Black Blood - The Alter World

"Finally, I've found you...yes, you are a most worthy candidate to be my successor and bring peace to this world..."

Huh? Whose voice is that? What's going on?

"You will understand soon. When the time comes, you shall inherit the great power that was once mine. Soon. Very soon..."

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I woke up with a sharp gasp, a couple of beads of sweat running down the sides of my face, my body tense and cold. Oh, it was just a dream...whew, that was really weird, I should've realized it wasn't real. Still, though...it sure felt real.

Well, whatever, no time to get hung up on some dream. I've got work to do.

I then got out of bed, stretching my arms up as I let out a sleepy yawn, squinting as rays of sunlight coming in through the window hit my eyes. I hate mornings, they're the worst...

I rubbed my eyes drowsily, before I grabbed my towel and went into the bathroom, shutting the door as I let out a sigh.

I stared back at my reflection in the mirror as I began brushing my teeth, before splashing water onto my face once I was done. I sat down on the toilet and took care of my business, before taking a shower.

Once I was done with that, I dried myself off and got changed, putting on my clothes. I then headed out of the bathroom and glanced at the time, letting out a quiet sigh of relief...okay, good, I still have time.

My name...isn't important at this juncture, so I'll keep it to myself. As things are now, there's nothing about my life that's worth mentioning.

But here's the basics in a nutshell. Before I was born, my family immigrated to America, hopeful of starting a new life. It was my parents, and my mother's sister and her husband.

From what I've heard, things were going okay for them in the first few months after they arrived. But it didn't last long...shortly after I was born, my parents were killed in a car accident.

My uncle had been driving the vehicle, when some drunk asshole on a joyride crashed into the car, killing my parents and severely injuring my uncle.

And then, said rich asshole sued my uncle for an injury he sustained in the accident, a broken arm. Meanwhile, my uncle had broken nearly half the bones in his body, and was struggling to recover, barely able to afford the hospital bills.

The trial dragged on for months, and my aunt and uncle were barely able to afford the fees for their attorney and other legal fees, struggling to make ends meet, while the rich asshole hired the best lawyers in the city and deliberately dragged out proceedings.

He was the richest man in the city and wielded a ton of influence, so despite the accident having occurred in a busy street, no witnesses stepped forward to back up my uncle's claims that he wasn't responsible for the accident.

The police force reported that the security cameras in the area had mysteriously malfunctioned during the accident, leaving no proof. False testimonies, ignored evidence and mounting legal fees ensued, until my uncle was completely bankrupt.

He couldn't handle the sheer stress of it all, and eventually ended up killing himself. My aunt didn't even have any time to mourn, as she was promptly evicted from the apartment she was staying in, along with infant me.

She was a school teacher, and lost her job following the homelessness, after which she was forced to move to a more shady part of town, full of trailers, tents and the like.

For the first few years of my life, I grew up in a trailer, and though she never told me how she managed to convince the owner to let her live in the trailer, I can imagine how she must have gone about it.

When I was eight, she'd made enough money to rent a small, cheap apartment in a slightly better, but still pretty shady, part of town. She then worked several odd jobs to make ends meet, all while raising and providing for me.

I'm sixteen now, and recently, I've taken over that role from her. Three years ago, there was a major economic crisis, prices for food and other essentials skyrocketing while wages remained the same, making it effectively impossible to survive without a proper job.

The area we were living in became a hell hole of suffering, pretty much everyone here starving, sick or both, with diseases spreading like wildfire. It was like everything around us was visibly rotting, and at an alarming rate.

Then, about a year and a half ago, a group of people showed up to help us, providing food and medicine for the people. And a year ago, my aunt got sick, barely even able to walk about anymore.

Since she was a teacher, she spent a lot of time teaching me about various subjects, making sure I had at least a basic level of knowledge in each of them.

Thanks to that, I was able to earn a little bit of money by working jobs for people, but it was nowhere near enough. I was definitely being taken advantage of, but I had no other options. It's not like I could complain, there's no one to complain to, the city doesn't give a shit about the people in the slums.

So I've had no choice but to suck it up and try to earn as much money as I possibly can in order to take care of my aunt. But it seems like all I've been able to do is keep her state from getting worse, she isn't actually getting any better.

"You're going out already? Isn't it a bit early?"

"Oh...thought you were asleep, auntie. Don't worry, I'll be back in a few hours, just take it easy. I left some food in the fridge for you, make sure to warm it up before eating. I also filled up your water bottle, it's next to your mattress, try to drink at least one glass every-...," I began, gently pushing down on her shoulders as she began to try and get up.

"So, the same as every other day, then? You're the one who needs to take it easy, kiddo, I really appreciate how hard you're working for my sake, but I'm afraid you might push yourself too far," She replied with a look of concern.

"We barely managed to pay rent last month, we can't afford to get kicked out in your condition, so-...," I began to point out.

"Alright, alright, I get it...just promise me that you'll be careful, okay? You're all that I have left now, I...I couldn't bear to lose you too," She smiled as she cupped my cheek with her hand.

"Okay, I promise...you're all I have too, after all. I should really get going now...I'll see you later, okay?"

"Yeah, okay...see you when you get home, kiddo."

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