Lord: Sequence Master

"First of all, I need to establish one thing—absolutely no direct confrontation."

Rosen made this the first rule in his mind.

The Bloodline Glory spiritual realm was a Sequence 4 level realm, meaning that a Sequence 4 entity resided within it.

Many nobles who had entered this realm had likely perished at the hands of such a being. The cathedral was indeed a place he needed to explore, but there was no reason for him to do so personally.

Rosen's true body immediately withdrew into the Void Gallery, while his self-portrait doppelganger, assuming the identity of Shiree, moved toward the cathedral.

As he walked, Rosen sensed someone approach from behind, a hand pressing down on his shoulder.

"Shiree, I know where Fara is!"

A low voice spoke from behind. Rosen turned to see the hunchbacked figure of someone walking away.

He followed quickly, trying to keep up with the hunchback's faster pace, which seemed beyond Shiree's usual ability.

The hunchback led him to a dilapidated two-story building, just a hundred meters from Shiree's home. Rosen immediately recognized the man—it was Old Peter, the ragpicker who lived nearby.

"Old Peter, do you really know where Fara is?" Rosen asked, following him inside, his voice carrying Shiree's excitement.

Thanks to the Actor's Mask, Rosen could perfectly imitate Shiree's mannerisms, making his impersonation flawless.

"Don't go looking for her, or you'll die…"

Old Peter slumped, starting to tell his story.

Peter explained how, in his younger years, he had a happy family—parents, a virtuous wife, and a lovely son. But one night, his wife and son vanished, and his parents no longer remembered them.

Peter noticed that, although the people were gone, their belongings remained. He eventually convinced his parents, and they began to search for his missing wife and child. But then, his father mysteriously drowned the same day, without Peter even seeing the body.

Fearful, Peter and his mother stopped openly looking for answers but continued to search in secret.

Years later, Peter discovered a nun at the cathedral who looked exactly like his wife, though younger. Over time, Peter noticed that her mannerisms were identical to his wife's. When he shared this with his mother, she too died under mysterious circumstances.

Peter realized his mother had likely tried to verify the truth, leading to her death. Consumed with rage, Peter confronted the nun, who admitted she was his wife—and also confessed to killing his parents and their child.

Although her words were filled with cruel satisfaction, tears streamed down her face. Peter understood then that this was his wife, but something dark had taken control of her.

Helpless and powerless, Peter had no way to fight back. When he tried to confront the cathedral's bishop, his wife broke his spine. Paralyzed and defeated, Peter eventually resigned himself to a life of numb routine, occasionally visiting the cathedral to catch glimpses of his wife from afar.

But Peter had grown fond of Shiree's younger sister, Fara. She reminded him of his wife in their youth, and when he heard of her disappearance, he couldn't help but warn Shiree.

Fara might already be dead or worse, a monster, but Peter didn't want Shiree to suffer the same fate.

After hearing Peter's tragic story, Rosen deduced that Peter's wife had likely been turned into a vampire or a blood thrall—likely a thrall, since full vampires lose their sense of self.

If it were the real Shiree, what would he do after hearing this warning? Would he give up or continue toward the cathedral?

Rosen glanced at Peter, lost in painful memories, and after a moment of contemplation, knocked him unconscious.

Shiree wasn't a saint. He and his sister had survived as orphans, and Shiree had ensured Fara grew up happy and innocent, but he had a darker, more cunning side.

Although Shiree appeared to be a good neighbor, he had committed unsavory acts elsewhere in Lake City. This was part of the Simmons family's dark history, which Rosen now emulated.

Rosen moved Peter to the basement of an abandoned house, tied him up securely, and set a delayed killing trap. Only after securing everything did he take the bronze ring from Peter's neck, put it on, and head toward the cathedral.

Had the real Shiree been in this situation, he would have made the same choice.

Half an hour later, Rosen sat inside the cathedral, sensing someone approaching.

It was an unfamiliar nun. Seeing the ring on his hand, she reached out and struck the back of his head.

Rosen pretended to pass out as her sharp nails pierced his arm, draining his blood. He woke "in pain," glaring at the nun with anger and fear as she fed.

"Where's Peter?" the nun hissed.

"Where's Fara?" Rosen growled. "Fara stays alive, and Peter stays alive. Give me back my sister."

The nun's expression darkened. As a blood thrall, she lacked the power of a true vampire, making it difficult to deal with Shiree's stubbornness.

Unable to kill him outright, she proposed a deal: she would take him to Fara if he spared Peter.

"Fine, I'll do as you say," Rosen growled, feigning reluctance.

The nun led Rosen to the true face of Lake City—an underground city ruled by vampires, with a castle and another cathedral. As they walked, Rosen witnessed how vampires used the waterways to capture and feed on surface dwellers, casting blood magic to erase the victims from everyone's memory.

Upon arriving at the castle, Rosen was brought before Fara.

The once lively Fara was gone, replaced by a cold, noble vampire adorned in jewels. She tossed a red gem to the nun before dismissing her.

Fara turned to Rosen, calmly revealing, "I'm not Shiree's sister, Fara, and you're not her brother, Shiree."

Rosen's heart raced. Could Fara be a mere vessel for a higher vampire or a demigod, just as Rosen had suspected earlier?

Suddenly, he felt an overwhelming infatuation for the woman before him—a sense of love at first sight that threatened to consume him.

Rosen's true body sensed something wrong. His doppelganger's spirituality had been corrupted.

Inside the Void Gallery, Rosen quickly sealed the doppelganger, trapping Fara's spirituality within a painting.

Through this confrontation, Rosen realized that the Sequence 4 entity within this realm was Fara herself.

The entire Bloodline Glory realm was likely under her control, and whether those who entered survived depended solely on her whims.

Rosen needed to find a way to sever her control over the realm—by uncovering its physical form.

(End of Chapter)