125 Vita, The Power Of Life (2)

Julien Bloodborne.

The third son of the Vampire Progenitor, an ancient being standing at the world's apex and the current High Elder of the Bloodborne House. As a member of the original Vampire family, the man's pride had been high from the moment of his birth.

Under the protection of his father, Julien had been treated like a God in his early years. Every single Vampire in existence back then served at the feet of the Bloodborne House. Due to the Progenitor's power to restrain and dominate all Vampires, every single member of the Bloodborne House was treated like an untouchable class, a bloodline that could never be tainted and whose very name inspired fear in the souls of all who knew them.

Julien enjoyed the privilege of being one of the direct descendants of the Progenitor. Like most of the Bloodborne members, he bathed in the glory of his name and abused his authority over all Vampires that served under him.

In his view, any Vampire who didn't have the Bloodborne bloodline was nothing more than a slave. They would do his bidding, take insults with a smile, and even beg just to be close to him.

Julien was effectively a God during the golden age of the Bloodborne House.

Alas, those days weren't to last.

Dracula Bloodborne, the first Vampire, the Progenitor of the entire race and the Ancestor of the Bloodborne House… Perished in battle.

On that very day, the untouchable reality of the Bloodborne House shattered into a million pieces. Almost instantly, every single Vampire suppressed by the Bloodborne House rose against their masters. Without the Progenitor binding their souls and bodies, the Vampires were free to do as they pleased.

Breaking into their own Houses, the Vampires ransacked the once indomitable Bloodborne House, killing off many of the tyrants that lived within. Many of Julien's dearest brothers and sisters had lost their lives to the insurrection, and those who survived couldn't accept their new reality.

The first son of Dracula, Julien's oldest brother, became a delusional fool. To make peace with the Vampires that rose up against him, the first son allowed the creation of the Ten Guardian House, essentially breaking up the Bloodborne Dynasty that his father had worked so hard to create.

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The second son was no better. Inheriting the throne after the eldest brother failed himself into an early grave, the second son naively believed that every Vampire should fall at his feet and almost began a civil war for his stupidity and arrogance. In the end, the other Guardian Houses had the man assassinated before he could even sit a year on the Bloodborne Throne, giving the cursed seat to the only rational person left in the Bloodborne House…

Julien.i????n????ℯ????????. Coｍ

While Julien was a bona fide Bloodborne, he was no fool. He knew the only reason the Bloodborne House could reign over the other Vampire Houses, even though they had steadily gained power, was because of the Progenitor's binding abilities.

With the Progenitor dead, the Bloodborne House was, at best, a second-rate family, especially compared to the other Houses, who had steadily increased their strength while the Bloodborne House drowned themselves in wealth and pleasure.

The Everwinter House had become the undisputed strongest Vampire family in the North, with their powers of Winter even scaring the Progenitor when he was still around. The Moonreaver House had steadily experimented with using their abilities, eventually coming up with an ingenious method of using dimensional magic to create Nightmare Realms and Warp Gates, essentially making them the backbone of Vampire society.

The Blackburn House grew their armies and personal strength with every generation, and eventually, they became the undisputed strongest force of all the Vampire Houses. Even the Bloodborne House, with its numerous ancient Vampires and hidden cards, couldn't stand toe-to-toe with the Blackburn House in open combat.

And the Shadowgarden House, once the most inconspicuous family of the Vampires, and the one House that lived in the shadows of the mighty Progenitor, was now the greatest intelligence operative the world had ever seen.

Compared to those families, the Bloodborne House was truly a shell of its former self.

And that's when Julien had an epiphany…

If the Bloodborne House wishes to rise to the top once more, they need to do the impossible.

They needed… To resurrect the Progenitor.

With that central goal in mind, Julien stripped himself from the throne and took the title of High Elder. Now, it wasn't that Julien didn't lust for the throne, but he wished the empty seat would be a constant reminder that only one person could bring the Bloodborne House back to the height of greatness…

To that end, Julien crafted an elaborate plan. One that would take centuries, if not thousands of years, to complete. He sacrificed much of the Bloodborne House's wealth and resources for that plan and was willing to take hit after hit to the Bloodborne House's reputation.

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In Julien's view, everyone was playing checkers while he was the only one playing chess.

As long as the Progenitor, his father, was resurrected, everything would return to the way it was. The Bloodborne House would reign supreme once more, and everyone would serve under his feet once more.

Which was why this plan couldn't fail.

Moving alongside several of his personal and most trusted guards, the High Elder escorted the Progenitor's coffin straight into the heart of the Elven Forest. Funnily enough, even though they were headed to the most confidential and protected region of the Elven Forest, there weren't many guards present to stop them.

It was a huge testament to the Bloodborne House's cunning scheme when almost all the Elves in the forest had been drawn out to defend their motherland rather than protect the only thing that Julien cared about.

The World Tree.

"Now that I see it in person… The World Tree is really something else."

The High Elder paused a dozen kilometres out from the majestic, tall lifeform, admiring the ancient tree's whole grandeur. It stood higher than any mountain in existence, and at the same time, it possessed a vitality unequalled by anything else in history. The dense spirit particles it emitted turned into orbs of light, illuminating the night sky with a radiance equal to that of the Moon.

For that brief moment, the High Elder somewhat understood why the Elves worshipped this massive tree.

"Come to think of it, Father was born from this tree as well… It really is the perfect place for his rebirth." The High Elder smiled as he placed his hand on the coffin. "Although I know you've renounced your Elven ways, we need the World Tree to resurrect you. I'll listen to all of your complaints later… When you've returned."

The High Elder's face couldn't help but break into a smile.

How many years had passed since the Progenitor's fall? How many resources had been spent to get them to this point? The shame they'd endured for being a fallen House. The laughter of other Vampires as they belittled the Bloodborne House. The… brothers and sisters that passed away…

All of them would be worth it… Once they finished this final step.

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Walking past the empty Elven barricade, the Bloodbornes carried the Progenitor's coffin straight to the base of the World Tree. Dozens of Vampires carried the bloodied coffin, leaving behind a trail of endless blood. And everything that the red liquid touched corroded away as if acid had fallen upon them.

Compared to the boundless life the World Tree possessed, the bloodied coffin seemed to have sealed in the aspect of death, a plague that could destroy the world if it needed to.

Without any obstructions, the Bloodborne House quickly made its way to the foot of the World Tree, where the Shadowfiends promptly got to work. Placing down numerous runes and bloodied sacrifices, the coffin where the Progenitor's body rested was raised towards the World Tree.

"The preparations are complete, sire."

"Good… Now, all we have to do is wait for Horatio to return."

The High Elder smiled as he stared straight at the coffin and the World Tree behind it. Finally… Finally, the time has come.

The Bloodborne House's ascension to the top has finally begun. The only remaining piece of the puzzle left was…

"You don't have to wait for him to come."

A youthful voice broke his concentration as the High Elder was basking in the glory of his accomplishments. Turning back to the source of the voice, the High Elder snapped his head only to see a suave man looking down upon him from a nearby tree.

Floating down like he was weightless, the young man landed a few dozen metres away from the group, and with the brightest smile the High Elder had ever seen, he said:

"You don't have to wait for Horatio… He's surrendered to us. And well…"

The man pointed his finger straight at the High Elder, including the massive coffin he'd protected.

"And if you're wise… You will surrender too!"

Unsure if he was supposed to laugh or be offended by the youth's words, the High Elder dropped his jaw for two seconds. However, after recovering his wits, his eyes sparkled with a deep crimson red, and his Vampiric fangs extended out from his atrocious mouth. And with a low voice, he growled out the arrogant boy's name:

"Jin Valter…"