Castlevania: Let the Symphony Last for Eternity

Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix

Beta By: Lady Lunar Phoenix

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Her Lord Uncle a mere slip of a human?

Camilla had suffered a momentary confusion as she floated after her precious little boys and that Devil Forgemaster. Her little pets had instantly taking off on a hunt that she didn't recall, but she followed out of amusement. They weren't very far from the Master Chambers, and both she and the strangely rattled Forgemaster had been curious over why they would come here.

However; as they approached the Master Chamber she was almost beguiled by a power most enticing. She couldn't sense her Lord Uncle's presence as strongly as normal, but of course he was gone resting in amid Chaos. In fact she hadn't sensed her Lord Uncle in the Master Chambers the whole time she had been here. So why now that she was close did she find that she could actually 'sense' him? The only thing out of place, that she could see as she approached; was a lone maid materializing up from the floor, in conversation with another Devil Forgemaster.

Yet the second Isaac caught sight of the other Forgemaster he had become a man possessed, yelling about some treachery. Doing so had ignited the fire in her brown haired pet who joined in on attacking this other Devil Forgemaster. But as she followed the little scuffle down the long dining room table she began to sense her Lord Uncle with far more clarity. His power was waned like a candle compared to what was once a roaring inferno. Yet it wasn't the weak state of a candle being snuffed, rather the heat of a candle 'newly' lit.

As the boys tumbled about they sent the new Forgemaster through the large double doors and into the Master Chamber. Though here in the Master Chamber of her Lord Uncle was a collection of incredibly beautiful young women, harden warriors and her Lord Uncle and his son. It was literally a room of decadence and hedonistic desire waiting for her touch.

Now in the room that budding growth of power that indicated the presence of her Lord Uncle had a form for her to see. The throne had shifted from the last time she was in here talking to the Dark Priest and the Devil Forgemaster. Now there was a painting over a more human like throne, revealing a young white haired man sitting on said throne. Before him was a utterly depowered Prince and those loathsome hunters on either side. More over there was that hated whip wrapped around the one sitting upon the throne. It was a unique painting speaking both of containment and protection, yet it was that person. The youth who sat indolently upon the throne as though sleeping with only a sliver of gold to show the observant that he was, in fact, awake...

The painting seemed to exude a frail echo of Lord Dracula's might, not in the sense that Lord Dracula was weaker. Rather to make the uninformed abundantly clear to 'how' the Lord now appeared, making it was impossible to ignore the elegant youth who now stood in the chamber.

Young and human.

All that made Dracula the Lord of Darkness still existed within the human, showing it wasn't a power that was bequeath when he became a vampire. Meaning if she could turn 'him', his power would be hers to command! That beautiful, young male under her command, a Belmont with a surprisingly strong amount of magical power, and the Castle to make into whatever she desired through her Uncle. Though she was growing concerned over that little honey blond spell caster with the book. Every time the girl had encountered the Belmont she had instantly gone about trying to cast a spell.

Which would make sense as she was clearly a type of hunter, however Camilla had already seen how the girl 'fought'. It wasn't by reading spells from the book. Rather, interestingly enough, her style was merely to hold the book out and let whatever was in the pages attack. It would be just as effective as to take the book 'from' her to silence her ability to use magic as it was to just beat her to death. She 'did' use it like a traditional spell book for some spells, opening it on occasion. But there was just something about the way she would zero in on the Belmont and then head straight for the book, falling back and letting the others take up arms.

There was something in that book, something that she felt was important enough to keep trying to use a particular spell when she saw the Vampires. Which Camilla was now curious enough that she was going to have to ask her pet. More over; now with her Lord Uncle a young, helpless human who would have to depend on others for his own protection. Well his sons' protection, Camilla wasn't blind to how the young prince shielded his father while bearing a distrustful glare towards Camilla.

Though interestingly enough, her Lord Uncle seemed almost indifferent about her presence as though he didn't know who she was. In fact given his placement in the room and his casual stance it seemed he had been walking up to Isaac nonchalantly. Giving a pretty clear indication that he might not be indoctrinated by the hunters on what to think yet. He was still free to make his own decisions and that meant she could, possibly, sway him to her side.

As they fell back she began planning, there had to be a way to get the spell book away from the girl and the young version of her Lord Uncle under her control. Already she could see the presence of Dracula had an affect on Isaac. As her pets fell back obedient to her wishes, Isaac stood there clearly conflicted while the Prince was proactively trying to drive Isaac back.

"If you are my Lord and Master, why... why would you aid me back at the front front of the gates?" Isaac asked in confusion that attempted to sort itself out over the fissure of his death at the hands of the Belmont during the time change. The shock of death, the cold embrace of Death's presence as It came to claim him and take him to the After Life, only to be snatched away by... this?

Isaac had came back to his living senses on his feet in the company of the turned Belmont, another Vampire Hunter turned Vampire and Lady Camilla. He had stayed quiet for a time trying to assess what happened as he realized that time had resettled back to original state. Meaning that all the hunters had returned and his Lord and Master had returned back to the Chaos where he rested.

Yet Camilla didn't make any vocal observations perhaps her mind was still a bit scattered from the change in time lines. Which he didn't object to, the two turned Hunters made him think they were on a particular hunt, and they served as a good distraction.

Until they reached the Master Chambers.

Until he saw Hector.

Standing there in the middle of a conversation with a maid who was rising up from the ground. He only saw red as he thought about what he had been told, how Hector had abandoned his post and their lord. How, because he tried to use Hector as proof of his loyalty, he was nearly 'killed' as a fellow traitor! "Hector! You traitor!" He had his spear in his hands and took off straight for the man who had, at one time, been his commanding officer. Only passively noticing the sound of one then both hunters running after him. Though they didn't bother trying to stop him, and instead joined in as Hector reacted in alarm. Barely drawing his own sword in time to keep from being skewered by Isaac's own weapon.

He thought only of killing this traitor, and now as he stood in the Master Chambers, empty of his Lord and Master. It felt empty since there would be no way to exonerate himself since his Lord was gone again.

"Isaac!"

He turned to see the Dark Child he met before, walking towards him with all the calm confidence that came with recognizing a person. But it was the Prince standing behind, who called out 'Father' that stunned Isaac. Watching the change of expressions on Soma's face as he recognized the term and then turning to argue with the Prince...

'He' was 'father' to the Prince? Did that mean that this was his Lord and Master in a new form? Isaac reeled from the shock as he stood there, watching as the Prince clearly began arguing with Soma. While Soma responded in kind, and as the conversation continued, making any frail attempt at believing it to be a deception crumble away. Somehow, some'way' his Lord and Master was now in the form of a young man? A young man who had offered aid and escort to the Forgemaster?

Only for him to return the favor by essentially ditching the Lord first chance he had. As the conversations swirled around him, listening to Lord Dracula argue 'for' Isaac against his own sons' word was humbling. Enough so that Isaac fought down the tears of gratitude that threatened his eyes even as Camilla demanded a retreat.

Wait, 'retreat'? Leave their Lord in the hands of Hunters who would kill him out of hand for being Dracula? Had the lady lost her mind? There weren't many steps between himself and the Master, for which he took and grabbed Soma's wrist. "Come with us! We're loyal to you," he offered when Soma's head snapped around to face him in surprise. Not angry or offended at being grab rather just the pure expression of surprise at being grabbed out of nowhere it seemed.

For which the room exploded into chaos, as Alucard and every other hunter targeted Isaac in outrage for his suggestion. While Soma was left trying to reason with a bunch of people who had no reason to even listen to him. Before Isaac all he saw was Hunters targeting his Lord and Master, thus out of an almost primal instinct to protect his Master he called his own powers forth. A teleportation ring materialized around himself as he pulled Soma in.

"Isaac, that's not nec-" was the last thing that Soma managed to say before Alucard cut him off by grabbing the rest of his arm and, painfully, yanking him back.

"I will not have you teleporting him to the whatever den of evil you've made for yourself Forgemaster," Alucard snapped while his fingers gripped down on Soma.

Causing the young man to wince as he began squirming from the intense pain being inflicted on him, from Alucard's hand on his arm to Isaac's hand on his wrist. It was rapidly turning into question of how many seconds until his arm snapped from the pressure. "Stop it, you two are going to break my arm!" The pain was intense and created a side effect of making Soma focus more on the moment and what was going on.

The irritation that came from how he was suddenly expected to just accept he had a 'son'. One that not only had no problem telling him what to do at the drop of a hat, but was outright ignoring him! Now it had gotten to a point where there were vampires who knew who Soma was and would have every reason to try to turn him into a vampire. While the one person who he knew at all was being treated so terribly.

Only to have a small voice in the back of his mind whisper, 'its not like you're a great judge of character, Soma. Or have you forgotten Graham, I was only nice because you were powerless but am really a crazed lunatic, Jones? At least now you understand why you felt you could trust Arikado from the start despite how darkly he dressed or his near emotionless personality. He's your kid.'

He felt his arm began to crack under the pressure of Alucard's own grip yet again he 'was' a dhampire. So naturally he was going to be strong enough to snap bones on his own, but that Soma was 'still' being ignored coupled with the pain...

"Let go of my arm right 'now'!" Soma finally growled out through gritted teeth as the white hot pain of bones cracking finally overrode whatever manners he may have had.

"You have betrayed your Lord Father to the humans and 'now' you want to pretend the role of 'loyal, devoted son'?!" Isaac growled before grabbing Alucard's arm in an effort to pull the Dhampire away from Soma.

Alucard's eyes narrowed in mounting anger, if not his father being an idiot now this Forgemaster forgetting his place. More over, given the paintings and everything he had seen so far, protecting 'this' aspect of his father felt more important. As frustrating as Soma 'was' he was also strangely the closest Alucard had been to his father in ages.

While the rest of the room began stirring into motion, Camilla was at a loss for how to handle Soma now that Isaac was making such a nuisance of himself. Seducing Soma would be harder if he was swayed to view her and her associates as annoyances. Not to mention if he had aligned himself, if that was even POSSIBLE, with the Hunters he would be displeased with a Vampire Belmont.

While Charlotte wanted desperately to cast Sanctuary on Juste, but losing Soma would be pretty bad on its own as well. The twins hung back out of concern for their father, but Shanoa went on the move. She recalled what Dracula could do, how easy he could slay with only one spell.

Leon was the only one close enough to hear Soma's growing distress at the manhandling he was receiving and while he certainly understood Alucards' point of view. Soma was not a rope to be pulled in two different directions, pull too hard and he'd have a hand ripped off or worse. While he heard Soma say something in pain, he was also the closest to see the effect of whatever Soma said take effect through out the room.

"I refuse to be insulted like this! Now let me go this instant!" Soma finally exploded as the pain in his arm finally took. He needed them to let go, lacking any of his strength enhancing souls left him woefully vulnerable to this inexcusable playground squabble.

The effects of his words and anger had an immediate impact on the room, sending Alucard, Isaac, Hector and Camilla straight to bended knee. Suddenly even Shanoa, the twins, and Charlotte all felt a crippling sense of outrage and a clawing desperation to appease. Which for Camilla and Isaac was a normal when Dracula was angry. For Alucard it was alarming, for he had never felt his father's wraith take such force on him.

Everyone else was just outright horrified as they were suddenly exposed to such raw power, not for the fact that it was power. They were 'all' well acquainted with Dracula's legendary vast power; it was that it affected 'them', it was incontestable proof to Soma's identity. Even Simon felt a strong urge to bow, though for him the realization that this young man was 'this' strong was a treat. Now if only someone would let him 'fight' the snowball on two legs...

Leaving only Leon and Eric unaffected by the same force that had hobbled everyone else in the throne room. Eric affixed his concern on his two future daughters, while Leon turned to check on the painting over the throne first. Only to see Soma's painted eyes now fully open and his lips in a bit of a frown. Meaning the painting would be a great stationary indicator of Mathias' moods, which they apparently were going to need.

"Soma, do you need help?" Leon asked as he began walking forward, now warned at the mood Soma was in. As he approached he could see Soma, now free from the struggle back up and try to flex his fingers. At the same time a series of maids were rising from the ground, already in a row by Soma's side.

"I need my arm to not be snapped in two just because everyone seems to have it in their head that if I'm not a megalomaniac. I'm some how not worth addressing or hearing," Soma snapped out in a hiss of pain, his uninjured hand gripping his elbow. 'This is what I get for releasing all my healing souls as well... owww.' Soma thought as the maids rose up by his side.

"Forgive me, my Lord! I only think of your safety!" Isaac instantly began to profusely apologize as he knelt before Soma. This power proving beyond a doubt that Soma 'was' who the others claimed to be.

"Yes, yes, I get it, you mean well, but that doesn't excuse the 'both' of you into treating me like... like a piece of steak between two feral wolves!" Soma replied glaring down at Alucard who had yet to apologize for nearly crushing the bone in Soma's arm. The white hot pain, while not as bad as some of the other injuries as he sustained through his time through two different castles, was still 'pain'.

The maids were still rising when they forced the things they carried to materialize faster, holding up trays filled with potions, foods. Was that a chalice of blood? The other maids stared aghast at the last one and her offering, which caused her eyes to grow wide with concern. And panic, cue the mounting panic as though she realized she had committed some terrible faux pas...

"No... I don't need the blood," Soma began as he grabbed the potion and pulled the crystal stopper with his teeth.

"What were you thinking? Did you not realize our Lord wants no blood?!"

"Idiot, do you want to be smited?"

"I'm sorry! It was the closest thing I could grab!" The last maid whimpered as she began trembling causing the chalice to start to slosh.

'I'm not angry...' Soma thought as he switched out the crystal stopper to take a deep pull from the potion. Once the pain had retreated to a dull pained throb he attempted to express his thoughts, "I'm not angry at you! Just settle down, I'm not smiting my own staff!"

The maids winced as though he had barked an order and he finally just looked up at the ceiling and started counting out loud. 'Calm yourself, calm yourself Soma, you are apparently closer to the edge than you realize... if you don't calm yourself you're going to end up providing counseling for your souls... wait... I don't have a therapist soul... who do I send them to?'

"Soma? Why are you counting?" Leon finally inquired as he approached the reincarnated lord.

"To calm down before I turn my servants into emotional train wrecks."