Chapter 158: ORIGIN BLOODLINE II[BONUS Chapter]
The being on the throne turned its face slowly toward him, its gaze unseen yet palpable, staring at Aaron with an intensity that pierced straight through to his core. Aaron felt his heart skip a beat, a cold, primal grip of fear clutching tightly at him, his body tensing involuntarily as if facing an ancient, unfathomable predator from the dawn of existence.
After a tense while, the initial wave of terror began to ebb away gradually, and Aaron felt a strange calm washing over him like a soothing tide, realizing deep in his instincts that the being harbored no ill intent against him, its presence shifting from threatening to almost paternal, protective even.
The being whispered some words, its voice a low, resonant rumble that vibrated through the void, reverberating in Aaron’s bones, but Aaron was unable to make sense of what the being was saying, the sounds alien, archaic, and utterly incomprehensible to his mortal ears. The being, as if noticing this barrier of understanding, stopped its whispers afterwards, instead pointing its hands directly into Aaron’s soul with a slow, deliberate motion that carried the weight of inevitability.
"Aarghhhh!!!!!" Aaron screamed in agony, a heart-wrenching pain exploding through every fiber of his being, as if his very essence was being brutally torn apart and reassembled. He felt his soul being ripped and reshaped from the inside out, his white soul morphing painfully from its pure, luminous color, stained progressively with hints of black and red stripping away layer by excruciating layer. The white soul was soon completely replaced by a pitch-black hue, growing stronger and denser with each throbbing pulse of transformation, the process burning like an infernal fire scorching his core, leaving him gasping.
After his soul was irrevocably changed, the next wave of pain Aaron felt was the methodical stripping away of his bloodlines, a searing, unrelenting agony that made him writhe in the void. One by one, he felt his bloodlines slowly stripped away, each removal causing him so much pain that it blurred his vision and clouded his thoughts. First his conservative bloodline was stripped away, yanked free like a deep-rooted weed torn from fertile soil, leaving a raw, aching gap. Then his nightmare bloodline followed suit, dissolving in a burst of torment that echoed through him. His nightstalker bloodline was next, torn out with ruthless, unyielding efficiency, sending shocks of loss through his system, and afterwards his ripper bloodline, each successive removal a fresh, intensifying wave of torment that built upon the last.
Each stripped bloodline left a deep, gaping void in Aaron’s soul as it was forcefully ripped off from his soul, the emptiness resonating with profound loss, his body convulsing uncontrollably from the cumulative strain, sweat beading on his brow despite the void’s chill.
The being did not stop there, its work far from complete. It went for Aaron’s primogenitor bloodline, the foundational core of his hybrid power, targeting it with inexorable intent.
Aaron’s hybrid bloodline fought back fiercely against the being’s will, resisting with all its primal aggression, refusing to be stripped off from Aaron, surging with defiant, wild energy that clashed against the intrusion, but it ultimately failed. With a menacing glare from the being, a pressure that crushed all opposition like an cosmic force, Aaron’s aggressive primogenitor bloodline grew suddenly tamed and docile, submitting without further fight, allowing itself to be easily peeled from him, the final bond snapping like a brittle chain under immense strain.
At this point, Aaron felt an excruciating pain that dwarfed anything he had ever experienced, his screams lost in the void, the torment a blazing inferno consuming him from within. He expected death from the pain caused, a merciful release from the suffering, but found none, as he was forced to endure it all consciously, every nerve alight with unrelenting fire, his mind teetering on the edge of madness.
Aaron stared through hazy vision at the being still seated calmly on the throne, his body trembling. The being stared back at Aaron with unchanging composure, giving him a subtle nod of approval, a silent acknowledgment of his resilience and worthiness amid the trial.
The being rose from its throne with effortless, fluid grace, its form shifting like smoke, and appeared before Aaron in an instant, its presence towering yet somehow intimate. It placed its hand gently on Aaron’s soul, a touch that sent cascading waves of dark, restorative energy surging through him, and forcefully merged with Aaron, healing Aaron’s cracked soul with a seamless, flowing integration that mended every fracture.
Every crack and damage done to Aaron’s soul was healed meticulously, the fissures sealing like shadows knitting together in perfect harmony, with Aaron’s soul strengthened exponentially beyond its former limits, pulsing now with a newfound, unbreakable resilience that filled him with vitality.
Aaron regained himself slowly, feeling a surge of strength and power he never knew was possible coursing through every part of him, a profound dominance that made him feel truly invincible, as he found himself sitting on the throne the being had once occupied, the seat conforming perfectly to him as if it had always been destined for him alone.
Within the embrace of the seat, he could finally make out the distinct faces of the several mythical beings bowing before the throne, their forms crystallizing in the eternal gloom, each detail sharp and vivid. To his surprise, he found his old bloodlines that had been stripped away bowing humbly as well, their essences now submissive and reverent, aligned in loyalty.
Not just his personal bloodlines, but several vampire bloodlines of all kinds bowed in unison, as they all stood organized behind a single vampire which was dignified and extremely powerful, radiating an aura of ancient nobility. The vampire had long black hair flowing like midnight silk cascading down his back, a white porcelain face smooth as flawless marble, red glowing eyes that pierced the surrounding dark with predatory intensity, and was adorned with a flowing cape that billowed softly like animated shadows. It was the father of all vampires, the primogenitor. The first vampire primogenitor to ever live and be created, his legacy etched in eternity. His other vampire bloodlines and several other vampire bloodlines stood behind the vampire, their ranks stretching into seemingly infinite depths.