Darkness.
It was the kind that pressed against the soul, formless, endless. Satori Mikami drifted, disembodied, waiting for oblivion.
But oblivion never came.
Instead, a voice – monotone, emotion less – cut through the void.
[Unique Skill: Reincarnation has been activated.]
[Soul successfully stabilized. Transfer complete.]
Then – sensation.
His first breath was like inhaling ice. Cold air filled unfamiliar lungs, sharp and raw, making his chest ache as if his body protested existence itself. He coughed, his new voice echoing across the cavern walls – light, feminine, musical.
The hunger followed.
Not the hunger for food, but an ache that ran deeper, hotter, more primal. His – her – throat burned, a raging thirst that refused to be ignored. It was maddening, clawing at every thought, whispering: Drink. Feed. Devour.
Her body trembled, not from weakness but from too much strength. Muscles coiled with alien energy, her senses bursting with information. She heard the scrape of beetle legs against stone fifty paces away, the faint heartbeat of something small and warm in a distant crevice, the rush of mana currents swirling in the air like a storm.
Her fingers dug into the earth. Long, pale slender fingers – too delicate, too perfect. She jerked her hand back, staring. The skin was smooth, unscarred, as though chiseled from moonlight. A lock of silver hair fell before her crimson vision, shimmering with an unnatural sheen.
She staggered toward a shallow pool of water. Its surface rippled faintly, reflecting a stranger's face back at her.
Scarlet eyes. Fangs sharp enough to pierce bone. The beauty of an ageless maiden.
"...No way." The words escaped her lips, soft and crystalline, not her own voice at all.
The reflection smiled back – not with joy, but with hunger.
[Race: Lesser Vampire has been established.]
[Intrinsic Skills: Vampiric Drain, Night Vision, Bat Transformation, Rapid Regeneration.]
The voice returned, calm and absolute. She dropped to her knees, clutching her throat as the thirst clawed deeper. Blood. I need blood. The thought was not hers, but it was inside her, pounding with every beat of her heart.
I... I died. I was supposed to... to disappear. Why am I here?
The cave gave no answer. Only the sound of her breath, ragged and uneven, echoed through the silence.
Her instincts urged her to crawl deeper into the shadows, to hunt the creatures hiding there, to sink her fangs into their flesh and drink. But her human mind recoiled, horrified at the craving.
And then –
The ground shock.
At first, it was subtle, a low vibration running through her knees. Then came the rumble, deeper and louder, like thunder trapped beneath the earth. The cavern trembled, loose stones falling from the ceiling.
A laugh followed – vast, booming, rich with mirth and ancient pride. It was a sound so deep that her very bones vibrated from it.
Her crimson eyes snapped up.
From across the cavern, behind an enormous lattice of glowing runes and chains of divine light, something stirred. A presence so vast, so suffocating, that her instincts screamed at her to flee.
But her new body did not allow her to. It froze her in place, trembling under the weight of that aura.
Golden eyes opened within the seal.
They burned like suns, unblinking, piercing through her soul. Scales shimmered faintly in the faint glow of the enchantments binding them, each one brimming with untold mana. The sheer pressure of his existence was enough to crush lesser beings into dust.
A dragon.
Her instincts, sharper than thought, told her this was no mere monster. This was power incarnate.
The being shifted, chains groaning as they resisted his movement. Then, his massive maw curved into something resembling a grin.
"Kuahahaha! What is this? A fledgling awakens before me? A child of night, reborn in darkness? How amusing!"
His laughter cracked the cavern walls, shaking dust and debris loose.
She wanted to speak, to demand answers, but her throat burned too hotly, her hunger too fierce. Her gaze locked onto the dragon's form – though she knew she could never drink the blood of such a being, her instincts snarled, urging her to try.
Her hands clenched into fists.
"...I..." Her voice cracked, but she forced the words out. "I don't know why I was brought here. I don't know what I've become. But..." Her crimson eyes narrowed, gleaming against the shadows. "I won't cower."
The dragon's grin widened, his golden eyes alight with amusement.
"Excellent! Kuahahaha! You amuse me even more, little vampire. So bold, so defiant. Very well – come closer. Let us see what fate has woven for you."
The seal glowed brighter as his laughter echoed once more, shaking the cavern.
And though her hunger burned, though fear twisted in her chest, she took a step forward.
Toward the Storm Dragon. Toward destiny.
Under the unseen glow of a crimson moon that seemed to rise only within her soul, the first thread of new legend was spun.
The tale of the Vampire Rimuru – crimson heir of darkness – had begun.