Chapter 1: The Prince of Blood

George stared after Akeldama as he left the classroom. He kept on thinking about those eyes when suddenly he heard someone call him across the class.

"George. Oi ass..." a boy called out.

"If you say that word, I'm gonna kill you." George said, raising his fist.

"Fine, fine...come over to our table." the boy said.

it was a free last period and thus the end of their time at school. soon it would be time for the students to head to their respective dorms. the classroom was normally quite peaceful even without a teacher but whether it be for the fact that this was the last period or for the reason that it was last day of school before the terminals began the classroom was quite noisy. George headed over to the table of the boy who had called him.

"Why do bother talking to that guy? He is just another egoistic bastard." the boy said.

"Running that foul mouth of yours again huh, Steven?" George said

"Anyway what were you telling that boy?" a girl asked. She was sitting beside Steven.

"Nothing much, its just that..."

"Yeah he must have been trying to tell him about the creepy story of the school." Steven said, with a casual nod of his head.

There was a loud sound that rang through the school. the sound of the school bell announcing the end of the day's classes. the sound of shifting chairs, students chattering and feet shuffling could be heard from all over the classroom.

"It's overcast today." George said suddenly. "I miss the setting sun. The fiery red mass the last ray of glory that he exhibits before it bids adieu. I like that, that feeling of warmth and assurance. I miss that."

"Huh?" Steven looked at George in disbelief. "that's sooooo not like you. Did you hurt yourself."

"The clouds...they look kinda...how should I put it...unholy...maybe?"

Steven burst out laughing. "Unholy you say...what this nonsense now." he said. "Stop wasting time and let's head back. Your imaginations are running a bit too wild."

They headed towards their dormitory but did not talk much on the way. Somehow George's depressed atmosphere had also, to an extent, affected Steven.

The world is vast and incidents keep happening every second some with us having knowledge about them but most of these happen without us knowing. unknown to the boys of the now vacant school Akeldama had reached the innermost and an unused part of the Loferstein castle which was now the Loferstein high school. the castle with all its towers and passages was now the property of the school board but there were numerous restrictions imposed upon the students' and teachers' access to specified parts of the castle on account of those parts of the castle being too old and beyond repair. The part which Akeldama had come to on such part of this overly vast castle.

This part could be referred to as the ninth layer of hell* -- the layer of absolute nothingness. The engulfing darkness there exists to torment sinners eternally. The darkness of the part which Akeldama had come to seemed never ending. there was not a single ray of light and it was impossible to make out any features like walls, pillars even the floor of this place. Akeldama kept walking in this darkness without stopping, heading further into the darkness. This darkness which would, by now, have affected the mind of an average man seemed to have no effect on Akeldama, thus it was clear that he was not an 'ordinary' human. After reaching, what seemed his destination within this dark void, he stopped.

There was shifting movement in the dark and as if darkness itself had materialized, a man came out of the dark and stood in front of Akeldama.

"Master, your room has been prepared." the man said, bowing low.

Akeldama let out a sound of satisfaction and moved forward in the direction of the man. the man moved to his right side while his left hand held onto something in the darkness behind him. There was the sound of twisting a doorknob and a door opened revealing a lavishly candle lit room. However the light, even though it spilled out of the room, couldn't pierce the darkness outside. The yellow rays of the flames fell on Akeldama's face the moment he stepped into the room. Never before had any man seen a face paler than his. His face was whiter than snow and seemingly colder than it as well. his eyes were as red as the blood ruby and it shone brightly in the light. But there was also a hint of evil in those eyes. His hair and eyelashes were as black as coal yet it was glossy.

There were seven entities wearing long gowns with hoods pulled over their heads and a red stone adorning their necks that stood inside the room facing Akeldama. they placed their hands at their side and bowed and said, "The Seven Bloods greets the Young Master of the Loferstein clan."