The Lord of Veins | Shadow Slave

Present day—about six months after the previous chapter with Dex.

Zerin closed his eyes, sinking into the darkness of his soul sea. The familiar crimson moon greeted him, its eerie glow carving through the darkness like a spotlight. But instead of shining upon him the light pooled a few feet ahead, illuminating a motionless figure crumpled in its blood red glow.

It was the Scourged Howler.

Beneath the crimson light, the flesh of the Howler slowly and painstakingly began to knit itself back together.

The process seemed to require the creature to be unconscious or even put it into a near-death like state. The once-glowing blue sockets of its eyes were hollow. It looked dead.

A set of runes emerged upon his focus on the scene before him, displaying the status of the creature.

Scourged Howler Condition: [Stable, 90%]

Zerin exhaled, his voice even though it was barely above a whisper easily traveled through the darkness. "It's been months, and you're still recovering…"

Guilt began to root in his mind. This was his fault—if only he had listened to the creature, he wouldn't have risked their lives nor would he have lost months of his life.

Shaking off the past, he turned back to his runes. Searching further through his selection, he unveiled a slew of new runes that he had yet to appraise.

Aspect: [Lord Of Veins]

Aspect Rank: Divine.

Aspect Abilities: […]

Aspect Legacy: [Sealed Desires]

He couldn't believe what he was witnessing.

Aspect Legacy?!

His shock was justified—this boon was nothing short of extraordinary. Every Aspect held a Aspect Legacy, yet only a rare few among the Awakened ever unlocked one. The conditions to receive an aspect legacy were obscure, unique to each individual, making it difficult to discern. In almost every case, it was hidden, forcing one to uncover it through their own journey.

"What triggered this discovery?" Zerin pondered.

To find out the reasoning behind discovering one's Aspect Legacy was a great step in progressing it.

"Sealed Desires…" He blinked a few times trying to think about the catalyst could have possibly been.

He couldn't pinpoint the exact moment it had manifested.

Frustrated, he turned to the description for answers.

"Damned Spell… Now I have to rely on you for correct answers." He sighed, his eyes beginning to read the runes.

Aspect Legacy: [Sealed Desires]

Sealed Desires Description: [The Twin God's divine ascension was sparked upon witnessing what dwelled in the Abyss. An unspeakable horror reintroduced itself—a terror that could only be cast out by the light that breaks within The Womb of the World. Yet, instead of succumbing to the same anguish, The Twin God was saved by the grace of his Twin. Thus, corruption was avoided, but blasphemous desires were seeded.]

Zerin's thoughts spiraled.

"The Twin God's divine ascension was sparked upon witnessing what dwelled in the Abyss?"

"Wasn't the spell meant to guide the Awakened toward divinity?" Zerin internally posed a question.

Just that single phrase along disturbed his current understanding. He had always assumed that divinity was the inevitable fate of all Awakened that could pass the trials of the Nightmares.

In the past with zero knowledge about the spell's true origins, he clung to its function: it was a path—a guiding force leading those who bore it to godhood—divinity. But this wasn't what the spell was stating at all, instead the spell stated that upon witnessing what he saw his ascension began.

Zerin's mind recalled images of what he saw and he quickly closed his eyes to dispel them.

"So confusing…"

His thoughts drifted elsewhere, as his eyes began sifting through the runes before him. The back of his mind fixated on the mention of his Twin in the spell's text. He was nearly certain that this mysterious twin could only be Wisteria. But that couldn't be true could it? He consumed her essence—she died before his very eyes. Besides, humanity's collective knowledge reinforced this truth: all the gods were long dead.

"She is dead."

He exhaled. Admitting it only got easier after a long period of time. If not for her influence upon his Aspect, he probably would have entirely forgotten about her by now. But this Aspect of his mad that impossible.

Lost in this thought, he stared blankly at a set of new runes, tied to a new memory and two new attributes waiting to looked over.

Memory Name: [Firmament Fragment]

Memory Rank: [Dormant, Tier 7]

Memory Description: [A fragment of the firmament, uncharged and displaced.]

Zerin's eyes raced to the singular enchantment this memory possessed.

Memory Enchantment: [Unstable Resonance]

Fragment Requirement: [0/500]

Enchantment Description: [Upon funneling one's energy into this fragment this fragments will be destroyed, and a unstable gateway will emerge.]

Zerin coughed, then blinked a few times, but his eyes weren't fooling him.

"A gateway? could this open a way back home?!"

If that were true, he could leave right now. He would reach Awakened rank! Without hesitation he summoned the jagged, dull rock in his hand.

It was the same rock he had gathered from that pit, the stone that seemed to be imprisoning that terrible monstrosity in ice.

"But this requirement is insane—five hundred soul fragments?"

Zerin sifted to check his own amount of soul fragments accumulated and immediately got humbled.

Soul Fragments: [85/1000]

"I barely have ninety!" he shouted.

He paused, considering the sheer number of creatures he would have to slay to meet the requirement.

Zerin furrowed his brow. "If a Dormant creature with a single core grants me anywhere from one to five soul fragments, that means… I'd have to kill hundreds of them!"

His estimate wasn't exact, but it gave him a rough idea. Low tier Dormant nightmare creatures weren't the way to go. If he wanted to do this efficiently, he have to target stronger Dormant creatures or take the risk of fighting Awakened ones, which held even a greater amounts of fragments.

Lifting his head from the runes, he deeply thought over the reality of his situation.

"On my own I should be capable of killing an Awakened nightmare creature… at least, a lower-tier one."

And with the help of his Veinborne it would be even easier.

A sudden surge of excitement rushed through him, and he tried to suppress the grin creeping onto his face. This was it! The best news he'd had in days—no, months.

All he had to do was hunt. If he reached five hundred fragments, he could leave. But if he stayed longer… he could he could push his limits and saturate his core completely, reaching one thousand before using the [Firmament Fragment].

Then, a thought struck him.

Obligations

Zerin's grip tightened around the jagged rock before his hand dropped to his side. He said he'd help Evan for the next few days. And more importantly, he swore he would find Dex.

"Stubborn bastard… I know you're still out there."

His sudden frown shifted into a smirk.

Zerin then drew the fragment back into his soul seal, the memory exploded into red runes.

"Those runes again."

Having grown familiar with his soul sea, he had noticed its distinct difference from reality. Here, he could summon memories freely, un hindered by his innate ability, [Blood Fee], which normally siphoned his blood. But the most striking difference as how memories were summoned and dispersed—just like in the First Nightmare, the didn't just dissolve into sparks of light in his soul sea. Instead they broke apart into red runes.

After the runes dissipated Zerin turned his attention back to the runes before him. Finally, he was going to go over the last two attributes waiting to be inspected.

Attribute Name: [Divine Initiate]

Attribute Description: You have been initiated into the Divine.

Zerin studied the runes, but once again, he found himself confused. This attribute only reinforced what the Aspect legacy had already revealed—that divinity was far more complete that he had imagined prior.

But that was all this attribute had to offer, so he moved on.

Zerin squinted as he read the attributes name.

"Blood. Everything is in blood."

The spell was right. Twice now, he had come dangerously close to death. Was this common for those infected with the spell?

"Most would go insane, wouldn't they? At least I still have my sanity."

Zerin let out a quiet chuckle, but it quickly faded as he listened to the deafening silence of his soul sea.

He turned and with a final glance at the crimson moon, he closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, he was back—sitting cross-legged in front of the crackling fire.

Across from him, Evan was slumped against the cave wall, snoring loudly. His previous injuries had left him in this state of utter exhaustion. Nearby, still unconscious the two girls remained huddled together next to the fire—it had only been a few hours since they were nestled there.

Zerin pushed himself up and stepped forward to the fire, eyeing the small pot resting above the flames. Inside there was a meager portion of stew, barely more than broth. Something Evan managed to scrape together with whatever he could.

A pitiful meal. Not even a scrap of meat.

"Not really hungry anyway." Zerin thought.

The words stirred recent memory—the memory of him waking up to the taste of blood in his mouth and the remnants of a nightmare creature's innards before him.

Allowing the thought to drift away, he turned toward the cave's barricaded entrance. Then, he hesitated.

***

Outside, Zerin took a deep breath.

"Okay… this is going to suck."

Summoning from the depths of his soul sea, he drew out the Veinborne.

From the sparks that emerged, a swirling vortex of blood coalesced in the air, the sound of rushing liquid filled his eyes as the creature took shape from his blood. As the manifestation completed, Zerin staggered, his back pressing against the barricade. The toll on his body was heavy, but even with the condition of his weaker body, it wasn't as overwhelming as the first time.

The Howler stood before him—towering and pristine as ever. But something was wrong.

Zerin's expression darkened. "Damn it."

The creature wasn't whole. Summoning it before it had fully recovered caused such a result—it was missing an entire left arm. Yet, despite this wound that would be rather grievous, the Howler remained indifferent, casually lapping at the blood spilling from its open cavity.

"Welcome back to reality… Another thing we have in common."

Zerin tilted his head, shivering slightly as the effects of his innate ability really began taking a toll. His body felt cold and he was lightheaded.

The Veinborne shifted its glowing, icy-blue gaze toward him, licking the blood that was lingering on its maw.

"No excuses…" Zerin let out a dry chuckle. "You did warn me."

The creature offered no reaction, it gaze steady, patient.

"You suspect I called you for a reason?" he straightened regaining a speck of composure. "Well, you're right. I have something I need you to do…"