The moment she spoke the others gulped hard, the sound unnaturally loud in the hush that had fallen over the Crucible.
They knew the four Elders of this branch well... their tempers, their cruelty, their pride, but the fifth figure… He was a walking myth, someone they had hardly seen and only heard stories about, even on their home world.
The air itself seemed to thicken and become even heavier with the weight of five Calamity auras pressing down like invisible mountains.
"Hmm, Princess Raven," Alucard said, voice smooth as spilled wine, not minding her outburst in the slightest. By now he knew everything... how Ash arrived and etc. thanks to Ester's silent reports. What they couldn't understand was how the mean, stuck-up princess was standing up for someone she had met mere days ago.
"You don't have to worry," Alucard continued, gesturing lazily toward Kaelthyr, whose silver eyes never left Ash. "We have come to offer your friend here something."
Ash himself had a frown that never left. He didn't like the positions he kept finding himself in since coming to Astralis. From being kidnapped... something he didn't mind since it worked out in his favor.... but dying then this.... it was the cause of one thing.
'Weakness.' He thought internally before he stepped in front of Raven and spoke.
"And the offer is?" He asked casually.
"To be my disciple," Kaelthyr said at last, stepping forward. The moment the words left his mouth the entire Crucible went dead silent.
Not even a heartbeat dared echo.
Ash paused for a moment hearing this. Now he wasn't so arrogant to believe that he didn't need a master, but....
"If I decline?" He asked anyways.
"D-decline?" Katherine muttered from behind, voice cracking.
Kaelthyr smiled, small and genuine.
"Then you decline… who cares?"
Ash appraised him instantly.
[Kaelthyr Nocturne
Age - 2,300 Years Old
Race - Prime Vampire (Bloodline of the Sanguine Royal (Mythic))
Rank - Seventh Calamity
Aura(s) - Sword (Max)
Law(s) - Sword 98%, Blood 100%, Space 100%, Darkness 100%
Aspect - ??? (Reach Calamity Rank for more Info)
Remarks - Once slayed an entire civilization with a sword... (Increase Rank for more Information)]
'So, he has an aspect.... and his bloodline is the highest I've seen thus far.' Ash thought before saying.
"Fine, I don't mind but there are a few things we need to get straight before we move any further."
Kaelthyr raised a brow then nodded.
"Go ahead."
"First, I don't need a parent, nor do I want a guardian and also... don't try to order me around."
The eyes of those around, even the quiet Ester found hers wide. If it weren't for the outrageous things he was saying, the women would be too entranced by his beauty to even react. An SSS-rank ordering a Calamity monster?
Even still though.... the affection of everyone had never stop going up since laying eyes on him. Katherine and Summer in particular were already at the 50% mark after watching him fight for so long.
Raven.... well, she was a goner....
Kaelthyr grinned, fangs glinting.
"Agreed. However, no matter what, you reach First Calamity first. Then you have complete freedom."
Then the moment the words ended... Space folded like paper and the two vanished.
The remaining four elders stared at the empty air. Isolde recovered first. "Did… did he just negotiate with Kaelthyr and win?"
Damon barked a disbelieving laugh. "The fox has bigger balls than half of the branch."
Ester's whisper carried perfectly. "He is something… and Kaelthyr just smiled. That hasn't happened since the last century."
Seth sighed while looking at Raven. "Well.... at least he isn't dying."
Raven didn't hear any of it. She stood rooted, with evident worry on her face. Even despite hearing he would be trained she couldn't help but worry....
-----
Now standing inside a separate realm hidden within the Nocturne domain, Kaelthyr and Ash appeared in a field of white and red flowers that swayed atop blood-red grass.
The sky above was a perfect, endless dawn of soft gold, no harsh light, only warmth. Time moved slower here; Ash felt it in his bones the moment he arrived. A gentle breeze carried the scent of iron roses and morning dew.
Ash turned slowly, taking it in.
Kaelthyr stood behind him, satisfied smile hidden as golden letters bloomed before his eyes alone.
[Ding! Congratulations of completing your first task!]
[Task 1 - Find an extraordinary disciple. Complete]
[Reward - One Random Divine Vampire Bloodline]
[Task 2 - Help your disciple step into the Calamity Rank.]
---
'Finally...' Kaelthyr thought as he had been waiting to complete this quest for literally thousands of years... Long ago, when had first awakened he had gained something more than a Status... he gained a system, something that was supposed to help him speed through levels.
However, the first task demanded him find a disciple that met the system's requirements. Which he hadn't found until Ash... His system well was the Divine Rebate System. Which meant anything he gave to his disciples, whether departed knowledge or items he would receive back one hundred-fold.
And seeing his first reward and looking at his Disciple... He decided to appraise him.
[Ash???
Age - 27 Years Old
Race - ????
Rank - Peak SSS Rank (Existence Level 54 Million)]
---
'The hell? Is he some kind of broken character?'
Kaelthyr shook his head as he approached Ash.
He waved one hand, then a dark-crimson orb materialized, pulsing with ancient, hungry power.
"Ash."
"As my disciple, I expect you to fully embody what it means to be one. This is a Vampiric Bloodline I've held close to heart for a long time now."
Ash caught the orb.
Kaelthyr's voice softened, almost gentle.
"Take some time to think. If you want to abandon your race, this bloodline far exceeds yours. Using it will evolve you into someone with much higher potential."
"This is my secret realm. Time here is dilated double compared to outside. When I return, I expect to see you in the Calamity Rank."
He vanished in a ripple of space.
Ash frowned at all the bullshit he'd just heard. His eyes were clearly revealing everything about the orb.
[Divine Sanguine Monarch Bloodline - A bloodline with no heritage. This bloodline is one of the strongest Vampiric lines.]
'What bullshit was he spouting?' Ash thought as he felt like he was being swindled somehow.
'Fuck it. Since, he wants to give me this.... I don't mind elevating myself.' He thought with a smile as he disappeared from the place.
Honestly... he had his own places he could go to.
---
Ash reappeared in an endless void of absolute nothingness... no stars, no light, no up or down, only perfect, silent black stretching for billions of kilometers. This was his inner cosmos... empty, waiting, and hungry. The dark-crimson orb floated from his palm and hung in the center of that void like a single drop of blood in the abyss.
The moment it did he felt a connection, he could feel he had the power to make it undergo evolution with just a thought.
So, in the next moment he did just that.
The orb cracked.
Crimson light exploded outward, painting the void in rivers of liquid blood that twisted into galaxies, then collapsed inward again. The initial evolution surged 250-fold; the second wave... once assimilation began would hit an additional 500-fold.
Ash adjusted the time flow to match the Haven's ratio; one day outside, ten inside.
Then he sat cross-legged in the center of his empty cosmos, tails curled around him like a throne and waited.