Alistair stood alone on the rooftop.

  Wind tugged at his hair, cold and sharp. His thoughts weren’t much clearer.

  He’d just been told he was chosen. A champion. For the Blood Mistress, no less, a Goddess whispered about in fear, the kind you didn’t pray to unless you had no other options.

  He’d never even said her name out loud.

  Blood was her domain, sure. Made sense for a vampire. But she was also the patron of hunger, power-hungry warlords, desperate nobles, those willing to do anything for more. He wasn’t one of those.

  At least… he didn’t think he was.

  He had everything already. Born rich. Castle life. Servants. Friends who never said no to him. Clothes worth more than a peasant’s farm. And parties? The best coins could buy.

  And yet…

  The idea of leaving it all behind didn’t feel as bad as it should have. He wanted out. Wanted to see other places. Meet people who weren’t bloodsuckers in both literal and political ways.

  He looked across the dead horizon. Just ash, smoke, and the flickering red glow of volcanoes lighting up the gloom. The Shadowlands were always dark, always burning.

  And now he was leaving them.

  To fight. In a God Arena. For a Goddess he didn’t even follow.

  Great.

  He’d heard tales growing up, stories whispered by firelight or passed between old vampire soldiers with too many scars and not enough drinks. Ancient ceremonies, long before the covens had risen, before even the empires of men had crumbled. Mortals and immortals alike had been thrown into the Arena at the gods’ whim. Some called it an honor. Others, a sentence.

  The strong survived. The rest became dust.

  Champions who won were elevated, given blessings, power, sometimes even ascension. They were sung into legend, their names etched into the bones of the world.

  And those who failed?

  Forgotten. Just another scream swallowed by the divine.

  No one knew where the Arena really was. Some said it moved. That it existed in every realm and none. A place between moments, carved by divine hands, where gods played games with mortal pieces.

  And now he was one of them.

  Armor clanked behind him.

  He turned to see a knight bowing, hand on his sword.

  “My lord. His Grace is asking for you.”

  Of course he was.

  Alistair forced a smile. “My knight in shining armor,” he said. “Lead on. Wouldn’t want to keep His Grace waiting. He’s so charming when he’s irritable.”

  They walked through the halls, quiet except for their footsteps. His mind was racing.

  When they reached the chamber, he could already hear shouting from behind the door. His father was in a mood. As usual.

  The knight knocked and stepped aside.

  Alistair entered.

  First thing he saw, three bodies. Women. Drained dry.

  He raised an eyebrow. “I see we’re redecorating. Blood red does bring the room together.”

  His father didn’t laugh.

  No surprise there.

  The old vampire waved him off and barked more orders at Fergus, who was scribbling in a ledger like always.

  “I want every thrall from House Darkfang turned,” his father snapped. “Turn them into Nightfiends if we have to. They’ll serve in the armies. And let that be a warning to any noble fool enough to cross me!”

  Fergus said nothing, just kept writing.

  Alistair stood quietly, hoping to get through the meeting without triggering another monologue.

  No luck.

  His father’s eyes landed on him. He gestured with two fingers.

  “Come here.”

  Alistair stepped forward, careful not to trip over one of the corpses.

  Then he saw it, his father’s spirit guide. The giant black cat looked at him with its big, multifaceted eyes, reminiscent of a bug. Its unnerving matte eyes flashed with magic for a moment, and he immediately felt something nasty crawl inside his mana core.

  He shuddered. “Still as creepy as ever.”

  His father raised a hand. A glowing screen appeared in front of Alistair.

  He knew what it was.

  Alistair watched the data scroll, already knowing what it said but dreading his father’s reaction.

  The silence didn’t last long.

  His father’s face twitched. Then the desk shook under a thunderous fist.

  Crack.

  “Is this what you’ve been doing?!” he roared. “While I’m fighting ghouls in the trenches, you're busy playing cards and drinking blood cocktails?!”

  Alistair said nothing. Not that it would matter.

  “We’re boxed in!” his father shouted, slamming the desk again. “The necromancers swarm the south, the ghouls devour the west, the Drow and cultists creep in from the east, and the Nightstriders are sniffing at our borders from the north!”

  Another bang.

  “And my heir, my blood, can't even unlock the [Kiss of Life]?! Your brother is turning mortals left and right, building an army! And you? You’re stuck at level twelve!”

  Because I’m stuck with a class I didn’t choose, Alistair thought bitterly. Because your system saw 'Vampire Lord' and thought that was enough.

  But he kept quiet. Arguing only made it worse.

  Across the room, Fergus stood like a statue, jotting down notes. His expression gave nothing away, but Alistair caught the quick glances. The worry. Fergus had always been better at parenting than the man now hurling insults like fireballs.

  Finally, his father stopped. Breathing hard. His fangs still bared.

  He reached into a drawer and tossed something on the desk. It skidded to a stop near Alistair’s hand.

  “Take it.”

  Alistair stared at it.

  A glass capsule, filled with swirling black smoke. The mana trapped inside it throbbed faintly, like it was alive.

  “What is it?”

  “A spirit guide,” his father said. “Took it from a Drow outpost. Can’t identify it. Not even [Analyze] worked. But it’s epic rarity, so it should be useful. Maybe it'll kick your lazy ass into gear.”

  The insult rolled off him. What caught his attention was the guide itself.

  Spirit guides were rare. Bonding with one could unlock hidden skills, spells, or even class evolutions.

  Spirit guides weren’t just fancy mana banks or spell factories. They were the souls of magical beasts. Hunted, slain, bound with rituals older than the covens themselves.

  The stronger the beast had been in life, the more powerful the guide.

  But power didn’t come free. They needed mana to grow. At first, just shadows. Then outlines. And eventually...

  Fully real. Fully alive.

  Some lords had guides that lived beside them, like pets. Or guards. Or monsters.

  He glanced at the weird bug-eyed shadow-cat lounging nearby. His father’s spirit guide. That thing had tormented him since childhood, snitching on him whenever he snuck out, reading his mana signature, and worse.

  Alistair grimaced. “Hopefully this one’s less... judgmental.”

  He twisted the cap.

  The casing cracked. Smoke exploded outward in a burst of magic, swirling through the air like it was tasting freedom.

  Alistair’s eyes widened, knowing he didn’t have much time. Almost instinctively he reached out, mana floated out of his core forming a luminescent string. He felt the dark smoke detect his mana and react violently.

  As soon as the mana touched the spirit though, it almost welcomed their bond.

  The black smoke intertwined itself with Alistair’s mana and travelled towards his core. He felt something brushing against him and with a start he felt an alien consciousness inside his head. He couldn't make out any thought patterns or emotions, but something was inside him becoming one with him.

  He felt it coil, whatever it was. Deep in his core, the spirit shifted like something long and coiled uncurling from sleep. It wasn’t a voice. It wasn’t words.

  But it watched.

  Suddenly he felt the presence touch his core and Alistair’s world changed.

  [Bond Established – Spirit Guide Acquired]

  Connection Type: Soulbinder Link

  Effect: Double bond rewards applied.

  Lore: “For being a Soulbinder, and bonded with another soul, you have been awarded double the rewards!”

  [New School of Magic Unlocked – Dark]

  Current Proficiency: Level 2

  Effect: Shadow affinity awakened.

  [Skill Increase – Dark Magic: Level 2]

  Alistair blinked.

  “Of course it’s Dark Magic,” he muttered. “Because fireballs and sunshine would’ve been too cheerful.”

  Another message appeared.

  [Spell Gained – Darken Sight]

  Type: Area Control

  Cost: 10 Mana

  Cast Time: 2s

  Duration: 10s

  Cooldown: 15s

  Effect: Envelop a 3m radius in shadow. Enemy vision obscured.

  He squinted at the text, then scoffed.

  “Well, it’s nice to finally be recognized for my terrible attitude.”

  He looked around, trying to reconcile his new view of the world while simultaneously trying to absorb the information his spirit guide was imparting. But the spirit guide wasn’t done, and the voice continued. Words formed in the air while the spirit guide announced more of his rewards.

  [Secondary Attribute Advanced – Concealment]

  Base (Vampire): +5 → Current: +10

  Passive Effect: Your presence blends unnaturally well with darkness. Detection difficulty increased.

  Lore: “While others scramble to hide in the shadows, you can walk confidently in the twilight without any being the wiser! You truly are a fearsome predator!”

  [Spirit Guide Soulbond Perk Acquired]

  +20% progression speed in Dark Magic and Concealment.

  Additional latent skills possible.

  Alistair waited with bated breath, not knowing if the spirit guide was done. After a few moments of complete silence, he decided that it was done.

  He blinked several times getting accustomed to his new viewpoint. There were several changes he wanted to inspect. For one there were four bars at the edges of his vision, that looked like smudges from faded ink.

  When he focused on them, though, they became more defined with vivid colors. One was red and when he wondered what it represented, more information popped up.

  [HP: 130 / 130]

  His health was quantified into points.

  “130 HP? Guess I’m not going to die from a stubbed toe… unless it’s a really massive toe.” He muttered.

  Once he wrapped his head around that fact, he wondered what the blue bar below represented. Immediately he realized it was his mana points.

  [Mana: 82 / 82]

  Below the mana bar was his stamina points. He couldn’t help but cringe. So basically, I get winded after one dramatic monologue. Fantastic.

  [Stamina: 132 / 132]

  At the other end of his viewpoint was a single gold bar and when he focused on it more information appeared as if an invisible hand was writing in the air.

  [XP: 2,135 / 10,000]

  [Progress to Next Level: 21%]

  He was astonished and he looked over at Fergus with incredulous eyes. His eyes grew even wider though when he noticed words forming in his vision. When he focused on it, he realized that it showed him Fergus’s HP.

  Fergus frowned upon seeing that he was being scrutinized and Alistair couldn’t help but chuckle. He turned to his father hoping to get more information but to his disappointment he only got [???]

  The world looked different now.

  Not just because of the bars. Not just because of the floating words above people's heads.

  It was more than that.

  He felt a presence, quiet but alert, settled deep within his core. Watching. Listening. Reacting.

  The spirit guide.

  He’d always heard rumors. That the right guide could teach you forbidden magic. Unlock secret skills. Boost your progression tenfold.

  But that wasn’t the real reason people hunted them.

  Spirit guides made you see.

  Before, a person could live their entire life not knowing what forces moved the world. They followed orders. Followed systems. Prayed to gods they couldn’t hear.

  But with a spirit guide… things changed.

  You felt the threads. You noticed the cracks. The whims of the divine weren’t invisible anymore, they had weight. Texture. A smell, even.

  You weren’t blind anymore.

  “The moment you bond with a spirit,” his old tutor had once said, “you stop being a piece on the board. You start seeing the board.”

  Alistair swallowed.

  He wasn’t sure if that made him safer but he was ready for it.

  “Is this how you see the world?” He asked in elation and his father turned around to respond.

  He was about to answer when his face froze, and a scratchy voice filled the room.

  “It is time.”

  Get early access to chapters, bonus content, and more. Now’s the perfect time to jump in!

  Patreon