A hooded man clad in a midnight black robe nervously walked around a vast stone pathway.
The pathway was surrounded by dirt covered in thick black grass, and countless wide, greasy stone tables over it. The content on those tables would disturb even the hardest of men with just one look.
More than thirty thousand corpses of vampires in all age groups, cut into thousands of pieces, organ by organ, to an unrecognisable state, with their blood used to draw ritualistic circles of some sort towards the podium cladded man was headed to.
"Master." Darkness vibrated against the cold wind as a beautiful woman with golden blonde hair, adorned in a white gown, and a face that belonged in fancy ball dances, kneeled two inches behind him, like she was always there.
"Tch…" He half turned towards her, his half-red, half-golden pupil revealed under the black hood, "What do you want?"
"Forgive me for interrupting, master." She kneeled fully, her forehead touching the freezing ground.
The man's impatient lips curled upwards in a grin at her gesture as he pressed her long blonde hair deeper against the dusty ground with his heavy leather boots, rubbing them repeatedly as she crouched even deeper, growing happier.
"The research on Summoning Arcana Arts of Bloodborne has been fruitful. All ASO professors are eager to further study them and make it learnable for all." She reported seriously, snuggling closer to the man's leg like a dog.
"As expected…" His face turned scornful, "There's no need to teach them anything! We don't need their help." He shook his head with a smile, "Only Victor and Kota have my permission to study them." The woman nodded.
"And by the way," He began, his voice tinged with disgust, "it is not for 'all', it's for me."
"Got it, master. I will get rid of anyone who knows more than they should."
The man smiled in approval before noticing the woman's face changing.
"Shall they use my DNA further? I am sure I have served my purpose. It could hasten the progress by a big margin, for sure." She asked with a finger on her chin.
"No need." He crouched slightly and patted her head, a happy smile appearing on her face immediately, "I like a queen as my pet." He said lovingly.
His eyes soon turned cold. "The prophecy is almost here… I would appreciate your abilities then. Things are bound to get only messier."
"Un!!" She nodded repeatedly.
"Bloodborne…." He bit his lower lip, his eyes twitching from anger and pure hatred.
…
I am so tired…
The last thing I remember was getting a breakup text on the same day I had proposed, and she had even accepted. Did that make sense? Could've just said no, no?
I couldn't be bothered to give more fucks than I already had, spending the day drinking with my friends at a ehm… massage place was the only option remaining.
Then, I died.
I am sure of it… I saw my own mouth foaming on that girl's breasts from a third-person POV as the poor girl screamed and cried.
The heavy darkness around me was another proof of that.
What a day.
My shoulders loosened as a sigh escaped. This was depressing.
No money, no bitches, no epic shit happening, just an average student life, from bed to classroom to part-time to bed.
Though back then, at least I had my friends.
Now…
Perhaps I am about to float in this nothingness forever, all alone, going mad...
Ding!
"..."
Guess not!
My face did a 180 as an animalistic grin took over at the piercingly loud notification. I had read too many Webnovels not to smile.
[Congratulations… Soul travel successful!]
Before I could even register the words, I felt my soul being split in a million pieces, my senses overwhelmed completely.
…
I blinked twice as my head started to ache. It wasn't the normal hangover or overworked headache, more like if someone had forcefully pushed a blunt stick deep inside my forehead.
My throat felt scratchy— unbearably dry, like even swallowing saliva would hurt like hell. I could empty a lake filled with cold water, and still not feel any less thirsty, which was made even more irritating and unbearable by the sweat. It was drenching every part of my body like I had just pulled out of a pool.
My vision still only saw heavy darkness.
The burning pain in my arms and legs, like giant nails were hammered through every bone there, couldn't be ignored either.
Thum! Tham! Slam!
I tried to move without thinking, but my hands and legs didn't budge, held by something heavy, cold, unmoving, and hard, with only the sound of chains slamming echoing.
Am I cuffed to chains….?
I haven't been in handcuffs, or any kinky stuff, but I still could've an idea of how that would feel.
The more I thought about how tight the cuffs were holding me, the sweat, and the pain, the more dreadful I became.
My breathing hastened with the weird suffocation of not being able to move your limbs.
I shook my head, blinked, and even screamed in what sounded like a squeak of a dead animal, my heart beating faster and faster by the second.
Can I even get out? This thought couldn't be suppressed any longer. I may just be bound here forever, to die of thirst, starvation, and my deadly injuries.
Suddenly, I was startled by a weird sensation; something warm, sticky liquid was flowing on my cheek. Soon it reached my lips from my forehead. It was as hot as boiling water but still felt pleasant, somehow.
Slurppp!
I froze at what I just did, my jaw widened. My tongue was moving on it's own, licking every bit of the strange liquid. It tasted like blood.
Metallic, salty, sweet, and… delicious.
My teeth felt weird as it settled on my tongue, after a sudden jolting pain in my jaw, they pierced out, now brushing against my lower lip. They grew in size to something like fangs!
I started to swallow—
Boiling hot blood poured directly down my stomach, and as it passed through my throat, I felt the excruciating pain of thirst loosen considerably. I didn't need a lake, it seems, just blood…
Only when I felt no more blood dripping did I stop.
"Delicious!" I burped, exclaiming like I just had the best lemonade of my life.
"…."
"What the fuck?!"
This was purely instinctive. I had lost control of my body.
My pupils dilated as my sensory abilities exploded. I could see where every nerve was, every drop of blood flowing, every muscle twitch, all across my body.
A burning itch overwhelmed even that. The flesh on my head tore itself into a small string like thread, and then… it mingled with the other side of the gaping hole.
Gaping hole?!
It was as wide as if shot by a Desert Eagle-like revolver. How the fuck am I even alive?
My hands clenched into a fist as the painful stitches on my forehead continued.
But, the next second, I could feel it… The hole was gone!
This ca-can't be the real world, right?
[Did Host already forget the previous prompt? Your soul was literally transported!]
SYSTEM!!
I felt like a child who was lost and suddenly saw his father, at the familiar robotic monologue.
[Nice to meet you, host! I am the Bloodborne hero summoning system.]
Finally!
This isn't just hell, I did get a second chance!
My lips curled into the widest of grins, revealing my long white fangs, as my eyes grew wet.
I blinked, expecting something different than the darkness. And—It was there!
A red screen with beautiful golden frame.
My eyes were glued to every inch of it at the same time, my mouth drooling as I suddenly fell into hysterical laughter.
This shit definitely sounded op as hell. Hero summoning? Like in the gacha? Also, a level-up system is a must! I might just be the protagonist!
After an entire minute of laughing, I took a deep breath, calming my racing thoughts, still giggling.
Be humble. Be humble… Until you're overpowered and rich with a harem of baddies. Be humble. I repeated it a few times in my mind.
My attention drifted, sensing a movement on screen.
The screen glowed, then a swirling loading animation started, evoking my PTSD.
Every time I found a good video, my twenty people shared Wi-Fi had to blue-ball me.
Fortunately, the screen lit up, and a small window opened on the right side of the translucent red screen.
[Status Window]
[Name: Lucien Bloodborne]