The Fallen Vampire

But now, they were learning that it had all started because of monumental boredom and an accident?

All of the blood that had been spilled, the children who had lost their parents and the victims whose bodies had been taken from them… It was all done in the name of twelve gods who couldn\'t care less about those who lived below.

It was maddening.

To those in the upper realm, they were insignificant. But in Tayar these belief systems were everything.

And now, for those in this room, they were nothing.

An entire cultural pillar had crumbled to dust in an instant.

While Taira wrestled with his own annoying headache, he heard movement from behind him.

Aveena slowly approached the specter of Velreth.

She raised her hands in a wushu gesture and lowered her head until her chin was touching her chest.

"My shortsightedness has caused me to act discourteous towards you. I would ask the venerable immortal for his forgiveness."

Velreth stared at Aveena for a long time before he inevitably waived his hand dismissively.

"Forget it… I\'m not going to harbor this grudge against you since you couldn\'t have known of my untimely demise… but take heed, girl.

If you want to survive in the world of cultivation, then you must be hot hearted but cool headed.

The stones of the upper realm are soaked with the blood of the talented and the rash. It is only considered a crime to be the latter."

"…I will ingrain your words into my soul, great immortal."

"Hmph."

Though Velreth seemed crass, in truth he had a very good impression of Aveena.

She had a very noteworthy strength for a lower realm existence, and if she could learn to get a hold on that temper, she might go quite far.

He might\'ve liked to take her as a disciple, but he could sense she possessed a more instinctive aptitude towards flame martial arts and demonic cultivation practices.

\'Though perhaps I may be able to teach her a few things… provided I have an opportunity that is.\'

Aveena turned back to her husband with a more sorrowful look on her face than she had before.

"Husband… I\'m-"

Taira simply took the horned woman into his arms and hugged her tightly.

"Descendent of Bao Si. Step forward." Velreth beckoned.

Taira wiped away the single tear running down Aveena\'s cheek and gave her a small kiss before he went to stand in front of the icy immortal\'s corpse.

Velreth\'s spirit floated down in front of the foxkin and placed his finger on his forehead.

A dull blue glow passed between them and Velreth\'s brow crinkled into a frown.

"You\'re the descendent of that woman so your affinity for ice arts is quite high, but.."

"But?" Taira raised a brow.

"Your talent is shit. Nine hundred years old and you\'ve only now reached the fifth stage of the awakening realms..? Embarrassing." Velreth shook his head.

"…What?"

Vermeil: "Hey! My husband is a genius who reached this realm after cultivating for only fifty years! Not to mention he can use arcane too, so put some respect on his name before I turn this bitch into a scene from \'Ghostbusters\'!"

Velreth looked back and forth between Vermeil, Taira, and Aveena before coming to a simple realization.

"…You like fiery women it seems."

Taira shrugged.

He really did not have a particular type if he were being honest.

It was more accurate to say that fiery women liked him.

"What are the awakening realms?" Taira asked.

In that moment, Velreth got another reminder that he was stuck in the lower realm.

"Pardon this immortal for his forgetfulness… I neglected to take into account the thinness of the qi in the lower realm and your lack of knowledge about true cultivation…"

He suddenly turned to Vermeil with a dry look on his face.

"And for your information little girl, everyone is supposed to be able to utilize arcane and body cultivation. The two go hand in hand."

Vermeil, Keran, and Lucia suddenly felt as if the traits that made them special were dashed away.

Meanwhile, Velreth looked down at Taira with a new light in his eyes.

"The awakening realms are what we call the beginning stages that facilitate the possibility of immortal cultivation.

Typically, one is expected to have reached the 8th stage by the time they reach twenty.

But to accomplish something similar in fifty years within the lower realm… you\'ve quite the talent indeed."

Taira didn\'t know how he was supposed to feel about that after being told that he should have been past his current stage 880 years ago.

"Your father seems to have raised quite a talent. Though I wonder why he sent you to the lower realm like this…"

Taira\'s voice became cold. "I have no father."

Velreth only seemed to find his attitude amusing. "Ha! I see the beast lord\'s reputation among his children is still the same!"

Now, Taira was having a hard time following the flow of conversation.

"Are you talking about Fenris..?"

"If that is what you wish to call him then I suppose. I remember that child long before he assumed that phony name."

"Fenris is not my father. He simply bestowed me a name." Taira clarified.

Now, Velreth was the one who\'s jaw had fallen open. "Truly? What an unprecedented situation… to insert an outsider into the line of succession like this is hardly a-"

"I\'m sorry… line of succession??"

Velreth had truly forgotten just how little mortals really knew about… everything.

Having to explain every little thing to him was exhausting.

"An immortal\'s ancestral name is no mere ceremonial trifle. Because you accepted it willingly, you are something like a bastard child.

You have a slim claim to one of the nine most powerful clans in the upper realm, but.. I highly doubt Fenris\' other children will tolerate your existence."

Velreth circled Taira several times as he stroked his beard.

He didn\'t understand why Fenris would make such a desperate move.

If he hypothesized, he could only guess that the six clans serving underneath Fenris were tired of his piss poor leadership and were urging him to pick a successor.

But all seven of Fenris\' children notoriously hate their father- and the feeling is suspected to be mutual.

After all, under Fenris\' leadership the prestige of the Nine Tailed Divine Demon Clan had nosedived.

Likely because of his fued with the Blood of Rebirth Cult…

Naturally Velreth\'s knowledge was a bit out of date, but he was atleast 70% certain he had an accurate picture.

\'But why would he choose this man as his heir..? The talent is there, sure, but I don\'t think…\'

In that moment, Velreth noted two of the women standing behind Taira protectively.

He\'d already noted the feisty human girl who was favored by Astel.

But now, he was also noticing the green-haired dragoness who had an aura similar to an old adversary of his.

\'Oh… Maybe that\'s why?\'

The Crown Jade Dragon Dynasty.

Ancient Stargazers Mountain.

Nine Tailed Divine Demons.

Three of the 9 great powers in the upper realm would share a connection through marriage. Making them allies for the first time since their founding and bringing about an unprecedented situation.

And if Velreth allowed Taira to accept his inheritance, the Eternal Ice Cult would be thrown into the mix too.

\'Interesting indeed… perhaps I do understand why you wanted to raise this one, Genrei.\'

"I have decided that you are indeed worthy to carry my inheritance!

Taira Kukan Amarok, I will now prepare you to become the successor to the Eternal Ice Cult, and I will personally become your master!"

"…"

Taira couldn\'t hear a damned thing that Velreth was saying right now.

He was far too distracted by the fact that Fenris had been keeping secrets from him since the start and was now using him for some sort of family clan game.

He\'d even gone as far as humiliating him with this faux adoption, and the revelation of those things easily sent Taira into a rage.

\'I.. will.. kill him.\'

Murderous thoughts were dismissed however when Velreth poked Taira on the forehead again.

His entire body was suddenly encased in blue flame, and the temperature within the room dipped well into the negatives.