[Aspirant! Your trial is over.]
The words rang in Alucard's skull like a bell tolling over a battlefield. Cold, emotionless, final.
His heart stopped.
"…Over?" he whispered, voice dry. "It's… it's really over?"
The silence of the void answered him. No more shrieks, no more blood, no more collapsing castles or flames eating at the edges of his sanity. Just the echo of that line.
It had been an illusion. All of it. Yuki's soft laugh, Dracula's crushing embrace, Hairless' hellish gallop, Alexie's psychotic grin, the silenced maids, the werewolf professor bleeding in the courtyard… gone. Fabrications spun by the Spell to test him. To break him. To see if he was worthy.
It was all fake.
He laughed. A harsh, cracked sound that quickly turned into something half-sob, half-cough. He dropped to his knees, clutching his chest, gasping for air.
"If it was fake… then why does it hurt so damn much?"
Because it did hurt. The ache was real, bone-deep, heart-deep. His throat still burned where Dracula had bitten him. His arms still remembered Yuki's warmth. His mind still replayed the screams of the Dark Castle's dying.
He dug his nails into his skin until he bled. "At least…" His voice broke. "At least I get to go home. I'll see Mom. Dad. Rain. Luca and Dante…" His lips trembled. "Gods, they're seven already. I missed their birthday. While I was in this damned nightmare, my brothers grew up without me. My little sister probably cried herself to sleep. And all I can think about is…"
His jaw clenched.
"…all I can think about is her."
Yuki. The way she tilted her head when she teased him. The warmth of her foxfire against the cold night. Her stubbornness, her laugh, her kiss. Her death.
Fake. All fake.
So why did his chest feel hollowed out? Why did it feel like the Spell had carved out his heart and left a gaping wound in its place?
[Summary: Sebastian, son of the great Dracula, was a brat fated to never accomplish anything. Yet fate changed. He grew close to the Kitsune girl, won his father's respect, and was shaping up to rule Dracula's castle as its heir. Unfortunately, the sun priest Alexie had a different idea and destroyed his peaceful life. As Sebastian walked the path of chaos, he chose to defy fate once again: he spared the city, and went to see his father one last time.]
"Wow," Alucard muttered bitterly. "Half a year of my life summarized like a damn footnote. Great job, Spell. Thanks for reducing my trauma into a two-paragraph wiki entry."
[You have slain an Awakened Demon: the Shadow Knight.]
His eyes widened. "…Wait. That bastard was Awakened?!" He rubbed his face, half-laughing, half-growling. "No wonder he hit like a truck. Here I was thinking I just sucked at fighting."
[You have slain an Awakened Human: Sun Priest Alexie.]
Alucard smirked. "Good. Fucking. Riddance."
[You have slain a Sacred Terror: Blood Emperor Dracula.]
He froze. Sacred. Terror.
"…Holy hell." His voice shook. "I was eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner with a Sacred Terror. I was playing chess with him. I was living under the same roof as a Sacred Terror." He started laughing, unhinged. "No wonder the maids were always so nervous. No wonder the air in that castle felt like it weighed a ton."
[You have achieved the impossible!]
[Final appraisal: marvelous. Your hatred truly knows no bounds.]
"…Really?" Alucard groaned. "Really, Spell? You couldn't just stop at marvelous? You had to tack on the edgy villain monologue at the end?" He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Gods, I need a drink."
Still, even through the sarcasm, pride warmed his chest. He had done it. He had survived the impossible.
And then came the words that made his breath catch.
[Dreamer Alucard, receive your boon!]
The void shifted. Energy coiled around him like a predator.
[You have been bestowed a True Name: Monarch of Crimson.]
His jaw hit the floor.
"A… a True Name?" His eyes widened, tears prickling at the edges. "I—No way. This can't… I actually…" He started laughing, dizzy, ecstatic. "I got a True Name! In my first Nightmare! Some Saints don't even have one, and I— I—"
He spun in circles, drunk on triumph. "Holy shit, I'm one of those guys now. I'm a protagonist! A chosen one! I can coast off this for life!"
But the Spell wasn't finished.
[Your Aspect is ready to evolve. Evolve Aspect?]
"Is that even a question?!" Alucard yelled. "Hell yes!"
[Awakened Aspect: Halfling Vampire is evolving…]
[New Aspect acquired.]
[Aspect Rank: Supreme.]
Alucard's legs gave out. He fell flat on his ass. "S-Supreme? No… no way. No fucking way." His voice cracked. "That's… that's like, one in a billion! I can name every Supreme holder from history off the top of my head! They're legends! They're myths!"
And now… so was he.
[Aspect Name: Emperor Vampire.]
His heart stopped. "…Wasn't that… Dracula's?"
Memory crashed over him — the final embrace, the necklace pressed into his palm, the words thanks for being my son.
"He… he gave it to me." Alucard whispered. His throat closed. "He knew I wasn't Sebastian. He knew. But he still… still gave it to me."
His fingers tightened around nothing. "Thanks, Father."
Aspect: [Emperor Vampire]
Aspect Rank: [Supreme]
Aspect Description:
You are a fiend of blood. Neither alive nor dead, neither corpse nor human, neither undead nor shadow. You are an aberration—a being standing between worlds, cursed by a god's treachery and scarred by a god's love. Doomed to solitude, you walk a path none else can tread.
Innate Ability: [Undying Shadow]
Ability Description:
You are an elite among both the undead and the shadows, a creature whose existence was forged from divine meddling. One god's affection gave you strength, while another's hatred ensured you would forever be hunted. To the undead and the shadows, you are kin. To the sun god, you are an abomination. The wrath of divinity follows you still, burning even after their death.
Alucard felt something stirring deep inside him. At first, it was subtle, like the faint echo of a heartbeat hidden beneath his own. But soon, it surged forward with the force of a storm, rattling his chest and stealing the air from his lungs.
With a startled cry, he clutched at his heart, falling to his knees as a cold sweat coated his skin. His crimson eyes widened, darting around the suffocating darkness. What was happening? This sensation wasn't painful, not in the usual sense—but it wasn't pleasant either. It was alien, like a part of him long asleep had been shaken awake, stretching its limbs for the first time in centuries.
The power did not come from outside. It wasn't bestowed upon him. No, it was something that had always been there, buried beneath layers of mortality and fragility, now clawing its way out.
It spread slowly at first, like a candle lit inside his chest. Then it roared into life, expanding outward until it felt like a miniature sun was burning in the center of him. Waves of blistering heat radiated through his veins, washing down into his stomach, flooding his arms, scorching his legs. His blood boiled, his muscles trembled, his bones groaned under the pressure.
Then came the tearing and rebuilding. His muscles shredded apart and stitched back together stronger. His bones cracked and reforged with an unbreakable density. His veins ruptured, only for rivers of molten blood to pulse through them anew. His very organs were bathed in fire and reshaped into something beyond human.
It was euphoric. Terrifying. Maddening.
For the first time in his life, Alucard felt alive. Truly alive. Not the frail boy mocked for his pale skin and strange eyes. Not the vulnerable child living in the shadows of monsters and men alike. No—he was something else now. Something greater.
Confidence settled into his heart like steel being quenched. He wasn't prey anymore.
After what felt like an eternity, the inferno in his chest began to cool. The blistering fire was replaced by a soothing, numbing cold. It spread across his reborn body, washing away every ache, every scar, every weakness that had haunted him. It climbed up his throat, into his skull, and finally, it reached his eyes.
His vision split.
On one side, he still saw the endless void, the black emptiness scattered with shimmering constellations. On the other, he saw a new world—his Soul Sea.
But it wasn't like what he had read about. Others spoke of glowing stars of blue or gold, gentle lights symbolizing life and stability. His was a crimson sea, vast and still, ruled by a blood-red moon that loomed high above the horizon. Its glow was unsettling yet majestic, as though the very essence of his being had been rewritten by some divine cruelty.
Two orbs of light circled the red moon, gentle but steady, orbiting him like loyal companions. He reached out and summoned them closer, and they revealed themselves as runes:
[Shadow Knight's Armor]
[Blood Necklace]
Memories.He didn't have time to linger on their attributes, because something greater was stirring.
His Aspect was awakening.
Alucard held his breath. His role in the Dream Realm, in the war against Nightmare Creatures, in the real world—it all depended on what came next. Would he be a warrior, forged for slaughter on the battlefield? Would he be a sorcerer, fragile yet devastating at range? Or perhaps something rarer—one of the healers, sought after, revered?
His heart raced as the runes appeared.
[Aspect Name: Emperor Vampire.]
[Aspect Rank: Supreme.]
[Aspect Ability Acquired.]
[Aspect Ability Name: Blood Manipulation.]
Alucard's eyes widened. His hands trembled as he pulled up his status.
[Aspect Name: Emperor Vampire.]
Memories: [Shadow Knight's Armor], [Blood Necklace].
Echoes: —
Attributes: [Internal Logic], [Fated], [Flame of Divinity].
"…What the hell is that supposed to mean?" he muttered, staring at the glowing letters.
[Flame of Divinity]
"Your soul is aflame with the light of divinity."
He scowled. "Completely useless. Cool, but useless."
[Fated]
"The strings of fate wrap tightly around you. Unlikely events, both good and bad, are drawn by your presence. There are those who are blessed, and there are those who are cursed… but rarely both."
He laughed bitterly. "Honestly, I'm shocked I didn't have this earlier. Sounds perfect for me."
Sarcasm dripped from his words, but the laughter died in his throat as more runes appeared.
[All power has a price.]
[You have received a Flaw.]
[Your Flaw is: Vampire's Gluttony.]
[Flaw Description: You must drink the blood of others in order to survive—be they human or monster. You are cursed to never feel the sun's rays on your skin ever again, lest you draw the wrath of the Sun God.]
Alucard froze. His chest tightened, as though someone had shoved a dagger straight into his heart.
"No… no, no, no." His hands shook, curling into fists. He wanted to scream, to curse the Spell, to tear the runes apart with his bare hands. "Damn it! DAMN YOU!"
The truth was merciless. This wasn't just a power. It was a prison. He could never live a peaceful life again. The sun—warmth, light, normalcy—was barred from him forever. His survival hinged on blood. Hunting. Feeding. Always.
He was doomed to be alone. Doomed to be a monster.
He tried to keep damning the Spell, spitting venom and hatred into the void. But his rant was cut short by a sudden, thunderous voice.
[Wake up, Monarch of Crimson!]
The words shook his very soul. The void shattered.
Alucard's eyes flew open. He was gasping, drenched in sweat, his skin pale as snow. His crimson eyes darted wildly, trying to grasp reality.
And then—
"—Well, I'll be damned."
A voice spoke, rough and amused. Alucard blinked, realizing he was staring into the face of a guard. A mortal man, armored, dirty from battle.
The guard raised an eyebrow and smirked.
"You actually survived a six-month Nightmare."
Alucard looked down at himself—and his heart nearly stopped. He was naked. Completely.
"Son of a—"