A delicate bell sang loudly. Roland gasped and suddenly blinked awake. A sense of awareness returned as he slowly awoke back in the dimly lit cave again.
He sat upright and immediately sent mental calls out.
'Omega! Omega are you there?'
The mechanical beeps echoed and a deep exhale finally breathed through his lips.
{I am here, my host.}
Roland was so tired he allowed himself to fall back down against the tough earthy ground. He didn't care about much at this moment. His chest steadily rose and fell, and there wasn't much thought going on. He simply gazed dreamily into the cavernous ceiling directly above him. The recent events cycled through his mind like still pictures.
Eventually, he would need to return back to reality. Omega was the constant reminder that even resting like this held its consequences.
A screen automatically conjured before his half-closed eyelids. Roland glared at the warning message in red before a set of numbers instantly snapped him out of his siesta.
"9-9-98%…b-bloodlust?"
Panic arrived and Roland could only desperately depend on the one thing resourceful enough to help.
'Shit! Omega!'
{Already on it my host, I have conducted a scan and a deep analytical approach to potentially solving the immemorial crisis}
A series of floating texts appeared before him line after line. Roland scanned over the first two sentences and immediately took to his feet. He searched the cave's shelves where he discovered empty bags used for blood and rubber tubes.
He snatched a handful in hand and moved to the table where he cleared everything off it. Roland was in a trance not speaking or questioning anything and obediently following each order Omega transmitted directly to him.
After he ransacked the entire cave, he found empty tubes, some gauze and scalpels. There was only one decision he needed to make right now. A choice he wasn't taking lightly considering the deplorable action he was about to carry out. Roland shifted his uncomfortable stare between each corpse. He had a choice to make and by God was hoping it was the right one.
'What are the chances of one of them poisoning their own blood? Heh, or maybe I've just become overly paranoid.'
He wasn't expecting to be involved with a corpse this soon but alas his days seemed to always go the other way he expected. Based on her age and what he considered was a well-groomed lifestyle. Roland decided that Alyssa's body was the most suitable.
Roland gritted his teeth painfully before he mustered the courage to approach the headless body. After death, the body had become almost twice as heavy, rigid and cold to touch. This wasn't the first dead body he handled but it was the first for him under these unique circumstances. Naturally, the experience wasn't enjoyed.
After the mental tussle with himself ended, he finally managed to drag the body onto the table. Blood oozed out and bits of flesh clung desperately to his clothes. Roland almost barfed a few times but caught himself before the inevitable.
He attached the drip following Omega instructions and watched science do its work. In a few minutes, he had half a see-through bag of dark blood. There were quite a few times his brow narrowed as it slowly began to hit him. The dishonour he was showing a dead body.
Roland detached the blood-filled bag and held it before his scrutinising gaze.
'Damn it! Is there really no other way Omega?'
{…}
{ Not too trouble you my host, but the bloodlust stands at 99.6%}
Roland had heard enough, he wetted his mouth and pinched the top of his nose.
'Here goes nothing.'
Without dwelling any longer he poured the bag filled with Alyssa's warm blood down his throat. Crossed his fingers and prayed to whichever God was listening.
Sometime later…
{several harmful microbes detected}
{unnamed virus detected and eliminated }
{fever reduced. Host blood stabilizing}
{cool down time approximately 10:46}
{Virus successfully dispelled}
"Blergh! Ueergh! Ha…ha…WTF!"
Roland finally found a moment of respite and slouched to one side whilst he steadied his breathing. He had practically spewed out his entire stomach twice over and on more than one occasion felt he was actually going to die. The bile smelt horrific but he couldn't deny how better spent he was now it was all out of his system. The sounds of dancing embers against the wick of candles filled the silent air.
'Finally…it's finally stopped.'
Roland heaved in and out feeling a burning tension against the lining of his stomach. He never imagined he could be that sick without passing out. But he also never imagined he would actively be drinking the blood from a corpse.
'That was horrible, o-omega, did it work?' He pleaded that it did, and if it did not he was willing to just let fate do what it wanted with him at this point.
The awaiting sounds chimed expectantly into his thoughts.
{Host bloodlust currently stands at 60.56%}
Roland's tensed body finally loosened. He leaned his head back and breathed out a sigh of relief.
"Sigh…so it worked. Does that mean I'm really…" he thought it within himself but Roland couldn't bring himself to say the word.
The fear of acceptance felt like a greater crutch than anything right now. And right now he wasn't looking to allow any negative emotion to influence his current thinking.
Roland always thought having a body that healed itself would come with a price. He just never imagined drinking blood would be the payment though.
'There's so much that's happened, where do I even start.'
He wasn't in any rush to leave this hideout. The corpse of the death knight lay just a few feet away from him. Whilst Alyssa's corpse was sprawled against the table. Seated amongst these little terrors only a single thing managed to capture his interest.
The pale mask of the goat resting just beside his lowered hand. Roland thought about that fishbowl-headed creature wearing the broken crown.
He wiped the sweat away from his brow and steadily rose to his feet again. He glanced at the open satchel against the floor and made his way towards it. The dagger, the mask, a thick scroll and a thin book were all items he managed to retrieve here. Roland had first ignored the thin book but decided to take a quick peak inside before he left this place. It might be something worth discarding.
He flicked open to the first page, he could vaguely understand this language. Which is why scanning over the contents quickly drew his eyes to narrow.
'A testament by Wizard grey'
***
The next morning Roland started the day off the same way he had been doing these past 10 days. He was certainly not going to dwell on the death of Alyssa Cloud for starters. And so for breakfast, he stomached rigorous exercises, courtesy of the diabolical regime the very strict short girl with platinum hair drew up.
Push-ups, laps, crunches and light sparring. Thankfully his body was a glutton for punishment and with every broken bone or torn muscle. His regeneration abilities were getting better. Roland also came to understand he was gaining something more than just an increase in his physical prowess. The state of his mental health also improved, with him running over rolling hills, with the wind chasing him and the beating sun invigorating him from above when he was exhausted.
This also helped steer his mind away from Alyssa. Speaking of which he was wondering how long it would take before someone from the main core household came inquiring about her whereabouts. Roland was just glad he was treated like a cripple, surely no one in their right mind would think he had anything to do with killing the most talented youth the Salazar family has ever produced.
'But still, I should get my story straight just in case.'
There was a lot to do before the awakening ceremony. And for the sake of trying not to embarrass both himself and his late mother's name, Roland at least wanted to be a little prepared for what was said to come. One thing he was certain of was that those snotty noble kids would be vying for his blood.
By the late afternoon, Roland retired to his chambers. With his body closing in exhaustion, sleep would be all that he desired. Unfortunately, Roland's mind tended to be on its own wavelength regardless of what the other areas of himself wanted.
As such, his first mode to address was the obvious ivory goat-shaped mask in the room. He propped himself onto the kingsized bed and crossed his legs into the lotus position before steadily adjusting his breathing into a gentle cadence.
'Omega, open the door…'
{Gladly my host, welcome back}
Roland's eyelids firmly closed, triggering a surge of colourful particles to burst into the dark expanse. A bright violet world pieced itself into existence with a violent sky and dark earthy hills of cyan grass covering the entire land as far as he could see.
Above in the centre of the sky sat a tiny metallic black ball which formed his mental sphere. The second most important thing, besides his heart.
Roland exhaled a breath of relief. He basked in the peacefulness of this space for a few moments before his brows narrowed out of frustration.
"Omega open the cage please."
[Affirmative…opening door to Room 1D]
Roland practically stomped forward and entered the glowing spherical portal-like thing shimmering in his view. He entered one leg first before slipping back into that dark expanse covered with a red line.
He busily scanned this space before settling his gaze upon the object of his fury.
Wizard Grey sat peacefully against the middle of the cage. He was fiddling with the ends of his long beard in deep thought. Completely unaware of the boy's arrival, until Roland cleared his throat startling the wizard free from his boredom.
"Hahah you're back? How was it." Wizard Grey asked him with a mischievous grin.
Roland wanted nothing more than to throttle the old man then and there. It was obvious the wizard was very aware of that cursed mask. And now he was wrapped up in this mess because of him.
Roland said nothing at first for a few minutes and glared with disdain at the Wizard, but then, in the midst of his negative thinking, a sudden thought crossed his mind. He wore a devious smile of his own as he held out his hand towards the cage. He focused on the cage and slowly brought his outstretched fingers into a closed fist.
The large cage rattled a few times before instantly shrinking to the size of a tiny platform. Wizard Grey barely had any time to respond, he managed to hop against a single foot whilst both his arms were forced close to his body.
"What the…what's the meaning of this you damned brat! Release me at once!"
Roland's nostrils flared, and he pointed admonishingly at the wizard before barking back.
"You wish old man! What the hell is this!" Roland showed him the palm of his right hand. Marked with a slender black cross with four diamonds etched in the four spaces.
Wizard Grey struggled to see it at first, squinting as though he needed glasses. Soon enough, however, his gaze gently widened out of surprise.
"Oh my, it looks like you've been cursed there, dear boy." He sang with a faint trace of pity in his voice.
Roland's blood was boiling. There was absolutely no way the wizard wasn't aware of what happened to him attempting to retrieve that ivory mask.
"That mask you had me get, you knew what would happen didn't you? That g-goblin? And this talk about a tea party? And who the hell is this overlord? What kind of games are you up to old man?"
He barked nonstop barely finding enough time to breathe. Meanwhile Wizard Grey tried to keep his initial response, despite the size of the cage. Roland quickly understood there was no real fear nor urgency in his demeanour. That could only mean.
'He wants something from me?'
Roland exhaled a few breaths to reach his calm. He took a careful look at the elder still balancing on a single foot. A slither of mercy crept into his heart and rather begrudgingly Roland blinked before holding out his arm again to enlarge the cage again.
"Ah! Sense has finally prevailed then." Said Wizard Grey as he stretched his limbs.
"Don't get carried away I know you're lying. I just don't believe torturing you will change anything."
Roland half believed that himself. If he could he would definitely consider other methods to get this old man to talk.
"I'm not sure if you've noticed but I'm the one in charge here. And let's not forget whatever I want to happen within this space will happen." He folded his arms and stared directly into Wizard Grey's eyes.
The old Wizard wore an inquisitive expression whilst he also beheld Roland from the cage. The stare-down lasted a short while longer than necessary. Soon enough, the elder grew tired of the theatrics and released his tense glare.
"Alright-alright. Yes, I had a feeling you would encounter those…people." Explained the elder with a slightly uncomfortable look away.
Roland's brows furrowed as he approached the cage and took a seat against the formless ground.
"Ahem, where should I begin…" announced the elder pondering his next choice of words
"How about who these people are for starters and why did I unwillingly inherit your curse? What the hell is this curse about anyway?"