---
The silence that followed the blood ritual was deafening. Elias stood at the altar, his trembling hands still stained with the crimson essence of his sacrifice. The air in the chamber was thick, suffocating, as if the very walls pulsed with the dark magic he had just invoked.
Then, a whisper. Soft, insidious, crawling into his mind like tendrils of smoke.
You have called, and I have answered.
Elias's breath hitched. His reflection in the obsidian mirror before him wavered, shifting, morphing into something that wasn't him. A figure loomed within the glass—a towering being wreathed in shadow and fire, its eyes burning like embers in the abyss.
"Who...who are you?" Elias rasped.
The entity chuckled, the sound reverberating through the chamber. I am your salvation. I am your damnation. I am Malphas.
Elias clenched his fists, steadying himself. This was what he had wanted—no, what he had needed. The world had scorned him, left him to rot in the filth of its indifference. But now, now he had a chance to claim his place in the order of things.
"What do you want from me?" he asked, voice steadier this time.
Oh, Elias... Malphas's voice slithered through his thoughts, a poisonous caress. It is not what I want from you. It is what you want from me. Speak your desire, and it shall be granted.
The firelight flickered wildly, casting monstrous shadows along the walls. Elias knew there was no turning back. He thought of those who had wronged him—the sneering noblemen, the false priests, the wretched society that had cast him aside. He thought of the power he had always craved but never possessed.
"I want strength. Power beyond mortal comprehension," he declared.
The air grew colder, the weight of unseen forces pressing against him.
Then give me your soul, and all that you seek shall be yours.
Elias hesitated. He had always been willing to pay the price for power, but the finality of the bargain sent a shudder through him. Yet, deep within, he knew—he had already crossed the threshold of no return.
With a slow breath, he met the fiery gaze of the demon. "I accept."
A wicked smile curled across Malphas's lips. The chamber shuddered as darkness engulfed Elias, seeping into his skin, his bones, his very being. Agony and ecstasy fused in a single moment as his humanity unraveled, replaced by something far greater.
When the shadows receded, Elias stood transformed. Power thrummed through his veins, a sensation so intoxicating he could barely contain a breathless laugh.
Malphas watched, pleased. Welcome to the ascension, Hellbound One.
The night outside was endless, but within the abyss, Elias had just begun his rise.
---
The sensation of power was unlike anything he had ever experienced. His vision sharpened, his senses expanded, and the air itself seemed to vibrate around him. He clenched his fist, feeling the surge of something ancient and primal coursing through him.
"What... have you done to me?" Elias asked, his voice carrying an unnatural resonance.
Malphas circled him, the demon's form flickering between corporeal and ethereal. I have merely unlocked what was already within you, it whispered. The strength you craved, the power you were denied—all of it was lying dormant. Now, it is yours to wield.
Elias's fingers twitched. He could feel the difference. His body was stronger, his reflexes quicker. He could hear the faintest whispers of the wind outside the chamber and sense the pulse of life in the creatures that skittered through the darkness beyond.
But there was more. A hunger gnawed at the edges of his consciousness, a burning void demanding to be filled. It was not a hunger for food or drink—it was something else entirely.
"What is this feeling?" Elias asked, pressing a hand to his chest. His heart still beat, but it was different—stronger, darker.
Malphas chuckled, his ember-like eyes gleaming. Power always has a cost, Hellbound One. You are no longer merely a man. You are something more now, and with that comes hunger.
Elias swallowed. He knew, instinctively, what he needed. Blood. He had tasted it once, in the ritual, and now it called to him like a siren's song.
Malphas raised a clawed hand, and the chamber trembled. A portal of swirling darkness materialized before them, revealing the outside world. The city loomed beyond, its streets lined with unsuspecting prey.
Go, Malphas urged. Feast. Take what is yours. Let the world know that Elias is no longer a forgotten wretch but a force to be reckoned with.
Elias stepped forward, the hunger driving him now. He had been weak before, but no longer. The city would learn his name, and they would fear it.
As he passed through the portal, the darkness whispered its approval, and Elias embraced his new nature.
---
The night air was crisp, carrying the distant sounds of laughter, conversation, and footsteps against cobblestone streets. Elias walked through the shadows, unnoticed, his presence an unseen ripple in the fabric of the world.
He spotted his first target—a nobleman clad in fine silks, his perfume thick in the air. Elias's lip curled. The man reeked of wealth and arrogance, the same kind of filth that had once spat on him as if he were nothing.
He moved without thought, his body guided by instinct. One moment he stood in the alley, the next he was upon his prey. The noble barely had time to scream before Elias's hand clamped over his mouth, dragging him into the darkness.
"P-please—!" the noble whimpered, his voice muffled.
Elias felt the hunger surging. He could hear the man's heartbeat, rapid and frantic, the scent of his fear intoxicating. Without hesitation, he sank his teeth into the noble's neck.
A rush of heat and ecstasy flooded through him as the blood flowed, filling the void within. The man's struggles weakened, his heartbeat slowed, and then—silence.
Elias released the lifeless body, stepping back as the power settled within him. His vision sharpened even further, his strength doubled. He felt unstoppable.
In the distance, the bells of the city rang, signaling the hour. The world continued, oblivious to the monster now lurking within it.
Elias licked the blood from his lips and smiled.
This was only the beginning.
---