Two short stories sitting in a thread. . .

[Adrian]

Okay, these are basically for someone who might enjoy them & if they like one over the other I'll continue that one.

Castlevania: Prelude to the Eclipse

The year is at the end of 1998. . .

A group of business men & women sat in an office building of somewhat impressive size considering it was the main headquarters of a relatively new corporation. One which had been brought back from the nothingness by a vast fortune. To be precise, they sat in lavish leather seats only company executives were allowed to sit in. Or the janitor when no one was around to see anything happening so far up on the fiftieth floor.

Each of them had clean clothes to say the least, which still did not hide the faces of those who had done what was necessary to climb the corporate ladder to this point of luxury. All appeared resolute in expression to meet the one who had not yet arrived. Every last one of them knew what was likely to become at stake in this sudden meeting of the heads from a somewhat large corporation. Crude glance were shot back & forth between them, all feeling they were to be the one most likely to carry on `the torch`.

Seven were men & one a woman. Not at all uncommon for the culture of Tokyo or Japan in general which still seemed to remain a male-dominated society.

With the clicking of a doorknob, all of their gazes went to the door which opened to reveal a man they had only known by voice for the past fourteen months. And that voice had betrayed every possible notion of what the man may have been physically up until this very moment. It became apparent when the only woman present attempted to stifle the pink which rose to her cheeks even at the mild age of twenty-seven.

As for the men, they likely masked jealousy or disbelief. It was also likely they resented his rise to power merely for donating so much Yen. . . not acknowledging his other skills. Ones which, without, would have made investing any money at all a waste.

For the one who made his way to the head of the table with an elegant & composed walk had midnight black hair before taking his seat. The flowing strands were the epitome of youth in all it's sheen, though many in Japan had naturally dark hair. It was actually his face which had stunned them, the hair only serving to frame a living portrait. The clothing he wore was fine, suiting his status the best it possibly could, somehow outdoing that of his associates despite how `simple` it appeared.

"I am sure each of you. . . are concerned with the future of this company."

A voice unlike the one they had heard for sixteen years broke the silence as it passed lips of pale beauty. Perhaps a modulator had been used to keep his identity even more secluded than it had been previously thought. Many knew him to be a recluse more than anything. So why show his face `in the flesh` even now? Could anything be so important to the man which controlled such a company in his eccentric manner?

"And I assure each of you it will continue. . . in the hands of Miss Kojima until I return. Thank you."

One man began to speak in protest, until he fell under the bone-chilling gaze of his only superior in the entire company. Who could blame him in his feeling a woman was unfit for such responsibility? Perhaps he felt she had played an underhanded card to clench the position before the meeting had ever been announced. Not to mention it went against a few of the ancient beliefs in their culture & the fact he held seniority over every last one of the other board members.

But when the cold eyes met his, he nearly forgot to breathe.

As the young man rose to leave, his newly appointed `temp` quickly followed suit once he had cleared the door. Shock had left her face at receiving such a position of responsibility even after thinking she deserved it. People often never knew what they truly wanted, & this was a singular example of such a thing.

Just making it into the elevator with him, she had obviously followed him with a purpose of some sort. It had been just as well, shielding her from the bickering of middle-aged & elderly men alike who were furious. And since she had followed him in such a manner, his gaze was almost immediately upon her once she entered. Before even looking up to meet it, the woman knew it to be there watching her. Having long given up trying to hide the blood which rushed to her cheeks at the sight of him, she spoke her concerns.

"Sir it is an honor to be given this position. . even if it is only until you return. But, may I ask why you cannot keep up with the company wherever it is you're going. . .?"

The elevator doors opened, only a few moments having passed since the brief meeting within the boardroom. Yet they were still outside, except nowhere near the ground itself. Instead the two were on the rooftop of a towering building built a little over a year ago. Waiting for the dark-haired man was a black helicopter, the engine just starting but not yet making too much racket.

"Family affairs, Miss Kojima."

With that he left for the aerial vehicle & stepped inside after going through the side which had been opened, then closed for him by the lone pilot. Now the engine began to cut off anything spoken from anyone within the helicopter to those on the outside. As it took off, the woman stood there wondering if he would ever come back, a bit on edge from his tone which was without emotion. Then she made a silent promise to make sure he had a company to come back to.

Flying to a destination only he knew, Genya Arikado's cell-phone rang & the voice of a young woman awaited him on the other side.

"Yes Yoko, I'm on my way. . ."

[ To be continued?]

[Adrian]

And for that certain someone. . . this is the OTHER story.

Castlevania: Forge of the Damocles

The year is 1094. . .

Rubble fell from the cielings as a new Epoch was given it's beginning, a lone man brandishing a whip fled from the falling structure. Meanwhile deep below, what had ONCE been a man now dodged falling debris. He was determined not to allow this `Palace` become a living tomb. And now it seemed to have quieted. . . though anything resembling an exit no longer existed from the chamber he dwelt within.

The `Dark Palace of Waterfalls` was drab. . . silent. . . empty of life. . . cold. . . just like an oversized coffin. A sewer would be it's appropriately deemed location. Something which had been particularly amusing to a now slain vampire, having banished a rebellious vampire of considerable power down to this place. Cobwebs were in the corners that only remained because they had been untouched by time in this abandoned & nearly forgotten structure.

In the darkness, a lone figure lingered looking rather lost in his own little world with a blank look on his face. Mindlessly plotting ways to escape from the place he had been brought back to in his ex-master's final moments along with the other guardians as well. In those moments as the vampire Walter had been betrayed by Death. . . he had ressurected each of them in a futile attempt to stop the Grim Reaper. And his death had given each of them freedom from his power. . . though it appeared from the auras. . . that each still remained in their respective areas.

His second set of obstacles were them.

This figure had been defeated in battle by a powerful Vampire Hunter which he did not really even care to fight, forced to by the cirmcumstance of serving his sire. Imprisoned & incidentally made guardian of the Water Vein which was now in rubble. . . thought to be destroyed by this hot-blooded former knight. But no, he had been brought back by another's selfish desire to live on by a bare thread of unlife. . . clinging to it stubbornly out of hatred.

His first obstacle was regaining more power.

And for this to occur. . . he had to drink blood. Just about any race's crimson wine would do for now until he became strong enough. The Mermen, Fishmen, & Lizardmen which had survived the Castle's destruction would do ever so nicely for that purpose to temporarily sate a dark thirst. But that meant negotiating the ruins of his former `Palace` which had nearly killed him earlier.

[Adrian]

[ As designated by a certain person, I'll continue Joachim's story. If anyone besides them cares for me to continue the other story, please say so.]

With the state his `Palace` was likely in beyond this chamber, the young looking vampire felt the slightest bit thankful he did not have the limitation of walking. But at the moment his feet were touching a large piece of fallen debris about the size of a large cow. Effort was needed to activate his incredibly developed telekinesis. And for that he had to be able to concentrate even slightly. . . something not easily done without blood & feeling trapped.

As he glanced around with unearthly eyes, he spotted only one of his five `special` swords handle sticking out from a pile of stones. It was in the hand of a dead Lizard-man whom seemed to have been crushed just after the vampire's resurrection. Knowing four were missing angered him deeply, suspecting lesser creatures probably seized them in the belief it would give them a fraction of his power. Together they could be used by him to wield power comparable to that of an equal number of Runeswords. But they could not help him now anyway, with the large boulder blocking the exit.

He knew that in his current state, his powers could not manipulate such a large object. Not without feeding. Making matters worse, it was held in place by smaller, but equally annoying pieces of rubble. Collecting himself in the way only a creature without humanity could. . . he focused on one of the rocks holding his major problem in place. Perhaps this would also help him ascertain just how weak dying had made his powers become?

Joachim could feel the texture of his target, not with his skin. . . but instead with his mind in that familiar sensation. Every last groove or chip into it's shape was mapped out as though by a strange sonar. But sonar was certainly not the direction his dark gifts had taken him. With a twitch of his head the stone flew across the room & cracked with the deadly force which it had struck the wall. It made a small smile of achievement crawl upon his lips.

Now that the lone stone had been removed, the boulder could be moved a fraction of a hair from it's current position. Other stones still remained to hold the barricade in place however, now serving only as a practice run for the dampened powers of Armster. After a time nothing held the large mass of rock back from being moved itself. But being so massive, it also did not move from it's position despite being freed from it's smaller companions.

This would require something more.

With a flick of the wrist, his pitiful tormentor was removed in an instant of displaying a truly amazing power. Using this would remain restricted until he had fed upon enough creatures to restore him to full strength. It was part of the reason he claimed the only remaining sword before departing his `Throne Room` not only in search of blood. . . but his other four favored weapons.

And those who felt lucky enough to have survived or looted one of the five swords. . . soon found their luck had already run out. . .

[Adrian]

[Adding another section, since that certain person hinted they wanted this story continued.]

Sure enough, the bridge which led to his little `Throne Room` was completely destroyed. After a few moments of concentration, he flew across to the other side of the chasm with sword in hand. Despite the situation, the breeze blowing across his cold & pale skin. . .through the snow white hair. . . brought him pleasure. He could do what no mortal man would ever be able to do on their own outside a dream, just by a whim.

To have even thought it might still be standing would have been wasted hope anyway. He felt smart for having not attempted to call upon such a human emotion for a pointless reason. But then again. . . when had he ever truly been foolish aside from challanging Walter? Something might have still remained of a long forgotten humanity, in that he had no longer wished to be a servant. Nothing from his human life mattered much to the vampire anymore. . . despite how it had been stolen away from him by his Sire.

Having been a farmboy or a noble. . . what impact could that truly have now?

Joachim had lived what was comparably a full lifetime as one of the undead. Any type of humanity had left him long ago when he began to feed upon innocent & impure alike. It was replaced by that cold & calculating wisdom gained through `Eternal Youth` along with scant signs of insanity. But to kill a living creature. . . to muster up such a murderous feeling. . . one had to be at least a little bit insane. Yet he had refrained from having anything to do with Sara Trantoul when Walter had returned, as if sensing she would be the elder vampire's undoing.

The former master of this castle had allowed him hunts within the safety of the forrest before beginning his cruel `game`. But when he grew bored, that red-haired vampire had decided he could not afford to leave such a powerful guardian any freedom. Not when so many interesting house guests would come to visit him. Or when their relatives & lovers came to bring them back home. But the truth of the matter was. . . not many made it past one or two of the guardians.

Especially if they faced either of the female guardians first.

But Joachim knew they could wait until later, as precious blood was whiffed in by his delicate looking nostrils & a savouring expression held his face. It quickly vanished to allow a ravenous hunger to return to his otherworldly eyes. Before him stood a group of mixed enemies all bearing aquatic origins & feeling they could take on their former lord as he was under-armed & likely very weak. One made the mistake of coming at him first without any type of back up.

A look of fear came onto his face, as he turned to run from foes which were quickly coming into range of handheld sword attacks. The single Merman began it's rolling move whch had given Leon Belmont magic power by way of an Enchanted Gauntlet. Bouncing up into the air from the ankle deep water, it intended to come down on him like a living spinning blade with it's sharp swimming spines extended.

Then came the surprise, as he turned to face the airborn foe wearing an expression kept from being terrifying by his inhuman beauty comparable to that of nobility. For all any stranger knew, he could have been exactly that as a human with all the arrogance & pride held by him. One might have thought he threw the sword with unerring accuracy, but as it let loose. . . both must have known his telekinesis guided it with deadly precision.

It skewered the weak monster just above Armster, much to the vampire's delight in defeating his first opponent since ressurection. The fact he was still strong frightened each of the remaining opponents. All wached as his bloodlust took delight in letting blood drip down the sword, off the bottomost part of the handle toward a tilted back head, & into his open mouth. Such a sweet flood of memories were brought back by the sensation of feeding. Even if this was not the best tasting blood he had ever drank.

Soon after he felt minute strength come into his form. . . the others died just as swiftly. . .

[Maid-Chan]

[]

[Adrian]

[Thanks for the inspiration Lei!]

He had cleared a few rooms of their surviving inhabitants, suspecting that Walter may have resurrected far more than simply the five guardians. But it was only a mild theory, since less than half the normal amount of monsters wandered the damp & dreary corridors of his aquatic `Palace`. They were all being disobedient in his eyes which now glittered with a slight ruby red having fed on at least fifteen different creatures by now.

Should I not be their rightful master since this is MY domain?

The thought was shoved aside as he entered the next room, his eyes settling upon it's lone inhabitant. Joachim was making it a point to be very thorough in this place. . . since any room could potentially hold one of his precious swords. No lesser monster could escape this place, only the teleporter could provide an exit & no monster had the intelligence to operate it's magic. But what he saw before him now filled the Vampire with a disgusted anger he had no intention of keeping bottled up for long.

Standing ahead was a lowly Lizard-man, but in it's hands was not the usual staff. . . no, instead there was a sword which did NOT belong to it AT ALL. Fate had decided to let him come face to face with one of the thieves who had the audacity to steal from him in selfish greed. The thought of such scaly hands clasping one of his weapons. . . it was truly a transgression in Armster's mind. A venomous look hindered by inhuman beauty had come onto his pale features with a glare to match from glittering eyes.

"It's too bad. . .you had to steal."

A threatening roar came from the reptilian as it pointed the sword toward him. The Vampire only laughed at his opponent with mockery & knowing arrogance. Suddenly the Lizard-man charged at him like the humanoid monster it was, but far too slow for Joachim's unholy grace. Every flaw in their fighting style was plain as a full-moon to the eyes of this master swordsman. And that was when the enemy's weapon glowed in their hands, thrusting backward at them as though another's hands were guiding it.

In a way that could have been seen as the technical truth, but not a literal one since the only pair of hands upon it were Reptilian. The sword moved with such force away from Armster that it slammed his opponent into the far wall. Just hard enough for the monster to drop `their` weapon during the on-going battle. Not very long passed & the Lizard-man was up again, running for the sword despite it's recent betrayal. And to toy with his prey, Joachim made the sword pull away just before the other could defile the weapon with it's grip once more.

"Did you really believe. . . you could kill me with my own sword?"

Steel passed through scales as he spoke those words of justified arrogance, piercing the heart of creature who had been only a hindrance. Not a true enemy. A true enemy would have tested his skills as a swordsman, been able to close the distance enough for hand-to-hand combat. He took a small pleasure in draining their veins of what had not been lost to the room's moldy floor already. At last, he removed the sword from their corpse as it melted away.

Now he floated down the corridors, holding a sword in each hand as he progressed onward. There was enough strength in him to no longer walk through the water, but not yet enough to continuously allow his weapons to float as well. Still it did not matter to him in the least, killing the remnants of monsters which he came across in his search for the remaining three swords.

Less than fifteen minutes later, Joachim came across another wielding one of his swords. . . feeling the same disgust as before. Though this amphibious adversary seemed even less a challenge than the first. Even so, the desire to give each thief it's own unique death lingered in unison with the cruel smile on such cold & pale lips. Satisfaction glimmered in the ruby coloured eyes, as he used his power to stab `their` sword-tip into the stone floor. What followed, was the throwing of a sword which spun like a saw at the Merman's ugly head, cleaving it off just slow enough for what might have been surprise on the disgusting face.

As for the last two, they were found in the temporary holding by a single suit of possessed armor. It was surrounded by the bodies of several fallen Lizard-men. Armster had never thought the spirits within these hollow apparitions had enough freewill to choose another weapon than their assigned spiked mace. His opponent saw the Vampire enter holding a sword in each hand, charging ahead to close the distance while swinging with alternating vertical & horizontal strikes. Joachim parried each one while also making hits with a satisfying metallic `clank` as he was much faster than the other.

To end it, he made the `kill` by firing the third sword which had been hidden behind his back through the armor like a steel torpedo. This finished off the final thief & ended with all five favored blades back in the possession of their rightful owner. With that little detour over with. . . he made his way for the exit to leave his `Palace` behind for good. But as he entered a large room a while later. . . a familiar yet somehow different figure stood in his way. . . brandishing a whip. . .

LEON?!

[Adrian]

[Next chapter! Since now two certain people have said that they like this story so far. Hope it doesn't seem predictable.]

"How could you know. . .to look here. . .?"

A range of emotions flooded through his mind & body at the sight of who stood before him now. He had sensed the Knight turned Vampire Hunter leave the castle as it crumbled. Could that human have sensed Walter resurrect the Guardians in those final moments? Was that it? He had come to finish the job which had already been completed once. And he knew the whip had changed at some point. . . sensed the difference from a distance when he had been brought back to life.

It was very likely why they seemed different from their last encounter face to face. That whip of alchemy had changed into something else, perhaps explaining why the hunter seemed to have a somewhat ethereal aura about him from the freshly made power of that whip. Now that the same human who had defeated him had returned. . . it triggered the memories of events from what came to pass in what became a very real flashback. Every last words of their confrontational conversation replayed in his mind as the Vampire Hunter simply seemed to stare at him blankly.

A few hours ago. . .

"Is someone there?"

Words came from a blond-haired man with those features of a handsome Knight in shinning armor. Yet now that man only had looks to hint at what he had once been by title. The clothes still retained the Templar's unmistakable red & white however. . . mixed with black leather in various places as well. Some relic of holy power in the form of a Cross was tucked along their belt's inner lining. And held by their right hand: a coiled whip giving off the aura distinctive to Alchemy.

"Are you a prisoner here?"

They echoed throughout a chamber of rock, what had become an official `Throne Room` within the `Dark Palace of Waterfalls` which Walter had banished a comparatively young Vampire to after his rebellion against the Lord of the Night. Of all the rooms, this one had been chosen for it's isolation from the lower monsters & that it was surprisingly dry when compared to the rest of the place. Leon's words had easily been head by the chamber's lone inhabitant sitting on the cold rock facing away from the Hunter.

"Who're you?"

"My name is Leon. And you are?"

Standing up on his feet now, the last remaining of five guardians turned to face his soon-to-be adversary & walked toward him with slow, deliberate steps of one not in any hurry. It was an unavoidable truth that they would fight, since none of those before had backed down. . . wanting to reclaim what was precious to them from Walter.

All part of the game.

"My name, is Joachim Armster. It's too bad. . . you aren't Walter."

Eyes of a somewhat melancholy prisoner glimmered then, giving off an obvious hint as he approached the chamber's center. Walking into the dimly lit center, his features were revealed to the former Knight standing before him. Such lavishly royal blue clothing covered most of his body save for the pants. Those were white like paraffin, as if to match the skin & of it's wearer possessing `dark` beauty which practically rendered the blond's next question a redundant formality.

"This feeling. . . Are you a vampire?"

It had been fairly obvious to anyone with eyes.

"That's RIGHT. Lowly human."

"Why is a *vampire* locked away here?"

Of all the questions. . . did he have to ask THAT one?

"SHUT UP!"

Surprise came onto Leon's face at the Guardian's outburst. And when the Vampire spoke again, his tone seethed with a venomous anger. It was only kept from sounding demonic by how their voice naturally sounded from having been a human first.

"Damn Walter. . .I WOULD HAVE WON, WERE IT NOT FOR HIS EBONY STONE!"

"Ebony stone, What's that?"

The Knight inquired in such a manner it reminded Armster of those little imp devils. Ones which could talk, & often repeated what another said simply to annoy. He had dealt with those in the past accordingly, to the point one would require a death wish to invoke his temper. For this lone Vampire's violent temper was only a pathway to what some would call the insanity of an eccentric personality. Only that it was amplified by his loss of all humanity by being turned into a Child of the Night.

"If you want to know. . . BEAT ME!"

At that moment, five swords with their tips lodged in the stone floor suddenly ripped themselves out as though it were magic. But in truth it was entirely Joachim. They began to circle like planets in orbit of the sun with a foreboding speed which was not noiseless.

"It'll be a nice prelude to defeating Walter."

Now Leon tensed, reading himself for another battle against a castle guardian. But it was also his first time up against a true blue vampire, which made his instincts wary. He felt somewhat tired from all the fighting & backtracking involved with coming this far. Now was certainly not the time to relent however, when he was only one battle away from gaining the right to face Walter & win back Sara.

"I'll beat you. . ."

And as it came to that moment, in unison with memory he spoke those exact same words with what might have been more anger than the first. It served to bring him out of the unpleasant reminiscing.

". . .TO A PULP!"

Time between then & now seemed to have vanished completely in the mind of Joachim as thirst for blood mixed with a hunger for revenge against the Belmont. A mere HUMAN who had beaten him, further hurting his pride than the anguish of being defeated by Walter. It was for that reason his swords sailed through the air at this wretched man who now performed acrobatic somersaults or blocked all five attacks with a warrior's grace.

Armster growled in frustration as the bladed weapons returned to him quickly in preparation for another assault. In those moments, his opponent closed the distance between them by running as fast as he could toward the Vampire. Both knew this time would be different, since the mystical orbs which had granted Joachim invincibility were still back in the `Throne Room`. The Hunter's choice of sub-weapon also appeared to have changed, currently being several vials clipped to the white belt.

Now the air whistled with the sound of that whip lashing out at Joachim, who used his ability of floating & inhuman speed to quickly swerve out of it's path. Each sword seem to have it's glow become a bit brighter as the battle intensified. A new skill revealed itself then, as the blond quickly jerked his arm to change the arc of his weapon's attack. It was at that exact moment the Vampire's head twitched, sending a sword to parry it before doing so twice more. Like torpedoes, these two swords thrusted through the air.

Despite his agility, the Hunter was at a loss to dodge both while his whip inconveniently wrapped around the first sword. He only managed to lessen their potential damage to below fatal. One grazed the upper part of his gauntlet arm, as the other sliced past his opposite side causing first blood to be drawn. Unfortunately, he must have ignored the pain to sprint foreword as he did next, letting loose a lash of his whip which could not be block.

Joachim's face contorted in pain at it's sting, quickly retreating backward through the air to avoid a second blow. As he did so, a realization struck him just as hard as the other's weapon had: It felt WEAKER. How could a weapon capable of vanquishing Walter be weaker than the one he had felt in their first battle? Unless. . . this was not Leon at all? Of course! That damned Walter HAD resurrected everything! Which made this being. . . the doppleganger.

"Accursed FRAUD!"

His voice shouted out in what could only be discerned as anger brought on by disappointment. Why? He was being cheated out of taking revenge against the only other who had defeated him in battle. Such an anger caused him to strike out in a deceived rage, the Fake Leon unable to dodge the blades coming at a much faster speed. Four out of five hit their mark & from there the battle raged on. Until the moment came when Joachim felt a sudden surge of power within himself.

Briefly looking down at his hands, he saw them enveloped within a violet mist along with the rest of his body. A cruel smile came across his pale lips as laughter sounding like insane joy spilled from his lips like the force of a waterfall could surge downward. Joachim knew exactly what this feeling was & left little time for the Fake Leon to begin pondering, if it had the capacity for such a thing. The five swords quickly came in-front of him in a square-diamond shape, an arcane symbol of magic forming to overlap them.

A beam of pure destructive energy burst outward at the Doppleganger.

When it finished, a staggering `Leon` quickly made for an escape, throwing itself into an open flow of water. It apparently knew enough that being a Vampire, Armster could not follow him inside. A small laugh of triumph escaped his lips before finally moving onward through the passageways. Upon arriving at the initial chamber, he gazed upon the teleporter which would grant him a long awaited escape from this place. And passing through into the main chamber which offered access to the other areas brought him a brief satisfaction.

Unfortunately, his senses told him morning had come to this Forrest called Eternal Night.

[Adrian]

[As continuing this story was hinted at, I shall! Short one though, I think.]

He considered traveling back into the dark & dank depths of his former prison, but quickly refused himself that option. Pride would not allow him a return to that place which had taken so much effort to escape. No, he would simply find somewhere to rest & regain strength. This place seemed well enough, since no monsters could come here originally. . . & the destroyed state of the Castle would likely only serve to enhance it.

From the looks of it, this main chamber seemed the least affected of those he had seen so far. But maybe his area had been the worst due to being underground? He wouldn't know until sunset came hours from now. So it was best to rest, for he would need his strength to search for the Ebony Stone wherever it may have gone to within this massive place. And that was excluding what would likely be encounters with the other Guardians.

Hours passed by, as he laid on the cold stone. . .

Something awakened him from a deep slumber, in that he felt his eyes opened without any type of warning. The Vampire quickly looked around, his swords which had been lain on the floor rose up into the air has a telekinetic glow enveloped each one as though it came from the weapon itself. Other-worldly eyes finally settled upon a figure in what might have been the only `dark` room left outside his former prison.

A feminine form was clear to his eyes through dark which they were intended to see. He knew exactly who this was, which made him believe the seductive beauty before him must have grown tired of her own residence. Something which made him a tad annoyed, considering how lavish he remembered the Ghostly Theatre to be from so long ago. It made that `Palace` of his pale in a landslide comparison. Walter HAD created her as well. . . favored the devourer of men's souls for her sensual nature.

"I'm glad to see you've survived. I thought for sure you might have perished down there. And I was going to weep for you. . ."

Her words carried a seductive tone which he knew she likely could not help with how powerful her wiles were by unnatural means. What came off as a bit `out of place` was that she did not attempt to put any spell on him from the start. Did she not feel the need to deceive him to speak with him? That was an odd thing for her to do, but everything was in chaos at this point. . . so maybe it was not so out of place after all. One time during his freedom he had visited her chambers, a fledgling curious about the only female within the castle without snakes in her hair.

"You would be wasting those bloody tears. . . unless they fell on these dead lips to heal me."

Joachim's swords still hovered about the room, slowly circling him for the time being in a protective manner. Whether her motives were plain or ulterior, they made no discourse to her unholy beauty. Not even one lost to humanity felt like denying her attractive curves existed in both the real & dream world alike. Such flimsy clothing to cover pale skin akin to his own while her hair was black as the night. . . but tinted a bit dark blood-red in the light.

And not having changed a bit. . . she stood bare-footed before him now as she always had in the past. . .

[Adrian]

[In celebration of a certain someone's birthday. . . the tale shall continue on!]

She gave off a small laugh from his words, seeming to enjoy his somewhat blunt nature. Or perhaps it was that the he was a survivor in a sense. It had been fairly obvious to any that he would have the hardest time getting out, being underground as he had been. But he had passed that test, proving it by having been dreaming in this chamber. And she knew that, for she was here with him, speaking in a voice both seductive & like a dream.

"Is blood the only thing that matters to you, being what you are?"

Her voice caressed the air, stroked his ears with the sound of those words without any effort behind them at all. This Vampire knew the difference between the real woman & one of her spells, being one of the few left un-alive to possess such wisdom. Did he flatter her by keeping his feet on the ground, despite his swords still floating? No female could possibly see that as a compliment, if it were even intended in such a kind & aloof romantic manner.

"It is what separates me from those rotted corpses beneath the dirt. What makes me feel alive."

"I could make you feel just as alive. . .Vampire."

"What you could make me feel, would not be as real as blood."

The Succubus smirked at him then, laughing softly at the Vampire as if the night would unhinge into chaos at her command. Armster's eyes had yet to leave hers since she appeared, though the reason for it was rather unclear. Was it attraction, or simply mistrust? For she stared into his otherworldly eyes in exactly the same manner, hinting to any other force watching. . . that the two might have shared a past of some sort. Something that went beyond being guardians of the same vampire & became a bit more complicated. . .yet was simple to see.

Such a gaze seemed to melt the years away between now & then. A time of `back then` dating so long ago that it was before Walter had started his games with the humans. He had been a fledgling then, so many `lifetimes` ago & freshly turned by Walter before entering the castle grounds. Getting over the sensation of `dying` to completely transform had not been very long ago at all. . . as part of his mind wondered at why Walter had chosen him of all the possible other humans for such a life.

Darkness, he had been told by the much older Vampire, was in love with that Red-head & thusly always stayed at this Forrest. It had been a fairy-tale lie just like all the others from human life. Could only the bad parts of existence transcend into the realm of immortality & eternal youth? A younger Joachim did not care about such philosophical things, being a somewhat intelligent young man still in his twenties, as he gazed upon monsters parting away from the halls in reverent servitude directed at this powerful figure leading him around.

But being a vampire had meant this `servant` was worthy enough to stay in the same part of the castle as `Lord of the Night`. It did not take him long to grow curious of the others Walter had told him about. Which led to Joachim finding his way to her. She did not seem to object either, to having such a handsome young man as a guest. He had yet to even go for his first `hunt` to feed, as he was near a woman whose unearthly beauty he had never seen the likes of before.

She could do nothing but accentuate this dark & mysterious world he had just been initiated into only hours ago. The female Demon knew it would not take much to overpower his senses. . . ones which had yet to grow somewhat dull to the new sensitivity gained with vampirism. And no man could say how the night had ended one way or another at all. Only that the amount of time comparable to a day had passed by before the Fledgling returned to his own quarters.

Her voice served to bring him out of the past.

"My dear Joachim. . . you would not even notice the difference. . ."

"How would you know?"

Armster's voice replied with resilient arrogance.

He saw her coming closer, watched her gracefully pass through a gap between two of the five swords which continued to circle him. Though now it actually circled them both, a subtly wise move he allowed her to make for one reason or another. She walked right up the ex-prisoner who no longer suffered under the melancholy of Walter's oppression. Inches away from him, her pale. . .delicate hand rose to touch the clothed chest of Armster as he watched with what looked to be a passive expression.

Her lips barely brushed against his, taunting him with memories.

"Because it's time for you to wake up, darling."

The deathly pale young man awoke with a sudden start, his eyes shooting open as the real world came into focus. Or at least what might have been the real world this time, for now he had to doubt his own senses. Which meant she HAD put a spell on him. . . a rather powerful one at that to be able to nullify the senses of a creature who had lost the natural gullibility which came with one's humanity. He cursed her & himself for such a thing happening, growing somewhat angry with each moment.

To the point of entering the `House of Sacred Remains` after having RESTED so well. . .

[Adrian]

[Looks like I can pull off an intimate scene after all. Without being corny! So as hinted at by a certain person. . . it shall continue on.]

Left to right, his gaze swept over the initial room within what should ironically be called the Castle's lone Church. It led one to believe this castle might have not always belonged to Walter. But then again. . . at such an early year in the new millennium at which the structure had to of been built. . . made one wonder how even THAT had occurred. Or in all likelihood Walter COULD have been behind it's construction & simply had it made to mock Christianity by placing a house of God within the Forrest of Eternal Night.

Overlooking the area below from his somewhat high vantage point, the world of marble before him looking decadently elegant in that the place had suffered damage just like the rest of the castle. Statues which had once been missing only a limb or two were now lucky to still be standing at all. The ceiling had a few chunks missing in it. . . while the floor was cracked in places where debris had fallen & still laid there undisturbed. A few skeletons roamed below, probably ones lucky enough to have not been crushed when they were resurrected.

He casually floated down the stairway, passing over a part of the midsection which had collapsed until he reached the main floor. With his swords behind him in an orderly manner, two behind each arm & one behind his back. . . he continued on through the door. The Vampire did not even wish to waste his time on these creatures since they had no blood at all, allowing him to move through the area much quicker than he had in his own domain.

For once luck seemed in his favor, as the locking mechanism usually in place at the basement door had been destroyed utterly. By focusing power in his hand. . .a small stone-sized orb of telekinetic energy glowed in his palm. When thrown against the doorway, it blew what remained of the door to pieces & revealed the stairs. Unfortunately, pieces of rubble littered the path, having to be sliced away by his swords gradually until it was easy enough to move through.

After about an hour, he arrived at the doorway which was decorated to signify a guardian dwelled beyond it. Now, Joachim knew the Undead Parasite awaited within. . . & he wished to eliminate for a few reasons which seemed to make sense. One, being that it's death would give him more power which would speed up his recovery. And the other, was quite simply he despised the ugly beast, repulsed by the thought of it being a parasite. . . which was what some humans called vampires.

Even a madman would be able to tell something evil lurked in the room Armster floated into, not even considering the idea of his feet touching such a loathsome floor of filth & infection. He could see tunnels in walls which looked alive, five raised sections which resembled the most disgusting boils one could ever imagine in their lifetime. And at that moment, an enormous creature resembling a worm came speeding out of one tunnel faster than ten horses pulling an empty wagon.

Soaring into the putrid airs of the arena which resembled the inside of an organ, he avoided the loathsome creature that had charged him. But when blades were launched at it, they seemed to bounce off what was likely an impervious exoskeleton of some sort. As he came back down to the ground. . . he noticed four of those five blister looking deformities had something in them which looked soft enough to be harmed by his swords.

Taking the chance, he launched a lone weapon at one of the disgusting growths & saw it be cut. So with a smirk, he let the other four follow suit in a relentless assault against the weak point. After a minute or so it burst, releasing a viral looking puss which the Vampire made sure to avoid. Not wasting any seconds given to him, he started on the next only to be nearly rammed into from the side by that gigantic worm looking creature.

It was easy enough to avoid with a quick dodge to the right, before it vanished into one of the tunnels again. Joachim did not know how soon it would return, so his assault had a type of haste to it until strange looking puddles began to seep up from the living floor. One rose up almost underneath him into what resembled a zombie, which he quickly cut down to keep it away. And it was then, the large Wyrm appeared again to reveal a scorching surprise: it could breath a stream of fire.

Armster almost looked to have jumped, with how quickly his floating form shot up into the air so he could avoid being burned. Vampire flesh was particularly susceptible to the element of fire, as it was already dead & only re-animated by unholy power kept strong by blood drank from prey. While up in the air his swords came down, finishing off the second of those four puss-filled growths. Descending shortly after when the large Wyrm vanished again. . . he started to whittle away at the third.

Dodging the various defenses this abomination worse than himself threw at him. . . he eventually finished off the two remaining cysts. Once he did, a beam of yellow energy surged through the center, as the Vampire felt a familiar sweep of power emerge. The purple vapor which signified he could use a magical attack had appeared again. He did not use it right away against the strange. . .`thing` which emerged underneath the beam of energy.

Swords slashed through the air as fast as the Vampire could twitch his head to order the telekinetic attacks, causing searing cries of pain to echo throughout the chamber. Without mercy, the cold look of a killer rested in Joachim's otherworldly eyes as he hacked away at this ugly thing of evil Walter had called a guardian. And when it seemed weak enough, for the grand finale Armster unleashed the raw beam of destructive energy focused by his five swords.

After his latest attack, the Undead Parasite became no more than a few scattered particles in the air. It's death left behind an orb of power that the Vampire did not hesitate to absorb into himself. He could feel his old strength become partially restored as it spread throughout his body. Such a refreshing sensation, to not feel almost as powerless as the day he had been turned Even if he knew not how many orbs it would take to become entirely restored. . . he still felt that much closer to his goal.

With this new strength, he left the House of Sacred Remains with his purpose there fulfilled to his satisfaction. Little did he know that as the years passed, this place which was in truth, not very close to Walter's castle. . . would be rebuilt. The structure would be dubbed `Garibaldi Temple` by the humans. . . & later abandoned when the feared Count Dracula emerged so close by with his Demon Castle `Castlevania`. And within the temple's catacombs a revolting abomination would lurk. . . the Undead Parasite would be in it's reborn & much more infamous form as the entity LEGION.

[Adrian]

[Should I even dare to put this up at all? ]

No footsteps were heard as the Pale Swordmaster floated back & forth, reminiscent of human pacing as both arms were crossed over his clothed chest. Night did not stay young forever, without the Ebony Stone & it's powerful alchemy. His mind went back & forth over which area to intrude upon next, a mind which had been locked away along with it's body were pondering that question. Considering this had only been going on for a minute or so since his return from the `House of Sacred Remains`. . . it could not be seen as too bad a use of time.

In the end, he chose the Golem as his next opponent for a few personal reasons mixed with a crude logic. Mainly that the Golem had no intelligence whatsoever, & would therefore be an easy target. And to make it seem even sweeter. . .the orb gained would grant him even more power than he currently possessed. It would leave the Vampire to face both remaining guardians which were female. Of course, that was if he felt the need for their power to be used in restoring his own.

Such worries were brushed aside as he passed through what had once been a rather charming place from what the Vampire remembered. But now shattered glass laid upon the floor, as well as various cracks made in the ceiling & walls. Every last section looked distraught by the destruction which had come more than eight hours ago. It made Armster wonder what had become of the boundless knowledge kept within this arcane wing of the castle.

Walter had spent days. . .even weeks occasionally in this area, his goal to unravel the mystery of the Anti-Soul within these laboratories. Whatever THAT entity might be. The Golem had been a product from one of his experiments early on in that research which seemed to take Alchemy a step further. It was an enigma to the former prisoner as to what EXACTLY the primary goal here had even been in the first place. Bernhard never spoke with anyone about what went on in here, making the speechless Golem a perfect creature to guard it's secrets.

Joachim could only make wild guesses as he went onward, slashing to ribbons whatever force attempted to defeat him. One room he entered had a globe & model of smaller globes surrounding it. Burnt pages were all over the floor from coming in contact with Flame zombies no doubt. They were round spheres kept in some type of revolution around the larger, central object of the piece. Whatever meaning this contraption had, was lost now since it could no longer function anymore. Not dwelling on it much further, he moved on in search of stairs which would lead him to the next floor.

In another room, books were scattered across the floor with spines bent. . . some of these volumes even partially burned from fire sources left unchecked during the upheaval. What knowledge was inside these mysterious texts? Had they all been hand written by Walter to keep records of his enigmatic research? A few out of many seemed somewhat intact, the Vampire's curiosity causing him to lift one into his hands by way of telekinesis.

Perhaps it had been unwise of his sire to teach Joachim the skill of reading? A largely illiterate society of humanity's `civilization` outside these ruined walls knew nothing of a sentence or even what meaning any of twenty-six letters meant at all. But the book in his hands had information which seemed to only be a piece of a larger collective. All the same, what it's pages revealed were the intriguing records of Walter's ventures into the unknown occult arts of spiritual binding & other such defiances against God.

So this is what you did when not agonizing the lowly humans into your twisted game. . .

In his hands was the halfway point of theories about binding souls into inanimate objects whether they had once been a body or not. So ONE of these hypothesis HAD to be the process with which the Golem had been create by the former Castle Master. At the compendium's end, was the revealing of WHICH theory actually proved to be true. . . how a single soul had been bound into stones to give the creation life. Essentially the process seemed to give true immortality & had varied effects depending on the exact soul used to bring whatever object it was to life eternal.

But as the Vampire realized this, he also came out of his reading daze. Who could say how much night had been lost reading this albeit informative guide to manipulating the laws of what held the universe together as God had so righteously intended. So with great haste & newfound knowledge, Armster made great haste for the observatory which rested at the top of this wrecked castle section. Flying up along the wall made it rather easy for him to retrieve the `e` stone from it's resting place.

On his way to the Guardian's lair, he encountered what could only be result's from his former Sire's experiments. These were primitive looking swords, which could float, aligned with particular elements such as: Fire, Lightening, & Ice. But of course, none were a match for his own expertly controlled blades in the end. . . despite a slight challenge in hitting such small targets. No body certainly made them a bit harder to take down with how nimbly they could dodge. It gave him insight to just how hard he himself must have been to fight in combat.

Though, only to a certain degree.

He now floated through Golem's chamber, those otherworldly eyes briefly glanced over what would soon become his opponent. All it would take to revive this earthen behemoth was a mere stone set into a larger stone tablet infused with arcane magic. One could almost envy how easily this particular monster's ability to be resurrected with such ease. Though as Joachim placed the stone in it's appropriate place. . . any type of envy was removed as he saw it's crude form come together stone by massive stone.

Seeming to recognize the Vampire for who he was. . . the supposedly brainless hunk of rock swung a massive hand & arm. But being so large & slow. . . the move was rather simple to dodge when it came, just like the others that followed. Honed edges kept sharp by telekinesis clanged against pure rock, chipping away piece by piece at the result of Walter's research. After a time, Joachim stubbornly realized his attacks did not do much against this creature. It was likely Leon's whip of alchemy had been more effective for obvious reasons.

Noticing the glowing spot on his foe, two parts which glimmered red like a pair of eyes. . . he slashed at each one with a sword through the air. He hoped it would be some type of weakness, but nothing happened at all to prove such a thing. For the next strategy Armster turned to memory. . . running through what he had learned from that book to try & realize what would cause this creature's end. Something in there had to have been a clue right?

"Why can't you just DIE!"

He shouted at th Golem in frustration, dodging it's attacks as his brain began to change in it's way of thinking. It was then brute force started to take over, just as he got smashed into a wall by the Golem's right `fist`. Some part of what followed next could have been said to be a mind without humanity starting to `un-hinge` in a few places. This giving way to a type of mentality only those imprisoned for long periods of time developed along with other types of mental disorders.

As he spit up blood, feeling cracked ribs within himself. . .Joachim looked up at his opponent towering above & started to laugh. Eyes began to glitter a similar red, the beginnings of what was likely him entering a blood-lust frenzy. His head twitched faster in succession than any Metal-loving headband could hope to without brain damage. That familiar violet vapor began to seep from every deceased pore soon after, signifying he had recharged his magic. But this time it was not the beam which Armster released, it was something more akin to a berserker attack.

With magic, those already deadly blades grew to an amazing size several times larger than their regular one. All five slashed at the monster in a whirlwind of enchanted steel for a little over one second. . . but did immense damaged. Those enhanced swords actually cut through some of the rock, leaving the Golem with what had to be only a quarter of it's life left. Sure the earlier blows had whittled away at it as well. . . but with how it could ignore pain. . . one would never notice the difference.

His body sat up against a wall, Joachim kept the monster at bay while he struggled with the physical pain which had been inflicted. Being able to fight a far-away battle certainly had it's advantages when one had become so injured. What made matters worse was the fact this battle would yield him no blood. All he could plan on was the orb having enough power to restore his strength AND heal his wounds. It motivated him through what remained of the battle. . . taking pleasure when the Golem finally collapsed into rubble & relinquished the orb.

Armster floated to it, up off the floor to eliminate the risk of further injuring himself by moving. Once it had been absorbed. . . the orb relieved him of all pains, healing his every wound to the point of perfection. Not a soul could tell the Vampire had been hurting so badly only moments before, as he floated out of the arena & made his way out from the `Anti-Soul Mysteries Lab`. Perhaps no one would ever get to know what breakthroughs Walter may have had during his unlife in the field of alchemist science. . . & perhaps that was for the best.

Now all that remained were the Succubus. . .& the legendary Medusa. . .

[Calista Rayne]

Good stuff! *Finally got the chance to read it.*

Keep going~!

[Adrian]

[Had to take a brief hiatus from this story, since my finger had been burnt & made it hard to type for long periods of time. But here's another chapter!]

He stared down at the large Ram's head carved into the floor, with the swords implanted far enough into the stone around himself to keep them from falling over. The look in his eyes was a distant one, far off in a contemplative thought or perhaps simply letting his mind drift along itself until it overlapped once more into coherent, sane trains of thought. Either way, it was obvious to the Vampire that he would have to make a choice before his body needed to sustain itself on blood again.

The Legendary Medusa.

The Sensual Succubus.

Which would he pursue. . . would he attempt to kill in order to obtain another orb of power to restore himself fully at long last. Both had a special strength unlike the last two guardians. Did it always have to be the female gender which turned out as the most difficult? He pondered only for a short while, knowing it would be best to not be caught by the sunrise. And in that simple acknowledgment, the decision was at last made by Armster as to whom he would visit next on his little tour.

A Garden Forgotten by Time itself. . .

Joachim had thought to himself as he floated above the transporting platform with swords circling in a tight formation. In the time it took one to blink, his unearthly eyes gazed upon a place he had visited once before with Walter as his guide. An attempt had been made during that visit to show him the `Beauty of the Night` which a still-Fledgling Armster had yet to see in the Darkness which he had been inducted into by the one who wielded the Ebony Stone.

A treasure he would soon search for upon the grounds.

But for now, he traversed through a place which seemed untouched on the whole since it had never been with a roof. Without Eternal Night, plants which had been especially picked for their thriving on moonlight were all now rather wilted in appearance. Nothing yet had been completely killed, but all seemed to be in a state of decay as more `normal` plants would soon take the place of those supernatural kind. In a vague sense of irony, he now realized the great difference between those plants of Darkness & light. Much to thankfully departed Walter's despair. . . he still preferred those of the day.

Demons, monsters which had once thrived here now only sparsely existed as many had been wiped out during the apocalyptic cataclysm known by all mortals as the daytime. Those which remained seemed to fear the Vampire even as they challenged him, falling under bladed blows which had become significantly more powerful since his resurrection the previous night. Now the only obstacle seemed to be navigating a rotting labyrinth his memory only half recalled.

In the end he depended on following the greatest source of energy which remained undamaged. He new the ancient snake mistress was likely the only creature whom dwelt within this now Abandoned Castle which could exist in the sunlight. As he grew closer, the ego which sustained his confidence faltered slightly. . . not remembering if Walter had told him if her gaze could turn Vampires to stone or not. But he eventually brushed it off as he entered what would have once looked like a dead end.

Now his unearthly eyes looked over destroyed statues, easily spotting an entrance which had lost it's secrecy due to the wake of Leon Belmont's rather fateful visit. Passing through, he could feel the presence of his soon-to-be foe growing as he neared the large red doors which had marked each Guardian's personal chamber. Armster pushed them open, not looking toward the area which he knew Medusa usually awaited in. . . & instead gazed over her mostly preserved collection of once human statues.

Forever young with features set in stone. . . yet they all still crumble to dust in time. . .

One might think it was a well-sculpted mirror of the fate which awaited ever damned soul turned Vampirism. But as his unearthly gaze swept over them all, he noticed one statue in particular. It was undeniably feminine with seductive curves with a look off horror on it's face &. . .WINGS!? Those eyes which normally narrowed in disgust at all who addressed him now widened in shock. Armster's face possessed a similar expression, though it also held something akin to sorrow in those paled features.

"It can't. . ."

"Oh but it IS, wretched little Brat of the Night. I see you are in awe of my newest statue. . . made when she came here earlier. That Seductress of Darkness thought she could defeat me with her spells & that pitiful magic she had learnt of plants. But her final end was not brought by a man, no. It came fittingly from the one thing she could not ensnare: A WOMAN."

An old voice addressed him with pride in her latest work of art, her `greatest` triumph since had probably been the most powerful supernatural creature brought down by her gaze. The Medusa mocked him with cruel laughter, enjoying the pain she could sense in his undead heart. Joachim still did not look at her, not daring to find out if Vampires were immune or not to her cursed power. Slowly but surely, anger began to replace everything. . . it filled a Heart which no longer beat by regular means just as it had filled the heart of Leon Belmont at seeing his Fiancee bitten by that bastard Walter.

"You're no woman, Medusa. You're only a monster now. . . with no beauty at all. As you have been since Walter brought you here so long ago."

He replied with a voice to match how cold his blood had turned with murderous desire.

"MONSTER!? How DARE you! Why is it little boys like you always fall in love with the village whore!?"

She answered back with anger, enraged by what had been an intentional insult. One the Vampire Hunter had made before in what seemed like only an accident.

"SHUT UP!. . .Either way you look, no one would EVER love YOU."

And it was then, their battle began.

[Adrian]

[Just because I'm nice. . . I felt like not leaving anyone who read it on too much of a cliffhanger.]

Filled with hatred, he turned to face the Gorgon without fear of being turned to stone as he sent all five of his swords to slash at her while keeping his distance. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Armster knew the battle would not be an easy one since this Ex-Guardian had two Orbs inside them instead of just one. It was not an advantage a creature like this one needed to aid them in battle. But it did not make him relent in his attack at all.

Once more, Joachim's advantage laid within his speed to dodge around his opponent's rather close range attacks. Avoiding her gaze the best he could stand, he let those swords fly loose upon her scaly hide with powerful slashes. Telekinesis became the outlet for his anger, his pain which had been brought on by the one he now fought. Quite a few times blood became spilt on both sides, each of them being damaged by the other. But Joachim had gotten in more strikes than the slower monster of Legend before him.

There were also other things working in the favor of Armster, such as how much his magic ability had increased. For when his body finally became enveloped within that familiar violet vapor, he had TWO attacks at his disposal instead of just one. He was just igniting the destructive beam of energy when Medusa made her first attempt at turning him to stone. But it would be left inconclusive, as the magic protected him while energy seared the skin of the Serpent Maiden's head.

It made her scream in pain, poisonous blood which was the only type undrinkable to any Vampire seeped from the wounds before they healed over due to reptilian regeneration. However, by no means was she invincible. . . since she seemed to be growing steadily weaker as he wore her down. Once again he unleashed the awesome power of that energy beam onto the Gorgon, causing even further damage. Gradually, her ability to heal quickly seemed to vanish. . . but so did that of the Vampire.

He was taking hits too, ones which could crack ribs or break limbs of any normal man. At one point he spit blood out of his mouth after being knocked away by one of her serpentine 'strands of hair'. Yet he fought on with anger, managing to stab her eyes with a Sword in each when the fight started coming near to it's close. He allowed the blades to stay in while his other three swords continued assaulting her mercilessly as the Gorgon screamed in agony.

Raging onward, their fight to death held more surprises as it came closer to the end with it's victor still seeming a bit unclear. Deadly snakes poured from the wounds upon Medusa like blood, each leaping at Joachim. A few would find their mark if enough came at him, causing pain when their fangs dug in. The Vampire could have decimated them with ease by using his swords, but he did not dare let them relent from his main goal.

At long last, the scaly mass of Medusa's head collapsed on it's side before the battle-damaged body of Joachim Armster. Both looked ragged, though with the Gorgon certainly looking more the worse for wear. The Sword-master's blue clothes which had once looked new in their aristocratic design now had stains of blood soaked into the Royal Blue cloth. It was quite obvious where they had come from, the tears in his outfit leaving it looking nearly tattered beyond repair, revealing pale skin which had yet to heal entirely due to the state he was currently in.

"You see? It doesn't take a Human bearing a Whip of Alchemy to destroy the likes of you."

". . .*Blood-gurgling in throat*. . ."

Now the Gorgon herself turned completely to stone without having made Armster do so first. Both orbs emerged, being absorbed quickly by the battered Vampire to heal himself from the wounds inflicted while also rewarding him with a new level of power. He had become fully restored at long last, yet he felt no elation. . . no sense of victory or accomplishment as he gazed over his shoulder at the most beautiful statue in the garden with an unreadable look on his face.

As though in a trance, his body turned to face the statue which had not been sculpted by the hands of any human artist. He floated toward it, while the five swords remained lodged into various parts of a now-dead monster. The Vampire then let his bare feet touch the ground, those fine boots destroyed earlier during the fight. Walking on earthen ground closed the distance between him & what had once been a fellow Guardian, a female whose wiles could bring down a Saint.

Standing before what had once been her now, made him begin to feel a similar melancholy which had left him upon resurrection. His cold hand reached up to touch the cheek of a terrified face, cold lifeless stone skin of beauty eternally warped into that of pain. The Vampire did not know she had once remarked wanting to see Leon's face in a similar expression. If she had not been so lovely. . . the sight of it all might have repulsed him away.

But instead the hand continued to touch her cheek, caressing it in a dotingly affectionate manner as though he had forgotten what fate had befallen her. Then his touch moved to stroke once silky soft hair which still retained it's smooth texture. . .but not the delicate softness of life. For a time continued this, until his hand once more came to cup her cheek in a surprisingly gentle manner though it was not required. A moment or two more passed until the cold lips of a Vampire pressed softly to lips which held even less life than his own.

Seconds passed. . . before his face left hers entirely, the hand dropped away as if silently rejected by some unheard voice. A few steps were taken back, his unearthly gaze turning away in unison with his body. With a wave of his hand, the sound of steel scraping out of stone signifying that his swords were free once more. They came to float behind him in a neat formation as the Vampire's own feet left the ground on his way to exit the chamber. Not once did he ever look back, never to return to the wilting Gardens time had found at last.

When he entered the main transport chamber once more. . . one could say Medusa had partially won. . .

His Heart had turned to cold stone.

[Adrian]

Grief reigned. . . he wanted to plunge those that loved the light & each-other into a cursed darkness exactly like the one he had been damned to by Walter's fangs. Anger filled the veins turned ice cold as blood tried to boil like the flames of Hell. How could he bring pain to all those who had the happiness he had been denied by forces beyond his control? From what he had heard of the man named Matthias, such a warpath of Genocide that cursed the very Christian God was well under way. A being combined & thriving from the powers of the Crimson Stone. . . did he dare take on another master just to achieve revenge? It was then, midst his own hateful brooding, an old roar echoed up from the depths of a black & evil nostalgia. . .

The Forgotten One.

Yes. . .together we could destroy them all. . .

Without wasting a moment the Arrogant Vampire literally flew down the winding staircase which would bring him to the colossal monstrosity down below. Soon enough he reached the chamber, only to find the door had been destroyed in the cataclysm which meant he would not need the artifact often needed to unlock the door. Joachim used his now fully restored telekinesis to remove what stone barriers not only remained in his way but muffled the agonized roars of the Forgotten One. Indeed this pained Abomination among all others would share his hatred. . .for both had been imprisoned deep beneath the castle for what some might say was the safety of the world in it's Dark Ages.

Upon reaching the massive monstrosity, Joachim found it buried under a pile of rubble as the black ebony chains which held it captive still seemed to remain in place. Even being a cruel creature of inhumanity in his own right, he still empathized with the injustice of becoming imprisoned without what that individual felt was a just reason. Telekinesis along with sword strikes rang throughout out the Catacombs of this now Abandoned Castle, as the Vampire progressed gradually in freeing what he planned on making an ally. It became reality two hours later, only to revealed just how tortured the Forgotten One had been under such a heartless negligence by none other than their mutual captor: Walter Bernhardt.

At this stage how could the creature be of any use to him without being restored or resurrected in some manner? It was then Joachim recalled not only his search for the Ebony stone but those untold Arcane Volumes within the Anti-Soul Mysteries Lab as well. But as a precaution he would leave this Castle prone to daylight in case his new ally proved to be uncontrollably violent. Even then it did not really matter, just so long as he could send it off on a mindless rampage to ravage the villages. Yes. . . a tragedy such as that would be a rude but fitting reminder to the Vampire Hunter named Leon Belmont that destroying one Vampire did not make it true that the night had died by any means.

Not much time had passed at all until he had located the Volumes of black magic necessary to restore his fallen former captive to a full & horrifying glory of frightful terror. It had only been an hour & a half before the new Lord of the entire Castle had returned to his promising new ally. Without delay incantations were invoked, spells cast, potions produced, & all other methods of restoration available made use of completely. Even with all of this it took nearly half an hour to restore the Forgotten One to the fullest power possible during the daytime. What resulted was an unruly Beast worthy of the task Armster had in mind, which was a creature that would ravage the countryside. . .putting the skills of Leon Belmont to a test rivaling that of Death himself.

All that remained for Joachim now was to secure the Ebony Stone, to find out at long last if it would choose him as it's master in the departed absence of Walter. For that reason as the motivation, he set out for the Pagoda of the Misty Moon in search of the stone which could bring Darkness eternal. Once inside he traversed up the passageways that remained, with no monster left standing after not only the ruin brought by Leon Belmont but the first daylight in what seemed like centuries to fall upon this damned place. Soon enough after traversing a rather dangerous route he might elaborate on some other day. . . he entered where Walter's throne room had fallen to in the destruction.

"I know you're here. . .somewhere under this rubble. . .I can feel my body yearn for the Darkness you grant."

That feeling stayed with him as entire sections were dislodged in a mad search for that stone made from Alchemy. But why waste energy so freely? It was easy to believe that the stone would grant him limitless power that would restore him. . . making the accursed bloodthirst that assailed his kind a mere leisure he could indulge in freely. And soon enough he came upon that familiar stone, looking at it with his own Golden eyes. One might swear his paraffin complexion grew paler upon realizing what existed right before him. Laughter of madness & glee filled the air soon afterward, maniacal as he reached out to touch the Ebony Stone. Finally dreams of revenge could be realized by this Vampire who had suffered so much during his unlife.

Just as everything seemed to be going his way. . . something went wrong.

Darkness spread out over the land even darker than what remained of the night had covered it. As this happened the Forgotten broke loose from what bonds had kept him contained until this false but enchanted & eternal night had come into existence once more. Upon Joachim's face a look of terror spread as he felt the Alchemy of the Ebony Stone reject him, condemning him to fate one might call a type of true immortality. His body was dissolving into the purple mist which had so many times signified that he could perform a magical attack. It spread outward to each of the five swords which glowed green around his body, enveloping them as a transfer of equal exchange.

The Vampire Joachim Armster had been used in this Veritable Forge of the Damocles, the birth of a new Supernatural foe called the Spectral Sword which many a Vampire Hunter would battle in the centuries to come. . .the entire chain of events had served the purpose to explain the birth of another legendary enemy within the Belmont Bestiary. . .

In the Distance a Behemoth charged off to claim Innocent lives. . .


THE END.