Silas burst through the door of a house he didn't recognize. The hinges squealed, the frame cracking as it slammed shut behind him. He didn't care who lived there, or what might be inside. His body was acting on its own.
He stumbled forward and dropped to his knees. Every muscle in him burned, his skin twitching as if something alive moved beneath it.
A low growl echoed from somewhere deeper in the house, but he couldn't bring himself to care. The sound barely registered.
His stomach clenched again. He pressed a hand against it, his fingers trembling. The pain spread from his abdomen up to his chest, hot and sharp, forcing him into a fetal curl on the cold floor.
A guttural sound escaped his throat, part groan and part growl. His breath hitched as the burning in his veins pulsed harder, spreading into his arms and jaw.
He could feel his heartbeat everywhere, his temples, his gums, his fingertips.
He bit down hard, teeth grinding as he tried to stop himself from screaming. The room around him spun, every color bleeding together until all that remained was red.
His vision darkened until there was nothing left. His body went limp, collapsing against the floor with a dull thud. The pain still lingered somewhere distant, but his mind was already gone.
Outside, the world hadn't stayed still.
The fight with the fast one had stirred up more than he realized. The echoes of metal, roars, and bone against concrete had carried far.
Now, growls rose from every direction, low at first, then multiplying. Shadows shifted between the cars and broken walls as the dead began to gather.
Feet dragged against the ground. Nails scraped against windows. The street filled with the sound of a slow, hungry swarm.
Inside the house, Silas didn't move. His body was still, his chest barely rising. The light from the doorway flickered as the first of the infected drew close, their outlines pressing against the walls.
Whatever was happening to him inside that house, the world outside was already closing in.
Silas opened his eyes. For a moment he wasn't sure where he was or how long he had been lying there, but his body felt different.
His limbs were light, his muscles steady, and there was a strength deep in his bones that wasn't there before. He had felt hints of it earlier, but this time there was no doubt.
He sat up and looked at his hands. His nails were darker, the shade unnatural. He could hear his heartbeat clearly, steady and strong. A faint glow formed in front of him, then sharpened into a holographic display.
[Sanguine Transformation Complete]
"What's this…" he muttered.
The screen didn't disappear. It hovered where he looked. He recognized the idea immediately. "A system?" he said under his breath. He had seen enough fiction in his life to know what it looked like.
He cleared his throat. "Status."
The symbols broke apart, rearranging into a new display:
[
NAME: Silas Creed
AGE: 28
RACE: Sanguine(Choose Type)
HUNGER: 0%
POWER: Low Rank 1(5%)
]
He stood slowly. His legs felt stronger, balanced, and his posture shifted with ease. He looked down at his torso. His muscles were more defined than before, lean, tight, and ready to move.
He had always been in decent shape, but this was different. His body felt tuned, like every part of him was aligned to perform. Even the air entering his lungs felt clearer.
His gaze returned to the screen. None of it looked like a joke, and it wasn't disappearing. Games usually had strength and stamina numbers, so this looked nothing like the typical setup.
His eyes shifted to the top line.
Race: Sanguine.
He frowned. Race? He was still human… wasn't he?
He glanced at Hunger: 0%.
That one bothered him more than the rest.
He also noticed his rank was 1... that had to be the lowest rank, as for the percentage, how did he grow stronger.
"What the hell am I now?" he whispered.
In every game or story he knew, everything had descriptions. He reached toward the glowing text and tapped Sanguine with his finger. The screen shifted.
[
[Sanguine]
A species born from death. Infected by a virus that keeps the body alive and transforms it. Undying by age. The longer it lives, the stronger it becomes. Reliant on blood.
]
He also could not help but notice the extra info on the race thing, it seems there were different types of Sanguines and he could choose...
'Interesting'
His breath caught in his throat. The words were direct.
It sounded like one thing.
A vampire.
His mind went back to the sunlight earlier, the stinging skin, the instinct to hide from it, the way his body felt stronger as the sun fell. It all lined up too well.
"I'm a vampire…" he said quietly. Saying it out loud made it feel real. His pulse slowed as the truth settled in. The panic came first, sharp and quick, then faded into a steady calm as he forced himself to breathe. It was either accept it or fall apart, and he didn't have the time to fall apart.
He looked at the next listed attribute. Hunger. He tapped it.
[
[Hunger]
A Sanguine gains strength and regeneration from blood. Hunger increases over time. When it reaches 100%, a Sanguine becomes blood-driven and will attack any nearby living being. If hunger exceeds that limit, the risk of permanent mental collapse rises, losing all reason and identity.
]
"What the fuck…" he whispered.
There was no metaphor in that description. If he didn't feed, not only would he starve slowly he would also lose himself entirely.
He stared at the line HUNGER: 0% and understood why his instincts had taken over earlier. Why the blood tasted different. Why his body had moved before his mind could.
Alive, but not human anymore.
He swallowed once, steadying his breath. Whatever he was becoming, he would have to control it. Because losing control wasn't just death. It was something worse.
He looked for more to see if there's was anything else, there had to be.