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The Golden Griffon had turned into a huge castle the size of an academy comprised of at least seven floors on top of the ground level. There were four towers at each corner of the castle, each one surmounted by a white crystal the size of the Eye of Kolga.

The castle keep was located in the exact middle of the building and if the Golden Griffon was anything like the White Griffon, it was where the Headmaster’s living quarters were.

To make matters worse, the academy was surrounded by the Gardens of Madness that now stretched as far as a medium size city and stood between the castle and the external walls.

“I have bad news as well.” Kalla tapped the right side of the Eyes, returning to tutorial mode before the sensory overload made her puke. “I hoped we could cheese the mission from outside, but there are too many energy signatures even for the Eyes.

“We need to get in and close to the power core if we want to get a reading.”

“I can Spirit Warp us as far as I can see, and believe me, it’s a lot. But there’s not a single point that isn’t guarded.” Lith said after shapeshifting his eyes from those of a Tiamat to those of the Abomination.

From his grandma’s side, he had inherited a sight that allowed him to spot the colors of a flag half a kilometer (0.31 miles) away.

“I’ve got good news and bad news.” Vladion said. “The good news is that I have an ability that can bring us to the walls unnoticed. The bad news is that if I turn my red core into a blood core, I won’t last long enough to cover even half the distance.”

Kalla used the Eyes to search for a blind spot in the patrols’ pattern, but she found none.

“I don’t really like this any more than you will, but maybe I have a solution.” Lith said. “Just to be clear, it’s the excess light element that makes a Vampire slumber during the day and it’s direct sunlight that hurts you, correct?”

“Correct on both accounts but I’ve long since learned how to resist the slumber in exchange for part of my strength. The problem is direct sunlight and the fact that in human form I lose access to my bloodline abilities.” Vladion nodded.

“That’s great because I don’t know how good of a solar panel I am. Hold these for me.” Lith handed the Firstborn his rings.

“What’s a solar panel and what are you talk-” Vladion choked on his words as both the Voidwalker and the Abomination turned into a silvery black tide that engulfed him from head to toe.

In that form, Lith’s body was made of energy and he could reshape it as he saw fit. In this case, Lith had turned into an exoskeleton for the Vampire.

“Any time.” Lith said. “Believe me, this isn’t comfortable for me either.”

“I think I’ve got the short end of the stick anyway.” In the Void that surrounded him, Vladion could see the faces of all of his enemies and the people he had killed during his long life.

Most of them just wailed in despair, reminding the Firstborn of the atrocities that he had perpetrated during the many wars he had taken part in and making him feel guilty for them.

Some of them, however, screamed at him from behind the black surface. Hundreds of white hands and maws clawed at the boundary, trying to reach him. All of them were kept at bay by a lonely face with seven white eyes that glared at Vladion.

It didn’t utter a word but its message was clear.

Make one wrong move and I’ll unleash the Abyss upon you.

Vladion nodded for Lith to be ready and for the Void to keep calm, avoiding any sudden movement that might be mistaken for aggression.

The Firstborn Vampire reverted to his undead state, feeling no pain from sunlight nor the drowsiness that plagued him during the day. The Abomination absorbed the light element, leaving only shade on its inside.

“This is called Blindside.” Vladion explained so that his companions and the Void knew what was happening. “It’s a mix of darkness and life force that allows a Vampire to go unnoticed even in a crowd.

“As long as we don’t do anything that can draw attention to us, people will instinctively look away the moment we pass near them. It’s very convenient but against an opponent on guard, getting too close or making a noise will expose us.”

“I see. This is what Kaelan did back in Othre. I always wondered how come we almost came to blows yet no one made a peep.” Lith replied.

“It’s a basic ability needed for catching and releasing your prey.” Vladion explained. “When a newborn uses it, they can feed upon someone in a busy street making them appear like they had just fainted and use the ensuing commotion as a diversion to get away.

“When an elder like Kaelan or I uses it, instead, Blindside covers a wide area that can make entire groups of people move unnoticed. Yet without something to draw attention away from us, its effectiveness is limited. Kalla, do exactly what I do.”

The Firstborn Vampire tried to take a step, just to realize that the Abomination wasn’t an exoskeleton so much as a prison. The mass of darkness weighed dozens of tons and pushing against it made his Vampiric Touch clash with the Abomination’s.

“Lith, I need to move, not stand around like an idiot.”

“Sorry, just tell me where I have to go.” The Abomination moved with the lithe grace of a predator, yet from the inside, Vladion’s body was twisted and pulled with a violence that would have ripped a less powerful man to shreds.

“Stop right there, you are tearing me apart. We need to coordinate our movements.” The Firstborn sighed, wishing to be in a bard’s tale where everything would go smoothly for the good guys for no apparent reason.

He established a mind link with Lith and regretted it instantly. His tendril of Spirit Magic reached the inside of the darkness, where the Void and the restless souls were still staring at him.

‘Murderer!’ ‘Monster!’ ‘Give me my life back!’ ‘I don’t know how, but I’m going to kill you!’ Those were just a sample of the countless voices that assaulted Vladion’s mind, mixing with the words images related to their death or what they meant to do to the Vampire.

“Good gods, how can you listen to this chaos without going insane?” He asked while spending more mana to shield his mind from the telepathic onslaught.

“What are you talking about?” Lith’s confusion lasted until Vladion shared his perception with him. “Okay, this isn’t good, but I have a solution. Move the mind link to the stone ring on my right hand.

“It will filter the needless thoughts and unburden your mind.” Vladion did as instructed and the voices immediately stopped.

‘This is amazing! You managed to craft a Spirit Artifact that acts as a proxy for your mind. Considering that you have never trained your Abomination side, what they say about your paranoia must be true. You covered even for the most unlikely base.’

😉

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