Ocelio stood in the apartment given to him by the Warrior Association.
He stared through the window at the crystals dotting the ceiling, from a brown colour, they turned into a darker hue, signifying the night time in the city.
He seemed to enjoy the scenery of a city bathed in dark brown light, it wasn’t the natural darkness of the night he had read from books but he didn’t appear disappointed by this new and strange sight.
Ocelio had finished his registration as a Bloodrainist during the afternoon. He had spent quite a while talking to Euclidedes, the receptionist, allowing him to learn more about this world and how the human society worked here.
He put a dark cloak over his clothes, his red eyes glanced at the Warrior Insignia on the night table, it was a round badge made of white stone, engraved in the middle was a sword crossing a wand.
[Magicalist uh…I wonder how magic looks like.]
When he went out through the door, his body went through a gradual change. Unlike when he was manifesting his aura in the administrator’s office, this time, the dark particles seemed to be covering his skin and clothes.
After a few seconds, his body became covered in darkness, vanishing from the corridor.
He used the inner sight technique to peer into his personal container, without breaking his camouflage.
His mental projection appeared deep in his soul, with an ocean of blood beneath his feet. Its gentle current created small waves that disappeared into the distance.
He then stared at the two apparitions that hovered above the red sea like two celestial bodies.
Three eyes of different colours seemed frozen in the air, they didn’t touch each other; it was as if an invisible face was staring ahead.
In the opposite direction stood a giant rabbit with silver fur, he stood straight with most of his body concealed behind a dark mist that circled his body.
Ocelio could only see the dark eyes, bright as stars, staring back at the three colourful eyes.
Everything in his personal container seemed peacefulé, the apparitions did not make any movement nor showed any sign of activity.
[So, even when I use their power, they do not react. Does that mean the personal container is separated from the outside world, from my body? It doesn’t make sense… Does my Vampire bloodline now also possess a spirit? Those two made it clear they were hiding secrets from me, but it’s not a priority yet. What I need is to awaken my Vampire bloodline. I still can’t use my nature’s ability; does it mean it was reset when my bloodline changed or is there still a problem with my body? I need to increase my power…]
Ocelio appeared to be plagued by thoughts, he gave one last glance at the blood sea below him before returning to reality.
His camouflage had not been broken even without conscious focus. He nodded in satisfaction before walking away from the Warrior Association.
He stood in front of a line of houses, he didn’t seem intent on following the only road out of the area. He stared straight ahead at the wall blocking his way.
[I should be able to use the three steps, it’s part of who I am.]
During his youth, Ocelio had watched his sister train her techniques or spar with other vampires many times. Anything that wasn’t recorded in books and he wanted to know, she would tell him.
He knew most of the technique’s theories and saw them being performed often, but due to his previous disability, he had never used these techniques.
His expression changed into a mask of calmness, he took a step forward, breaking into a sprint.
Despite having no experience, he showed no hesitation.
As soon as he reached the wall, he switched his steps to run vertically on the wall, he wasn’t pushing against the surface to gain momentum, rather, each time one of his feet moved, they appeared to be guided by an attractive force, making him step on precise locations.
His eyebrows creased, he realised one second too late that he had already reached the roof, his foot had passed over the wall without having a surface to land into.
From the corner of his eyes, he noticed how far the ground was, he bit his lips, putting a bit more strength into his leg.
His foot created a small disturbance in the air as if ripples were created in the atmosphere. Gravity seemed to have no hold over his body, space around hit foot appeared to have become tangible enough for his foot to touch it. The next second, the ripples in the air dissipated and his foot went through what had just been a stable footing.
Panic surfaced on his face, he waved his arms around, trying with all his might to reach the roof.
A loud sound resonated through the street as Ocelio hauled his body over the wall. He exhaled a deep breath after having managed to avoid falling to the ground.
The three steps was a technique that was passed over to most vampires. It allowed the user to make use of the peculiar physical characteristic of the vampire in coordination with spiritual energy to walk on the surfaces, liquid substances and atmosphere in silent steps.
This technique wasn’t used for battles, rather its main use was for assassination and travelling at high speed.
His sister, Eribea possessed a high understanding of this technique, but her way of using it was different from his. She used the three steps while using her nature’s invisibility but it required high agility, strong focus and the appropriate nature.
[Pathetic…I’ve let fear affect my mind.]
Hearing noises from within the house, he jumped to another roof, making use of the three steps only when the distance between roofs was too large to reach in a single leap.
The dark brown crystals from the ceiling outlined his figure running above roofs, creating an eerie sight. His red eyes glanced left and right as if searching for something.
[Moving at night is so different, it feels so…natural. No wonder Vampires are called nocturnal hunters.]
He grinned in satisfaction; his eyes seemed filled with joy as he dived into a dark alley.
[Now, the best way to grow my strength and awaken my bloodline is…]
He closed his eyes for two seconds, when he opened them back, his eyes had turned into two glowing orbs.
His sight had also changed, he was no longer seeing the dark alley, the walls and houses in front of him.
Instead, countless shapes made of red light filled his vision, spreading in every direction.
The corner of his lips rose at this sight. He looked on his left, he could see 3 bodies made of red lights hover in the air, they were surrounded by a pale grey shade, which represented the surfaces obstructing him.
He exhaled a long breath; his face became overwhelmed with impatience and…craving.
He used the three steps to jump back to the roofs, taking his time to examine each building, he seemed to be trying to find an unlocked window.
Sometimes, he would see a patrol of guards walking down the street and would use the Void Rabbit’s power to hide his existence.
His energy, his aura, his smell, the dark energy seemed able to cover all traces of his presence without creating any disturbance in his surroundings.
His face light up with excitement when he managed to find a house near the border of the trading district with a window unlocked.
His red eyes gave a wary glance around him before making his way deep in the house. He had cancelled the blood sense, instead, he seemed to be following his sense of smell to track the occupants of the house.
There were 5 people living in the house, 3 were on the second floor and 2 distinctive scents of humans came from the ground floor. The smell of urine came from a bedroom near him on the second floor. He skipped that room knowing a small child was inside.
The people downstairs carried the smell of dirt and an unknown scent that seemed to repulse Ocelio. He didn’t appear to want to get close to the stairs, instead, he followed the less disgusting scent in the house.
He opened the door of the bedroom in a slow manner, the excitation was making his blood boil; his hairs stood on end, preparing to reap his first harvest.
A young man and woman in their early twenties lied down on the bed. A stained brown blanket made of fur covered their sleeping bodies. The scent of dirt coming from them wasn’t as strong as the one coming from downstairs, which indicated that they had cleaned their bodies in recent days.
He came to the woman’s side; standing by the bed, he looked at her light brown face in silence.
During his time as a student, back when he was eight-year-old, he had learnt that the skin of human females was a bit more delicate, allowing the canine ease of penetration through the membrane and bringing forth a greater pleasure.
His face seemed to have regained his usual calmness. The spiritual power within him poured into his eyes, he used a finger to lift her eyelid, staring straight into it, he plunged her in a deep sleep.
He took her left hand from under the blanket and cleaned a spot above a vein using a white tissue he always carried on his body.
When he was satisfied, he brought his canines to her tanned skin. However, in the next moment, his face contorted, anger seemed to brew within him as he gulped her blood without restraint, her wrist snapped under the pressure of his grasp but he did not move an inch.
He sucked on her skin with more fierceness than desire, biting deep into her arm. But the more he did so, the more it seemed to fuel his anger.
When he appeared to not be able to take it anymore, he let go of the broken arm, discarding it on the bed.
He wiped his lips with the tissue, a scowl etched on his face.
[Disgusting.]
It looked like he was talking to the woman as if he was admonishing her for having such unsavoury blood.
He did not appear to have been satisfied by his harvest so he came to the other side of the bed. He took the man’s arm, but this time he took some precaution. He created a small incision on the man’s skin using his sharp nail. When a drop of blood appeared from the wound, he closed his eyes and inhaled its odour, right after, he threw the arm from his grasp.
The man appeared to have been awoken when his hand had hit the wall behind his head, he looked around in a daze before going back to sleep.
[Disgusting peasants. Unpalatable swine.]
He went out of the house and jumped straight to the roof. He made his way back in such an irritated mood, he did not even notice the deep footprints he left on the roofs of the houses.
[Briseis…]
It was the last word Ocelio pronounced that night. He went to bed as soon as he returned, but he did not sleep, he used the Vampire meditation to convert the blood he had sucked into energy for his bloodsea.
