Beyond the Bloodline-Chapter 295: Lapis’ Dread
Jamie, who had been just about to conceal the energy of the orb in his hand, felt his brow twitch in irritation.
Slowly, he turned his head in their direction, his gaze sharpening into a glare that pierced through space.
The moment they felt his glare, an instinctive intimidation gripped the Vampire Kings. It was a primal sense of danger buried deep within their existences.
But rather than back down, the Vampire Kings’ pride flared. Furious at the very notion of being cowed, they unleashed their auras and Authorities in full force, determined to assert their dominance.
However, the instant they closed the distance and finally laid eyes on Jamie—weapons drawn, fully prepared to fight—their breath caught in their throats.
Recognition struck like a hammer, but it was too late to take back their aggression.
Their blatant hostility grated on Jamie, who wanted nothing more than to be left alone right now.
And that irritation did not remain abstract—it manifested into reality.
It was even worse as he was holding his power fragment which was currently unstable.
The space around him fractured, jagged cracks splitting through existence as void energy seeped out, ’infecting’ the surrounding reality with ’nothingness’.
In that instant, system messages flooded their vision.
[You are in the presence of an Existence with an Immensely Superior Authority. All Modified Ruler Authority Fragments have been DEACTIVATED.]
[Race Ruler Matrix: System Error Detected.]
[Resolution Process Failed; Error Resolution Matrix has stopped working.]
[Critical Warning: Temporal Void Infection and Universal Law Distortion Detected.]
[Prime Planet Consciousness: Gnocyl; requesting Aid from Planetary Defence Matrix.]
|ERROR#?!999: Void Infection is interfr̶̲̎̾̾3̴̟̱̞̍r̸̲͗̑2̶͈̮͓̊3̷̽͝͝ͅ]
Not only did their Ruler Authorities abruptly cease to function, but even their standard Law Authorities, the foundations of their power, were nullified.
The Vampire Kings who had been soaring through the air suddenly lost their balance, plummeting to the ground. Their bodies felt unbearably heavy, as if an immense weight was pressing down on their very souls.
Their Origin Cores, which should have regulated the abundant law energies within them, failed to do their job, throwing their souls into turmoil.
Now immobilized, the Vampire Kings and Queens could only groan in agony as their law energies spiralled chaotically within their bodies.
◇ ◇ ◇
At the Amphitheatre of Eternity, Lapis was focused on deciphering the cause of the abrupt power surge that occurred less than half an hour ago when a subordinate abruptly burst into her office.
Christoph, her right-hand man, snapped his head toward the vampire who barged in, his expression darkening.
"What sort of rude behav—!"
"YOUR MAJESTY, THERE’S AN EMERGENCY IN CIURATH!"
"?!"
Ciurath.
The name of the star Gnocyl Prime orbited. The name of the entire star system.
It was common knowledge that Ciurath was invaluable to Lapis, making the subordinate’s urgency understandable.
The man didn’t need any prompting to recount everything that had transpired over the past few minutes—from the sudden power surge on Gnocyl Prime and its effects on nearby planets to the Vampire Kings Lapis had stationed there rushing to investigate.
He also detailed the reports of overwhelming existential dread and the inexplicable failure of all Authorities.
At this, Christoph shouted, "Impossible!" but quickly fell silent when Lapis shot him a sharp glare.
The subordinate continued, explaining that they had no way of knowing exactly when it had occurred, as the report had only just reached them. He also confirmed that all warp gates, dimensional gates, and forms of spatial travel in and out of the affected area had ceased functioning.
The moment he said no form of spatial travel was working, Lapis’ eyes widened, and she clicked her tongue in irritation.
Rising to her feet, she roused her magic, ready to generate a gate—only to see that Christoph had already completed one, leading straight to Gnocyl Prime.
Lapis cast Christoph a brief, silent glance before stepping into the gate. However, instead of emerging on Gnocyl Prime, she found herself outside the Ciurath Star System.
Christoph’s eyes widened in shock, unable to believe that his gate had failed to reach its intended destination.
Noting his reaction, Lapis spoke.
"Why are you so surprised? Didn’t you hear what he said? Use your brain, and you’ll know who’s behind this."
Without waiting for a response, she transformed into a streak of light and shot straight into the star system, heading directly for Gnocyl Prime and the overwhelming energy surge she sensed.
And just as she had expected, seated there with a very familiar orb of power in his hands was her teacher.
Circuit-like protrusions extended from the orb, forming patterns in the air that Jamie traced with his finger, which was coated in spatial power and cosmic energy.
Sensing Lapis’ presence, he spoke without lifting his gaze.
"Lapis, your subordinates are rather... rude."
At his words, Lapis glanced around, taking in the sight of the weakened Vampire Kings sprawled across the ground. Jamie didn’t so much as look at them as he continued.
"Even if I did cause a slight disturbance, there were far better ways for them to handle the situation. After all, I highly doubt they were too foolish to miss the fact that there was zero hostile intent behind my actions."
Jamie spun the orb around, checking to see if there were any untraced portions.
"Or maybe I’m just spinning the narrative to fit my perspective. Then again..."—his voice dipped with indifference—"I only care about my perspective, not theirs."
As he spoke, his fingers continued tracing the circuits of the orb, filling the space with tense silence.
Lapis, trying her best to avoid looking directly at the orb that sent chills down her spine, lowered her head.
"My apologies, Sir Jamie."
At those words, Jamie finally stopped. Only then did he raise his gaze to look at her.
"Most people claim that when a subordinate messes up, it’s the master’s fault for failing to educate them properly and keep them in line.
But, in my view... that’s not always the case."
With that, he traced the final circuit, and the entire pattern seamlessly merged into the orb.
"Raise your head, Lapis."
Rising to his feet, Jamie returned the orb to his subspace, dusted off the grass clinging to his trousers, and stepped closer to Lapis, stopping just in front of her.
She met his gaze, confusion flickering across her face.
Jamie simply stared at her in silence for a long, heavy minute. Then, he did something that sent a chill down her spine.
He tilted his head slightly, his eyes drifting to her neck.
Without a word, he reached out and gently pushed her hair aside, tucking the strands behind her ear.
Then, just as abruptly, he turned away.
"I’m heading to the Knesix Dimension’s Planet Kaelithis. Send the kids there."
With that, he stepped in a direction beyond their perception, beyond the default three dimensions.
And naturally, he vanished from their sight.
◇ ◇ ◇ 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮
The moment Jamie vanished, the void infection ceased, and all Authorities resumed functioning as normal.
Lapis dropped to her knees, her breaths heavy and uneven.
For the first time in a long time, Lapis felt fear.
’What the hell was that? Why did he do that?!’
It was Jamie’s final action—turning to look at her neck—that sent chills down her spine. And in that moment, it was only her immense life experience that kept her from flinching.
Then, as if responding to her fears, the thing she dreaded Jamie discovering suddenly reared its head.
From beneath her clothes, black tendrils surged, writhing under her skin like living veins. In an instant, they spread in branching patterns, crawling up the side of her face.
Christoph’s eyes widened in shock at the sight.
"Your Majesty?!"
He rushed toward her, his magic power flaring, but just as he reached out, the tendrils released arcs of dark energy, violently repelling his hand.
This occurrence made Christoph grit his teeth.
"Your Majesty, you can’t delay this any longer."
Lapis bit down on her lip, then inhaled sharply, forcing the creeping marks back with her magic.
Seeing how difficult it was for her to achieve this, Christoph’s expression darkened further.
"Any more, and your soul will be affected."
His words made Lapis’ expression twist in fury. She slammed her fist into the ground, her teeth clenched in frustration.
"You know where he is going. Wait for a moment when he’s distracted—a moment when he’s truly distracted—then take the girl."
The instant she gave the order, Christoph bowed deeply.
"Your wish is my command."
His eyes burned with unshakable resolve—the kind of determination found in a man willing to go through hell and back for the sake of another.
