Darkness.
Cold stone pressed against his back. The air hung thick with dampness and the scent of blood and rust. Michael gasped—his first breath in what felt like eternity.
It wasn't lab-sterilized air or the hum of life support. It was raw, earthy, and cold.
He didn't move. He couldn't—not yet. His heart pounded in his chest, steady and unfamiliar. His limbs felt wrong. Different. Alive.
Slowly, cautiously, he opened his eyes.
A cracked stone ceiling loomed above, threaded with roots. Pale green light pulsed from glowing moss on the walls. It was quiet—no machines, no beeping monitors, no voices calling his name.
He sat up. No tubes. No restraints.
His body responded instantly—fluidly.
His skin was pale and smooth, his hands lean and clean. Stronger. Younger. Healthier.
This wasn't his body.
He staggered toward a puddle of stagnant water and peered into the reflection.
A stranger stared back.
Dark hair. Angular jaw. Eyes sharp and alert. He couldn't have been older than eighteen.
Gone was the man who had wasted away in a hospital bed, watching his family die one by one.
This was a new shell.
And then—a memory not his own.
Hands gripping him.Cruel laughter.A mocking voice: "Freak. You don't even deserve to be called vampire."
Then the fall—his body hurled into a pit. Darkness. Stone. Pain.
Silence.
Michael stumbled back, clutching his chest. The memory burned behind his eyes, though it wasn't his to carry.
Whoever had owned this body… had been discarded. Abandoned by his own kind for a rare and shameful flaw: a vampire with a blood disorder.
His name had been Michael too.
Now, he was gone.
And in his place stood someone who knew exactly what it meant to be powerless… and to lose everything.
[System Fragment Active...][Initializing Host Synchronization...][System Link Established]
The voice was artificial, cold, and fragmented. It echoed through his mind like static.
"You are awake. The merge succeeded… barely."
Michael steadied himself. "The system?"
"What remains of it. A fragmented copy. The original interface could not survive integration with your blood."
"Your original body was beyond repair. This vessel expired seconds before transfer. Your soul replaced the former occupant."
Michael lowered his gaze.
A new life… built on the grave of another.
"You are incompatible with the universal system. Attempts to purge or bind your blood failed."
[Blood Resource Active][Experience Source: Blood Acquired from Slain or Willing Donors][Conversion Rate: Variable]
"You cannot evolve by conventional means. You will grow through blood alone."
The words felt… right.
He wasn't part of the system. He was outside of it. Something new.
"You are… vampire."
"Initializing status display."
╔═══════ STATUS WINDOW ═══════╗
Name: MichaelRace: VampireBloodline: UnknownAge: 18Level: N/A (Blood-Based Growth Detected)Core System: [Fragmented Copy – Unnamed]╔═ Attributes (Point-Based) ═╗Vitality: 6Strength: 4Dexterity: 7Intelligence: 10Blood Essence: 1╔═ Traits ═╗• Unknown╔═ Skills ═╗• None Acquired╚════════════════════════════╝
The numbers meant little. But the potential? That was something he could feel.
He looked toward a slumped corpse against the far wall. A dried husk, long dead.
And yet… he could feel something. A pull in the air. A pulse in his veins.
[Blood Residue Detected][Absorb?]
He didn't hesitate.
"Yes."
Red mist rose from the corpse, drifting into his chest like smoke pulled into a flame.
[Blood Essence Acquired: +1]
It was subtle, but real.
He felt stronger.
Not in muscle or size, but in presence. In self.
"You must feed. Blood fuels growth. Dead or alive. Willing… or not."
Michael said nothing.
Not yet.
Then the system's voice flickered again—dim and distant.
"This fragment will now expire. Function is no longer sustainable."
Michael clenched his fists.
"You are beyond the system now. Before I go… name this bond. Name the blood that chose you."
He closed his eyes.
The pain. The fire. The resistance. The collapse.And the rebirth.
A color came to mind.
A word. Not just for the blood—but for everything it represented now.
"…Crimson."
[System Designation Updated: CRIMSON]
The silence that followed wasn't empty.
It was anticipation.
And then—a voice.
Not the cold system fragment.
This one was real. Smooth. Deep. Intentional.
"Crimson, huh?""A fitting name… for what we've become."
Michael's breath caught.
The voice wasn't speaking to him. It was speaking with him.
"We're not one pretending to be whole. Not machine controlling man. Not man taming code.""We are two wills—two truths—bound in blood.""We are two sides of the same coin.""We are Michael Crimson."
Michael opened his eyes—sharper, clearer.
And for the first time, he smiled.
"Let's make sure they never forget us."