I sat down, my back against the wall, deciding it was about time I looked through all of my runes again.
Name: Alucard
True Name: Monarch of Crimson
Rank: Dreamer.
Memories:
[blood crossbow], [swift crossbow], [mantle of the underworld], and more nameless memories.
I didn't really care about memories anymore. They didn't help me in combat—my main strength came from my aspect, not from some old weapon technique. Using a sword now would just limit me.
But that didn't mean I didn't care about all memories. I still cared about utility, charms, and armor—specifically one piece of armor.
[Mantle of the Underworld]
Memory Rank: Ascended
Memory Tier: 3
Memory Type: Armor
Memory Description: "Vowing to never look upon the Goddess of the Black Skies again, the prideful demon retreated into the darkness beneath an unassailable mountain chain. He wasn't the first to lead his army against the gods. However, he was the first to shed their blood, as well as learn the secrets of his own."
Memory Enchantments: [Bleeding Stone], [Stalwart], [Prince of the Underworld]
Whoa—my armor evolved? Let's go. Hopefully the new enchantment was good.
I would normally skip the old enchantments, but I had time to spare, so I might as well read them again.
[Prince of the Underworld]
Enchantment Description: "This armor grows stronger according to the amount of opponents its wielder defeats."
[398/3000]
Hmm. So I guess the armor counted each skeleton as a kill. Either that, or I somehow killed two thousand creatures in my sleep, which definitely couldn't be right.
[Stalwart]
Enchantment Description: "This armor provides extremely high protection against physical attacks, high protection against elemental attacks, and a moderate amount of protection against mind and soul attacks."
Ah, the always-reliable Stalwart.
[Bleeding Stone]
Enchantment Description: "This armor can repair itself if blood is sacrificed even while being worn."
Okay, great enchantment—especially for me. I always had blood to spare, so not needing to unsummon my armor was amazing. What sucked was that I now had to use even more blood, but whatever—it's not like repairing the armor was mandatory.
I was about to scroll to my other runes when I remembered the new cloak. After rereading the memories, I finally found it.
---
[Starlight Cloak]
Memory Rank: Ascended
Memory Tier: 5
Memory Type: Utility
Memory Description:
"At the start, the sky had no stars until the sun was formed. From that sun countless shards dropped from above as waves of silk. A skilled priest tirelessly wove those strings of starlight. Those strings became a tool for the young girl's attempted escape… but it failed. And now this cloak is a reminder to the man who sentenced that poor girl to a fate worse than death—a tool to hide from his shame."
Damn.
I needed a second to process what the hell I just read.
Stars came from shards of the newborn sun?
There was no sun in the Forgotten Shore?
And somehow those shards became threads of starlight that a girl wove into a cloak to escape with—only to fail and get condemned to some fate worse than death?
Ugh.
This is exactly why I hated reading descriptions. Why did they have to be so depressing?
Well… hopefully the enchantment was good.
Memory Enchantment: [please hide me from the light]
Description: "The girl forged this memory to hide from the light, to flee her harrowing fate. While wearing this cloak no light shall touch the wearer, rendering them invisible."
WHY was the enchantment also depressing?
Why couldn't it just say "You're invisible now"—why did it need a tragic backstory on top of it?
…
Wait.
No light shall touch the wearer.
This cloak hides me from all light.
Forget the depressing stuff—this was a miracle.
I finally had a way to walk around during the daytime without getting burned alive. There wasn't any sun here in the Forgotten Shore, but when I eventually escaped back to the real world… this would be priceless.
I guess fighting that mountain of bones was worth it.
Though I couldn't fully say that.
Just the memory of Sara's cold, dying body… her shaking voice… asking to be held—
Yeah. Trauma.
As if I needed more of that in my life.
Just Yuki alone was enough trauma for two lifetimes.
I shoved the thought away before I started crying again. I should continue.
---
Echoes:
[Blood Beast]
Rank: Awakened
Class: Devil
Attributes:
[Blood Manipulation], [Wrathful Ascension]
"A blood beast representing the sin of wrath must ascend in wrath."
[Blood Beasts destroyed: 7/20]
Huh.
No Gluttony here. Maybe he was lower in the runes.
---
Attributes: [Internal Logic], [Fated], [Flame of Divinity]
Sin Lineages: [Envy, the Sin of Desire], [Gluttony, the Sin of Hunger], [Wrath, the Sin of Power]
Time to check the new lineage.
---
[Wrath — The Sin of Power]
Description:
*"The sinners blessed by the Beast Goddess were gifted her sins.
The Sin of Wrath guides one toward countless horrors and atrocities—all of which will be committed by you. No longer will you suffer under other monsters, because Wrath turns you into the monster.
A monster must not care about consequences. A monster must not feel pity. A monster must not be weak. To become a monster is to reject humanity entirely.
You are no longer a watcher of the apocalypse—you are now a bringer of flames and demise. You must no longer feel pity for those who die under your sacrificial flames—only anger. You must be wrathful and never, under any circumstances, be human again.
Such is the demand of the Sin of Wrath."*
…Damn.
What the hell was that supposed to mean?
Still, I felt an innate connection to the power—an instinctive understanding. I knew I could sacrifice blood to activate something… but I didn't know what.
I cut my finger. A single drop of blood appeared.
I activated Wrath.
A crimson explosion of flame burst into my palm.
I recoiled—but it didn't burn me.
The cloth in my hand turned to ash instantly.
"Oh, you like my lineage? Pretty strong. After all—I am the strongest sinner."
Feltan said that with pride. Rightfully so, I guess. A mere fragment of his power was terrifying—I couldn't even imagine what he had to become to gain the full thing.
But I still needed to find Gluttony's runes.
---
Aspect: [Emperor Vampire]
I frowned at the name. Something felt… wrong. Deeply wrong. Just looking at it filled me with dread.
I ignored the feeling and kept reading.
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—standing between worlds, cursed by a sinner's treachery and scarred by a god's love. Doomed to solitude, you walk a path none can tread."
Innate Ability: [Undying Sin]
Description:
"One god's affection gave you strength, another's hatred ensured you would always be hunted. To the undead and the sinners, you are kin. To the sun god, you are an abomination."
Dormant Ability: [Blood Manipulation]
Legacy: [Gate to the Garden of Resurrection]
Seals unlocked: 2/7
Flaw: Vampire's Curse
I knew this one well.
But… still nothing from Gluttony.
---
"Gluttony! Wake up you lazy bastard."
huh? can't i rest a little?
"No you can't. Tell me how I can see your runes."
just open them, idiot.
"They aren't there, dumbass."
did you check your soul sea?
"…no."
I entered my soul sea—and there they were.
His runes, stored in some weird fleshy red screen—the same one that held my [Fail Safe].
I had never heard of anyone having a second spell.
Guess I was just that unique.
---
[The Arch Sin of Gluttony]
Enhancement 1: [Storage]
"This humble parasite stores all the blood that enters its body with no limit."
My eyes widened like a Looney Tune.
"In… infinite blood."
I was doing backflips internally. Infinite blood storage?
Godsend. Absolute godsend.
"Oh yeah, he has a second attribute."
I checked.
Enhancement 2: [Bonding]
"This symbiote is permanently attached to the wielder and cannot be removed without great pain. Their souls are linked—the symbiote gains the user's abilities and flaws."
Of course he had to ruin it.
So I couldn't unsummon Gluttony ever again.
Wait… then how did he heal me before?
"Gluttony, how did you heal me?"
"I fed you all the blood from that cave while also using myself as a makeshift heart."
He sounded exhausted. I recognized that exhaustion—it was the same as when I didn't feed for a while.
"Gluttony… do you still have some blood stored?"
"Yeah. A bunch."
"Drink some."
"Uh… okay?"
He obeyed.
I felt him shiver and swell inside me—and then yell in joy.
"Damn, this is so good!"
"Don't overdo it. I still need blood for myself."
But even as I said that…
I didn't feel hungry anymore.
Did Gluttony drink enough for the both of us?
I wasn't sure what any of this meant…
but I guess time would tell.