Eyes slowly fluttered open as a moan of confusion escaped his lips. Fighting back a blinding headache of unknown origins, Gabriel pushed his body off the cold floor he found himself lying on.
"What the hell?" he murmured in pain. Turning his head made the phantom throbbing worsen, so he sat still and attempted to observe his surroundings.
Darkness.
It was as if he were inside a sensory deprivation chamber he'd once experienced in his childhood. Pushing past the thrumming inside his mind and focusing his eyes, Gabriel noticed motes of light flashing in different colours deep within the darkness.
Taking a deep breath, he ignored the slowly diminishing pain and stood up. After taking a moment to centre his balance, he began walking.
"Hello? Is anyone there?" Gabriel shouted, though there was a twinge of apprehension in his voice.
His memories were foggy. The last thing he remembered was sitting at home finishing off his final assessment for university, though he felt like something important was missing between that memory and waking up here.
His voice echoed through the darkness as if he were inside a large cavern or a monolithic hall. Tension passed through Gabriel's body, his shoulders tight with worry and concern, his mind cycling through hundreds of increasingly absurd explanations for his memory blanks and this mysterious location.
He continued walking for what felt like hours, but the lack of physical exhaustion painted a different picture. He hadn't moved at all. He'd been so lost in thought that the lack of movement relative to the blinking lights hadn't drawn his attention.
Stopping the useless attempt at walking, Gabriel called out once again.
"Okay, if this is some sick attempt at psychological torture, you're doing an increasingly good job at it. I'm not going to play along anymore, you can stop this stupid game!"
He waited with bated breath, hoping that someone would call out, shouting that he was being pranked. Maybe it was similar to that old show he used to watch, Punk'd. Or some really horrible version of Jackass.
Sadly, the accompanying silence was the only thing that responded.
Shaking his head, Gabriel continued walking through the darkness, though he wasn't sure if it even meant anything at this point.
What felt like weeks or even months of walking in complete and utter silence came to an abrupt halt as Gabriel found himself teetering on the edge of mental exhaustion. Though the walk did nothing to his body, he grew concerned by the fact that he hadn't eaten, or even felt the need for sleep or the bathroom since waking up.
"This is fucking stupid," Gabriel grumbled. The lights, or stars as he decided to call them, hadn't moved once, just like the darkness and silence. Annoyance radiated throughout his body as he finally stopped walking and swiftly sat down.
"Maybe I'm in a coma, and this is my mind?" He snorted, before laughing. "Typical really, just my luck to probably become a comatose vegetable. I'm even talking to myself out loud, how insane is that?"
"Oh, I wouldn't say it's insane, dear Gabriel."
Gabriel abruptly stopped his external hysterics as a melodious voice sounded out. His head snapped up so fast that some would say he moved with supernatural speed. His eyes widened and his mouth opened, jaw slackening at the sight of the person standing meters ahead.
Long flowing blonde hair touched the ground. Her eyes were so red that they looked as if they were an undocumented new shade. She had a small button nose with pouty lips, and a body that would put any supernatural succubus to absolute shame, all wrapped in a deep midnight-black ballgown.
"I'm not hallucinating, am I?" Gabriel asked.
"Oh dear, you're not. I can understand why you'd assume so though, seeing as you've awakened before I could find the time to visit," she said. Her voice was a mere whisper, but its effects were like ambrosia to Gabriel's soul.
"What the hell is going on?" Gabriel asked with quiet apprehension, though his eyes carefully moved up the woman's sinful body.
A snap of her fingers, and the surrounding darkness melted away. Gabriel blinked in confusion and awe as he found himself seated on the comfiest couch he'd ever used. The previous darkness was now an office and personal library; a blazing fireplace was positioned on one side, whilst the other was filled with thousands of books.
Taking in his surroundings once again, Gabriel felt relaxation settle into his bones before his eyes drifted back towards the goddess who had saved him from the abyss.
"I'm going to ask about how you just managed to either teleport us or warp reality later, but for now, I could really do with some answers."
The woman hummed in agreement before taking a seat across from him, a glass of what seemed to be dark red wine appearing in her hand.
"This will be a long conversation, so I apologise in advance if I speak of confusing subjects, but they are necessary for your own future. I would appreciate it if you would keep your questions until the end, okay dear?" the woman said.
Nodding at her request, Gabriel relaxed deeper into the seat.
The woman took a slow sip of her wine, watching him over the rim of the glass. Her eyes, that strange, impossible shade of red, held a mixture of exhaustion and an unnervingly gentle warmth. She lowered the glass, the liquid swirling thick and heavy, and smoothed the fabric of her gown before breaking the silence.
"Let's rip the band-aid off first," she said, her voice soft but heavy with intent. "You're not in a coma, Gabriel. You aren't a vegetable in a hospital bed somewhere while your family cries over you. You died. The work, the stress, the breathing... that's all done."
She paused to let that sink in, watching as Gabriel's eyes widened, his pupils narrowing to pinpricks, then waved a hand vaguely at the walls around them.
"This place? That darkness you were walking through? That's the gap between realities. You called those flashing lights 'stars,' right? They weren't stars. They were universes. Whole worlds running on loop."
She leaned forward slightly, the firelight catching in her eyes.
"And me? I'm the reason half of them are afraid of the dark. You can call me Cruentia. In the world you just left, you have stories about my kind. You tell campfire tales about Dracula, you read books about sparkling skin, you watch cartoons about hunters. You call them monsters, or kings. But before anyone wrote a single word of that, before the first myth was even whispered... there was me. I'm the source. Every vampire, in every story, comes from me."
A sad, tired smile touched her lips.
"For a long time, I've been... let down. Ages ago, I tried to make a family. I broke off pieces of my own blood to make the First Ones—the 'legends' you know. I gave them power because I wanted company. And you know what they did? They acted like spoiled brats. They fought over castles. They obsessed over bloodlines. They fell in love with their food. They played at being gods in tiny, dusty sandboxes. They don't see the big picture."
She set the wine glass down. The crystal clinked against the table, sharp in the quiet room.
"That's why I didn't pick one of them to take over. That's why I reached out and grabbed you right before you faded away. Because you're an outsider. You come from a place where we're just ink on a page. You understand how stories work. You understand the systems, the rules, the tropes. My biological kids just see hunger; you see a toolkit."
Cruentia stood up slowly, a fluid, regal movement, and extended a hand toward him—not to touch, but as an offer.
"I'm tired, Gabriel. I've been eating stars for billions of years just to keep this existence going, and I want to rest. I need an heir. I'm going to feed you everything I know. I'm going to make you what I am—the Sanguine Singularity. And one day, when you're strong enough... when you're stronger than me... you're going to give me the only thing I can't give myself."
Her eyes locked onto his.
"You're going to kill me."
Taking a deep, unnecessary breath, Cruentia sat down and allowed Gabriel to think.
Silence stretched for what felt like hours, but within the gap between realities, time meant nothing. Gabriel's mind went haywire at the nuclear bomb of information she had dropped in his lap, the first being his death. The moment she stated that cold, hard fact, the lost memory he had searched for flared into existence.
A smashed door.
The cold glint of steel in the darkness.
Multiple stab wounds.
A robbery that turned violent and deadly.
Taking in a shuddering breath, Gabriel attempted to calm his mind and push past the phantom sensation of his flesh being torn by a knife. He focused on her other words, the ones he thought were a cruel trick, a fabrication of his imagination, though deep down, he somehow knew they were true.
The woman who had whisked his soul from rest was the true progenitor of vampires. Oh, he remembered all the fun stories—the games, manga, and comics that featured those absurdly powerful undead—and now he was being propositioned to become their God.
A chuckle, one that reverberated from deep within his soul, escaped his lips.
"This is insane, you know that, right?" he said aloud, though it was mostly to himself. "Like, how is this possible? A guy who works as a part-time cashier at a grocery store, who struggled to almost finish his degree, is being asked to become what? Some undead God?"
Standing up abruptly, Gabriel began pacing the office. "I mean, I don't even have those crappy tropes that I've read about. Sure, my parents were distant, but that's just life. They had careers and their own personal lives to worry about. I'm not some homeless orphan or someone dying inside a hospital who didn't get to experience life. I'm just an average dude who lived an average life."
Cruentia merely smirked at his exposition. She knew things that couldn't and shouldn't be answered yet, so she allowed the young man to express himself.
Calming himself, Gabriel sat back on the couch and stared unblinking at the undead goddess—or demon, depending on the perspective.
"It can't just be because I'm an outsider, right? There are literally an infinite number of others who would be the same as me, so before I ask anymore... why me?"
Sighing at the crux of the issue, Cruentia leaned forward and smirked at Gabriel.
"Because you are the only one. In the infinite omniverse, throughout all space and time, you are the only one who can manage it."
Seeing the blank look on Gabriel's face, Cruentia continued.
"This choice is not on a whim, dear Gabriel. There are only four other beings in existence stronger than myself, and each has agreed with me."
"I can't handle that type of responsibility, Cruentia. I don't know what to do, or how to even begin thinking about accepting this," Gabriel whispered.
Cruentia snorted before her melodious voice broke into peals of laughter. Gabriel watched on in confusion as she clutched her stomach and wiped tears from her eyes.
"What?!" Gabriel yelled in annoyance, before stopping and remembering he was yelling at someone who could wipe his existence away like a speck of dust.
"Oh, I'm sorry, but your concerns are so simple and mortal. I merely forgot how insecure and confused humans can be!" Wiping away the remaining tears from her eyes, Cruentia smiled sweetly at Gabriel.
"Dear, sweet boy, allow me to broaden your perspective. The process of becoming, well, something more than myself will not be completed in a paltry few years. Your mind, body, and soul must slowly assimilate and grow. How long will that take? It could be anywhere from ten years to thousands of years. I will be teaching and raising you in a rather unique way, something I think you'd be happy to experience."
Gabriel paused before sheepishly scratching the back of his neck. Sure, the prospect of becoming something 'more' was daunting, but he had nothing to lose. It was either this, or be sent to heaven, hell, or whatever came next.
"Oh," Gabriel muttered. "Sorry, this is just very daunting and honestly quite terrifying. When you go from finding out you're dead to being offered something I can't even fathom, I sort of lost the plot."
"That's fine. Truly, your reaction was something I should have anticipated. My welcome speech was quite... intense."
Staring at the golden-haired goddess, Gabriel began weighing his options. He went through a multitude of scenarios and situations, thought of what would happen if he decided to just pass on, and paused. Deep down, he knew this was a once-in-an... infinite opportunity.
Flashing a smile, Gabriel asked, "What kind of teaching and training will I be experiencing?"
Cruentia clapped in happiness as she stood up, rushing towards Gabriel and sweeping him into a hug that would make any hot-blooded man bleed from the nose. He wrapped his arms around her slender waist cautiously and hugged back, her floral yet metallic scent stirring something deep within himself.
Releasing the hug, Cruentia smirked at Gabriel's reaction before taking her seat once again.
"How would you like to experience the infinite universe? Once I bestow upon you my bloodline, powers, and legacy, I'll be sending you to particular worlds that will aid in your physical, spiritual, and most importantly, mental growth."
Gabriel couldn't help but lean in with interest. "So, sort of like when kids leave home and experience the real world, but on a much grander scale?"
"Exactly! You'll get to experience every aspect of life. From the beauty of creation to the darkness of entropy and everything in between. Your journey will be long, but that's the point. I've waited... oh, since the beginning of existence, so I can wait a little longer."
Gabriel nodded, his body brimming with something he didn't think he'd ever experience after his death: pure, ravenous excitement.
"I'm in."
It was a simple statement, but those two words shifted the balance of everything in existence. The omniverse roared in silence and pride, as if welcoming home a wayward child.
Cruentia stared deep into Gabriel's eyes, her smile splitting from ear to ear in a somewhat manic way.
"I shall place you into a deep sleep. Once you are under, I'll begin bestowing upon you my essence, soul, powers, and bloodline. The process would be... insanity for your mortal mind, hence the forced sleep. Once you awaken, you'll be in your new world. The beginning of your new life."
A smile spread across Gabriel's face as he nodded, his mind slowing down as he began to fall asleep. The last muttering of Cruentia flowed into his ears.
"Oh, my Love. This shall be truly... sublime."
----
A/N - Hey all, so this is my very first chapter. Something deep inside of me wanted to write some grand overpowered, wish fulfilment story. There will be violence, there will be love, there will be lemons and more exciting things. As the novels description said, things will be AU very quickly. The worlds will change, some merged into others, relationships will be different. Hope you enjoy!