Another Awakening?

Waking up in a comfortable bed, Adam groaned and stretched his body. He had never slept in a bed this comfortable. Even the one in the Black Lilly town inn had been of lower standards compared to this one.

He hadn't slept much, but it was good sleep. He felt like he had forgotten something, though.

Thinking for a minute, he snapped back into reality and remembered the bird!

It had been outside when he went to sleep, and he didn't have the time to call it to his room.

Adam quickly realized that the link between him and the bird was still intact, and so felt the sudden tension disappear. He focused for a moment and his vision changed to that of the bird and what welcomed him was the setting sun in the horizon.

Sunlight! At last! He had missed it so much!

He just silently looked at the setting sun until it got dark. Adam then packed his things, went downstairs and sat at the bar side of the inn and asked for the same thing he had eaten the day before.

While he was eating, the door of the inn opened and three people came in. They were the three guards he had met yesterday and he could somewhat remember their names.

When the three men saw him, they smiled, sat next to him and ordered food and drinks.

"How's the food, it's good right?" said...Brian! yes that was his name.

"Very good." Nodded Adam while munching on his food.

"So! What do you do? Are you traveling? Where did you come from?", asked a very curious Brian to which Adam paused eating and didn't answer.

"You are asking too many private questions like usual...Brian, right Bob?", said Bill.

"Yeah that's right Bill.", agreed Bob.

"Oh right! I apologize. What was your name by the waay?", asked Brian.

"He can't help it.", said Bill.

"Yeah, he can't", agreed Bob.

"Do they always agree on everything?", asked Adam.

"I've never seen them disagree on anything.", said Brian.

"Yes, I'm traveling. I was wondering where exactly this village was and which directions is the border, could you tell me?", asked Adam.

"Well this is Tulip village and by border I assume you're talking about the border to the Karian Kingdom? It's not too far actually, you could get there in three days or so.", said Brian who stopped talking as the food they'd ordered had arrived.

A few moments later, he started talking again while munching on a piece of meat.

"We...sometimes go to the border city; it's called Garden Edge. There are traders...that cross the border to... sell things and stuff that you don't always find here. If you leave the village...and keep going north while following the road, you'll find a crossroad. When you get there, take the road to your right and follow it 'til you get to there."

"Thank you, I'll let you enjoy your meal.", answered Adam who was a bit annoyed that Brian would speak while eating.

"You're welcome, it's just common knowledge around here.", said Brian while the other two were eating without giving a care for the discussion that had been going on.

Adam stood up and was heading to the door when he heard Brian calling out to him.

"Where are you going, friend? It's too late to travel now and I'm sure you don't want to walk in the dark!"

Finding this unnecessary concern for him quite funny, Adam turned around and flashed a smile while saying.

"I like the dark. Good bye!"

He then walked out of the door and headed north.

Running through the woods was very relaxing to Adam. The animals didn't even notice him as he went past, and those that did notice him were harmless or avoided him. Now that he thought about it, he had once heard a merchant talking about the monsters out in the wilderness. But Adam couldn't understand which monsters he was referring to, as bears weren't a threat to those armed soldiers that guarded the merchants.

What was supposed to be a three days travel ended up taking four hours for Adam. The speed at which he was running was already faster than a horse, and he could jump over distances he would think impossible for a human to jump. But he wasn't human anymore, was he?

Adam approached the town and could see a towering wall that both surrounded the town and extended on both sides to until the eye couldn't see.

What was on the other side? And why would the kingdom build a wall so huge and over such a long distance? Could the wall possibly encompass the whole border? No way!

Thoughts and amazement filling his mind, Adam approached the main gate.

It was the middle of the night, but there was a line of at least forty people waiting.

Adam hesitated for a moment, then went and joined them.

It didn't take long for the line to start moving, and this relieved the fears of Adam that it would be sun before he would get to enter.

Two hours had gone and there were only two people left before Adam, and to his surprised there were many behind him waiting for their turn. The people seemed to enter a small room outside of the wall, where guards were stationed. Most people were allowed entrance, while some were kicked out.

Adam had even seen two guards chaining and dragging a woman inside the city, which made him scared a little.

Soon enough, Adam's turn came and he walked forward.

Entering the room, there were two guards by the door fully clad in armor and holding halberds who gave him a glance before looking away as if uninterested.

The room was made of stone from the outside, but it was covered in wooden planks from the inside and it was surprisingly warm. In the middle of the room was a desk with a chair on each side, and on one chair was a man wearing some very fine clothes that fit him perfectly.

His hair was combed to the side and his beard shaved, and he looked surprisingly young to be someone leading those tough looking guards all around him.

His eyes were measuring Adam up, he then spoke and said with a very lethargic voice, said:

"Sit down, I don't have all night."

Adam quickly understood that the man must've been tired from all those people before him so he sat on the chair.

"What is your name, where do you come from and what is your purpose in coming to the Garden Edge city? Do you have any identification item with you? If not, then you will have to pay the entrance fee of twenty-five silvers.", said the man in one breath.

"My name is Adrian and I was raised by my late father in the forest. Now that he died, I want to travel and see the world. I simply wanted to see the city and perhaps cross the border to see new places. No, I don't have any identification item on me, but I can pay the toll. My father left me enough money to travel when he died...", said Adam with a sad face.

He was lying through his teeth, but he could only act this one out. He had wanted to use his spell [Lesser Charm] on this man, but was afraid there would be counter measures against magic in this small room.

There was a small silence, then the man nodded and said:

"Alright, that'll do. Just pay the toll and move on. You should forget about crossing the border though. You would die before knowing what killed you. It's dangerous out there.", said the man while yawning.

Adam was very happy inside, but decided not to show it. He quickly thanked the man, paid the twenty-five silver coins and started walking towards a door that had a sign with "City" written on it, when suddenly a light shone from the ceiling.

He looked up and saw some kind of square blue stone shining above his head. It was attached to the ceiling just above the door.

Adam wanted to quickly walk away but he guessed that it wouldn't be possible. He turned around to the man sitting at the desk and their eyes made contact.

The man had an expression that said "huh", but he didn't look too surprised, which calmed Adam a little bit. Maybe it's not something bad? Thought Adam.

As soon as he had concluded that thought, two men that had been sitting on a bench by the door stood up and started walking towards him.

They were smiling from ear to ear and seemed overly friendly. This kind of creeped Adam out.

He also noticed two necklaces around their necks, they were both similar and had the shape of a hand. They were made of silver and had the shape of a hand palm with an eye engraved in the middle. He remembered having seen them before but he never knew what they stood for.

"Hello, young man. We are followers of the path and serve at the temple in this very border city. The prism above your head is an enchanted tool that shines when a person at the age of awakening but has not gone through the ritual at the temple walks under it.", said the man on the right before going silent and simply smiling while staring at Adam.

"Greetings, friend of the path. We invite you to join us in the temple where your ritual will take place. Now follow us this way please.", said the other man while pointing to the door.

Adam was perplexed, and then worried. He knew that he couldn't awaken to the path, as he was a vampire. If they somehow found out about his true nature, he would be dead before he could say 'Rosenwuld'.

"Thank you for the invitation, but I have traveled for two days straight and feel very tired. I'll come and join you tomorrow, after I've had some rest.", said Adam while thinking that giving them a flat no wouldn't work.

The two men immediately stopped smiling, which kind of surprised Adam.

"I'm afraid you have to follow us, young man. It is for your own good and for the glory of the path.", said one of the two men with a frown on his face.

"Yes, you have to.", agreed the other one.

Adam was wondering what to do when he saw the guards starting to approach him. Their hands were holding their weapons and they showed no sign of hesitation.

So that's why they chained and dragged that woman earlier, understood Adam.

"Alright, I'll follow you.", said Adam with a smile on his face.

The two men looked perplexed for a moment, then started smiling again.

"Great! I was sure you would quickly come to understand how important this is!", said the first man.

"Very good! You must really be tired after your travel for you to refuse. But hopefully, you have seen reason.", said the other man.

The guards stopped in their tracks and then went back to their positions. It would seem they wouldn't have to intervene this time.

Adam had decided to throw caution out of the window and risk it all. He would surely find a solution on the way and having guards holding him while being chained would greatly limit his options!

The group of three started walking and they were quickly allowed inside the city walls. As they entered the city, Adam was once again surprised at the enormous size of the stone buildings inside and the large paved road.

The two men seeing his reaction started laughing.

"It is not rare to find people who have not gone through the awakening ritual, as not every village or person has access to a temple of the path.", said one of the two men.

"Even if it is better to perform the ritual the very same day as one turns eighteen, it is never too late.", added the other man.

Adam wondered for a moment then realized that he had turned eighteen during the past few days and hadn't noticed. He didn't really care as he had never celebrated a birthday before.

He started thinking of how to escape these two men but there was really no way out. They both kept an eye on him at all times and there were guards everywhere.

It was the middle of the night but there was enough light to see everything. Adam looked up and saw a glowing stone at the top of a pillar. There was one such pillar every few meters on each side of the road.

"Sun stones are very useful and make life a lot easier for those who are busy at night.", said one of the two men.

Adam was immediately annoyed by how talkative these two were, even if he kind of appreciated the free information they gave him, it still felt annoying.

A few minutes had passed and they were now in front of a huge temple made of white stone. The yellowish light of sun stones shone bright on the walls of the temple and gave it a very impressive appearance.

'I'll have to get rid of them once we get inside, thought Adam.'

The three of them walked inside and were welcomed by a priest wearing a white robe. The sight of which sent Adam into desperation. He felt an instinctive threat coming from the man and somehow felt strong energy emanating from his body.

"Greetings, brothers. Is this young man here for the ritual?", asked the priest with a face full of smiles.

"Yes, senior brother.", said one of the two men with adoration all over his face.

The priest seized Adam up with his eyes and then nodded before asking them to follow him inside.

Having no choice but to follow, Adam started walking while lamenting on the inside. 'Why don't these people sleep at night like everyone else?!'

They went past the great hall and then went upstairs and after a few turns arrived at a big room with a big drawing on the ground made of some kind of metal. It had the shape of an open hand palm with an eye in the middle and was surrounded by a circle.

There was a block of some blue stone at one side of the room and there was some crystal orb attached to it.

As soon as they walked in, the priest moved his hand and the door closed on its own. There was a click, telling Adam that it had been locked.

He started sweating a little, and started hoping for the world to end or something. At least an earthquake or a volcano to get him out of this place.

"Before we start, I'd like to verify a little something. Don't move.", said the priest as he approached Adam.

Before he could do anything, the priest extended his hand and a purple light emanated from it, shot off and landed straight on Adam's forehead.

There was first dizziness and then a painful headache. It ended as fast as it started however. It had happened so fast that he didn't know how to react and in that moment of hesitation the priest sighed in relief and relaxed his guard, so Adam decided not to move and see what would happen.

"The charm spell has taken effect and it will only last twenty minutes. Get everything ready for the ritual as soon as possible. You know the drill.", said the priest while looking at the other two men.

The two men did not speak and started placing some blue stones on each finger tip of the drawing on the ground and then a big stone at the base of the hand. They then quickly stepped outside of the circle.

"Good, you there! Put your backpack down, step on top of the eye there and don't move.", said the priest to Adam who complied so as not to reveal that he was still in control of himself.

As soon as Adam was in position, the priest started mumbling something and then the stones started to shine brightly. Their light kept increasing in intensity until they exploded into a sort of blue gas. The gas started to circle around Adam without leaving the perimeter of the circle on the ground.

The blue gas then started turning white and started burning while producing a white flame. There were five flames that each floated and settled on the tips of each finger.

The flames flickered and stayed in position. The priest then snapped his fingers and a circular hole appeared on the ceiling after a metallic sheet slid to the side.

"Time of truth.", said the priest as he looked at Adam in expectation.

Time ticked by and the flame on the thumb started to lose in size until it disappeared. The other flames followed the same process until there was only one flame.

The priest looking at the side showed an expression of hope, but that expression turned to one of disappointment when the last flame disappeared as well. Then came an expression of disgust and contempt.

"Trash.", said the priest as he sighed.

"Take him to the brainwashing chamber and once that's done, kick him out.", he added.

Adam was extremely happy when he heard they would kick him out, but he was perplexed about the brainwashing part.

The priest started approaching the circle when a bright blue light burst through the hole in the ceiling and landed on Adam.

Adam felt his whole body burn from the inside and his head felt like it would explode anytime.

"Great!", exclaimed the priest as a huge smile of satisfaction appeared on his face.

"Get the orb ready! We have to collect all this essence as soon as he's done!", he said as his face turned serious.

The other men went to the block of stone with the orb on it and placed their hands on either side and started mumbling something.

While all of this was happening, Adam was in a lot of pain, and felt something start to fill his body.

"I've never seen someone hurting this much while awakening, maybe he's receiving a lot more essence than usual! This is a jackpot!", said the priest full of expectation.

The light entered Adam's body and he felt it invading every part and every cell. He felt like fainting, but somehow managed to resist. It was then that he felt something appearing in his brain, and as if it had come from inside him, he heard a voice in his head.

[Welcome to the Path.]

[New host detected. Initializing status scan.]

[Scan completed. Error detected.]

[Error]

[Error]

[Adapting system to host]

[Error]

[Error]

[Error]

[Adaptation has succeeded]

[New scan launched]

[Scan successful!]

[Mutation detected...]

[Unknown Energy detected...]

[Lesser Life drain lvl 1 has evolved into Lesser Essence Drain lvl 1]

[Lesser Mana Drain lvl 1] deduced from [Lesser Essence Drain lvl 1]

-------------------------------

[Name: Adam]

[Race: ???????]

[Level: 0 - 20%] [Class: None]

[HP: 16/32] [MP: 30/30] [??: 120/120]

[STR: 19]

[END: 16]

[AGI: 16]

[INT: 15]

[Spells]

- [Lesser Life Essence Drain lvl 1 – 0%]

- [Lesser Mana Drain lvl 1 – 0%]

- [Lesser Shadow Stealth lvl 1 – 13%]

- [Lesser Charm lvl 1 – 0%]

-------------------------------

The pain lessened and then vanished, and Adam could somehow observe those words and numbers in his brain.

The light then burst into small dots of light that fell down in a way similar to snowflakes. The lights would then fade and disappear as soon as they came in contact with anything.

"It's over! You! Get over here and place your hand on this orb right now!", said the priest with an impatient tone.

Adam hesitated for a moment, then did as he was told. He still felt extremely threatened by the priest and the level of energy emitted by him was still as impressive.

As soon as Adam placed his hand on the orb, it burst into light.

[Warning! Attempt at extracting part of life essence from an external party detected]

[Unknown Energy interference with external party detected]

[External party overruled]

[Access to external party data]

[Orb of Life Essence Extraction - 600/2000]

[Ability to extract conserved life essence from the Orb with Lesser Life Drain detected]

[Would you like to extract the life essence? Yes/ No]

Adam was first shocked, then surprised and was now feeling extremely happy. It would seem they wanted to take his life essence but he would be the one taking theirs!

He thought about 'yes' and his answer was somehow accepted.

[Beginning extraction...45%....60%...88%....100%!]

[Extraction complete]

As soon as he heard those words in his head, the light coming from the orb reduced and faded away.

Thinking fast, Adam pretended to fall on the ground and feigned weakness. Losing your life essence couldn't be harmless or so he guessed.

"Perfect! A shame we can't take all of it...", said the priest.

His guess had been on point! The three men looking at him seemed to have noticed nothing. Adam felt relieved.

"Alright, the job is done here. Take him to one of the guest rooms.", said the priest who then looked at the backpack.

"Take his garbage with him as well. Let him go as soon as he wakes up.", were his last words as he quickly walked out of the room.

The two men helped Adam walk and carried his backpack and led him to the right side of the temple where there were rooms with a few dozen beds.

They helped him lay on a bed and put his luggage next to him. They then turned around and left.

As they were walking, Adam heard one of the men say.

"Too bad brainwashing doesn't work on Awakened ones. I love the water torture part."

Adam laid on the bed and was thinking of how long he should pretend to be asleep and where to go once he left this place.

The thing that troubled him most though, was that he had awakened to the path even if he was a vampire. Weren't vampires not supposed to have access to the path or something? That book might not be as accurate as he had assumed!

He was thinking about it when the voice in his head spoke again.

[Warning! Attempt at extracting part of Unknown energy detected]

[Attempt successful. Failure to resist.]

Adam felt warmth from his chest move and then leave his body. This feeling? I've had it before! It had something to do with the damn book....

Those were the last thoughts of Adam before he lost consciousness and fell into a deep slumber.