~Asha~

A flash announced the coming storm, the thunder is the booming herald that mirrors the joy in Asha’s heart as she finally found her quarry. Rain matted her auburn hair as she grinned her fangs glistening. It took her over five centuries to locate her master.

Upon his death, she knew that a man as powerful as her lord would not be defeated by a paltry event such as death. However, as decades turned to centuries, she began to panic as no spell nor technology could detect the presence of his soul. Not in their world that is. It was a separate project, a failed portal that gave her hope. She was attempting to open an entryway to the world of the dead to see if his soul had truly passed on when something failed, and it instead ripped through the dimensional barrier to another world. It was faint, but her soul-bond to her master finally chimed with his existence.

Asha Qi, the succubus was elated, both at finally finding her master’s trail as well as discovering a world outside of her own. She could only imagine the terror the most powerful necromancer this world has ever seen was reaping in this new world. The elation she felt was fleeting as she dashed into the portal with nary a preparation. Shortsighted for one such as her, but she was too excited to think clearly. The passage of physical matter destabilized the portal, trapping her. To make matters worse, the world was a mana wasteland. So devoid of the vital energy she would have to feed every day to stay alive. It took her many years to find her master despite the world, Earth, being much smaller than her own. Her lord was noble even in this world, a Count named Vlad Tepes. She told him what he was and his history. Growing up in a mana void like this world, he was… skeptical to say the least. But after slaughtering the twenty men he sicced on her, he was more agreeable, especially when she reaffirmed her loyalty to him.

She awoke his latent power, but something happened. Something about this world warped his power and the man who bathed in the blood of his enemies, Vlad the Impaler, became something much more powerful than a simple necromancer. He grew fangs and gained incredible power over blood and the dead. Bound as she was to him, the power bled over changing her as it had him. Thus, the world’s first vampires were born. Asha was heartbroken at losing her succubus heritage, but she was much more powerful. She no longer needed to sleep with men to gain their essence; instead feasting on their blood, her demonic charm was morphed into an enhanced form of hypnosis and illusion magic.

She could not perform half the wonders her master could, but she was still a force to be reckoned with. Unfortunately, just as in her own world, this universe detests a void and weakness was introduced to balance the immense power. Though there was little mana in this world, there was an abundance of faith energy. Thankfully without abundant mana no god could spawn. However, even weak divinity could impact them greatly. After a brutal battle between the church and her master, he fell to their blade. The cowards couldn’t even face him on the battlefield, an assassin with a blessed blade pierced his heart while he slept. Their hubris left him without guards.

Undaunted by this death, she tracked his soul from incarnation to incarnation across the world. Each time she got close he died in his fragile mortal forms. Now it was the 21st century and she was sure she had him. His current incarnation was a 26-year-old man who lives in a small town in Nashville. The once proud ruler of men and monsters is now working in a factory making bits and bobs of metal. She did not know this one’s name, but she would observe and wait for the right time to confront him. She once made the mistake of announcing herself to her lord when he was a 65-year-old police officer and he panicked and attacked her before passing from a heart attack before she could awaken her lord’s slumbering soul.

She sighed as she watched him walk home after a late shift. He was grumbling to himself, likely in distaste at the rain by the way he was glaring at the sky. She couldn’t wait until she could meet her lord again. She regretted the deep breath she took, this damn world reeked of humanity and pollutants. It was bearable 300 years ago, but now the air was so choked up with contamination she could barely breathe. Later, she would blame this world’s pollution on how she missed the large man that ambushed her master.

~Victor~

Victor Gale was not having a good day. First, he lost his Saturday to mandatory overtime at the factory where he worked in Nashville. Next, he was pushed onto the late shift so he would lose a good chunk of his Sunday to sleep. Finally, to put a cherry on this crap sundae a storm is kicking off right when he started to walk home. Unfortunately for him, the sky was uncaring at his threats and curses.

He wiped his waterlogged face as a flash of lighting lit up the dark street. He just lost his good for nothing brother and had to sell his car to pay for the funeral. He may have disowned the bastard, but he couldn't dishonor his mother’s memory by letting his brother not have a plot next to her and dad.

Lost in thoughts and deafened by the pelting rain, he didn’t hear the footsteps behind him. Nor did he sense the large man behind him until a ham sized hand shoved him into an alley, a dumpster softening his fall. He groaned on the ground, dazed from being pulled from his contemplation. An absolute unit of a man wearing a balaclava and a thick coat loomed over Victor.

“What the fu-”, Victor’s expletive was interrupted by a sharp kick to the ribs, the rest of his reasonable question was lost along with the air in his lungs.

Gasping, Victor glared at the big lug. “To answer your question, consequences, is what the fuck is going on. You see Victor, Rico doesn’t appreciate being ignored, especially when a promise is broken.”

Ah, so this asshat was Rico’s goon. His breath recovered; Victor got up only to be pushed back down. They compromised with him on his knees. He slyly shifted to a position where he could act if needed. “I told Rico I’ve got nothing to do with him. His beef is with Christian and since he died, he took his debt with him. If Rico doesn’t like that then maybe tell him that he shouldn’t send his debt slaves on fucking dangerous missions.”

His brother, Christian Gale, was a bright kid just two years older than Victor. He was at the top of his class and was on track to graduate high school as valedictorian. Unfortunately, he was extremely awkward and didn’t have many friends. Things went downhill in his junior year when he befriended Marcus Keldriss, a local street tough whose father was the leader of a local small-time gang. Chris was manipulated into spending tons of money to impress his new “friends” only to end up with a gambling problem and a debt to Marcus’s father Rico.

Years of his life going down the drain culminated in Chris being shot and killed by police in a botched gas station robbery in an attempt to pay off Rico a few weeks ago. Not even a day later had Rico and his sneering twat of a son on Victor’s porch with a bill of Jame’s remaining debt. Victor slammed the door on his face. The only silver lining was that their parents weren’t alive to have their hearts broken. They lost their dad in Iraq while they were in middle school and their mother died from a stroke when Victor was 21.

Victor’s reminiscing was cut off with a sharp pain in his jaw. The goon cocked his leg for another blow to his ribs, Victor used the skills he gained in his martial arts training. He was nearly a first dan in Judo and a brown belt in Krav Maga. He started his training due to a desire to join the army like his father, but with maturity came the realization that he couldn’t do that to his mother. However, he kept his martial arts training as a hobby. He was by no means an expert or even that good compared to those who take the sport seriously, but to a thug who’s only way of winning fights was his size, he could hold his own.

Victor shifted enough for the kick to fly by and unbalance the gangster, he hooked the leg over his left shoulder and grinned evilly as his right hand grasped two ‘roid shrunken orbs and he wrenched hard. A high-pitched squeal came from the large man who lashed out in pained panic and a lucky backhand landed on victor’s chin, rattling his brain. Good god, those catcher mitts he calls hands felt like a bat to the face with just a glancing blow. Both men were now stunned on the ground, but the goon recovered first and shakily got to his feet, a 9mm pulled from his jacket. “That was a mistake you fucking bitch. The nuts? What kind of pussy are you.”

Still a bit dazed, Victor drunkenly replied, “Well you know what they say, you are what you eat. Speaking of which, got a mint? My breath still smells like your mother. How is she by the way?”

“Alright, Rico said you’d be like this. He told me to give you a chance after giving you some… persuading. But if you refused, he said to off you as an example to others. Either way, he ain’t gonna get the money.” The thug raised his pistol at Victor. However, Victor wouldn’t go down without a fight. He had found a shard of glass, likely from a broken bottle. He was hiding it by cradling his ribs. He rushed the thug and stabbed out with the shard, slicing his own hand in the process. The shard bit deep into the thug’s stomach and with a sharp CRACK the gun went off and Victor felt an impact in his chest. He didn’t know what it felt like to be shot. It surprised him that it hurt less than the thug’s kick, less impact too. He almost chuckled when he thought it felt like he had a painful gas bubble in his chest. Blood began to ooze from the entry wound. He stumbled backwards, the adrenaline keeping the agony at bay. He slid his back down the dumpster behind him. He looked at the cursing thug. It was just a flesh wound. He’d live, but Victor hoped he’d get an infection.

Lightning flashed once again and the shadow of someone at the alleyway entrance alerted both Victor and the goon. Victor looked at the newcomer. He wanted to tell them to run, no HER to run, but he couldn’t speak for some reason. Weird. She was quite the looker, but he's never been struck silent by a beauty before. He grinned a bloody smile at his joke.

The goon shouted at the girl, “Get the fuck out of here!” She ignored him, her oddly red eyes locked onto his. She was quite captivating, she had long brown hair. She had enticing hips despite her short and slim frame. A long red coat hid most of the details of her body. She seemed to be muttering something as she stared at victor, though he couldn’t make it out as his ears felt as though they were stuffed with cotton.

The big bastard seemed to be done with today, between the shard of glass in his side and the woman ignoring him. “I told you to fuck off you little bi-”, he was cut off as the woman, faster than a human could possibly move, twirled around and lifted the man by the throat above her head. This was impressive as he was a good foot and half taller than her. His eyes bugged out in shock and pain and the gun clattered to the ground. Thankfully it was some type of Glock, so it didn’t discharge. Knowing his luck, Victor figured the gun would’ve gone off and hit him again. A painful chuckle racked his body.

The woman glanced back at Victor with amusement in her eyes along with concern. She snarled at the nameless thug, “You hurt my master, worm. If I had time, you would suffer the slowest death before becoming my slave. But I REFUSE to lose my master again.” With out another word, she clenched her fist and ripped out so much of the man’s throat that his head dangled down his back only supported by his spine and some gristle.

She returned her focus to Victor and smiled sadly at him. “I apologize, my lord. I had wanted to ease you into this, but that imbecile forced my hand.” she brought her now extremely sharp fingernail to her wrist and sliced quickly causing blood to fleck Victor’s face. “Now, sire, please drink. It is the only way for you to live. I must awaken your slumbering soul and then we can work on restoring your memories.”

What was this woman speaking about? He needed a hospital, not a misguided attempt at a blood transfusion. He wasn’t a doctor, but he was pretty sure that blood needed to go in his veins not his stomach. She rolled her eyes at his blank look. Could she blame him? He was in shock. He did have a bullet lodged in his lungs. Case in point, the bloody cough that caused bloody freckles to appear on the woman’s face. With a frustrated sigh she shoved her wrist in his mouth. He tried to spit out the blood, but instead of the coppery taste he was expecting, it was sweet and smooth like a thick cherry liquor. Even the burning warmth in his stomach was the same. Instinct took over and he drank deeply, grabbing her arm.

The woman took her arm back and fell to the ground in front of him with a dazed grin and a light flush on her face. She opened her mouth to say something, but a flashlight lit up the alley and a man’s voice called out, “Hey what’s going on here? We got a report that- what the fuck?” A pair of police officers were at the entryway, and they were looking between the nearly headless thug, the blood drenched woman, and the GSW victim that looked on the verge of death.

There was a beat of silence and many things happened at once. The officers pulled their weapons and began shouting commands, a deep thud like a heartbeat on stadium sized speakers rang out and a burst of energy burst from Victor. The strange anomaly warped the air like a heat mirage and spread out past throughout Nashville and beyond covering the world until it came in contact with a small, invisible scar on the fabric of reality. A simmering weakness on the barrier between two worlds where, if Asha had witnessed this spot, she would recognize this as the place where she emerged onto Earth. To others, it was some random place in the Middle East between Israel and Egypt. When the energy wave impacted the spot mere moments after being released from Victor, there was a prismatic flash that encased the world and the sky turned into a shimmering mix between the aurora borealis and the colors of a rainbow. Night turned to day and the earth shook. Then every single living entity on earth blacked out before even the quickest could take out their phones to record the strange phenomena.