[Blood Diary Entry]
From the moment the black blood made contact with me, I felt the consciousness inside of it extinguished, and the sludge entered me through the skin.
It was as if a waterfall of pure energy was stuffed inside of me.
My body bloated, my flesh strained, every nerve inside of me snapped at the same time. My skin started cracking apart, and my eyes rolled around furiously due to the pain.
I couldn't scream—not even groan—as my throat was ripped apart.
The worst part of it all is that my body healed just as quickly, only to be torn the very next second.
Mental pressure descended on my brain, making my thoughts clearer and sharper. But that only made me feel the pain on a deeper level.
The blood inside me stirred in turn, directly clashing against the black blood.
My body started to collapse faster, destroying itself from the inside out.
It was then that the changes inside my soul began.
A torrent of darkness descended on it; part of it went to the metaphysical chains that bound me, the rest washed over every part of my soul.
A burning pain came from the depths of my being; it made my teeth itch.
The pain made me angry and desperate; I wanted to do anything other than feel what was happening inside my body at that moment.
I tried thinking about anything else, but the pain was too loud for any other thoughts to drown it out. I tried inflicting even more pain by biting my tongue, but it obviously didn't help. I pounded my head with my fists, but that only gave me a headache.
I instinctively tried to turn into mist, but instead, part of my body turned into blood, only to turn back the next second.
The pain became even greater.
Deep in my soul, I felt the chains strain and creak helplessly.
Until they shattered.
Then everything changed.
The pain subsided slightly.
My body started to adapt and welcome the foreign blood.
Every fiber, every sinew, every bone—down to the last nerve—became stronger.
My soul grew in size and density.
The world around me became clearer.
My body started to change.
I grew a bit taller, my features became more defined, I lost some of that childish chubbiness, instead I became leaner.
Twelve structures took shape in my soul alongside the library that I knew was the manifestation of Sol'Vahr's ability. Then five others surrounded the new structures.
They were shapeless at the moment, but they were slowly taking form.
Outside of my soul, my body and blood purified themselves, becoming much more potent.
This went on for maybe half an hour more.
By the end of it, the air around me bent due to what I had become, the night became darker, and the light from the lampposts seemed dimmer the closer they were to me.
I opened my eyes, and I saw everything, and I do mean everything.
Chains were flying in the sky, all of them in different colors. Focusing on the ground, I could see the pores in the asphalt. Every other sense became as potent as well.
Which was kind of a nightmare, at least until I could control them.
I got up from the bench, or at least I tried to. But the moment my hand exerted pressure to help me get up, the wood cracked, and the bench broke.
Thus, I fell to the ground.
My hands sank into the solid surface, leaving behind prints of their shape.
I tried moving as carefully as possible, but instead I was launched at impossible speeds ahead, crashing once more into the ground.
Okay, this is enough!
I sat cross-legged on the ground and turned my gaze inwards, to every change inside my body.
The first thing I noticed was that my body as a whole had become that much stronger. The default control I had over the Higher Vampire's overwhelming might turned useless. Because even after using the same amount of restraint I used in the past, I was still doing such ridiculous feats.
Then I turned to my blood, and the change couldn't be more obvious. The energy it exuded now, compared to before, was akin to a planet compared to a mountain. It was honestly ridiculous.
But no change in my body was as drastic as the ones in my soul.
Firstly, my evolutionary chains were completely broken. I now had full dominion as to how ridiculous an existence I could become. Essentially, it meant I no longer had any true limits. That was as scary as it was exciting.
Secondly, there were 17 new abilities inside my soul. Well, technically, 12 abilities and 5 blessings. The abilities were similar to what Caine called the 'disciplines'. As for the blessings, they were the curses that Caine had inside of him, only they turned into blessings when I adapted to them.
Twelve crystalline towers rose around the library within my soul, and five shadowed halos circled them.
Higher Vampiric inherent evolutionary capability and human adaptability really saved me there…
I knew I had some superficial understanding of all that was inside my soul, but it didn't hurt to study them further.
I studied the disciplines first, and they were as follows: Celerity, Potence, Fortitude, Obfuscate, Dominate, Presence, Protean, Animalism, Auspex, Dementation, Blood Sorcery, and Tenebrity.
Celerity was the discipline of speed, in any shape or form. It allowed me to become faster and more agile.
Potence was the discipline of strength and power. Allowing me to grow my absurd strength even further as I became more proficient in it.
Fortitude was all about resistance and defense. If I became sufficiently capable in it, I would eventually be akin to an immovable fortress in the shape of a man.
Obfuscate was the art of concealment. Making it so I would be unnoticed even if I stood amidst a crowd.
Dominate was the control I could exude over others using only my will to overpower theirs. This was dangerous, very dangerous. Because it didn't quite possess the finesse Rebekah's compel had, if I wasn't careful, by using Dominate, I could completely shatter my target's mind. Best to only use it after I get some experience in it…
Presence was natural charisma turned into a weapon. It worked basically by making everyone have a positive impression of me and making me that much more irresistible. Kind of like the Abel I saw in the vision Cain showed me, if I managed to read those confusing memories correctly, that is.
Protean worked by allowing me to shapeshift, and with it, I could basically be anyone, or anything, given enough time and knowledge.
Animalism allowed me to understand and communicate with animals or other non-rational beings. An ability that may prove very useful to me.
Auspex was an improvement over the senses, allowing one to evolve their senses to absurd levels and sometimes to develop a sixth sense.
Dementation—at least in my case—was the result of witnessing Cain's eternal suffering, combined with the existential weight of being a Higher Vampire Primogenitor. It was essentially weaponized madness. I can drive others to insanity by simply existing…
That is absurd…
Blood Sorcery is kind of self-explanatory, but it is the advanced usage of the energy inside my blood. Though I am curious if it also encompasses hemomancy in it. Food for thought…
And last but not least was Tenebrity. The control over shadows and darkness. Through it, I could hop around shadows and command them to do my bidding. Ah, I will have such fun with this one.
Then my attention turned to the curses—now blessings.
"Thou will be denied the embrace of the sun."
Became: "Thou will be embraced by darkness." Meaning I became stronger in the night's embrace.
"All food shall be ashes upon your mouth."
Became: "All shall be your nourishment." Weird wording, but essentially everything I consumed would be turned into pure energy, and there would be no waste.
"Thou shall only be satisfied by blood."
Became: "Thou shall grow with blood." Any time I consumed blood, I would grow stronger, and blood overall would become more satisfying to drink.
"Thy body shall be weak to the purity of flame."
Became: "Thy body shall become the purifying flame." This one made me capable of creating divine flame… Eh, what the hell???
Ah… Will I be branded a heretic for this?
Best not dwell on it too much.
"Thou shall never be harmed."
This one didn't actually change all that much; I just became capable of controlling when it would actually manifest itself. The classic sevenfold retribution for which Caine was feared. Meaning any harm done to me would be retributed sevenfold. Though oddly enough, this one seemed dormant.
Finally finished with my inner assessment, I tried to carefully regain initial control over my strength, carefully getting up from the ground.
I was successful, though my movements were a bit awkward.
I moved to a nearby puddle to see the change in my appearance.
And damn…
I am much more handsome now…
Though weirdly, I kind of resemble a mix of what I was before and how Caine looked.
My bright blue eyes became a vibrant red.
My raven hair became even darker. It now drank the light, seemingly absorbing it into itself.
The rest didn't change much.
One thing that did change, though, was a mark engraved on my shoulder…
The mark of the first murderer.
It was an odd mix between a tattoo and a scar.
My mother is going to kill me…