"Death... as in the grim reaper, that Death.?."
He looked at me with an unchanging expression, I looked over at Furia who just simply nodded.
"Right, so all the death, the violence is that some kind of ritual to bring him back to the way he was or something?"
"No, not exactly. The reason behind that is because he gets stronger from death, we're doing this so when he does come back he won't be weak, so he'll have enough strength to grow on his own, back to what he was before."
I just nodded my head as he spoke, but he still hadn't answered my other questions. They chose him because he's their leader, but why here and why these people, it can't be as simple as it being his hometown.
"And as for the location and the people, this is infact his hometown sure, but it's also the place he died and reincarnated. He died giving up his life after protecting these people, he chose to reincarnate here and leave his power here incase they were ever needed. He had a connection to these people and they are well aware of who he is and what he's done. They chose to give their lives to make him stronger, they are only locked up because they chose to give their lives for a man who saved them long ago. Even his parents knew, that's why their out there doing what they can to make sure he comes back."
Thinking about when I came in it kinda made since, some were a little banged up but no one looked scared, no one angry they had been captured, not even the children seemed to care that they were in some unknown place with people they had never seen before.
"So all these people are willing to die for someone who saved their lives years ago?"
"Yes."
"And what of me, say I decide to join you, what would that even mean?"
He grasped at his chest over where his heart was, he yanked at it grasping the air and causing a ripple to form. A deep dark red aura formed through the air encompassing his hand, it gathered above the palm of his hand as he opened his hand.
"You have stayed by his side and have even been saved by him, thus surviving this catastrophe. Therefore the mark of death welcomes you, for you I offer this power, use it to aid him and make him stronger. I offer the power of a dark lord, the power of the vampires."
(Crap definitely not what I would've chosen, I mean anything that doesn't live for hundreds of years would've been fine. But I guess it makes sense right, they do cause quite a bit of death, but weren't we trying to stop deaths. Kinda bad that the way to grow stronger is through what you hate the most, huh Luke.)
"Vampire huh, like the ones from the books I read as a child."
"Well yes and no, there are a few different types of vampires all stemming from the same branch. You would be their leader and they would evolve in ways to help you grow stronger."
"Right, and the death caused by us makes Luke stronger."
"That and when you blood someone into your family it makes both of you stronger."
"And how do you know this exactly?"
Furia stood up from his seat, and walked over to me putting his hand on my shoulder.
"If you couldn't tell that power doesn't belong to him, he's a reaper not a vamp. But you have to ask yourself he knows quite a bit about them, right, but why does he hold something that doesn't belong to him."
I looked down thinking about it, it's true, he's not a vampire yet he holds the power of one. Did he have to kill someone to get it, or was it given to him by someone close before they died.
"You've probably got at least two answers going in your head. Truth is, it belonged to a close friend of mine, he was the vampire king at the time."
"How... did he die."
I looked up at him expecting sadness in his eyes, but instead he seemed happy. He tapped my shoulder before going to sit back down to continue.
"Heh, he died fighting alongside Death, sacrificed his life even. In the end we won with Death standing on top, but as you would expect the blow was to much for his regeneration to handle. Not even an immortal could survive so he decided to pass his power instead of letting it die with him, in hope that someone would be able to fight alongside Death in his place."
"He sounds like a good man, and a even better friend. I'm sorry."
"Don't be, he wasn't to keen on the living forever thing anyway. I'm sure you wouldn't want that either, but he lived as long as he did just to keep the peace and help out."
I looked down, he was a good person through and through but could I live up to his expectations if I accepted this gift. I'm sure there would be others more qualified, but it would mean helping Luke just as he did.
Shaking my head I clenched my fist then slowly stood up, walking up to the table I stood beside Furia. I looked Alastair in the eyes before reaching my hand out, he placed the condensed aura into my hands.
The aura had condensed and hardened itself into that of a small marble, yet it still pulsated with power, as it touched my skin, I could even feel some of it seep through into my hand.
"So what do I do?"
Alastair walked around the broken table and grabbed the aura and tossed it in the air a few times. Guess he hasn't really done this before, he seemed to be thinking of a way to help.
"Sorry."
"What?"
He tossed it one more time, but when he caught it this time he crushed the marble causing the power to explode and rush out towards me. Then he slammed the power into my chest.
I was pushed back a bit from the hit but that didn't affect me as much as the rush of power than ran through my vains, my heart pulsed faster and faster as my vains bulged and retracted as it coursed through them.
I fell to my knees breathing heavily as my body became unbearably hot, I could feel my body and muscles contract and breakdown as they rebuilt themselves stronger.
My eyes burned red as the pain ran throughout my body, I clenched my chest as I fell onto my back unable to hold myself up any longer.
I was voiceless as I tried to cry out from the pain, as I layed there with my vision fading to black I could feel the pain of my teeth breaking down and reshaping themselves.
Once my canines fully transformed themselves into fangs as my teeth grew stronger, I could feel them retracting back camouflaging themselves like normal.
Just as my body began to breakdown as well, making itself stronger, I finally passed out.
As the power seeped from my body and encased itself around me, as if protecting me from the vicious world around me, the air in the room became heavier. And from that they knew that not only had the power accepted me but I was given the blessing of the one who came before me.
--
"So they finally found someone to succeed me. Good. Thank you James... take care of him for me."