[Blood Diary Entry]
"'Blood magic' is a capability of sorts that belongs to my species. But it is not entirely correct to call it magic." Rebekah's brows furrowed at my words. "It is essentially energy manipulation. My kind generates energy in our blood at every waking moment; the older we are, the more potent and abundant the energy becomes. The 'magic' part is because to access it, we use rituals and incantations to harness that energy."
""That is kind of absurd."" The two said at the same time, exchanged glances, and giggled a bit.
I chuckled. "I get that… The problem is that, due to the complexity of most of these methods, using said magic in a fight is kind of difficult. Our species has always used it as more of a supportive method—enchanting, warding, and stuff like that—as we always leaned to more physical methods of engagement."
"Even your previous self?"
"I am ashamed to say yes… Even the most erudite amongst Vampiric tribes didn't try a different approach to these methods. Only improving over an existing foundation."
I massaged my temples trying to stave off the headache I felt coming my way.
When I looked over Sol'Vahr's memories, I noticed some big inconsistencies. He had all he needed to become a ridiculous existence—more than he already was—but he never really got to use what he had. It was as if something had prevented him from straying from a certain path. All he ever used were the researcher mindsets and methods, apart from that, not much else.
I very quickly concluded that using our blood magic in combat could be a game-changing moment, but with billions of years, he never did.
What's up with that?
Either the brain of an apex-level existence holds that much influence, which I don't think is the case, since I don't feel like my chain of thoughts changed all that much.
Or there was something that blocked his development…
My eyes narrowed, a cruel glint flashing inside them for a fleeting moment.
"So how do you intend to change your 'magic' system?" Rebekah asked, her curiosity on the subject stemmed from her own mother being a powerful witch, I suppose.
"As of now, the energy inside of me needs a conduit to be harnessed. I may be able to change this in the future, but not right now. As such, I am left with a couple of methods that can be used." I scratched my chin pensively. "First, is to use an object or tool as a suitable conduit, but I am not a fan of this, as it would make me reliant on that object. Second, is the use of signs or complex gestures, this one is the one I am leaning towards, since not only would it be great in combat, but it would also allow me to study how my own energy behaves. Third, is to imprint runes and wards on a book, a grimoire if you will, that would be the easiest method, as technically I already know how to do it, but again reliance on a third party, so not a fan."
"Why are you so averse to using objects?" Rebekah asked.
"Call it pride if you want, but the whole idea irks me. It feels somewhat insulting that I can't do something by myself," I looked at Rebekah with a guilty look, which made her frown, then I lowered my head. "I am fully aware it is something I need to change. But as of now, I'll stick to it. There's also my instincts telling me the 'sign' thing is the right path."
"What do you mean? Your instincts?"
"It's a whole thing… It is honestly one of my favorite things about my species; our instincts are really sharp, and sometimes they can tell us if something would be harmful or beneficial to us. But we can't be over-reliant on it, since some things can escape this sense, and it doesn't work all the time."
"I am never playing cards against you…" Rebekah pouted and crossed her arms.
I burst out laughing.
"Any other ridiculous abilities that we're supposed to know?" Rebekah asked sulkily.
Cold sweat dripped down my back. I drifted my gaze to the ceiling, and I whistled innocently.
The two noticed and narrowed their eyes.
"Out with it." Mother ordered.
I smiled gently, but still said nothing.
"Darian… I swear…" Mother's eyes got more dangerous and unfriendly by the second.
"I- I Uhm… Haha!" I scratched the back of my head nervously.
"Now, Darian!"
"You see… well… I can kinda turn invisible? You know, basic stuff, right?"
The two looked at me with dry looks.
Mother got up and dusted her clothes, then she gave a knowing look to Rebekah.
"Rebekah dear, when you go out, please make sure you get a collar and some bells, please."
"I'm on it!" She saluted like a good soldier.
"Wait! What do you mean by collar and bells, Mom?"
She gave me an unfriendly look and scoffed.
"Mom?! Why are you treating me like that? I am an innocent child!"
"A child who is already speaking about getting into relationships." Her gaze remained dry. "I am onto you, mister."
Rebekah just giggled at us.
"Bah! Ye of little faith…" It was my turn to scoff, and my mother's eyes narrowed again.
"I raised you wrong. I am ashamed as a mother."
I chuckled, and soon after, she also giggled.
"But really, no need to worry."
"I know."
"Then why tease me and treat me like a pervert?"
"Because it's fun…"
Sigh.
"Well, enough joking around…" The playful mood went away as quickly as it came. "We have a week to finish the initial preparations."
"Why only a week? Are you afraid the ghost will disappear or something like that?" Rebekah asked.
"Nah! It's because I don't really want to spend too much time in this city, we have places to go, don't we?"
"I mean… we aren't in a rush or anything… Besides, didn't the ghost have something you were interested in?"
"It isn't as much about rush as it is about waste of time; if I don't manage to achieve at least minor success on my side of things, then it is going to take a while. As for my interest in the ghost, it is not too big of a deal."
"And about that hurry of yours? The one that pushed me to go through the vow?"
I smiled and shrugged; her eyes narrowed.
"What about that thing's victims?" Mother asked.
""What of them?"" Both Rebekah and I countered.
"Nothing…" Then she turned to the door and started walking away. "Let's go, Rebekah. We have things to do, and Darian needs to focus on his research."
"Sure," Rebekah replied, giving Mom a strange look.
With that, a week flew past us.