BXBX NOVEL Chapter 179 - Inner Realm
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Noah opened his eyes.
But instead of the ceiling of his manor or the darkness he often found when he was dreaming, he found himself in a different place, a completely different place, in fact.
It would be normal for him to ask a few questions within his mind.
Such as "What is this?" "Where am I?" "What happened?" "Am I dreaming?"
But instead of that, he already knew where he was.
There was no need for him to ask himself such questions.
He was inside of himself… but not his soul, his body.
Noah glanced at the ceiling as he saw red flesh twisting grotesquely, gibbering, with thousands of veins flowing with red blood.
It was palpitating and alive.
The ground was like this same flesh, but it was covered by small scales, which were in fact something similar to skin, it peeled off when he put some strength into it, and more of these skin pieces revealed below it.
He glanced at the vast area, it seemed to have walls, so it was not endless, but it was perhaps as big as a whole stadium.
This place was nothing but incredibly mysterious.
Although Noah knew that this was his body instinctively, he didn\'t know how he got to be inside of his own body.
It just didn\'t make any sense…
"So you have awakened this ability…"
Noah quickly glanced behind him as he heard a familiar voice.
A handsome vampire man was standing in front of him, with long white hair, sharp crimson eyes, long and sharp ears, and tall, perhaps around two meters of height, glaring down at Noah.
He was the-
"Dracula? What are you doing here?" asked Noah.
"MY NAME IS NOT DRACULA!" screamed the Vampire man, he was no one else than the Blood Progenitor, of course.
"Ahem… And I am here because this realm was created when I was assimilating and repurposing your new overflowing power. Really, you just ate that legendary sword and now God came here and decided to take away your powers, but in the end, you took away a bit of it… Two days in a row that you almost die. Do you have a death wish or your luck is utterly terrible?" asked the Blood Progenitor.
"Realm… So this is a realm," said Noah, ignoring the Blood Progenitor\'s questions because he had nothing to answer about that.
These events happened without him having the power to predict them. He was happy that he survived, and not angered that it has been two days in a row since he almost died. He had been almost dying since he became a Vampire anyways.
Noah was not someone that feared death, nor someone cowardly. He was willing to risk his life to achieve his goals and gain the power he wants to gain true freedom.
"So you\'re just going to ignore me?" asked the Blood Progenitor.
Noah glanced at him into the eyes. The old Vampire suddenly felt a chilling sensation run through his spine.
"Who gave you the right to talk back at me like that?" asked Noah.
"Sigh… You damn brat. Now that we are cooperating you should be more polite!" said the Blood Progenitor.
"How can you manifest yourself like this?" asked Noah.
"You should already know…" said the Blood Progenitor, as Noah suddenly felt a rush of information of everything the Blood Progenitor had done with the power.
Indeed, he had not tried to betray him or something and used it all in different ways.
It was strange for Noah to think that the Blood Progenitor, an ancient evil had suddenly decided to help him instead of wanting to take over his body as he had promised many times before.
Noah saw that he sealed most of the power within the System itself, which had merged with his Blood Core and Soul.
Alongside that, he used a part of that power into enhancing all of Noah\'s powers, Attribute Values, Skills, and more.
Afterward, he used another part to nourish his soul and make it a bit stronger.
And later, he used another part to form this Spirit Form of himself, which can show up around Noah like a ghost.
He has no System and is more of a Skill of Noah.
Noah can control him however he wants, but he had given himself the privilege of acquiring this ability, so now he can go to the outside world and perhaps aid Noah.
However, Noah didn\'t know why he would want to aid him.
"What has gotten into you? Why are you helping me like this?"
"…As I slept, it felt like hundreds of years. At some point, I began to feel empty. Your power, as you awakened it, guided me, and filled this emptiness. And now, I strive to serve you… Although it still feels strange… I suppose your brainwashing has finally affected me," sighed the Blood Progenitor.
It seemed that Guidance had guided the Blood Progenitor, and although he still acted quite pridefully in front of Noah, he had become someone that was devoted to helping him.
Noah squinted his eyes as he began to look at the Blood Progenitor a bit differently.
"As of now, you have unlocked many new powers. Go wake up already, your friends and your wife are waiting for you outside," said the Blood Progenitor.
"I see. Thanks, Griffin," said Noah, as he disappeared from within this strange inner realm.
The Blood Progenitor was a bit startled…
Noah knew about his name for very long already but always called him by the Dracula nickname.
This was the first time he called him by his real name.
The Blood Progenitor sighed.
"I have become soft… To think that I see this brat as something of a son now… Sigh… Perhaps bonds are not a bad thing… I bet you would be smiling at me now, right, Eldia?" he thought, as Griffin began to recall the memories that had been keeping him from being consumed by this loneliness and emptiness for so long… his one and only lover, Eldia.
Due to his own powerlessness, he lost her.
And since that day that he had become cold.
He began to strive to be alone and to use anyone or anything to his advantage.
He didn\'t have any emotions left but grief.
And he didn\'t want to ever make any bonds nor experience love ever again.
He became a monster without realizing it.
The thing that Eldia never wanted him to become.
"Eldia…" he sighed, as a few tears began to flow out of his eyes.
The Blood Progenitor clenched his fists, as he closed his eyes and let the tears fall over the floor.
As he thought more, and as he received more of Noah\'s guidance, he simply started to recall the memories he had hidden deep within his soul.
The memories that Noah himself had told him that he knew about.
Each time the Blood Progenitor told Noah to disregard emotions, Noah made him remember such a past.
Perhaps the Blood Progenitor was seeing himself on Noah, naïve and in love… He didn\'t want Noah to go through the same suffering he did.
He wanted him to disregard all emotions and to become a senseless husk of a former self, to only remain as a being of darkness and nothing else than that. Someone empties like him.
Was there any point in becoming so empty?
In the end, he died bitterly anyways…
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