral might last a year. But the rest of our family wasn’t there. They all went to Uncle Edgar’s house.”
She finally looked at me again. “Mirela… it could be only months.”
I stared at her. The wagon rocked beneath us, wheels rattling over uneven ground, and one detail refused to settle with the rest.
“…The first fell within a day,” I repeated. “Days for more? Nadine. How long has it been?”
She didn’t answer right away. My stomach dropped.
“Nadine.”
Her eyes finally met mine, red-rimmed and hollow. “Six days,” she said. “Almost seven.”
The world seemed to tilt. The sound of Nadine’s pulse rushed suddenly louder in my ears, too close, and I had to swallow before I spoke.
“That’s not possible,” I said. “It never takes that long. Evolution is hours. A day, at most.”
“Evolution?” she whispered. “We thought you were dead. What evolution?”
I wasn’t thinking clearly. I looked away, clutching my own arms as if holding myself in place until the hunger dulled to something manageable.
“I’ll tell you,” I said quietly. “I promise. But first… how did we end up here? And where are we?”
Nadine was quiet for a long moment after my question, staring past me at the edge of the wagon. When she finally spoke, it was carefully, like she was weaving a path through shattered glass she already knew was there.
“They found us hours after you broke the ritual,” she said. “A group of templars. They were searching the aftermath for any survivors, pushing their magic as far as they dared. The curse didn't spare anything living. The gardens, the birds and animals… Only the people were protected by Aunt Violette's spell. The air was choked with ash by then.”
Her hands tightened in her lap.
“They pulled me out first. I don’t remember screaming, but they said I was… You were still there. In the crystal. They could feel it, Mirela. Whatever was happening to you, it was active. Like the magic was alive.”
I felt the words settle between us.
“At first, they thought you’d sacrificed yourself,” she continued. “That you’d burned everything you had to stop it. People were crying. Praying. I think… I think they needed that to be true.”
She stopped, looking ahead, her hands tightening on the reins, and I let her gather herself, using the opportunity to force myself to move, crawling out to join her on the front bench as close as I dared.
“I told them what happened. About the cardinal. About the ritual. They brought a truth stone, just to be sure. I told it again.” She let out a humorless breath. “It didn’t change anything.”
My chest tightened. I could feel her frustration like it was my own.
“New clerics arrived that night,” she said. “Ones who hadn’t seen the ash. Hadn’t sifted through the remains with their own hands. They asked different questions.”
Her eyes flicked to me, then away.
“They said the stone couldn’t tell the difference between lies and hysteria. That a traumatized girl might believe anything. That the cardinal would never betray the church.” Her voice hardened. “They asked where the oracle was. Asked why she was missing if the story was true.”
I hadn't expected that. I had my own suspicions, but I didn't interrupt her.
“They started saying your magic looked wrong,” Nadine went on. “That you were using some kind of blood magic. When they learned you’d been at the heart of the ritual, sealed inside so much crystalized blood, their story changed. Suddenly, it was that maybe you were the cause all along.”
Her breath hitched, but she pressed on.
"They took you from me two days later. Said it was for your safety."
I closed my eyes against the helplessness in her voice.
"They built a pyre,” she said quietly. “In the square. Then, they sent for you. It was only luck that I was there to find out at all."
"I didn’t think,” Nadine admitted. “I just… moved. When they loaded you onto the cart, I jumped up and snapped the reins. I don’t even know how I did it. The horses bolted like they'd been waiting for an opportunity.”
She drew in a faint, shaky breath. “Once we were outside the city, I paid a farmer everything I had to help me get you away. He recognized you. He didn’t ask questions.”
Her hand went to her side, pressing lightly against the bloodstained bandage there, little more than cloth wrapped tight.
“They sent scouts. Two caught up to us hours later. The first arrow killed the driver before we even knew they were there. The second hit me. Just a graze.” She swallowed. “I panicked and detonated a spell. It broke one of their horses’ legs and injured the other. They couldn’t chase, but they know what direction we were going.”
This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
She finally looked at me again.
“I don’t know how to drive a cart,” she said, almost apologetically. “I’m just copying what I’ve seen. It’s only luck the horses seem to want to keep going. We don’t have much food. And if they’re tracking us…”
She didn’t finish the thought. She didn’t need to. I nodded, turning the story over in my mind. Eventually, I asked the question that kept drifting back to the surface.
“You said the Oracle was missing. What about Laurent?”
She let out a long breath through her nose before answering. “He’s missing too. I think that helped the faction claiming you had something to do with all of this gain traction.” Her jaw tightened. “Mirela, with how they act, the things they were planning… I think they’re more of the cardinal’s heretics.”
"It makes sense," I agreed. "The cardinal wanted the church's loyal forces in the city where they'd be caught by the curse. I bet it was an unpleasant surprise when they arrived only to find most of them intact."
She nodded at my agreement about the heretics, but I could tell even as she did that it wasn’t what she was really waiting for me to say. I didn’t linger on it.
“Where are we?” I asked instead.
Nadine blinked, caught off guard. “I… north,” she said. “After we switched carts, I asked the driver to head north.”
I frowned. “North?”
She hesitated, then gave a small, apologetic shrug. “You said you were going home. To Ebonhold.”
The name hit me hard enough that I sat a little straighter despite the pain.
“How do you know that name?” I asked.
Her eyes widened slightly. “You mentioned it once. While you were talking to Laurent about the betrothal.” She searched my face, suddenly uncertain. “Is that not… right?”
“Ebonhold is not something people are supposed to know about,” I said carefully.
“Oh.” She winced. “Then I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry. I just… I remembered a story.”
“A story,” I echoed.
She nodded, warming to it despite the tension. “An old one. The kind they tell children when they want them to behave around the fire. About a secret castle, alive with magic and impossibly vast. Full of monsters and demons. The home of the Night King.”
I stared at her.
“It’s hidden in a desert wasteland where magic runs wild,” she went on, earnest now. “A place no army could ever take. There was a hero who tried, once. Battled his way through an endless fortress maze to save his lost love. The story always ends before it says what happens to him. Just that he was far too late.”
She swallowed. “I thought… I thought maybe that was where you were going. I admit, it wasn't a very rational decision, but I didn't have a better idea, and the only desert I know of is north. It was the only direction that made sense.”
For a long moment, I didn’t speak.
“Ebonhold isn’t in a desert,” I said finally. “And there is no Night King there. Not like that.” I hesitated. “It’s far to the west, hidden deep in a forest.”
Her shoulders sagged, but she nodded immediately. “Then we’ll turn west.”
Just like that. I really hadn't expected such an easy agreement, especially after she explained what the name meant to her. But not a single argument. Not even a trace of frustration.
“It might buy us a little time,” I added. “From the pursuit, I mean, though not much. It’s hard to lose a wagon on these unpaved roads."
She gave a tired huff of a laugh. “I’ve noticed.”
The silence that followed was different from before. Less raw. More thoughtful.
“I didn’t expect company,” I said eventually.
She looked at me again, confused. “What?”
“I thought you’d be with Laurent,” I said. “Part of his guard detail. I thought… Well, when this all happened, I was sneaking out of the Cathedral. I'd expected to be going home alone.”
Her brow furrowed. “Why would you do that? Didn't you two just exchange your rings? Why would you leave now?”
"I was always going to leave after getting my class. I just didn't expect it to be Saint. And I didn't expect… wait, how did you know I'd accepted Laurent's ring?"
She stared at me.
“What?”
“You forgot?” she asked, a little amusement breaking into her melancholy. “Mirela, the whole family knew. We all got the notification from the world itself. You know, the one I told you about, the wedding announcement. To take place in one year’s time, in the holy city.”
I closed my eyes. "Yes. I suppose I'd forgotten about that."
“Oh,” she said slowly. “You meant you were going home first. To talk to your family. Then come back?”
“It isn’t that simple,” I said.
She waited.
“If you’re going to travel with me,” I continued, “you need to know what you’re walking into.”
Her answer was immediate. “I don’t care.”
I opened my eyes again.
“You should. Even traveling with me isn't safe, let alone the dangers of the forest.”
“Mirela,” she said, and there was steel under the exhaustion now. “You are the only family I have left. I’m not leaving you.”
She hesitated, then added more quietly, “I see you. I have since the moment we met. You didn’t even need to know me to defend me and fight for my happiness. I’m not going to abandon you now.”
And that was it. She was right. We were family, and there wasn't much else to it. I didn’t tell her to keep my secret. I never even considered it.
“I’m a vampire,” I said.
She went very still. But her first reaction wasn't horror. It was confusion.
“You mean… because of the ritual?” she asked. “What the cardinal did… what you did to stop it?”
“No. I always have been. Since the day I was born. That had nothing to do with it.”
She frowned, trying to reconcile it. “But you’re the Saint.”
I shrugged, then winced. “Apparently.”
Her eyes searched my face. “The gods would make a vampire the Saint?”
“They judged me,” I said. “I felt it when I unlocked my class. They knew what I was. There was something like pity, something like an old sadness. I don’t know if it was even about me being a vampire.” I shook my head. “They didn’t care.”
She let that sit, then nodded slowly.
“Does it hurt?” she asked.
I blinked, then laughed quietly despite myself. “Usually? No.”
“Usually,” she repeated.
“Today is different,” I admitted. “The evolution drained me. I’m starving. And it was different from before, like trials and tests that left pain that stayed with me when I woke up.”
Her pulse thudded loud enough that I noticed it again, a sharp, insistent sound beneath everything else. I forced myself to look away.
“Nadine, when I find blood, I won’t hold back. I can’t. If you stay with me, you have to accept that.”
She didn’t pull away. She didn’t even flinch. “I’m not going anywhere,” she said simply.
The quiet after that was heavy with everything we’d lost. To distract myself, I opened my status. The familiar interface bloomed in my mind, altered in ways that made my skin prickle. Updated entries, and a new one.
====================================
Mirela Beaumont
====================================
-----------------------
Basic Information
-----------------------
Race: Vampire
Bloodline: Sovereign of the Nephilim
Age: 18
Gender: Female
Level: 5
Class: Saint
-----------------------
Attributes
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Strength: 14
Dexterity: 17
Constitution: 15
Intelligence: 19
Wisdom: 19
Charisma: 20
-----------------------
Bloodline Traits
-----------------------
-
Enhanced Senses: Heightened sight, hearing, and smell; see clearly in darkness.
-
Blood Drain: Drinking blood rapidly restores vitality.
-
Daywalker: Unlike most vampires, you do not fall into torpor at sunrise. Sunlight weakens your abilities but does not incapacitate you.
-
Dual Sustenance: You can sustain yourself on mortal food and drink, though it provides little nourishment compared to blood.
-
Natural Sorceress: You instinctively wield magic as if you possessed a class with the "Sorcery" trait.
-
Sanctified Heritage: Holy essence courses through your bloodline, bestowing a protective aura, divine regeneration, heightened clarity of mind, and purifying blood that can heal and strengthen allies.
-
Wings of the Nephilim: You call forth a pair of crimson-feathered wings born of blood and will. They are capable of sustained flight, but doing so places immense strain on your body and essence. Once wounded or exhausted, the wings recover only with time and care.
-----------------------
Class Benefits
-----------------------
-
Divine Radiance: Your presence radiates a holy light that inspires allies and repels dark forces.
-
Blessings of the Divine: Access to powerful healing and protective spells.
-
Bastion of the Light: Your connection to the divine grants you increased resistance to dark magic and curses.
-
Divine Insight: Gain heightened awareness and understanding of the divine will and celestial beings.
-----------------------
Abilities
-----------------------
-
Shadow Step: Slip through darkness to emerge elsewhere. You may instantly move between two shadows within sight.
-
Celerity: Unleash supernatural speed and reflexes for a brief burst, moving faster than mortal eyes can track.
-
Blood-Fueled Strength: Draw upon your vampiric essence to perform feats of overwhelming strength for short periods.
-
Blessing of Light: Imbue yourself or an ally with a protective shield, reducing damage taken.
-
Healing Touch: Channels sacred vitality to knit flesh, purge pain, and stabilize the injured.
-
Holy Radiance: Emit a burst of divine light, damaging beings of darkness or evil and purifying the surrounding area.
-
Sanctuary: Create a protective zone that repels evil and provides refuge for allies.
-----------------------
Skills
-----------------------
-
Necromancy: Initiate
-
Sorcery: Journeyman
-
Alchemy: Apprentice
-
Fencing: Journeyman
====================================
One in particular caught my attention. Wings of the Nephilim.
I frowned. “That’s odd.”
Nadine glanced at me. “What is?”
“Something new in my status,” I said, closing it again. “I can’t test it yet. I don’t think it’s anything like what I experienced during my evolution.”
I took a slow breath, then shook my head. "It would be better to just show you. My abilities are fueled by blood, though. That’s probably why I feel so drained. I don’t want to risk losing control around you. It’s the only reason I haven’t tried healing your injuries yet.”
She glanced at her bandage. “I almost think it’s worth the risk. One of my ribs is, at best, cracked. Even breathing hurts.”
"As soon as I can,” I reassured her. “After I feed.”
She nodded, accepting it without comment.
“It's too bad we don't have a pair of convenient thugs out here,” I muttered.
She blinked. “You say that like it’s normal.”
“It happens,” I said. “Candice and I had an unfortunate encounter of the sort when she took me out to be fitted for the dress you met me in."
Her face softened at the name. “What happened?”
“They attacked us,” I said. “Dragged us into an alley so quick we didn't know what was going on. Unfortunately for them, I was hungry. Candice was so overwhelmed she didn’t even realize I’d bitten them. Let alone what I was.”
Nadine snorted faintly. “That sounds like Candice.”
The smile faded almost immediately.
“She’s gone,” she said quietly.
“I know.”
We rode on in silence after that, the wagon creaking, the horses moving steadily up the road as if they knew where they were going. Nadine sat with her hands folded in her lap, barely holding the reins and staring ahead.
When I said my home was to the west, she had accepted it without hesitation. We’ll turn west, she’d said, as if there had never been another option. She hadn’t asked if she was coming with me; she had already assumed it. And I realized, with a small, uncomfortable weight settling in my chest, that I had never actually answered her.
“I’m not leaving you behind,” I said.
She looked up at me, startled.
“I didn’t expect to have company,” I continued. “I thought you’d stay with Laurent. That you’d have your place there to be safe and free."
Her mouth opened, then closed again.
“But I want you with me,” I said. “Not out of obligation, and not because you have nowhere else to go.” I held her gaze. “I’m glad you're with me.”
Something in her expression broke, just a little.
“We’re going to Ebonhold,” I continued. “There’s no Night King. But there is an ancient vampire necromancer. He was a powerful sorcerer even before that. And a library beyond anything you’d believe.”
Her eyes widened, betraying a flicker of interest.
“With his help,” I said, “I’ll find a way to end the curse. We’ll save them. All of them.”
Hope flickered there, fragile but real.
It was enough.
If you haven't discovered Dosei yet, Christmas is a great time! He's a great litRPG writer, and you can find his stuff here or on Amazon. This is his latest project, and it's great!
A time-looper with GameLit elements that is inspired by Action Roguelite games like "Hades",
as well as Korean SysApoc stories like "Master Hunter K".
Adam is no one special.
He’s just an accountant standing in line at a bakery one early Saturday morning,
because his craving for Jameson’s croissants finally broke him.
Unfortunately, fate has other plans for him,
as the black cubes show up before he can get his pastries.