Decker, walking with grim determination, reached a lower, hidden underground chamber. He stopped before a black door covered in strange markings that he did not recognize. He knocked on the door three times, a precise, rhythmic signal, until the door opened automatically, pulling inward with a faint grinding sound.
When he entered the room, he saw the witch Vivian sitting in the middle of a large circle drawn on the floor. Flickering candles lined the circumference of the circle, and metal cages were placed around it. In the cages, waiting silently for their fate, were a grotesque collection of sacrifices: a fairy, a nine-tailed fox, an albino one-eyed monkey, a human slave, a tiger, and even a human baby.
Vivian was sitting perfectly still. After a couple of minutes, she raised her hands while chanting arcane words in a language Decker did not understand. When she finally stopped, she looked at Decker and told him to come into the circle.
"Take off your clothes," was all that Vivian commanded.
Decker did not hesitate to remove his clothing. He then sat down on the ground, cross-legged with his back to her. Vivian began to write strange, glowing symbols on his back and then on his chest using a dark, viscous ink.
Vivian then took out the Eternal Shadow Duplicate Scroll and began reading the contents inside.
The air in the chamber began to feel heavy and thick, the candlelights started to flicker wildly, and the monkey in the cage began to scream, sensing the immense danger that was about to rise. A dark shadow began to leak out of the magic scroll. It was utterly formless, a shimmering void, yet a sense of great evil energy radiated from it. The dark shadow floated and stood silently in front of Vivian, and she began to sweat profusely, understanding that this entity could decide to devour her at any moment.
"Oh, Dark Almighty Shadow, we need your help to defeat a mighty foe," Vivian pleaded, her voice trembling slightly. "We humbly offer these sacrifices in exchange we ask you to lend us your power. The vampire sitting here will be the one you will enter; he offers his soul as tribute. Help us exact our revenge."
The dark shadow said or did nothing for a couple of minutes, just floating motionless in the air. Vivian was sweating buckets, her nervousness almost paralyzing.
The shadow finally moved. It drifted toward the tiger first and entered its body. The tiger immediately thrashed and roared in agony inside the cage, beginning to bleed from the eyes, ears, and mouth. The creature was in excruciating pain. After a few minutes, black, oily blood began to leak from the tiger's body and it died on the spot. The shadow then greedily devoured the tiger's entire body, shrinking slightly as it absorbed the essence.
"Please, spare me, Master, I will do anything!" the human slave begged for his life, his voice shaking.
The shadow, however, was deaf to pleas. It began to move from cage to cage, a silent, swirling void, until it devoured everything. The screaming ceased only after the human slave was the last to be consumed.
Once fully fed, the shadow coalesced and appeared before Decker, but this time, the entity had taken on the vague, dark figure of a human being.
Decker stood up and spread his arms, completely nude, covered only by Vivian's magic symbols. "Come, let us combine into one, fuse with me, devour my soul, and in turn, let me kill my enemy."
The dark shadow did not say anything as it stood before Decker. After a few seconds, it began to chuckle, a dry, rasping sound. "Hehehe, I come from a different dimension that is surrounded by darkness. I will grant your wish, vampire, but just know that if you die by the hands of your enemy, I will drag your soul to my dimension and continue to feed on it. You will not go to heaven or hell; you will cease to exist. Are you sure you want to continue on this path of self-destruction in order to destroy your enemy?"
"I already prepared myself. Live or die, I have no regrets," Decker stated, his voice absolute.
The dark shadow then looked at Vivian and pointed a shadowy finger at her. "You also want to use my power for revenge, right? Then I want your eye and ear. Give it to me."
Decker turned his head to look at Vivian, who was still kneeling in the circle. "You want me to do it? I'll make it swift."
Vivian did not utter a single word and only nodded her head, accepting the gruesome payment without hesitation.
Decker walked up to her, and the nails from his fingertips began to extend into sharp claws. He swiftly removed Vivian's right eye from her socket and slashed her right ear off in one quick motion. She did not make a single sound, immediately using her own magic to stanch the bleeding and begin the slow, painful process of healing the grievous wounds.
Decker walked up to the dark shadow figure and presented the raw offerings. The dark shadow took the eye and ear from Decker's hands and began to eat it, the consumption strangely audible.
"Even though I eat flesh, eating souls is more delicious," the shadow hissed. "I am going to take my time devouring your soul, hehehehe."
The dark shadow then exploded into dark smoke and proceeded to enter Decker's body. As the dark smoke went into Decker's mouth, ears, and eyes, his body began to shudder violently. He began to scream as he felt pain beyond his wildest dreams; the symbols written on his body started to rotate and seep into his skin.
"AHHHH, please, stop it, I cannot take it anymore!" Decker began to scratch himself furiously, but because he is a powerful vampire, the wounds instantly started to heal by themselves, preventing him from escaping the pain by passing out.
Vivian stared at Decker for a good while, watching the terrifying transformation unfold. His body convulsed and contorted as the dark essence forced its way into his very core. She knew the process was complete, and now, only time and agony could truly finalize the fusion.
"We will talk again tomorrow, Decker. I need to rest and gather my mana," Vivian announced, her voice strained from the magic she had already expended and the pain of her wounds. "For now, I will take my leave."
She turned and left the chamber, closing the heavy black door behind her and sealing Decker inside the soundproof, stone room.
Decker was left alone in the candlelight, still in great pain. He gritted his teeth, his jaw visibly straining as he endured the excruciating agony being inflicted upon his body and soul. Every muscle spasmed as the dark shadow settled into his form, preparing him to become the new, monstrous agent of revenge.
======
In the Crimson Castle's underground training area, John was once again busy fighting Russell. For the past couple of days, the young vampire had been locked in this brutal routine. Although he had won their first encounter, he was beaten badly by the prisoner on every subsequent day. Russell, having learned not to underestimate his opponent, quickly noticed that the vampire was adapting at a rapid pace, making him work harder each time.
"Stop!" Reina screamed, ending the session abruptly. "We are finished with hand-to-hand fighting. I want you now to fight each other with weapons."
"Wait, what!?" John was caught off guard by the order. He quickly ran up to her. "Aunt Reina, I don't think this is a good idea."
"Well, I think this is a brilliant idea," she said, and then clapped her hands. Vampire knights immediately came inside, bringing a large array of weapons for the two combatants to choose from.
John went down to his knees and grabbed Reina's leg. "Please, Aunt Reina, I don't wanna get stabbed!"
"I am going to have fun cutting you up, boy," Russell sneered, his grin wide and predatory.
John looked up at Reina, ignoring Russell for a moment. "Please, Aunt Reina, I don't wanna get cut up by that crazy bastard."
Reina's left eye flinched. She was clearly irritated by the way John was behaving like a coward in her perspective. She slapped the side of his head with a sharp, open hand. "Stop acting like a little baby and fight!"
John immediately got up and went to inspect the different weapons that were placed on the table. He couldn't decide what to use in this new kind of fight. Then he saw a simple metal staff and decided that would be his weapon of choice.
When Reina saw the young vampire pick up the metal staff, she was a little shocked. "John, are you sure you want to pick that type of weapon?"
John smiled. "Yeah."
Russell was also surprised. He had grabbed a vicious, curved dagger and thought John would choose some kind of sword. "I'm going to enjoy this. You are greatly mistaken if you think you can beat me with that type of weapon. I'll make you regret it, boy!"
Reina then told them both to take their stand in the middle of the ring. Russell smiled menacingly as he licked the blade of the dagger in his hand.
John gripped the staff, his fear melting away into a strange mix of bravado and movie knowledge. "Russell, do you know Kung Fu? I watched a lot of those movies back home. I'm going to beat the dog shit outta you!"
Russell then beckoned the boy to come forward. "Hehehe, come boy, come to daddy."