Disclaimer: Trinity Blood is owned by Sunao Yoshida. I fell in love with the story.

Note to readers: Well, I'm rewriting Divergent Path. Some of you have heard of the Sands of Mars I was going to do. I decided instead of having that book which would recap a lot of Divergent Path I'd just rewrite this one. The old version can still be read and the major points aren't going to be changed. I'm adding to the book and editing the old chapters. This story is also going to be parted like Vehemens Veritas and Dawn of the Empire. I hope you enjoy this rewrite of Divergent Path.

Update Note: Now a read aloud of this chapter up on my youtube, check out my profile page to see!

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Trinity Blood: Divergent Path
Prologue: Hollow Heart

Blood dripped from Abel's long, black talons. His lips parted to reveal blood strained, pointed fangs. The delicious scent, the overpowering scent of Methuselah blood swam around Abel. He groaned, eyes rolling in longing to drink long and deep.

A heavy fog lay over the landscape. It obscured the ground, every last detail. Abel could barely make out his hand let alone the ground.

The scent changed. It turned foul, rancid, and completely disgusting. A hiss escaped between Abel's teeth. His glowing red eyes narrowed.

The mist began to lift. It pulled away from the ground. A sickening sight was slowly unveiled as if the mist was reluctant to leave. Corpses: human and Methuselah, lay at Abel's feet. Their blood soaked white rose petals. The ground was saturated in their blood.

"Murder," a voice whispered on the wind. "Monster."

Abel stumbled back. No, he hadn't meant to. He'd never meant for this to happen. He'd never wanted to kill all of these people. Millions, well over seven million, lay at his feet in human corpses alone. The Methuselah had been killed under his command or by his hand. He'd never meant to.

A cry tore from Abel's lips. Turning, he raced away from the corpses. Only more appeared through the mist. No – no – NO! He hadn't meant it. He hadn't meant it. NO!

"You could've stopped it."

Abel skidded to a halt. From within the swirling mist stepped the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. Her long auburn hair fell around her face and down her back.

"You didn't."

"Lilith," Abel breathed her name. Tears were in his eyes now. "I could've. I wanted to."

"But you didn't and your sons paid for it. I paid for it. You're worse than Cain."

"I-I'm not Cain," Abel fell to his knees. "I would never harm you, Lilith, or my sons. I wouldn't—"

"But you did," another voice joined Lilith's. A figure moved from the mist as well. His well tailored suit was pure black. His black hair was pulled back from his face into a low pony tail at the nape of his neck. Hard blue eyes, which had been so kind in life, glared at Abel. "It's your fault my family died. If not for you they'd still be alive. If you were just there."

"Aran, Lilith," Abel's entire body shook. "I know," hot tears slid down his face, "I know. I should've been there, for both of you and for your family, Aran."

"But you weren't," Aran snarled. Fangs flashed over Aran's lips. His eyes were narrowed in hate and anger. "Because of you all my children died, my wife died, and I died. It's your fault."

"I—"

"You should've known Cain didn't want peace," Lilith spoke in a calm voice, but her yellow eyes bored into him. "You shouldn't have lost control and killed all those people. The war was your fault. If you'd only seen through him."

"I—"

"All the deaths are your fault," Aran continued. "All the deaths to come are your fault."

"I—"

"I hate you!" both Lilith and Aran said in unison.

xxx

Abel's eyes snapped open. He was breathing hard. The darkness pressed down on him. His nightmare clung to him. Heart racing, he closed his eyes before opening them again. The darkness was beginning to lift as his eyes adjusted. His heart was calming.

A lump formed in Abel's throat. A choked sob rose in him, but no tears came. He wanted to cry. He couldn't, why couldn't he cry? The glass which pressed against Abel's cheek was stuck to him. His body felt stiff, numb, and unmovable. Breath, which he'd once been able to see in the cold tomb, didn't appear.

At last Abel managed to move. Cobwebs were pulled from his arms. Turning over, his back to Lilith's stasis pod, Abel pulled the webbing from him. It was odd but he couldn't feel the chill of the tomb.

Right then sleep sounded so good though. If Abel slept he'd dream. And if he dreamed, he'd dream of his failings. He moved back into position, resting his head on the stasis pod. He rubbed the dust from the glass until he could see Lilith's beautiful features.

It hadn't always been like this. Abel had once lived outside of a tomb. Through his actions and the years he'd spent above ground he'd started to sleep and spend whatever free time the pope gave him here. Here with his beloved Lilith.

In the past Abel had believed everything would be all right as long he stuck with his siblings and Lilith. As the years had passed, a rift had formed between them and his older twin brother, Cain. So much had been lost. There had been so much pain, so much loss, and so much regret.

How many years had it been? How many more had died? It was Abel's fault in the end. He couldn't protect anyone. Everyone he loved died around him. There was no stopping it. His sister might be dead now for all he knew as well. He'd killed his brother, his lover, and his sons. Who else had Abel killed now as well? Even if he hadn't killed them by hand, it was still his fault.

All of it was Abel's fault. Both of the wars, all the pain, and more, was his fault. In the end it was only his fault. No one else's, just his, all his fault.

Abel's eyes slowly closed. He drifted into a pool of memory. Into the past where once they'd been happy. Into a place where he once had a family.

(Author's Note: As a heads up, this book is going to be longer than the original Divergent Path. I wanted to really explore the wars and relations between the characters. There are going to be tones of new characters and some who you've meet. Characters you'll know in part one are: Tabitha, Kayson, Athina, Alaric, Darin, and Shane (I might have forgotten a few). There are also going to be characters you've briefly meet in the news broadcast from Vehemens and those in the prologue of Dawn of the Empire.)