Vaewolf System

Chapter 4: Saved by a Ghost

Miles woke up in a pool of his own sweat. He could only assume he had fainted due to the fall and the pain.

He could vaguely feel that he was in some dark and musty place. He had probably fallen into the decommissioned basement below the Lykaon mansion.

Either way, he felt too sick to focus on where he was. As if to make a point, he turned to the side and coughed up a glob of black blood.

As he lay there in pain, sprawled on the ground, he just barely saw a set of feet walking towards him, their steps silent.

Whoever it was, they helped him up, their hands warm and comfortable.

Miles blinked. It was a… a pale woman?

If he had to define her with a single word, it would be stunning. However, none of her features were defined or definite. They were shifting constantly, making her appearance rather unreal.

Also, he could see right through her. She was transparent.

'Holy hells, either I'm delirious because I'm feeling sick, or that's a real ghost!'

The woman revealed a kind and worried smile, "Miles, the Last True Son of Lykaon, welcome to the Oldest Den. I'm glad you are awake. I was afraid you would never rise again."

Miles opened his mouth to reply, but all that came out was a throaty garble. He couldn't help but turn to the side and cough up another glob of black blood.

His vision was starting to blur. He could feel his time was starting to run out.

The woman became serious, "Miles, I'm afraid your body is poisoning itself. Lycanthropy, as honorable as it is, is toxic to Vampirism. At this very moment, the two forces are poisoning each other inside you, and you're caught in the unfortunate crossfire. I'm afraid you do not have much time left for this world."

'I'll die? No, No, No, I don't want to die!'

She pointed to the side.

Miles turned weakly.

He hadn't noticed before, but floating in the air, struggling against bindings formed of glowing white moon-like light, were two familiar monsters, the Vampire and the Werewolf.

Noticing that Miles was watching, the Vampire began to shout, "Kid! You're going to die for sure! Just tell this crazy spirit to let us go! There's no need for us to die as well!"

The Werewolf lady remained silent for a moment, before speaking herself, "Do what you will human cub. Strength is everything, and at this point, you hold the power. But I stand with my former decision. I did what I thought was best."

The ghost woman turned back to Miles, "I can use these two to, perhaps, stabilize your condition. I will graft their essence into you, in an attempt to trick the poison. If it works as expected, the poisons in your body will not be aware of each other. They will believe they are where they should be, and thus will not be toxic.

However, I need your confirmation. If I do this, you may no longer even be who you were. There's a chance it may not work, and even if it does, I can't say for sure that there won't be any problems.

But without this, you will definitely die. So before I do begin, as a true son of Lykaon and the wearer of his ring, I need your permission."

'Who is this woman? Why is she going out of her way to help? What is her connection to the Lykaon Family? What does she mean by Last True Son of Lykaon? Where is this place really? It's definitely not the basement!'

Miles had many questions, but in the end, he didn't need to think for long.

The pain he was in was already too much. He could feel he was at death's door. And he couldn't, he couldn't go through it, not when he had so much left to do. If there was a chance, he would take it.

As for the Vampire and the Werewolf, he couldn't care less about them. He was in this situation because of their actions. There would be no mercy.

He couldn't speak, he could barely move, but he nodded with confidence in his decision.

The ghost woman smiled at this, a distant look in her eyes. Finally, she said, "Alright then. Let us pray the Spirits will bless us with good fortune."

She closed her eyes.

Her hands began to move, flowing in strange movements. As they shifted in the air, the air rippled, reacting to her movements, as if it was liquid water.

Miles watched, as the world around her seemed to flicker and blur. For a moment, he could almost see vague figures walking around her, in varying shapes and sizes. But in the next moment, he couldn't...

Meanwhile, the moonlight bindings had started to tighten, causing the Werewolf and the Vampire to struggle.

Miles could see a faint glow forming around them, a peaceful yet powerful white for the Werewolf and a bloody murderous red for the Vampire.

The Werewolf bit her lips, holding herself back from screaming.

The Vampire didn't. He stared at Miles with unrelenting rage, "F*CK YOU, YOU LITTLE SH*T! F*CK YOU BOTH! DO YOU THINK I'M AFRAID? I AIN'T AFRAID OF NO GHOST!

WHEN I GET OUT OF HERE, I'M GOING TO SUCK YOU DRY! I'LL SUCK THE LIFE OUT OF YOU! I'LL SUCK--"

The ghost woman flicked a hand, "Hush now," causing a strap formed of light to wrap around the vampire's mouth, forcefully silencing him.

The Vampire proceeded to struggle, but it was to no avail.

Despite his own pain, Miles couldn't help but feel pleased by the sight of the Vampire getting some of his own medicine.

Slowly, the energies around the Werewolf and the Vampire grew stronger and deeper, but they themselves had begun to fade.

They grew fainter and fainter, until they were not so different from the ghost woman herself.

With another flick, the ghost woman caused the moonlight bindings to vanish, and in a single motion, she formed her hands into fists.

Their mouths opening in silent screams, the Werewolf and the Vampire were crushed into two globes, silver-white and blood-red.

At the same instant, Miles felt a growing heat on his body. His skin started to burn and sizzle, as a strange black ooze started to leak through his pores.

He couldn't help but wrinkle his nose in disgust, but he was too weak to do anything about it. The sickening black ooze slowly formed into a floating sphere before him.

With her eyes still closed, the ghost woman pushed the two globes forward, silver-white and blood-red.

As they traveled forward, towards the sphere of black ooze, she finally opened her eyes.

Turning to Miles, she spoke with a smile, "Son of Lykaon, the only reason I could bring you here to save you, was due to the presence of the She-Wurkan. The oldest den opened for her. And now, with this excessive use of my energy, I must rest. But I will wait, wait for your return, for the day you can open the den with your own strength. You will have much to learn."

The moment she finished, the three globes collided in a massive burst of light.

Miles could just barely see the black ooze splitting into two apparitions, into a grey wolf and a shadowy beast. The wolf gracefully entered the silver globe, while the beast roared and attacked the blood-red globe, disappearing inside.

Afterward, the light became too bright for his eyes. He could no longer see anything, not the ghost woman, not even himself.

As Miles blinked, blinded by the intensity of the light, he started to see something vague, at the very center of the white light. It was so faint, he wasn't sure if he was imagining it. It was a faint circle, divided into two semi-circles, one blood-red and the other silver-white.

With nothing else to be seen, this circle was reflected within his pupils.

Almost instantly, his eyes started to close shut.

He was starting to pass out.

But just before they did, he started to hear something, a message. He could make out the first few words, but most of the rest was garbled and confusing. It was almost as if multiple messages were being relayed at the same time, all on top of each other.

[You have been blessed by the World to witness the Immaterial Plane. Congratulations for unlocking the Wurkan System!]

[You have been cursed by Chaos with the Ankh, the Key of Life. Congratulations for unlocking the Kindred System!]

[Impossible! A combination only seen once before has occurred! You have captured the notice of the world! Congratulations for unlocking the Va--]

Perhaps because the combined messages were too confusing to be understood, or perhaps, because he was already on the verge of passing out, Miles proceeded to do so.