Ebony's Fable

“Curse you, Veronica Ning Xing. dragging me out of my comfy home for a…how many standard years did it take us to get onto land?” Ning Min squeezed the bloody water out of her hair after stepping off the ride she controlled. She let the Emperor manta ray go when the three of them alighted on the beach.

“How would I know this place is so big that the rides you found us took years to find land?” Veronica similarly wiped herself with a soft white towel that could self-clean.

“You’re the divination mage here!”

“Alright alright, we’re in her presence. I don’t want to be slain for trespassing.” Standing on the red beach with just sand in sight, they faced the same direction.

“Kin of The First, I beseech an audience with Saintess of Blood.” Veronica led the two Xengs she brought to do their traditional greetings. With their left hand wrapping their right fists they slapped their hands in tandem but they didn’t bow nor look down.

There was no reply for ten whole minutes.

Red sand, water and skies were all the three Xengs were looking at.

A spot of black expanded within their view in the meantime.

A bat.

After a hard landing, it flapped open its wings with a shockwave that would’ve killed the ride Ning Min controlled. Little bats conjured out of the big bat and the big bat formed into a humanoid. A Vampire.

‘She sent a servant Saint on us. We’re just three puny Emperors.’ Ning Min transmitted her voice to their heads.

Kong Tian, a little more arrogant, wasn't that surprised, ‘we’re not just any Emperors.’

“You came in uninvited. Hid your presence. Killed our realms’ livestock. Mind-controlled them for your transport. Any one of those warrants death. But as kin of our Liege’s respected peer, you are welcomed and your sins are pardoned. Perhaps request entry next time.”

“We don’t exactly have a way to send letters to your Liege’s realm.” The space mage unironically explained.

“But you can enter at will. Haha. Human jokes are something I never understood. Excuse me, Xengs. Your blood smells fantastic. Always so unique compared to humans. I digress, my Liege has agreed to bestow you an audience in 3 standard weeks. Let’s get you settled down. You can refer to me as Saint Lysander of the Nocturnus family.”

Unwillingly, the three of them were lifted off the ground with an unnerving feeling of their blood being controlled. The Vampire completely suppressed their magic body like nobody’s business. If Kong Tian could do this and suppress their spatial resistance their journey would’ve been far shorter.

Veronica divined the Saint escorting them without fear of being noticed. Unlike Identify or similar skills, divining through the Astral Realm was usually unnoticeable to anyone who wasn’t connected with the Astral Realm, even Saints.

‘Nocturnus family. Saint Thaddeus Lazarus Lysander Nocturnus. Level 1386. Considered high up amongst Saints but all the True Vampires are top rate. Wields…crap, 3 Laws?! I can’t tell the exact mantra but it's blood, a combination of darkness and night. And transformation?’

The mind mage helped to share the information amongst themselves. They reevaluated their standings and Ning Min rubbed the back of her neck.

Brought to a needlessly large old castle made of black stone, they were received with a ‘warm’ welcome by bats and spiders. There were a few servant vampires walking about. They hid the fact that they were spreading the Xeng’s scent so that they weren’t recognised as trespassers but all three of them noticed it.

Fortunately, they had human mattresses ready and not coffins that vampires sleep in. It had been years since they’d laid on a proper bed.

“What do you think she’s doing that requires us to wait three weeks?”

“Sleeping. She’s been asleep for the past few years, we got here just in time for her rouse.” Veronica explained.

“Long hibernation period races are so troublesome to deal with.” Ning Min threw herself onto the mattress.

“Don’t get overconfident with your mental transmission. Assume we’re being overheard.” The two ladies bid Kong Tian away as he was led to a different guest room.

“We’re already all the way here, can you tell me what you’re here for?”

“You know I requested a personal audience don’t you?”

Mouth wide open, Ning Min couldn’t utter a word at the realisation that all she was was a tag-along. She reached for the pillow and strangled this cousin of hers into submission. To say that she had no gains from this trip would be a lie so she wasn’t really pissed but she was annoyed by the way Veronica did things.

“Hey hey, I’m saving you the stress of meeting one of the strongest creatures in the universe. Dragon connoisseur. God Drinker. God Saintess etcetera.”

“I never believed those stories. The gulf between us Emperors and Saints is already worlds apart. How can a Saint be compared wit- hmph!”

Veronica didn’t know what just happened but she could make a guess. Ning Min was probably threatened or warned not to speak about the topic any further. In her mind. However, a Xeng was still a Xeng. So prideful, they'd rather die than follow others' whims. It didn’t matter if the threat was from a Saint, Demi-God or even a God.

If that wasn’t the case, their population would be a little higher. There would be additional survivors in the 2-digit count. Not a lot but still higher.

Sadly, it was simply in their genetics and few have fought against these genetics. The same could be said for their less combat-focused counterparts.

Veronica once considered herself defective as all her people do. Marrying out of their people. Even her daughter was the same. And now her granddaughter. She felt guilty for transmitting her weakness to her children. If they were anything like the other members of the Ning Clan, her granddaughter might not be so weak that Veronica needed to come here to make a deal.

‘A pity, I must have missed her evolution to grandmaster. I’d have to prepare a gift for little Jing, she’d watched after Ah Xin for so long. I should ask Kong Tian, I have no idea what those crafters like as a present. Maybe the Ancient Blood Core we got the other day? That would make a senior like me seem stingy. Trying to get her Legendary rarity items would be useless for her…bah, never mind, I’ll think about that another day.’

The three of them rested without any vampires biting their necks in the middle of the eternal night in the Blood realm.

They slept for a long time, recharging within an unfamiliar race’s home with no regard. After a standard day, they received a visit from another Vampire during dinner. They were provided the best wine any of them had ever drunk and a bloody steak. It was amazingly juicy.

A younger-looking Vampire compared to their escort the day before. Most Vampires had greyish pale skin and surprisingly well-toned musculature. Their facial features were practically human but dark eye circles were common.

However, True Vampires appeared no different from humans.

“Xeng. Kin of the Cosmic Tyrant. I’ve heard a lot about your people. Care for some exercise? Oh, don’t worry I’m not trying to be rude or a bully. Three of you, and 1 of me. My authority over blood is still rudimentary compared to my father. Right, introductions. Damien Evangeline Valerian Nocturnus stands before you. Is that how introductions are made?”

“That’s about right. Relax, we’re not very good with human introductions either.”

“Good. You’re not unbearable for lower beings.”

“You’re terribly polite for a higher being.”

“We’ve been brought up with stories of your ancestor, the Cosmic Tyrant. I do not want me, my family and my ancestors to die. I bet our ancestors are listening to us talk right now. And, we vampires aren't born higher beings either. I say we’d stand on equal grounds.”

Three of my non-combatants Emperors against a Saint? The handicap sound right or would you like a one on one?

Silence befell the 3 Xengs and the standing vampire. His knees trembled but he tried his best to remain upright.

“It seems like our ancestor have spoken.” Kong Tian put his silverware down and wiped the edges of his lips with the cloth on his lap.

Veronica saw the bulging vein on Valerian’s forehead. He was likely young and stupid, homeschooled and never stepped outside their realm. They were in his homeground and he dared to call upon not just his ancestor, but The First.

Out of respect for your Liege and warm welcome, you don’t have to die for your disrespect.

“Kneel boy. We ap- My Liege!” Lysander flew in and had his hands pushing his son’s head down to the ground before any of them could react.

Veronica’s heart stopped beating and so did her cousin’s and Kong Tian's.

Stunned by the physical beauty of the naked lady that yawned, they couldn’t even think. They didn’t even know their heart stopped beating and their blood crystallised within their bodies.

“Shi Jian. You’ve woken me up. For what? Some children?”

‘Shi Jian? That’s The First’s name? I didn’t even know that.’ Veronica felt someone protecting them as a river gushed within their body again. She did not doubt in her mind, she would’ve died within a minute if she were to continue standing still.

‘How did little Xin feel under this pressure? Even if she didn’t go to Elcra with her real body. There’s no way she’s just a Saint.’ Veronica personally confirmed the title of the strongest Saint in existence without any display of power. At least, the strongest after The First evolved.

There was no other way to describe what she felt.

Maybe, just maybe. She might have overstepped her bounds by coming here.

‘Nahh. What bounds?’

“Name?” The naked beauty who stood in between them and the young Saint glanced back.

“Damien Evangeline Valerian Noc-”

“Don’t shame us.” She didn’t even let Valerian finish talking before all of them were sent into an open field. It felt like they were still in the castle, according to Kong Tian’s message.

Lysander bumped his son on his shoulders.

“Your wish is my command my Liege.” Valerian had a knee on the ground with his head bowed down and both his arms crossed on his shoulders.

Kneeling and bowing was something no Xeng would do, no matter who they were facing. Excluding filial piety and respect to their direct elders like their parents but that might differ from clan to clan. If they were home, this was enough of a shame but to each his own. This was the culture of another race.

Mil, how about a bet to spice things up?

“You found something?” Exhaustion started to wash away from the Saintess of Blood’s face.

Your appetite is too big, I only found a Mythic Soul Lotus. Unharvested on a Divine Worldcore.

“How old?”

Don’t know. Your bet?

Ning Min’s face twitched after not being able to figure out how The First was talking to them without a voice or a mental transmission.

“Hgnh! A barrel of my personal liquor? You’ve been eyeing it ever since we last shared a drink.” Blood conjured over the naked lady’s bodacious body and a bathrobe formed. She sounded like she moaned when she stretched her body without any shame. Veronica feared that all three of them would’ve turned into her Thrall from her voice without The First watching over them.

Hoh, you’re relinquishing a barrel? Accepted.

“M-my liege!”

‘Haa, such high stakes were placed on us without our consent. I can’t access the Astral Realm with the Saintess of Blood within the castle. Didn’t see this coming. Damn wandering nebulous stars. At least this young saint shouldn’t be able to control our blood in her presence.’

The 3 non-combatant Xengs did not utter a word of complaint or exchange any words with The First. They had no say.

Mil, do you want me to remove your restrictions on them for you?

“Don’t rush me. You’re as impatient as ever. Done.”

Veronica felt her connection with the Astral Realm return but this was bad news. It likely meant Valerian’s authority over blood was not clogged by the Saintess of Blood’s presence.

They found themselves standing in a wide-open hall of the palace.

‘Kong Tian defences. Ah Min, go crazy.’

Veronica endowed their stars with their future. She could endow thousands of years of equivalent power and regeneration for other Emperors but only about a decade for her fellow Xengs. Potentially weakening a person and cutting their future strength away if she wanted to. However, she was nice, she could pay the cost of the spell for her family and friends.

Sadly, Valerian was so close to punching himself in the face before he ripped back control. Ning Min’s failure to make use of the Saint's power to self implode the blood in his body was no surprise either.

Veronica and Kong Tian felt their brain pulse as Ning Min laid control over their minds. She enhanced various abilities of the brain and mainly the Intelligence stat. A waste for Veronica but massive for Kong Tian. The space mage hasn’t let anything touch them yet be it within their bodies or outside.

Veronica’s attempts to shatter and injure Valerian’s Astral body were rendered moot so far. It was her first time attacking a Saint but not her first time seeing a Saint’s Astral body. There was a fundamental difference that separated what people call a higher being.

Since attacking seemed futile, she got to her main job of observing. Looking into his past and his present.

“He evolved with 2 Laws. Authority over blood and night, both fused as 1 tier 7 core skill. I can’t read the actual skill or the accurate information about his law. He has another tier 7 core skill for a total of 2. The third law only formed within the last 2 centuries. Weakness… just combat in general, he’d never stepped out of the blood realm in his life.” Veronica reported through their link. Gradually, she fed them his skill history. Only able to read the skill names of the vampire’s sub-class and profession but it was more than enough for Ning Min.

Kong Tian’s mana usage was not friendly to him, not against the blood rain that harnessed the power of the night. She used Ning Min’s mental link to show Kong Tian where the heaviest attacks would be coming from.

“Domain coming.” Veronica saw the tiny stars within Valerian’s body moving and threw astral debris at the glowing points in his astral body to slow the formation of his Domain.

They bought the Dream mage enough time to pull Valerian into a dream. Ning Min dragged all three of them into her dream where she was practically god. It took a lot out of Veronica to strengthen Ning Min enough to drag the Saint’s physical body in.

With the Mind-Dream Mage present, they did not need pre-planned teamwork.

Unexpectedly, the half-spectators Veronica and Kong Tian felt the mind mage’s surprise. Vampire Valerian brought night into her dream. Along with the night came a swarm of weird-looking bats behind him

“So not just a two-pump chump of a Saint then! Get out, he’s mine now!” Ning Min, the experienced one, tossed the two of them out of her dream.

Landing on their feet, Veronica rubbed the back of her head and yawned while Kong Tian just looked like a fanboy of her cousin.

‘Seriously, what are these bigshots looking at? Can they see inside her dream? Neither of them has any mental or dream powers. Let me make a guess, for the one and only Saintess of Blood that rules over her race’s pair of Gods and various Demi-Gods with pure force, she can see the dreams of any creature with blood? Wouldn’t be too far-fetched. Then The First? Spatial powers? Or just some nonsense I wouldn’t understand?’

Unlike her, Ning Min was a proper Xeng. She might not call herself a fighter because of what she does at home but she was a proper and almost a full combatant by their standards. Plenty of Saints challenge the Xeng’s new homeworld. Ning Min was probably scheduled to chase those Saints away a few times before. The Xengs had a routine and work schedule to do these chores.

Perhaps it’d been a short time for the spectators but ages had passed for the duelers.

Ning Min physically stepped out of her dream with Valerian’s collar in her grasp. She tossed the mangled body at the Saintess of Blood’s naked foot and the three of them put their left palm over their right fist again. “We’re done.”

“Is the father next? Or a Demi-God grandfather sleeping somewhere.” Ning Min put her hands down and glanced at Lysander.

Forget it, forget it. I already got my drink. Passable for a quack doctor, fortune teller and logistic transport driver.

They felt the overbearing presence disappear signifying that The First was no longer watching. Veronica giggled out loud.

“I feel bad for you ah min, you don’t have to think of yourself as a quack doctor just because she calls you that.” Veronica transmitted her jab to her cousin.

Ning Min was one of the only three mind mages in their society and the youngest of the lot. The duty of treating their people’s mental trauma and stabilising children’s mental stage through training had been tossed to her for decades. And the general consensus amongst all Xengs was that mental injury was a hoax that didn’t exist and mind doctors were quacks. After all, their entire population’s doctor count was a resounding 0. She was insulted but couldn’t retort.

“My liege…” Lysander knelt beside his unconscious son with his head hung low.

“Bring him out and see the world. Train him well.” The Saintess of Blood opened a pool of blood in front of the two servant Saints.

“Thank you for your kind words! We won’t disappoint you again.” With a nod towards them, Lysander grabbed his son and fell into the pool of blood.

“So, why have you invaded my house?”

The Divination Mage dared to look away and ushered her cousin and Kong Tian to go away. Irritated, they retreated to their guest room.

“This is about my granddaughter. The one you took away a couple of years ago.”

“Your granddaughter? I did?”

Veronica waited for the Saintess of Blood to come to her own realisation. She wasn’t stupid enough to suggest what the Saintess should do. If she was not wrong, it was a familiar or an embodiment that kidnapped her granddaughter.

“Oh. I see. The child with Phoenix blood. What about her? I made a fair deal with her.”

“I’m aware. I’m he-” Veronica saw the frown on the charming True Vampire's face. The Saintess of Blood was kind enough to hide her visage with blood, leaving only a hazy countenance in Veronica’s view.

Veronica followed the gaze and was surprised to see someone standing at the corner of the room, facing a pillar.

‘That man again!’ Veronica saw the man who donned her granddaughter's mask.

“Ah. Ah. Is this the right place?” The man faced the black stone pillar and massaged his throat.

“I have a lot of visitors today. And two of them I can’t excuse. I guess there are always new experiences despite my long life.”

A roar echoed in the palace halls that shook her soul but her mask muted it.

“This soul basilisk is so persistent. Anyway, Grandmother? Hmm, it feels weird to call you that. Don’t be stupid. Your silly deal will do her no good. Why make her cry? Me being here now should tell you, there’s no point. You are not that amazing. I will…I am dealing with it.”

Another roar came in and shattered the man’s body.

“May I ask what that was?” Veronica decided that there was no point staying confused.

“Temporal shift. More accurately, parallel temporal shift. Since the uninvited guests have been seen out, let’s continue. His words mean nothing to us, he no longer exists or is no longer going to exist. He is just a phantom that has no ability to change anything, not for us. I’m sure you understand the future better than I do.” The Saintess of Blood seemed to be unbothered by her realm being trespassed multiple times in a row.

“Please give my granddaughter your blood.” Veronica was in no mood for mischief and got straight to the point. As a diviner, she was well aware that none of the future she sees is certain. They are ever-changing and she sees so many paths that there is no guarantee something will happen until it does. Of course, some things would definitely happen in some form.

“Xengs. Always so arrogant. What is your offer?” The blood mist did not hide the Saintess of Blood’s mirth.

“I understand the equivalent exchange in a deal. I cannot tell you how, but you will benefit from this.” Veronica apologised to the man who persuaded her twice. This must happen. She must do this and no one can change her mind. Not even if her husband came back to life.

“Oh? Why should I trust you?” The lazily put-on bathrobe slid down her shoulders a little as she crossed her legs to show them bare.

“Because I said so.” Convinced and unshaken, the Xeng demanded.

“Hmm. What are the tell-tale signs that I’ll get what I want?” The crossed legs stopped shaking back and forth while she made those provocative noises.

“When I die under my granddaughter’s hands.”

Amused, the Saintess of Blood accepted the ridiculous demand.