The Pact: Bruno and the Crimson Veil

POV: Bruno

Wrath. Pain. Hatred. Thirst.

Countless feelings consumed me.

And with every beast I killed, I felt my sanity crumble.

The thirst seemed endless.

I killed, killed, killed…

And never felt satisfied.

My body was undergoing a hellish transformation.

My Vitae was growing denser, slowly expanding within me.

I might have grown four centimeters taller already.

My muscles were becoming more compact, forged by war.

My white hair now fell past my shoulders.

Wounds healed too quickly.

And even drowning in madness…

I still felt the pain of mutation.

If I once absorbed 90% of the blood during a hunt, now…

It was 100%. Without question.

Every drop was consumed.

But it wasn't just thirst for blood anymore.

It was the need for Vitae.

And blood was where Vitae flowed.

So I absorbed everything—everything.

Even the strongest beasts now lay as dry corpses,

emptied by my insatiable thirst.

I didn't want to.

But I had no control anymore.

I killed. Killed. Killed. Killed.

And without noticing, a dark aura of death wrapped around me.

My body had entered a hellish cycle:

I was wounded in battle,

then healed the moment I drank blood.

Thus, flesh, bones, skin—everything became stronger.

Nourished by the essence of Vitae, I was being remade.

But…

Hours of intense hunting and consumed blood weren't enough.

Desperate, led only by instinct, I searched the body of a creature and found something hidden under its fur.

A black crystal.

It pulsed with condensed Vitae.

I swallowed it.

And for a moment, the thirst vanished.

After more hunts, I found six more crystals of different colors.

I devoured them all.

And for a brief moment, the hunger silenced.

These crystals were rare.

Out of every hundred beasts, maybe one carried one.

Their effect? Short.

Long enough to kill one beast…

Then hunt the next.

Insufficient.

Insufficient.

Insufficient.

Insufficient.

Insufficient.

My mind screamed—already fraying, already crumbling.

I needed more.

Even as my veins burned.

Even if the pain was unbearable.

It wasn't a choice.

It wasn't a desire.

It was instinct.

I needed it.

More.

More. More. More. More.

So I began hunting stronger beasts—

Creatures almost at the Second Level.

Some as strong as Astrel in his prime, maybe stronger.

But I fought.

I tore.

I ripped.

I drank.

I swallowed crystals.

And again:

Fought.

Tore.

Ripped.

Drank.

More crystals.

But it still wasn't enough.

— Help me… please… I thought, drowning in despair.

Why did you abandon me?

Why didn't you come for me?

I waited…

Then?

Why?

Did?

You?

Not?

Come?

My thoughts fractured.

Words shattered by madness.

That day…

In that forest…

A demon rose.

Not by choice.

Not by ambition.

But by hunger.

He drank blood.

Destroyed lives.

And cried where no one could see.

Yet if anyone passed through that forest…

They would see that the feared Snow Demon, soaked in blood and chaos,

was crying.

Under a childish face, with tears mixed with thick red on his lips,

tears ran down…

Silent. Lost.

A poor abandoned child.

---

While that demon went mad,

on a stone-covered hill, wolves lay scattered.

And at the highest point,

three of them watched in silence.

The Three Kings of the Territory.

Three beasts of Third Level.

Below them, nine wolves barked and howled, trying to explain the chaos.

> — A… predator. It's slaughtering the prey in our area…

The Three Kings growled in unison — an ancient, threatening sound with one meaning:

> — Who dares invade our land?

One of the messengers tried to explain, stuttering:

> — A giant black bear… nearly reaching Third Level.

And… and a snow demon? We're not sure…

The three kings exchanged glances.

The middle wolf — larger than the others, with black fur speckled in white and a deep scar on his face — lowered his head in silent command.

The order was given.

The leftmost wolf howled and took off, followed by four Second-Level beasts.

---

Elsewhere in the forest…

Inside a forgotten cave,

a white-haired demon screamed in agony.

He punched the walls.

Slammed his head into the stone.

Fought against himself.

Inside his body, a star was being born:

The Vampire's Vitae Core.

A four-pointed star, where all blood and energy gather.

Each purified drop from this process is called by an ancient sacred name:

> Purissimus Sanguis Purus

Purest True Blood

This drop marks the end of vampiric childhood.

The birth of identity.

The beginning of eternity.

Every race has a core:

Vampires: Star of Blood

Humans: Mana Core

Dragons: Heart of Vitae

Phoenixes: Feather of Nirvana

Gods: Authority

Angels: Angelic Cycle

Demons: Demonic Cycle

Werewolves: Manifestation in the Flesh

Each one, a different path to evolution.

But now, Bruno's Star of Blood expanded violently.

It pulled all his Vitae inward.

And that caused pain beyond imagination.

Across millennia, vampires created ways to soften that pain.

But Bruno…

He knew none of them.

He was thrown to death.

His transformation…

was the most primitive, the most brutal, the most savage.

---

The Four Points of the Star

1. Crux Vitae (Cross of Instinct)

The beginning.

It started two days ago, when Bruno began hunting without restraint. The purification began.

2. Crux Doloris (Cross of Pain)

The second stage.

Blood is violently expelled through the veins, bringing monstrous pain.

This happens ten times before advancing.

3. Crux Silentii (Cross of Silence)

Pain dominates. The body shuts down.

The vampire enters a state of pseudo-death.

The star draws blood from bones, organs, and muscles — merging it with the already purified blood.

This cruel process repeats five times, until Bruno's blood completely replaces the absorbed one.

DNA reconstructed. Matter reformed. Pain unspeakable.

4. Crux Veritatis (Cross of Truth)

The final purification.

Under the numbing effects of the previous stage, this is nearly painless.

But the blood is purified millions of times until only one condensed drop remains.

For neophytes, this marks the end of transformation.

When it ends, the vampire is no longer a newborn.

---

Bruno lay on the ground.

He had entered the third stage.

The pain shut down his entire body.

His Vitae focused into the core.

The violet light of his star pulsed intensely.

And on each point… tiny black orbs spun like satellites of suffering.

His eyes, dull.

Expressionless.

Lifeless.

His instincts shut down body and mind.

Because to feel that pain…

Was death.

---

After a long period of torment…

The third stage ended.

And the fourth began.

All the blood within me, absorbed in my madness, began to purify…

Thousands. Maybe millions of times.

Each drop was crushed, filtered, compacted inside my body.

It was as if my own Vitae expanded to the ends of the universe and collapsed back into fragile veins.

The blood exploded inside me.

If my mind had still been awake, I would have died.

But…

It had shut down in stage three.

Maybe that's why I survived.

---

POV: Bruno

My eyes opened.

And for the first time in days, the pain was gone.

The hole in my leg had closed.

My arm, once broken, was healed — still dislocated, but painless.

I lay in a dark cave.

Only my breath echoed between the rocks.

I approached a stone and hurled it effortlessly.

I felt… three times stronger than I was before.

My body was bigger.

My white hair now long, falling over my shoulders.

When I tried to channel the Vitae…

It responded, smooth and obedient.

Flávia was right.

Using Vitae before and after the Star of Blood…

They were two different worlds.

I left the cave.

Night had fallen over the forest.

I started running, trying to find my way.

Soon, I recognized a trail… and then I found it.

The lake.

But it was…

Filled with corpses.

Opportunistic crocodiles fought over remains.

Predators clashed over rotten prey.

I froze.

— What… what happened here?

Until I noticed the dried, empty corpses.

Then I understood.

— I… I did this?

— Was it… during the transformation?

I was horrified.

But it wasn't time for panic.

I needed to find Ignis and Astrel.

I climbed a tree and used the position of the cliff to navigate.

I started running toward it.

I was much faster now.

Not quite three times, like my strength — but at least double… maybe two and a half.

Then I froze.

Two killing intents pierced my body like blades.

Ahead of me, a white glowing wolf fought a massive black bear.

Both of them looked like incarnations of death.

Each clash destroyed the surroundings.

Panic.

I turned around and ran, recalculating the path to the cave.

Then…

Four wolves surrounded me.

Second-Level Beasts.

Perfect hunters.

And I…

I was the prey.

---

Terrified.

Unarmed.

Trapped.

— Seriously? After all that… I'm gonna die like this?

Before I could react, the wolves attacked — synchronized, precise.

One from each side.

— Jump!

That was all I could think.

I jumped, and miraculously, they missed — surprised by my reflex.

But now they growled with fury.

The hunt had begun.

---

Only this time… I had something new.

A spiritual sense.

Still raw. Untrained. But…

Enough.

The moment one of them moved a paw, I felt it.

I jumped even higher.

Dodged.

Climbed a tree.

I sprinted through the branches.

They snarled below like monsters.

Maybe it was blood instinct.

Maybe hatred for my kind.

But they hunted me with relentless rage.

Their roars…

Cruel. Hostile. Final.

They wanted my blood.

— If only I had a weapon…

Then I felt it.

A claw slashed my left side.

Pain burned across my ribs.

I was thrown through several trees.

I couldn't win.

They were too fast.

Natural predators.

Second-Level Beasts.

I ran.

Didn't care about injuries.

Each step — my body begged for survival.

Then…

Death's breath touched my neck.

A giant wolf was about to tear out my throat.

In sheer desperation,

my Vitae surged.

It flowed through my back.

Pulsed.

Expanded.

And a massive pair of bat-like wings burst from my flesh.

I took flight.

---

Under the dark sky,

I soared — excited, relieved, alive.

Between the treetops,

the wolves couldn't see me.

Couldn't follow.

I survived.

I flew straight to the cave near the cliff.

The place where it all began.

And finally…

— I'm back, Ignis.

.