Revelation

The orc roared, its scream vibrating on vigil's ears, he tried to shake him off but Vigil held on, driving his nails further into its skin. With his remaining hand, he raised his short sword and stabbed deeply into the orc's shoulder.

Vigil tried driving his sharp fangs deep into the creature's neck when the orc's massive fingers reached the back and grabbed Vigil's leg. He tried to hold but the beast yanked him towards the ground with brute force.

Seizing the opportunity the orc rushed towards him as Vigil was still recuperating from the impact, and just before he could crush him with his weight, the girl dashed in front of him and slashed the orc with an upward slash, leaving a deep wound on its path.

"You damn bastard!" the girl screamed, her voice filled with rage.

The orc didn't utter a word, he fell down to one knee, blood was slowly gushing out from the deep wounds he received.

Vigil slowly lifted himself up with the girl's help, she had extended a hand to him. Both remained quiet as if acknowledging each other. They set their eyes on the last orc of the fortress, who forced himself back up.

Vigil spat to the ground as prepared himself to finish the fight. "Persistent pig! Just die"

The beast charged again, although this time he was considerably slower. He swung his massive fist. Vigil ducked, but the orc twisted mid-motion, catching him with a backhand that sent him sliding across the floor.

It tried to press on but the girl intervened. She moved like a dancer on stage. As the orc turned, she dived with her scissors, driving the blades deep into its thigh before twisting the blades like a clock and ripping them free.

The orc ignored the pain and swung at her but it was too wide, she dodged and with the motion she snapped the scissors shut around its wrist, severing its hand.

The orc screamed in pain, but it wasn't done, almost like it was using the suffering as an engine, he grabbed her with the remaining arm, high in the air.

She panicked but Vigil was already on the move. He leapt towards the orc's defenceless chest; the sword was aimed directly towards his heart.

The blade pushed through, destroying everything in its path. The orc let out one last roar as its body collapsed onto the ground.

Vigil dismissed his sword. His breathing was heavy while his whole body screamed with exhaustion and pain.

The girl remained quiet for a short while, her eyes were dark and distant as if they were lost in thought. The courtyard around them was a mess.

Moments before it was a scenery of party and comradeship, now it was a place of carnage. Dead orc bodies were scattered across the ground, and barrels of alcohol were spilled. And above all it was quiet.

Lun landed a few inches away from its master, it had a few scratches on its wings but that didn't seem to bother him too much.

"We made them pay master" it said, his voice proud.

"We sure did" he answered while checking his body. "But it could have gone better"

"Speak for yourself" said the girl as she turned towards them, her expression remained indifferent. The joyous energy that seemed to always surround her was now of melancholy and sadness.

"Those moves and that scissor, just who are you?" said Vigil while he inspected Lun's body.

"I can ask you the same thing, those nails and eye colour are definitely not of an elf" she answered, her voice laced with sarcasm.

Vigil remained quiet for a short while, watching the girl as she wiped her scissors clean. The silence between them prolonged, the air felt heavy with unanswered questions.

"You're wrong", he finally said. "I am an elf, but also something worse".

The girl studied him for a long moment, she didn't back away. "A vampire".

Both Vigil and Lun's eyes widen in disbelief. "You knew? How and when!"

"Please" she rolled her eyes in return "What was I supposed to do? Throw garlic at you mid-fight?" she gestured at his exposed teeth with the tip of her scissors. "Besides you're not exactly subtle when you're pissed".

Vigil closed his mouth shut. He was too focused on the fight and the smell of blood led him to succumb to his own nature. He felt dejected about himself.

The girl seemed trustworthy enough since she didn't react strongly to him but what would have happened if she hadn't? Vigil looked briefly at his own hands and thought he still had a lot to learn.

"And what's your excuse then?" he added, his voice irritated like a kid caught stealing a piece of candy.

She smirked back at him, flipping the scissors with practised ease ."Maybe I'm just that good"

Vigil didn't answer for a few seconds before he breathed heavily. "Unbelievable".

The girl twitched her shoulders. "You're the one who ousted himself" Now are we done with the dramatic reveals?".

"We're done" said Vigil, his voice sounded a bit irritated.

"Good. I'm going to search this place for anything valuable" The girl chuckled as she turned her back to him.

Vigil watched the girl walk away. She stopped here and then to search the bodies, while Vigil felt a sudden relief crawling down over his body. Ever since the fight with the orc he was in pain, not because of the wounds but the hunger. The smell of blood rushed his appetite even further.

He turned his attention towards the orc leader's body. The scent of blood was strong and thick, his nostrils were wide open and his nails fully fleshed out. He threw another quick glance around, to confirm he was alone.

Vigil tried to fight against his urge. He was yet to get used to his new nature but the blood singed to him and his body reacted faster than his own mind. It was almost like it was out of instinct.

He indulged in the orc's blood, though it felt different from the Rune bear. It was bitter and thick with the stench of alcohol, but it would do.

He pulled back after a short while, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. His now blue eyes looked satisfied when a voice startled him.

"The strong fall, the hungry rise. The perfect feast, Nightborn."

[Reward: Blood Price]

The voice vanished as fast as it appeared. Then Vigil felt something inside him shift. The wounds he had received from the fight with the orc were slowly closing, the pain around his back slowly evaporated with time.

He gasped, his voice was low and his eyes were wide with surprise, he looked towards his familiar, Lun.

"What the hell is happening?"

"It looks like something inside your soul core changed," Lun added while he looked towards his master's body with a studious look. "The battles while dangerous can also be a gift. Feeding on stronger foes will make you stronger at a faster rate".

Following the bat's instruction, vigil crossed his legs again and followed the exact same pattern like he did last time on the cave. But this time it was faster; he felt a stronger connection with his body.

He opened his eyes and was once again at his soul's core. It looked exactly the same but this time the crystal obelisk at the centre was glowing, small yellow particles surrounded it.

Vigil moved slowly towards the centre, he didn't feel unsafe, it was just that this whole concept of his soul core was still foreign to him. Back in the days at the academy, he heard some noise about the soul core but only a very few had reached it. Their methods were unknown.

He touched the obelisk with his palm, absorbing the light from it and his mind was slowly rushed with words. The voice was strangely similar from when he slayed the orcs.

Rank: Fledgling [ 350/ 1000]

Blood Pool: [150/ 150]

Core Abilities:

Blood sense - Detect living beings through their blood.

Blood Weave: Manipulate blood to form temporary weapons.

Blood Price: Battle wounds heal in direct proportion to enemy blood loss, but with recovery, the hunger bites deeper.

A wide dangerous smile formed on Vigil's lips. He could outlast any opponent as long they had blood to spill. He wasn't worried about the downside; hunger can too be a tool to use.

He returned back to the courtyard, and his familiar looked directly into its master's eyes.

"Good, you understand now," it said, his voice contemptuous.

Vigil smiled and without a word, lifted himself up and moved towards the stable, close to the fortress entrance. He didn't care about the fortress; his mind was set on two goals.

Pay a visit to the Village elder and go back home. Valthera.