chapter 13

Chapter 13 - The Stone Mask

I was shocked as my mother easily controlled her body and created heat with her blood, having become a vampire just a few days ago. 'How did she do this so quickly? Even I, a Pillar Man, only managed it after some practice. Is there something I'm forgetting?' Throughout the training, I was quite distracted. My mother also lowered the temperature of her blood and even to some extent mimicked ice. Soon we returned home, and I began pondering what I had forgotten. 'The Pillar Men were a group of ancient species with great strength. They only feared sunlight. They used primitive tools as a means of combat. Then Kars was born. He was considered a genius among the Pillar Men. He was dissatisfied with their evolution and wanted to conquer the sun. So, he created the stone mask. But the mask cannot penetrate the Pillar Man's skull, so he needed the Red Aja Stone. Wamuu, Esidisi, and Kars used the elemental mode. They are related to Kars and somehow related to the Mask. The mask! That's it. How did I forget? Only those connected with the mask can use the elemental mode. They are more powerful than an ordinary Pillar Man. Since I was born, I have never used the mask. I always thought it would only be useful when I found the Red Aja Stone. 'The Pillar Man using the mask also increased hunger. But I accepted long ago that I need to consume humans to survive.' So, to test, I immediately took off the mask. 'I hope it works.' I held the mask over my face and spread some of my blood on it. Soon the tentacles pierced my brain. But at one point they stopped and couldn't pierce further. My body felt completely new. I felt like I could fully control every tiny cell and atom of my body. My strength and vitality also increased significantly. It was a surreal experience. 'Aaah, this strength. I feel it throughout my body. So, the mask also unlocks a part of the Pillar Man's brain potential. But since it can't fully pierce, it can unlock all its potential.' I was very pleased and soon checked the parameters of my new body. Now I have increased speed, power, and regenerative capabilities. The main improvement was increased control of my body. I feel more in tune with my body and thus exert more control. Soon I vaporized the moisture in my hand as it slowly turned into ice. This was DIO's vapor freezing technique. Through contact, I can absorb heat from the opponent's body, freezing it and thus interrupting their blood flow. Upon inspecting my body, I realized I was more beautiful and my charm had increased significantly. 'No shotacon will be able to resist me now,' I thought, amused. I was really happy. I took the next step to become strong. I have a clear goal now, which is to develop my elemental mode. 'If I neglected the matter about the stone mask. What else did I neglect?' I thought, recalling everything again. Soon, I had a thought. 'The Sun. I instinctively believed that the Pillar Man would turn to ashes in the sun. But throughout the show, maybe only Esidisi's brain was burned in the sun. Santana clearly only turned to stone because of sunlight. So, even though sunlight is harmful and irritating to me, in the end I will only turn into stone, not be burned to ashes. I was still a little hesitant about deliberately exposing myself to the sun to check this theory. But I knew I had to do it. I waited for sunlight as I positioned myself so the sun wouldn't fall directly on me. After deciding, I quickly amputated my hand. Only a thin vein connected my hand and the rest of my body. I carefully placed my hand in the sun so that only a finger was exposed to the sun. Soon, I felt the familiar heat and irritating sensation. I was very tempted to drag my hand into the shade, as the heat was traveling to the rest of my body through the vein. The vein was starting to burn. But I controlled my instincts to see what would happen. After meticulously waiting for a minute, I noticed that the tip of my finger was turning gray. Soon, it traveled to the rest of my finger as I quickly withdrew my hand and reattached it. I quickly dropped a few drops of blood on my finger as the stone cracked and saw my finger unscathed. Only then did I heave a sigh of relief. 'Sigh, it really works. I won't burn in the Sun and I'll just turn into stone. Still, it's a pretty horrible fate too.' I was really glad I realized this soon and not during some life-threatening move. I thought again if I had forgotten something, but I didn't find anything for now. (AN- Tell me if I forgot something) I immediately started thinking about my elemental mode. 'I could use the ones I say in JoJo, but I want to have my mode. If the vapor freezing technique is an ability, then the elemental mode is equivalent to the class. It's a fighting style and I can't rush. Maybe bone manipulation would be good.' Soon, a week passed while I trained my mother. She was improving at a rapid pace. But she still can't convert other beings into vampires. 'Her battle with Acalan will happen in 1 or 2 days. Even knowing that Acalan is no match for her, I still can't help but feel anxious.' While my mother was training, she suddenly asked, "Should I reveal my powers to the tribe?" Honestly, I didn't know, they would think of it as a gift from God or something and wouldn't suspect. "The choice is yours, mother. But if you plan to reveal your powers, I recommend controlling the tribe so that the information does not travel to other territories." One day passed in the blink of an eye when the day of the battle arrived. My mother was very confident. She said she would try to win without powers, if possible, but wanted to reveal the powers to the tribe and strengthen it. 'As long as they don't indiscriminately kill humans and I don't have a vampire hunter on my ass, I don't care. But even as normal humans, they sacrificed humans without thinking, what would happen if they became vampires?' I shivered thinking about it. "Don't make other vampires indiscriminately, mother. Convert only those you trust and who are worthy."

End of chapter