The Noblebloed

Year 25XX

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'Finally,' Emma thought once her soul gained awareness.

However, she wasn't fully awakened as the fatigue and exhaustion from the long slumber limit her to it. Her soul would only gain full awareness when she fully settled in her new physical body, which was happening as she was thinking. That was the normal reincarnation operation that Emma was familiar with.

'What will my life be? Who would I become?' she thought as fear of the unknown began to take form in her consciousness. However, it faded so soon due to the sudden hypnic jerk she was feeling. The falling sensation felt so real as she could feel the gushing wind on her skin. Plus, the howling sound which derived from the fall was irritating to hear.

'This is kil-'

"-LING ME!!"

Huh? Emma was shocked when she realized that her inner scream was vocalized into a real sound. Then, the darkness that surrounded her began to transform into a view of towering rock. She realized that her hands were outstretched as if asking for help from the person on top of the vertical surface, which was screaming and yelling a word that probably was her name.

"Anna!!!" she heard her scream. A scream of anxiety and helplessness.

Then it dawned on her that her newly acquired body was falling off a cliff.

Tragic.

Emma blinked in confusion. To be awakened in this circumstance was a first. The norm was to wake up in a sleeping position after taking over a newly dead body. However, this body definitely wasn't in a lying position but was going down in acceleration with her headfirst.

At this rate, she would die without a chance to redeem herself.

'No!' The strong thought pulled her back to her senses as she summoned her bloodline's power. She must not die!

However, the warmth of her power was absent. All she felt was the chill resulted in the drastic deceleration.

"Come forth!" she chanted even louder as true fear started to enshroud her mind, weakening her will.

Yet, nothing happened. Only then she recalled that all of her power was used to send Damien to her sister.

Thinking about how powerless she was at the moment, all kinds of emotions rushed in. She couldn't describe the kinds, just that it was the extreme of all negative feelings.

Who would have known that in her final chance of life, she would face such a tragedy? It was like her death was already a guarantee.

'No. It isn't a guarantee,' she thought as she closed her eyes.

At least there were two consequences; either she lives, or she dies.

The fall, which felt like an eternity, finally come to an end as her body hit an indefinite surface. The immoderately rough force rocked her body back and forth as she coughed and gagged at the saltiness that entered her mouth.

Emma quickly opened her eyes and realized that she was currently underwater. Everywhere was a display of sharp rocks, which indicated her insane good luck. If she fell on any of these rocks... Emma could feel her soul shiver at the thought.

Calming herself down, she swam towards an opening in between two colored rocks and slipped through it with difficulties. However, her condition was already at its worst, and it seemed that her new body couldn't hold much longer underwater.

Again, there was only a dead-end ahead of her. Emma felt her consciousness slowly fade away as the waves brought her body far and deep into the ocean...

...

Meanwhile, deep into the Chamrose mountains in Country Y was a mansion hidden from the outside world.

Inside a secret chamber, a man was surrounded by a group of people, chanting in an archaic language.

As the chant progressed, the man displayed a paroxysm of both rage and grief. Soon, he went into a non-stop seizure before black smoke escaped through the pores of his body.

The suffering the man was experiencing was a pleasant sight to everyone in the room, especially to a particular woman who sat in one of the chamber's corners. She was stroking the hair of a young girl who was sleeping on her thigh. This woman was the overseer of the torture ceremony.

"Good, he is ready. Make sure to squeeze his blood until this case is full," a woman tossed a large bowl to an old butler standing not far from her. At this, the chant came to a stop. Only the man's uneven breath could be heard.

Gorgon, the mansion's butler, took hold of the bowl and walked towards the man whose hands and legs restrained by big and sturdy chains.

"Master," he greeted the man with reverence, and when he did, the people in the room scoffed. However, Gorgon ignored them as he bowed to the man in front of him.

The man slowly opened his eyes, revealing a pair of obsidian black eyes. "Do it," his low voice sounded tranquil and chaotic at the same time.

Gorgon nodded as he kneeled on the ground. He unsheathed a small knife from a leather case he had prepared beforehand and slit the man's wrist. His method was swift and proficient as if he had done it many times before.

Blood started to drop into the bowl underneath the man's injured hand when the cut was made. As time went on, his countenance was becoming paler. However, no one cared how he looked. Instead, the people who encircled him earlier were now chatting happily, enjoying the common ground of insulting him.

"Sister Fern, congratulation for becoming the First Lady," a man approached the woman who was still stroking her daughter's hair. She looked up and grinned.

"Thank you, brother Dominic. Congratulation to you too. I heard you're going to marry the daughter of the Gunnar family? When is the wedding?" Fern Devilo, the woman who was adorned in a long, red dress, smiled meaningfully.

Dominic laughed as he nodded. "Not soon. The daughter is still mourning her friend," he answered with a smirk.

"Well, eventually they'll fall into your hand,"

Dominic nodded again. His face showed greed and desire. However, he refocused and spoke again. "The ceremony was quite hard today. It took quite some time before the chant affected him. What if one day it doesn't work anymore? Will he go after us?" there was a frown on his forehead.

Fern Devilo knew what he was talking about. Her cold gaze stared at the man bounded to a chair with blood flowing from his wrist.

With a domineering air, she asserted, "He is nothing but an empty shell. He needed us to survive,"

Dominic was also looking at the man when he heard the woman's reply. "You're right. No matter how powerful he is, the world is a war zone for him. Wait, if he drinks the blood of other Noblebloed, wouldn't he be free of the curse as well?" Dominic always wondered about this.

Fern Devilo once again stared at the man who was now as white as a sheet of paper. "No, the effect of the soulmate curse is the strongest when you're a pureblood. Our mediocre blood couldn't do anything to go against his curse' demon. That's also the reason why the Chant of Torture works on him. We'll go crazy if the chant is cast to any of us, however to him, it is like water and fire. It calms his demon," she explained.

"I see," Dominic responded while shaking his head slowly. "How come a handsome creature like him still bound by the curse of a soulmate?"

He observed the man some more and concluded that no man would be willing to be compared to him. His face and physique were something beyond this world.

"Who cares? He is a pureblood. That's all that matters to us," Fern Devilo replied with a sadistic chuckle.

Dominic seemed to find pleasures in every word the woman said that he replied with boisterous laughter every time.

"True, his pureblood will free us from the curse without taking away the power of our bloodline. We are now the most powerful humans on earth. Everyone should fear us!" Dominic's arrogant voice was heard throughout the room, inviting the applauses of the other.

Fern Devilo was only smiling. She had long realized that it was the first thing that came to her mind when she first discovered that the man's pureblood was the cure for a half-Noblebloed like them.

She looked at her daughter, who would soon be free from the curse as well. An evil smile flashed on her face when she noticed that Gorgon was walking towards them while carrying the bowl filled with the man's blood.

"It seems that the potent cure is here. Elly, wake up..." she touched the forehead of the young girl lying in her lap, and as if hypnotized, the young girl opened her eyes. When she saw the bowl filled with red liquid, her eyes glimmered. She took it and drank the entire bowl without wasting a drop. When she finished, she went into slumber again.

"We are done here. Everyone, it's time to leave!" Fern Devilo announced as she instructed Dominic to carry her daughter. The chamber was soon left with only two people, butler Gorgon and the man bounded to the chair.

"Master, they're gone," a voice awakened the man who was closing his eyes. Hearing the voice, a smile emerged on his pale face, which soon returned to its healthy color. His eyelids slowly opened, revealing an intense gaze that was absent a while ago.

"They really enjoyed torturing me. Didn't they, Gorgon?" he couldn't hide the amusement in his voice. His eyes glanced at his butler, who was standing beside him.

"Yes, Master!" Gorgon replied with a curl on his lips.

The man laughed for a short while, stopping as a thoughtful expression appeared on his face.

"Master, how long are you going to play with them?" Gorgon asked. Although it was fun for his Master, to him whose task was to wound his wrist, the experience wasn't pleasant.

"Let me see..." the man seemed to ponder over it, but the more Gorgon looked at him, the more he realized that he was humoring him. He could only shake his head in regret for asking such a question.

Seeing Gorgon's reaction, the man laughed heartily.

However, his face turned serious again as he recalled something. "Hmm, the chant didn't really work today. I have to work extra hard to calm the demon inside me. I wonder why," he mulled as he jerked his hands and legs at the same time. The chains exploded at his movement. He rose from the chair and walked towards the exit.

He was still in deep thought until he reached the door. "Nevermind!" he chuckled before waving his right hand, "Gorgon, prepare the meals in the garden. Let's enjoy the sunset,"

Gorgon, who was walking behind him, nodded with a bitter smile on his face.

His Master always enjoyed watching the sunset in the garden, but he couldn't see the true beauty in it. That was because he was someone who was bound by a curse that took the colors of life from him, leaving just a single shade of color.

To Van Raven, the world was grey until someone he called a soulmate appears...

...

The said garden was located on a small hill behind the mansion. It was Gorgon's latest project that was requested by his Master, Van Raven.

While Gorgon was preparing the meals on a table in the garden, Van Raven was standing at the hill's periphery while looking at the sky.

"Gorgon, how is today's sunset?" his voice was calm but reflected a deep mood of melancholy.

Gorgon looked up to the sky for a moment before putting down the last plate of the dishes on the table. Then, he straightened himself as he properly observed the sky again.

"Master, today's sunset is brilliant. I can see the rich hues of red blended with oranges, purple, and crimson," Gorgon described the colors he saw in the sky.

"I see," the man replied with a faint smile on his face. His eyes continued to stare at the sky until his butler's voice broke his concentration.

"Master, the food is ready," Gorgon called for his Master as he pulled a chair for him to sit.

Van Raven looked at him and nodded. He walked to the table in a steady step. Seeing the dishes on the wooden table, he patted the butler's shoulder, praising him for his wonderful effort.

"I'll enjoy the food," he smiled. Gorgon felt his heart skip when he heard the sentence because he knew that Van Raven's taste bud was becoming worse day by day. How could he enjoy the food if he couldn't tell the taste?

Gorgon closed his eyes as he tried to hide the sympathy he had towards his Master because he knew he was a proud Noblebloed.

The pride he had was probably the only thing left, which made him sane. If that too was gone, the world should be ready to face a catastrophe...