VRMMO: World's First Glyphborne

"M-mistakes? Emissary... I don’t understand. I was sure that it was complete to your exact specifications. How could there be mistakes?"

"How? I have no idea. Perhaps your efforts were not exact as you had hoped, or that you had been given instructions that were not clear enough. However they occurred, they were still made.

Had you carried out the ritual with such a carving, you would have achieved immortality, yes. But you would have been given little more.

Instead of the power you crave, you would have been reduced to a mindless thrall. Existing just to obey. Hardly befitting of a man such as yourself, don’t you think? I have corrected this mistake. Now you will become a full new blood, and your power will climb far beyond the limits you thought impassable, to the point that you will laugh at your previous mindset."

The Duke blinked softly, his heart skipping a beat as he discovered the terrible fate he had barely avoided. It was akin to having an executioners blade descending towards his throat, without him even realising he was on the chopping block in the first place.

Had the Emissary said nothing, she would have undoubtedly still benefitted. A thrall would be perfect. She would gain everything, even more than their original deal, while he gained nothing. Yet... She had corrected this mistake, or at least so she claimed.

He gulped nervously, glancing at the runic carvings that she had made. He was no expert, so he could not decipher the changes she had made. Then again, the experts he had consulted had barely known the details of the carving he was creating, as no single man had made the entire thing. It was made in pieces by multiple men, each given part of the instructions.

It was entirely possible that the original was correct, and she had altered it at the last minute to make it the thrall version instead. But if that was the case, why not give him the incorrect version in the first place and just let him create his own demise? Why expose this possibility in front of him and make him doubt everything?

Or perhaps that was part of the trick! To make him doubt her motivations to make sure he fell into the trap!

It was not as if he could delay it until an expert could look over it. That would be the ultimate slap in the face, and would cement the fact that he would never get the final ingredient. He had no idea what was the truth. It was simply inconceivable, and his mind spun as he went back and forth on what could be the correct answer.

To trust or not to trust.

After a few moments of silent, mental anguish, Duke Lucian finally took a deep, trembling breath as he came to his final conclusion. He would trust the Emissary.

She had nothing to gain from such a last minute action, and everything to lose. If she wanted him brainless, she would have given him a bad recipe to begin with. That’s what he convinced himself of, at least, even if he couldn’t bring himself to fully believe it.

"T-thank you for correcting my mistake Emissary. Shall we begin with the ritual now?"

"No." Belladonna answered succinctly, causing Lucian’s heart to skip yet another beat.

Cold sweat dripped down his back as this simple deal had turned into an adventure in mental torture. But before he could question it, Belladonna raised a hand to silence him and continued.

"To start the ritual now would weaken you. It is not fast, nor simple. You will be inside of the vessel for days, as you are changed. It is best to do this somewhere safe. If this is where you choose to do it, so be it.

You are still needed to carry out the rest of the deal before that. As a sign of good faith, however, I will grant you the last ingredient."

Duke Lucian held his breath as he waited for the final ingredient. The only one he could not precure for himself, no matter what. However Belladonna’s actions confused him, based on what he knew of this ingredient.

She lifted her hands, steepling her fingers so her fingertips pressed against each other. At least that was how it seemed at first. She then shifted her fingers, stabbing the fingernails of one hand into the fingertips of the other, and then doing the same again with the other hand.

Ten droplets of blood formed on her fingertips as she pulled her hands apart slowly. The droplets didn’t fall, instead they lifted from her fingertips and drew more blood out with them. Ten strings of blood moved through the air and began to weave themselves together into a ball that hovered in the air.

Unlike Belladonna’s [Blood Well] spell, this ball did not grow in side. In fact, it shrunk, compressing itself tight and tighter the more blood that was fed into it by the ten strings.

The process continued in silence for nearly a minute, as Belladonna seemed to drain herself almost empty of blood as she fed it all into this constantly shrinking ball, until finally the strings cut off. The last of the blood compressed inwards, the exterior of the ball solidifying until all that was left was a crystalline ball of crimson the size of a marble floating in the air in front of her.

With weak arms, Belladonna gently took the marble out of the air, before finally succumbing to her exhaustion.

The inky blackness that covered her head liquified and rushed into her eyes as her iris’ regained their nature colour. At the same time Belladonna stumbled, falling to one knee as she felt even more drained than when she used her [Blood Frenzy]

The shadows beneath her hair stirred, as an adorable black cat formed from them and pushed its way through her hair and onto her shoulder. Beans purred and let out low Meows, nudging his head against her softly.

Partly because he was concerned about her, but mostly because it was one minute past his usual feeding time and that was unacceptable.

Belladonna laughed softly, a feat that seemed to take all of her strength, as she nuzzled her head into Beans’ soft fur. It was a simple, comfortable gesture that made her feel better. But across from her the Duke stopped and his heart skipped a beat again, a few of them actually, as his eyes widened in shock.

His breath trembled, and a strange smile spread across his face as he finally understood everything. Finally, the identity of the Emissary before him was clear and all of the doubts in his mind of whether or not to trust her were banished immediately.