17 Odonata

Valaine stood at the center, a reluctant focal point of adoration for the cultists who now knelt before her. This newfound worship was as unsettling as it was bewildering.

Then she sensed a sudden shift in the air. A solitary clap echoed through the chamber. She turned swiftly, her eyes narrowing in suspicion, only to find Victoria, her loyal companion, standing there with a joyful expression.

"When was she here?" Valaine's mind was info-dumped in the past 5 minutes, overwhelmed by the barrage of events and the surreal situation she found herself in.

Suddenly, a peculiar sensation washed over her. 

It was as though a gentle hand had brushed against her consciousness, soothing the stress brewing within her. A calming wave surged through her nervous system, quieting her thoughts. In the stillness that followed, clarity emerged.

"One problem at a time" Valaine murmured to herself, as she touched her forehead. 

She squared her shoulders and took a deep breath, mustering her resolve. She didn't fully comprehend the circumstances that had led to this moment, but she knew she needed answers.

Valaine reached into her inventory, her fingers closing around the cool, smooth surface of a translation ring. 

Back in Yggdrasill, it was a cash shop item designed to bridge the gap between languages, allowing players to communicate effortlessly with foreign players. She slipped the ring onto her finger, its magic awakening with a subtle pulse.

The world around her shimmered for a moment, and then, as if a veil had been lifted, the incomprehensible chants of the cultists transformed into coherent words.

The translated words hung in the air, their weight sinking deep into Valaine's understanding. The cultists, it seemed, recognized her as an entity tied to a darkness they revered. 

"Dark Mistress" he intoned, his eyes aflame with fervor, "we beseech you, guide us with your power. We, your devoted servants, are ready."

Valaine, confused, her eyes meeting those of the cultist leader. "I... I am not certain of how I came to be here," 

She continued, her voice steady despite the uncertainty gnawing at her. "But if you seek me, you must tell me more."

She needs answers, ever since the game ended, she was thrown into something she does not understand yet.

The cultist leader bowed deeply, "We have long waited for your awakening."

Valaine's mind whirred with the implications of his words. The barrier between the game and reality had shattered, and she was no longer a player but a being of power in a tangible world. 

A world where these cultists revered her as a deity. 

She needed answers. Ever since the game ended, she had been thrust into something she did not understand, and the weight of uncertainty pressed upon her.

Valaine demanded clarity. "Awakening? What do you mean?"

She pressed further and regarded him with a mixture of skepticism and caution. "And what is it that you want from me, exactly?"

The cultist leader hesitated for a moment, his gaze flickering to Valaine's crimson eyes. 

A realization seemed to dawn upon him, and his voice took on a note of fervent sincerity. "At first, I sought to control you, to harness your power for our my ends. But when I looked into your eyes, I saw a new purpose"

The word "control" struck a nerve deep within Valaine. 

Control? The memory of her former life as a corporate slave, trapped in a relentless cycle of obedience and submission, flooded her mind. 

The thought of being manipulated once more ignited a smoldering anger within her.

If what she was experiencing was indeed true, then she was no longer in her old world, and she refused to be enslaved by another's will. The shackles of her past life had been broken, and she wouldn't willingly forge new ones.

Valaine looked at her surroundings, taking in the occult symbols and eerie ambiance. 

If she had been summoned here, there must have been a great price. 

She asked the cultist leader, "What was that price?"

The cult leader's eyes lit up with a strange joy. "A whole village, Dark Mistress. We sacrificed an entire village to summon you."

"An entire village?" Valaine questioned, her disbelief evident. 

To truly comprehend the consequences of her arrival, she knew she had to see it for herself.

Valaine was escorted out of the underground chapel, and as she stepped into the moonlight, her eyes widened in horror. Before her lay the smoldering ruins of a village, its once-thriving existence reduced to ashes and despair.

Valaine stared at the charred remains of the villagers, her emotions strangely detached. 

It was not that she felt nothing, but rather an eerie calmness settled within her, a detachment that came with the territory of being a vampire. 

Yet, she couldn't help but empathize with those whose lives had been unwillingly used as a catalyst for her summoning. The villagers, much like herself, were victims in this game played by the cultists.

A surge of anger flared within her, directed not just at the cultists but at the entire situation. 

In this moment, she saw the parallels between her current situation and her past life as a corporate pawn. 

Those who had summoned her, manipulating lives for their gain, were no better than the corporate overlords who had exploited her in her previous existence.

But as her vampire instincts overtook the remnants of her human empathy, a shift occurred within her. It was as if looking at the remains had rewired her entire brain, replacing human sensibilities with vampiric pragmatism. 

She could dish out justice in her own way.

She straightened her posture, her crimson eyes narrowing with resolve. It might not be her right to be an executioner, but she could certainly ensure that those responsible faced the consequences of their actions.

Valaine turned away from the village, her decision clear. The cultists might have summoned her, but they had unwittingly awakened a force that would not bow to their whims.

Valaine's sly smile deepened as she observed the cultists. 

She had no intention of getting her nails dirty. Instead, she would exploit their weaknesses, their greed, and their thirst for power. 

They would be the architects of their own downfall.

She approached the cultists, her crimson eyes gleaming with an otherworldly allure. 

"My devoted followers," she purred, her voice dripping with honeyed deceit, "Imagine the power that awaits you. Riches beyond your wildest dreams, power enough to make kingdoms bow before you. All of this can be yours."

With a sly smile, she raised her voice again. 

"But there is only one favored," she declared, her gaze sweeping across the frantic cultists. "But you may all vie for my attention. Cull the weak among you, and you might earn a place at my side."

Their eyes widened with avarice, and they hung on to her every word, completely ensnared by her promises.

One cultist, a wiry man with a scar across his cheek, hissed in a hushed tone, "Riches beyond our wildest dreams…"

A woman, her eyes wide with desperation, clutched the hem of her robe. "I've waited for this all my life!" she said, her voice quivering with fervor. "I won't let anyone stand in my way."

The cultists exchanged wary glances, suspicion growing between them like a creeping shadow. Valaine's influence had already begun to sow discord among them.

A burly cultist, his hands trembling, gripped a sacrificial dagger tightly. "I can't trust anyone," he growled, his eyes darting around. 

The wiry man with the scar nodded grimly, his eyes narrowing. "It's survival of the fittest now. If we want her power, we must eliminate the weak."

Fear and paranoia spread like wildfire among the cultists, their once-devout unity shattered by Valaine's cunning words. 

A woman, her voice laced with desperation, shouted, "Step aside, fools! I'll be the one to wield her power, not you!" 

She brandished a dagger, her eyes ablaze with fanatic determination.

The cult leader, laughed maniacally at his follower. "Foolish woman! She chose me! I am her favored!"

He cast a spell that crackled through the air, narrowly missing the woman who had challenged him.

As chaos reigned, Valaine observed with chilling calmness. It was a cacophony of madness, a symphony of desperation. Each word spoken was a testament to their folly, their belief that they could harness her power.

The cultists turned on one another with an animalistic ferocity. 

The once-united group descended into a maelstrom of violence, each member driven by an insatiable thirst for power. The air was thick with the acrid scent of blood and the fevered desperation.

Amidst the melee, the cult leader, once revered as the voice of authority, found himself cornered. 

His eyes widened in horror as a cultist, his face twisted with madness, lunged forward with a gleaming dagger. The blade met flesh with a sickening thud, and the cult leader gasped, his grip on power slipping away.

"I am the favored now!" the assailant declared, his voice triumphant and deranged. He yanked the dagger free from the cult leader's side, crimson staining the blade.

As if triggered by this brazen act, the other cultists saw an opportunity. 

A domino effect of violence ensued, each cultist turning on their neighbor, their knives and incantations slicing through the air in a deadly dance. 

Those who had once prayed together now fought with a savage intensity, their faces contorted with the same greed and ambition that had brought them to this point.

The once-ambitious woman, who had challenged the gaunt cultist earlier, seized her chance. With a swift motion, she drove her dagger into his back, her eyes glinting with triumph. 

"No… I'm the favored!" she hissed, her voice a venomous whisper.

This new act of betrayal only fueled the frenzy further. Another cultist, driven by the madness of the moment, lunged at her, aiming to claim her newfound position for himself. 

Their struggle ended with a sickening crunch, the sound of breaking bone drowned out by the cacophony of the battle.

Through the blood-soaked haze, Valaine watched with an eerie detachment, her eyes reflecting the twisted spectacle before her. 

With the last of the cultists lying lifeless on the floor, everything fell silent, the madness dissipating like smoke in the wind. Valaine stood amidst the carnage, her crimson eyes reflecting that had unfolded before her.

"And so it ends," she murmured.

With those words, she turned away from the lifeless bodies, leaving behind the remnants of the cult that had once worshiped her.

A whirlwind of contemplation struck her. 

She thought to herself, recognizing that her old self wouldn't have orchestrated such a manipulative and ruthless scheme. 

Was it the nature of her vampiric traits that had guided her actions, or had the transition into this new body and world brought about a transformation in her very essence?

"Old self" she mused, her thoughts delving into the depths of her own identity. She was reborn now. A new body and world. And she will embrace it.

Her gaze shifted to the moon, its silvery light piercing through the night's darkness and the constellation of Aries gleaming above. 

"Rebirth" she whispered to herself.

The name Moriya Kome, once associated with her, now felt like a distant memory. "Moriya Kome is dead" she thought, her voice a mere murmur. 

"I am now, Valaine" A smile crept across her lips, an acknowledgment of the newfound identity.

Valaine seemed lost in a trance, her form basked in the moonlight's embrace.

Ever since their arrival, Victoria was confused too, but her master took initiative of the situation and played along.

"Moriya Kome?" Victoria's voice carried away by the winds. The name escaped her lips, a question wrapped in curiosity.

Valaine's ears perked up. But her eyes remained fixed on the moon, as if seeking solace in its distant glow. The intensity of her absorption left her unaware of Victoria's presence, lost in the depths of her thoughts.

"It's nothing, Victoria," Valaine said, her voice a soft melody. "Nothing but a dead woman's tale, a ghost of the past."

Victoria's confusion deepened, but she dared not pry further.

Valaine stopped her trance from a vague a thirst feeling. The night hung heavy with the acrid scent of burnt wood and smoldering ruins.

Valaine, surveyed the decimated village sprawled before her. Charred remnants of what was once a bustling community. There was nothing, not a single soul in sight.

A faint dry feeling rumbled in her throat. She knew she needed to feed, it was a fundamental craving. She already accepted this, it's a part of her, or its her now.

There was a reluctance within her to stoop to the level of hunting animals. It felt beneath her, a degradation of her rare vampire racial class as a Blood-Mother. Her instincts desired the fresh crimson nectar of human veins.

"Victoria," Valaine called, her voice laced with authority.

"Yes, master?" came the obedient reply of her loyal servant.

"Use your divination skills," Valaine commanded, her voice cold and precise, "Find me the nearest settlement."

With a nod, Victoria closed her eyes, her mind delving into the currents of magic that flowed through the world. Her fingers twitched slightly. 

Finally, Victoria's eyes snapped open, pupils dilated. 

"There's a village," she said, "Hours away. We can arrive there at dawn."

Valaine's lips curled into a smile. "Good job" she purred, she now tinged with anticipation. Her appreciation without a doubt, brought sparkles in Victoria's eyes.

It was her duty.