A/N

Rating: M for this chapter, gore, homicide, and other things kids certainly wouldn't appreciate.

Game: League of Legends

Disclaimer: Same as before, Riot's stuff. Xuchilbara is the Red God of Silent Hill, KONAMI's stuff.

"So what if you can see, the darkest side of me; No one will ever change this animal I have become." - "Animal I Have Become" by Three Days Grace

As soon as he returned to the old temple (where he called home) through the portal, Vladimir decided to cleanse himself in the river nearby.

The temple – once belonged to his master, Dmitri – was not forsaken after Dmitri had passed away; Through the years Vladimir found himself grew attached to the place and so he stayed and nested here, in the middle of the mountains. Satisfied by his quiet life.

The distant sound of the wild animals roaming in the mountains filled the air. Vladimir walked out of the old temple; the red dusk greeted the Reaper by surrounding him with the last warmth before sunset. He took in a deep breath and headed to the river.

The water was so clear that Vladimir could see the pebbles lying at the bottom, each in different shape and size, but all reflected the light hue of red from the dying Sun.

The rivers will run red, He mumbled to himself, drenched in the serenity of the scene.

At the end of the day, it was this red water that bathed his weary body and washed away all his troubled thoughts and her face, crying in front of him.

Slowly he removed his garments and underwear, tossing them next to the new set of clothes and a thin sheet on the ground. He stepped into the cool water; the river was deep enough to consume all of his body except for the head. Vladimir sighed in relief as he felt the water slowly ran through his bloodstained skin, cooling him down.

He watched as the red trophies dissolved into the stream, leaving a snakelike trail behind. Soon after he dove his head in and opened his crimson eyes underwater: He saw the red mist that originated from his light gold hair fading away with the flow of the water. Although he was holding his breath, Vladimir could still imagine and "smell" the blood in the stream – Metallic and exhilarating – he felt the urge to take a sip. The hunger was driving him crazy, but he had to stop himself.

Throwing his head back to the surface, he gasped deeply with eyes shut tight. His need burned like fire inside him; he needed it, so much.

"Are you alright?" Came a soft voice behind him. Vladimir turned around abruptly and caught the intruder right in the eyes.

It was a young girl, standing just above him next to the river, her expression worried. "I thought you can't swim, and the blood…" He could see her eyes, fascinated, wondering around his neck, where the edges of his collar bone were barely visible.

"I appreciate you for your concern, I am fine." The dusk gave the girl a sanguine silhouette which tempted his already agitated heart. He feared giving in, but he had to give in. It overpowered him like it always had.

The girl smiled, a lock of brown hair fell from her shoulder. "You are… welcome." Her face turned pink at the situation, she did not notice the gloomy face of Vladimir, nor did she know about the dark tides that roamed inside him.

"Would you like to join me? That is presuming you are not occupied at the moment." Vladimir grinned at her and carefully set up his trap. He wondered how the girl even got here – Judging from her accent, he was sure that she wasn't from Noxus – Perhaps she was one of the homeless scavengers that happened to pass by; just like all who did before her.

The girl's eyes widened at his response, she lowered her head shyly and stared at the handsome stranger. He was sure that the petite lady would be cool with it, considering what he had to offer wasn't something to be seen just everywhere. He knew he had the charm.

As expected, she nodded gently and, without taking her ragged clothes off, stepped into the stream and was seized by Vladimir's strong arms. She gasped in surprise, but soon her giggling replaced it.

"I'm not exceptionally good at this…" she breathed.

Vladimir felt her pressing herself onto his naked body and held her tighter in response; the girl squirmed and watched him with those dazed eyes. She offered him her rosy lips and closed her eyes, but he did not kiss them. The time had come.

"Oh worry not…" He whispered into her ear, tickling her with his warm breath, "I will take care of everything."

He felt her body relaxed and did not hesitate.

Immediately he pushed her down to the bottom of the river. Her eyes that snapped open spoke of terror and realization, her limbs struggled to get Vladimir off her but all of her efforts were in vain. He was much stronger, and she had already wasted too much oxygen yelping in bubbles.

The next thing she saw was a bright red element floating around him. It radiated dark red beams underwater and colored the stream. Suddenly she found the element wrapped around her neck like a snake, threatening to choke whatever was left in her lungs out. But she did not know that her pain had yet to come.

The Hemomancer chanted an unknown spell underwater and the girl began to convulse. The familiar smell filled the atmosphere around them as blood began leaking out of every pore of her body. The girl was still screaming, but the bubbles came out misty red this time as the water around her soon turned into a suffocating fog of blood. The fluid of life was escaping her body ever so quickly, and he had never felt so good before. His essence absorbed all that it could greedily.

Finally, the blood bubbles came to a halt and the body beneath him stopped its resistance. He felt the water around him warmed up by her blood and he savored every sensation brought to him while it lasted; it was empowering him and sating his hunger. When he was done, he stood up and let out a satisfied sigh.

Dusk was replaced by the twilight; dark clouds began consuming the rest of the dim blue sky. The river carried away what was left of her blood as the water around him became clear once more. He was still holding onto the pale body beneath him, but when he looked again he noticed that her hair color was different.

It was golden; the kind of gold that only belonged to Her.

…And those lifeless blue eyes.

Immediately he looked away from it, when he returned his gaze, everything was normal again; the body was still the unnamed stranger.

But what he saw was so real that for a moment he thought he had killed Her, and he found himself disgusted by the thought.

Rising up from the river, he reached for the sheet and dried the waterdrops that ran down his bare chest. He put on his linen underwear and the clean clothes swiftly and looked back at the body that lay still underwater.

Usually he would dispose them in the mountain for the beasts to feast on, but this time he didn't want to do so.

Once in a very long time, he felt remorse for killing.

He retrieved her body from the river and carried it back to his nest. As soon as he arrived, Vladimir went into the basement and managed to pull out a rusted shovel. He decided to bury her.

After the ritual was done, he stood in silence in front of the fresh grave and wondered about the identity of this girl.

Where was she from?

How did she get here?

...

She was probably around the same age as Her.

He couldn't help but think about Luxanna, perhaps it was because he couldn't relate to anyone else; a young, naïve girl that haunted his conscience.

"Vladimir," a familiar voice called, distant and hollow.

"Vladimir." It called again.

"Vladimir…" He watched as form began to appear across him; At last, he thought, It had been a long time since I met you.

"Dmitri, it is you."

His long dead master smiled at him, a ghostly aura surrounded Dmitri's form. He looked exactly like when Vladimir had killed him, with the monk robe and head hidden beneath the large hood.

"It is I, my apprentice." The ghost echoed.

"You are dead." Vladimir began to wonder if he was indeed seeing things; first Lux, than Dmitri.

"I will never die," Dmitri laughed, "I am always a part of you, Vladimir."

"You are in my blood." Vladimir gazed at his master.

"I am in your blood," replied Dmitri while taking his hood off, revealing his surprisingly young face; the face identical to Vladimir's, but his voice remained deep and powerful. "I am you."

Vladimir, shocked by the sight, slowly began, "…What do you want?"

"You have grown weak, apprentice," Dmitri paced near the ground around the grave, "I am here to see that you return to the right track." He grinned.

"I am not weak," Vladimir glared at the ghost, "I have mastered the art of blood; Our art of blood."

"Nay, you have not."

With each passing second, Vladimir found Dmitri's presence more disturbing; It felt like talking to his very own doppelganger.

Dmitri continued, "Weeds of compassion have rooted in your heart, Vladimir. You are no Reaper; You are meek."

"I am not!" Vladimir hissed, "I have killed. Hundreds, thousands!"

"Twas because you have to." Dmitri shook his head gently, "You have lost the zeal that I admired when we first met. Now you let a flock of ridiculous fools seize control over you, how pathetic."

"Heh," Vladimit scoffed, "Being in the League of Legends is merely for convenience."

"You cannot lie to me, Vladimir, for I am you. I see what you are, I know what you want." Dmitri looked down at the grave and laughed, "You seemed to be fond of little girls these days, aren't you?"

Vladimir looked at his master – or his mirror image – dead in the eyes and did not speak. A wide grin bloomed from the corner of his lips as he confessed, "She was delicious, but since you are within me you would've already known that, Dmitri."

"She was, quite," His master looked deep in thought, "But she cannot compare to, shall I say, the blood of a spell caster… which I found absent from your diet."

"I have had many recently, mind you. Cho'gath wasn't exactly delectable, but…"

"I meant the blood of a particular spell caster, Vladimir. You know well whom I speak of."

Lux. His thoughts came back to the Crownguard, the brave Demacian who he had fought with and against on several occasions. Her blood tasted no different from the average mages – yet he couldn't help but wanting more.

"Do not feel sorry for what you are designed to do, my apprentice. The world is crawling with lowly beings that need to be purged; and you, you are the harbinger of death. Your killing instinct directly inherited from the dark masters of Hemomancy themselves…"

"You are, the Crimson Reaper… Vladimir." Dmitri's form began to disappear.

Vladimir smiled at the flashback.

He remembered that his parents were in service of the Noxian High Command, involved in some sort of secret project he knew not of. They often performed morbid rituals on his older sister, Ania, such as binding her to the chair and bloodletting her for a day. They never touched nor cared about Vladimir, as if Ania was the only child they had.

He also recalled that they would chant a strange language (back then it was, but now he learned that it's the language the Blood God uses) and praise the "Dumnezeu," a stature of a winged creature with large fangs. They would scream repetitively, "Give our daughter your almighty power! Allow her as a servant of yours!" But their God never answered their prayers as Ania grew weaker and weaker.

His parents often told him, "You are a useless little brat, Vladimir." Or something else like, "Go help your sister do something productive or else no dinner for you." Ania did the best to comfort her little brother, but soon she didn't even possess the strength to help herself.

"Run, Vladimir." The night before she had died Ania whispered to Vladimir during his sleep, "Run far away, as far as you can. Never come back, they will do the same to you."

He felt tears rolled off his cheeks that night and nodded silently at his sister. He hid a blade in his pocket and ran off, soon after encountering the two teenagers who called him a "Son of freaks" and his sister "Hot-ass blood whore;" they ended up his very first victims.

Torn between excitement and fear, Vladimir knew then that he could never return to Noxus again. He travelled a long way haunted by the image of the two teens, he felt lost and questioned his own identity.

That was when he had met Dmitri, in this very place, the old temple, and understood what he was born to do. Dmitri revealed to him the origins of his power and will to kill, he casted off the confusion that bothered Vladimir and pointed him a direction. However, when he turned a young adult, Dmitri gave him a task.

"Bring me their blood," Dmitri ordered his apprentice, "And I shall show you whether they are truly your parents or not."

Finally, Vladimir thought, The question will be answered.

He loved it when he heard their screams. First he ripped the woman's heart out, then he approached the man kneeling on the ground; his robe drenched in blood.

"You…" His father's eyes widened as if he just realized the truth, "You are the God's chosen one! How could I not know… all this time…"

"It is time for you to pay for what you've done to Ania." Vladimir's voice was emotionless, "Your God will never accept your filthy blood."

"No… no!"

…

When he brought the retrieved glasses of blood to Dmitri, his master smiled at him approvingly.

"You have not failed me, Vladimir."

"As always, master." He found it hard to overcome the excitement of the killing he had just done.

Dmitri took the glasses and blended them with Vladimir's own blood, but the liquid would not mix. A thin line between had separated Vladimir's blood from his parents'.

Dmitri burst into deep and evil laughter at the sight of the result.

"Praise the Blood God! My apprentice, Vladimir," Dmitri rose his arms up in the air, "You are undeniably a descendant of the God himself… They were not your parents, Vladimir. You and I are the same; we have Xuchilbara's blood in us!"

Dmitri stepped closer to Vladimir and held his face lovingly. Vladimir stared into his master's crimson eyes, awed and palpitated by the revelation of who he really was.

"You would be my next vessel, Vladimir. I shall teach you all that I know of Hemocraft, and you shall become the greatest Hemomancer of Runterra."

"I shall not fail your expectations, my master."

But, oh, little did he know, that his master's ghost would still haunt him after its body had perished; that he would struggle between his conscience and his natural killing instincts…

And that he would feel for someone special.