Lord Joyde The Madman: Heylo, Guys and Girls! How are you all doing?
Welp, I guess its finally time to get that bloody vampire into the picture... (pun not intended, believe it or not)
I really don't have any real excuse for my recent spree of non-writing, other than the aforementioned Fallout 4 and also the more recent WoW re-subscription...
Ugh... so much life wasted on video games, eh?
Well anyways, here comes chapter seven of The Euphorian Acumenae! I sincerely hope that you enjoy, let us begin!
Don't mind me guys and girls! I'm just a line break...
Several hours earlier... - The Void Space above Euphoria - Zeus's Point Of View...
So imagine my surprise when I begin to stroll around this glorious thing called The Web Of Intrigue and manage to stumble upon a certain someone who I believe to be little more than a stupid myth.
... turns out, not only is he real, but he also likes his tea.
Now that he isn't a vampire any longer, that is..
Well, to be fair, he wasn't exactly a vampire from the beginning."Y'know, if the reason for your current staring at the beauty that is I wasn't obvious enough, I'd start thinking you might like me."
Alucard's already annoying voice echoes out, waking me from my miniature mind-trip. I take one look at his ever-grinning form and let out yet another sigh.
I feel like I've been sighing a lot more recently, what with all that crap happening to Louise and Ryuko and now..."You... as if I needed another bloody joker in my family... Gee, thanks Gaia."
He lets out a laugh."In your family? Oh my, maybe that really is the case, you ARE interested in me!"
A more than visible-enough tick mark appears on my face as I crack my neck."No, Alucard. I don't mean it like that and you know it."
"Well explain it then, for the readers case!" What in the world... Great, as if Arthur and Leonardo weren't bloody enough.
I sigh, again."Very well. Since you lost all of the essence and souls you consumed while you were alive because of Schrodinger's influence, I'm going to let you be resurrected as one of my family members, those who contain a piece of my power."
"Oh, does that mean I get to call you daddy from now on? Why, I can already imagine it!" He transforms into his younger form."I'm gonna be like; DADDY ALEX LETS PLAY A GAME!"
Aaaand back to his normal form as he switches to a deeper voice stunningly alike to mine."And you'll be all like; Damn you bloody kid, leave me be!"
I let out a small tear from my eye."Ugh... why the hell did I ever do this..."
And then he grins insanely."Because you want to know who you are!... and maybe find out what exactly I am while you are at it."
Ah, that's right. You see.. earth's vampirism.
Its nothing like the vampirism of Halkeginia, where its rather clearly something that spawned right out of the void.
No... Gaia's vampirism... is almost as if an underdeveloped, yet immensely more stable form of the BlackLight virus... or should I say the Redlight virus?
Alucard rubs his chin."Idiocy aside for a moment, it is kinda interesting how... alike, our powers are. Do you have any idea as to why?"
"Its actually really simple. We are both clearly the same type of person when it comes to Soul Affinity." I explain with a smile as I sip my tea.
"Soul Affinity? You mean to tell me that I have a soul." A nod.
"Yes, Alucard. As hard as it may be to believe that sociopaths psychopaths like me and you have souls, we Indeed possess special ones of our own. Namely, Chaos Souls." Chaos souls are exactly as they sound, souls bound to people whose affinity is Chaos Itself.
Put that way, Alucard here could even be considered as an earlier version of me."But how? I mean, sure I get now that I never really was a *real* vampire, but I still have a weakness to the sun."
"Because only soul-less things burn in the light of the sun? No, my friend, vampires on earth were only weak to the sun because someone or something, quite possibly Gaia herself, implemented that weakness into you, a stupidly high allergy to vitamin D." I calmly explain and Alucard laughs.
He hmms out loud in thought."Does BlackLight have any weaknesses like that?"
I nod."Water. Any kind of water body completely repelled BlackLight."
"But wouldn't that make it impossible for you to consume humans? I mean, we are like seventy percent water, right?" A blink. Yeah, that is somewhat true. It's not really impossible but.. consuming should be a lot harder than it actually is.
"Not Impossible, but it should be a lot harder than it is, yes... But does that not apply to Vampires as well? Mean, humans are full of Vitamin D. We kinda need it for, y'know, staying healthy?" Also to make sure we get a nice tan from all that sun.
But that's just a side-note. As expected, Alucard just shrugs."Welp, not like I ever gave a shit about drinking blood that much to actually think about it."
"More likely that you were busy orgasming too much to even notice that little detail." I deadpan him as he shrugs again.
I sigh, AGAIN."Whatever, I'll get to researching our seemingly joint origins later. Now, we need you alive."
"Anything you want me to do when I resurrect.. master?" He says in a mocking tone but I ignore him.
"Find Samathar. Tell him everything I've told you so far and then find some magisters that know the astral location of Gaia... It's high time we pay our dearest mother a visit." His annoying grin grows larger with every word spoken from my mouth.
"As you wish, my master..." He says and then I disperse him from this reality as I turn around towards The Earth's general direction.
I hear myself grumble and say."Hrmmmm... Just what is the meaning of all this, Gaia... No, perhaps I should call you by the human name you gave yourself so long ago.."
"What is the meaning of all this..." I mutter out before raising my lowered head.
And then gritting my teeth as my eyes glow red from fury."Elizabeth..."
Don't mind me guys and girls! I'm just a line break...
Present Time - The Resurrection Point - Samathar's Point Of View..
Resurrection Point. A massive structure putting most of old earth skyscrapers to shame in both size and majesty.
Grand Orbs of magically floating stone orbit around an immense spire crackling with more electricity than lightning. And, at its center, a round circle of runes focuses all of that energy upon its center.
Around the runes are several roaring machines, each fulfilling a set purpose. One that channels biomass, others sugar and salt, others yet channel essence, mana and psi energy.
In other words, all the things that make up a human being. All the things one would need for a proper resurrection.
Now, this usually serene, almost holy site, is completely soaring with activity.
This is because of a single being that will soon, for the better or worse, be reborn upon Euphorian soil.
"The elements scream in protest. They fear the Greedy King. They are scared of Alucard..." James mutters as immense winds rage across the iron and steel of the Spire, as wild fire races towards it from a nearby forest, as the earth shudders, trying its best to stay calm.
"Are you saying that you aren't?" Dana brings up a fair point as she holds her hands over her chest, protecting herself from the winds.
Trevor just barely manages to hold onto his top hat."This all just screams of BLOODY BAD IDEA."
"My god... the sea... the sea is.. running away?" Allen and Rhone stare blankly at the ocean in front of them. Already, the elemental spirits of the water are making a hasty retreat, causing a massive amount of damage to the nearby shores in the process as many coastal fish suffocate in the raw air.
A crack of thunder is heard from the spire as we all turn around, watching in equal disgust and interest as the body begins to form.
Suddenly, the elements calm down. The winds fade away, the water returns, the fire dies down and the earth stopped trembling. A calming psionic wavelength echoes around us as we turn around again.
Leonardo is focusing all of his psionic capability into calming the world down. He looks at me with bloody eyes, a sign of psionic exhaustion, and pleads."Dude... a little help here would be.. appreciated..."
Nodding and immediately focusing myself, I copy his actions and within minutes, the world calms down somewhat.
All the chaos is suddenly replaced by an intense atmosphere, as we watch the final pieces of Alucard's soul being resown into his flesh. With a grin and a blink, he looks at us.
"Sup, bitches."
Aaaaand there he goes... I swear I just heard a massive fart somewhere behind me.
"P-Please excuse m-me!" A soldiers says as he promptly runs out of the establishment.
Why the hell did I expect something different?
Everybody around lets out a MASSIVE collective sigh as the young elementals around blink in confusion, most likely asking themselves is this really the person whose very soul's presence made them piss themselves just a second ago...
He tilts his head in confusion."What? Did you honestly think I'd actually attack someone as soon as I am reborn? Believe it or not, being an asshole does not mean being stupid."
We all look at him in disbelief."Look, I know that this may be hard for you guys to get but uh, I kinda don't want to really piss of Zeus? Like, ever?"
"Well that's... logical." Trevor manages to say, having been the first to recover from our joint what the hell moment.
"You seem different from the last time we met, Mr. Dracula." Allen says, his Blade of The Exorcist not so hidden behind his back, as he extends a hand towards Alucard.
He gets a laugh in turn as Alucard shakes his hand firmly."And you stayed exactly the same as the last time we met, twerp. Gotta ask tho, what's up with that voice."
"Not any of your business." A quick and somewhat cold reply is what is given by Allen, the ever-present smile on his face faltering the slightest bit.
Alucard laughs out loud."Anyways, which one of you bitches is Samathar?" Oh? What does he want from me now.
"That would be me. What do you want?" I ask him, quite annoyed already.
Suddenly, the tense atmosphere is back."Heh, you don't look all that bad for a rookie, little bro."
I fall to the ground, suddenly barely managing to stand from the sheer pressure."W-what?"
"There's a lot of stupid crap hidden in BlackLight that Alex stumbled upon recently when he found my essence. Apparently, and this is in his words, its finally time to go pay a visit to our dear mother." His words seemingly echo as he turns around towards a certain somebody.
"Isn't that right, Mayor?" I hear a deep gulp come from my friends mouth.
"Heh, should'a known you'd figure it out." Leonardo's voice echoes as he manages to break through Alucard's presence, as if he is used to it.
"How could I not? You've still got that same fucking disgusting stench you always did." Alucard says as he pulls out his signature gun and points it at Leonardo.
All he gets in turn though, is a laugh."And you are still the same arrogant prude that you always were, Alucard."
Leonardo quickly rises his hand into the air and points it at Alucard."EADOM!"
He screams into the air as the War-Hammer makes soup out of Alucard, splattering him onto a nearby wall, promptly shattering The Vampire King's suffocating hold on all of us around him.
Without a warning, all of us prepare for a fight, quickly taking Leonardo's side even with the raising amount of Question..
Just who is Leonardo?
In all honestly, his facade of him being nothing more than a simple gamer with a big brain was concrete bullshit from the start. The Acumenae are the best and brightest that mankind had to offer, you need more than a big brain to be a part of us...
We all knew this and yet, we never questioned it.
No... we didn't want to question it.
Dana's new plasma rifle roars and wakes me from my stupor as she uses it to blow a piece of the splatter out of reality. Allen and Rhode take out several holy artifacts from their void-pockets and begin chanting spells.
James rushes to the front, already in Ashura Mode, four extra hands of blood red color poised to strike anything nearby as elemental beings empower him.
Trevor shouts to the soldiers, making all rush towards cower or any other advantageous position they could find as he throws several bottles of liquid onto the puddle, destabilizing it further.
Shaking myself, I join the battle as I form a massive force around Alucard's mass, strongly pressurizing him."Yeees! THAT'S IT! ATTACK ME!"
The blob screams as several wolf like creatures form and pound through my force. Quickly, Alucard reforms himself and attacks, shooting at me first as I protect myself with another barrier.
He turns around and delivers a swift kick into Dana's stomach, only for her to catch his leg with a hand before he has the chance to do so."Burn you son of a bitch!"
She screams out as she blows his head off with another shot of her rifle and then jumps away from him, setting her broken arm back into place.
James goes it, delivering several blows to Alucard's flesh, eliciting the monstrosity to laugh as he regrows a hand from his back and tears through Heller's shoulder."PATHETIC! ARE YOU REALLY THE BEST MANKIND HAS TO OFFER?"
Allen kicks Alucard away from James as he begins to heal the wound and Rhode impales him from behind with her Black Scythe, placing a hand on the back of his head."Oh mister Alucard... YOU REALLY SHOULDN'T HAVE DONE THAT!"
She screams out loud as she pours several debilitating diseases right into Alucard's brain, temporarily disabling his ability to regenerate. Trevor uses this opportunity to inject a syringe into Alucard's neck.
It seemed to be ineffective at first as I have to catch Trevor after Alucard backhanded him several meters away.
Leonardo recovered from the sudden burst of psi he used to bring the hammer here and looked at me. Within seconds, our eyes begin to bleed again as we focus all of our might down onto Alucard.
"URGH!" He grunts out with that ever-present grin on his face as he aims a shot at me. The bullet is fired but blocked by Allen, who then promptly cleaves Alucard in two.
Not that it doing so did much but at least it slowed the monster down. His regeneration kicked back in as he began to unleash his full power.
But, just at that moment, a massive portal burst open from behind him and a golden blade drenched in an unknown liquid bored into his backside.
An Unfamiliar man walked out of the portal."Aaaah, I was too late!"
Several people follow behind him, all dressed in full plate and having red and orange cracks in their skin."Shapers? From Halkeginia?!"
The man approaches Leonardo and me with a smile on his face."Sorry about that, Lords and Ladies of the Acumenae... Void magic is a bit... ah, tricky."
"Victor? Victor Zatara? You are here.. then that means whatever Zeus wanted of you has been completed?" He nods after Leonardo finishes.
The Shapers constrain Alucard with powerful alchemical spells, promptly locking him to the ground, the surrounding elements proving more than happy to aid them in their plight.
Victor Zatara.. wasn't he one of Leonardo's men, an executioner?"Okay, sorry, but its time to cut the bullshit. Leonardo, what the fuck is going on around here?!"
Dana says rather angrily as I hear my friend let out a sigh."You want the long story or the short story?"
"The short one, please." Trevor says while helping Allen heal the wounded with a couple of salves.
"Okay so, I think most of you have figured it out by now how the story about me being nothing more than a gamer with a brain is concrete bullshit. Thing is, I'm actually... Well, I am a gamer, but I'm also someone who got to be reincarnated." A blink from all of us as Dana scoffs.
Allen and Rhode's eyes grow wide."... Alucard called you Mayor.. Now way, no bloody way.. You mean to say that you are the reincarnation of THAT MAYOR? As in the guy who burned London to the ground?"
Leonardo lets out a sad sigh."The one and the same."
"Oh wow, a real-life Nazi. I'm almost giddy from the irony." Dana and Trevor let out a joint sigh as they grab their foreheads in distress.
Rhode approaches Leonardo and places a hand on his shoulder."Look, just because the soul of some random warlord had to be stuck to your body when you were born does not mean you ARE him."
"You have no idea how many times I told myself that, Rhode. In fact, the stress of all that.. of all the memories of the things my past self had done.. they're the reason I became so god damn anti-social in the first place." He says sadly as he turns his head up to face Victor.
"I guess that portal being here means Tiffania finally managed to do it, eh?" He asks with a smile.
The man nods joyously."Yes! The plan was a complete success. We have established a full connection between Halkeginia and Euphoria and my friends here are the volunteers from their side of the project. They're here to guard the portal."
A quirked eyebrow."You seem pretty happy..."
"That's because I finally completed the Shaper training. Zeus even gave me a dramatic title to boot." He says with a barely contained laughter.
Before Leonardo could ask the man about the title, one of the Shapers approaches him and salutes."Tyrant Zatara! The monstrosity is contained and more doses of Sun's Wrath are being delivered as we speak. Your orders?"
Tyrant? Wow, how... original?"Aaah, yes. Good. Scout the nearby area and form a prison as strong as you possibly can in the most suitable place. After that, we shall focus on the more diplomatic actions, but for now, make sure that thing never wakes up unless Lord Zeus wishes it."
"So Alex is bringing people over from Halkegina? Why?" Dana asks with sheer confusion etched upon her face.
Victor and Leonardo turn towards her with grim faces.".. Its just.. an instinctual idea... but your brother believes that Halkeginia may need our help. At least, to hasten their development if nothing else. Also to develop a good relationship with them before they ascend to space."
"But not even we have the capability to space travel yet, so why-" Trevor begins to protest but surprisingly James cuts him off."Come now friend... even I can see that with our current speed of development.. it is only a matter of years before we achieve space flight."
Dana and Trevor calm down as they hear his reasoning, soft pride radiating from them. Well, they are scientists so its not really all that surprising.
Finally, I decide to walk over to Leonardo. He looks at me and then right down onto the ground."Look dude.. I... I'm sorry for hiding this from you all this time but.."
"Not something you really like to talk about, I know. I'm your friend Leo, a couple secrets aren't going to change that." I say and then decide to sucker punch him in the face with all my might.
He blinks in surprise as he falls on his ass and then looks up to see the rather clear tick mark upon my forehead."That's not to say I'm not ROYALLY PISSED OFF RIGHT NOW!"
Lowering my fist and letting out a massive breath of annoyance, I extend a hand to him and pull him up as he rubs his sore cheek. He and I share a look before we both nod.
"To the tower?" He asks, already knowing the answer.
"To the tower." Is my reply as I look towards the skies, my thought echoing in my mind.
"Brother... Alex... just what does all this mean? Why did that monster call me little brother? Why even resurrect him in the first place... What is this all about?" I think to myself as we walk towards the Tower Of The Acumenae, getting ready to meditate and join Zeus inside of The Void...
Don't mind me guys and girls! I'm just a line break...
Welp, that could've gone better.
Nah, that went exactly as expected.
What I didn't expect, is the good ole 4K WORDS ON AN THE EUPHORIAN ACUMENAE CHAPTER?!
Okay, maybe its cause this was plenty fun to type down. Hope you enjoyed the fight scene, even if it was somewhat short and ended abruptly.
Anyways, read and review! And Good Morning/Day/Night to you all! ADIOS FOR NOW!