The diesel haze of Crescent City seemed to pause as Alex stepped off the RSA transport into the ruins of Outer District 7. A gust of wind carried the sour tang of ozone and rust, and above him, the neon-stitched sky trembled with the quiet breath of hovercrafts fading into the horizon.
But none of it reached him.
His senses had begun to root inward, tethered to something that pulsed in silence within—the Origin Star System. It stirred behind his eyes like a sleeping sun, humming with ancient rhythm and evolving power.
Every mission now contributed to its shape. Every success fed the slow formation of a hidden throne.
Agent Mira halted beside him, her combat visor glinting under fractured moonlight. She studied the glowing anomaly ahead—an unstable Rift, a tear in reality itself. Violet arcs spiraled like veins through space, and broken debris floated mid-air in impossible defiance of gravity.
"District 7 Rift is destabilizing," she said. "Containment protocols label this Tier-One. That means you're not allowed to touch it."
Alex's gaze didn't waver.
"I'll stabilize it."
Mira frowned. "You're C-rank. You don't have clearance."
"I'm not asking."
He exhaled slowly. The system's interface slid into place, invisible to the rest of the world but clear as dawn to him.
Internal World: 42.9%Space Affinity: 23.7%Merits: 64
Another line flashed beneath it.
Stabilize Rift using Spatial Core?[YES] / NO
His fingers barely twitched in his coat pocket.
Yes.
The world slowed.
Hovercraft sounds became murmurs. The Rift drew his attention like gravity itself. Alex stepped forward, lifting his hand. His will reached through the space between, drawing threads of instability inward.
Space bent.
Light fractured.
The Rift's core shrieked—then shuddered—and slowly, under the pressure of his command, collapsed. Debris fell in soft spirals to the ruined pavement.
Mira's voice came as if from a dream. "Unprecedented readings..."
The system flared:
Merits Gained: +60Total: 124
He lowered his hand, sweat on his brow, but inside—his world throbbed with power. He had not only closed a Rift. He had shaped reality.
Back in the East Wing dormitory, whispers followed him like shadows.
"You hear what happened in District 7?"
"No way he did that alone."
"C-rank? They're covering something up…"
Alex walked with quiet steps, his eyes distant. It didn't matter what they thought. What mattered was what he'd built in silence.
That night, alone in his room, he summoned the Origin Star System again.
Internal World: 57.9%Space Affinity: 27.3%Merits: 124
A new prompt blinked gently.
"Shallow Blood Pool available. Spend 100 Merits?"
He hesitated.
Creating a subordinate meant more than status. It meant loyalty. Legacy. He'd need one soon—a soul aligned with him.
He moved swiftly through the dormitory, descending into a disused wing, deeper beneath old limestone. The hidden chamber pulsed with faint blue starlight etched into ancient stone.
The Shallow Blood Pool lay at the center, its surface red and thick like wine and iron.
The system's prompt waited.
"Enter Creation Parameters."
He whispered:
"Elara Vex. Female. Traits: Compassionate, Loyal, Discreet. Spatial Affinity +8%, Lightning +2%, Regeneration +3%."
The blood stirred.
Mist coalesced. From it stepped a woman cloaked in calm. Her eyes glowed softly with golden understanding. She knelt.
"Baroness Elara," Alex said, voice steady.
She bowed lower.
The system chimed:
Creation SuccessfulRank: BaronessLoyalty: 92%Remaining Merits: 24
The bond was unlike anything else—an anchor between souls. Not control, not manipulation—creation.
He was no mere vampire. He was Progenitor.
Later that night, Alex returned to his cot and stared at the ceiling, the faint star-shape etched on his brow glowing dimly in the dark.
He closed his eyes.
Inside, his internal world expanded. It no longer resembled just a void of spatial threads—it now held structure.
He saw it.
A palace half-built, suspended between pools of starlight and blood. Beneath it, a spiraling stairway descended into a deeper layer—a second pool, untouched. Thicker. Older.
The Blood Core Pool.
It wasn't accessible yet. But he felt it. That was where his princes would be born. That sacred core was not the same as the Shallow Pool used to evolve lesser ranks. It was his alone, meant for the making of royalty. Those chosen few who would one day call him "Godfather."
He clenched his fist in the dark.
One step at a time.
The next morning, in the corridor outside the RSA training hall, he saw him.
Raegor Val'Zar.
Towering. Dreadlocked. Blood-glyphs etched into his armor like scars. His presence filled the space, militant and ancient.
Their eyes met.
Raegor's gaze narrowed.
Alex didn't flinch.
The system flashed silently:
Warning: Rival Interest – Raegor DetectedAggression Potential: 82%
The tension passed unspoken, but Alex felt it coil like a loaded spring.
Raegor had noticed. And he would not forget.
Back in his room, Alex examined the system deeper.
He whispered, "System, show me available ranks."
The answer came, clear and inevitable:
Subordinate Ranks:Baron / Baroness — 100 MeritsViscount / Viscountess — 200 MeritsCount / Countess — 400 MeritsMarquis / Marchioness — 800 MeritsDuke / Duchess — 1600 MeritsArchduke / Archduchess — 3200 MeritsPrince / Princess — 6400 Merits (Locked: Limited Slot)
Only those he created as princes, or who offered extraordinary service, would ever rise that high. The system's merit logic was strict—objective and tied to benefit.
But then he asked the final question.
"System… what is my rank?"
The answer came slowly.
A constellation of stars expanded across his mental field.
Title: Emperor(Hidden until Palace Blood Core is complete)Lineage Role: Progenitor of Celestial Vampire SubspeciesAccess: Absolute over subordinatesCreation Authority: Princes via Blood Core Pool only
Alex felt his heart stop.
He was already Emperor.
Not in title the world could see—but in the eyes of the system, in the bones of his power. All that was left was to raise his palace and ignite the blood that slept beneath it.
That night, a glyph appeared on his desk—etched in onyx and silver, vibrating with spatial signatures.
He touched it.
The voice that answered was velvet steel.
"Alex," came Rhaenys Vael, High Scribe of the Sael'Var. "The Rift stabilization reached the Vault Logs. You're invited to the Vault Council at the Temporal Cathedral in Zone 22. Two nights from now. Midnight."
Her voice lowered.
"We will be watching. As will the Blood Marshal."
She didn't need to say his name. He already knew.
Raegor.
She ended with finality: "I await your presence, Bearer."
The system registered it:
New Directive: Attend Vault Council – Political Risk HighSubordinate: Elara Vex – Accompany (Optional)
Alex exhaled.
This was it.
The Sael'Var were one of the Nine Great Vampire Families, each governed by their own Elder seated on the Clan Council. The Vault Council was not some mere test—it was a battlefield of politics.
He closed his eyes, letting the pulse of stars behind his brow echo into silence.
He wasn't just attending.
He was beginning.
At dawn, he emerged from the dorm. Elara stood waiting, now clothed in a white-cloaked uniform, hood drawn low over sharp features. Her gaze was steady.
Alex nodded.
Together, they walked into the mist-veiled morning.
To the Council.To the Clan.To a throne hidden within stars.
The Emperor would remain unnamed—for now.
But soon… they would see.