"Next to nothing. I got crumbs from an encounter, but what I know is few and shallow. Anything you share will almost certainly be new to me. So, please, go ahead. Actually, do you have any books? All I have is questionable fiction."

  "I do have a library, but nothing scholarly." Cynthia paused as her eyes took on a distant look. Her mind's eye was exploring her storage ring. "Nope, nothing. Just top-shelf fiction."

  "I see. That would have saved us a lot of time. No matter. Your words will do. Please enlighten me."

  "I don't mind, though I'll focus on what's relevant. Even scratching the surface of the multiverse requires a thousand pictures, and what that amounts to in pages. My purpose in this forest relates to Universe 3 and 7."

  "The Realm of Gods and Karma?"

  "You've at least heard of them, good. Do you know of Karma?"

  "Magical tools manifested from a Mystic's soul. Powerful and unique items that can be wielded by oneself or others," Xyn said, parrotting the deceased Radiant Knight.

  "True. Karmas are a rainbow of possibilities. No, even a rainbow would envy the scope of Karmas. They are potent. Even the weakest Karma would be ranked as a high-level magical tool. The strongest Karmas are realm-altering. We call such variants Great Karmas. They are Transcendent-grade."

  "Transcendent. I've heard the term before used to describe Rose. What is the exact power ladder?" the Void Prince asked, voicing his long-held curiosity.

  Cynthia didn’t disappoint with her answer. "The multiverse ranks power from E-SSS, based on one's mana output. E-B-ranks are just called by their alphabetical letters. From A-rank upwards, there are titles. A-ranks are called Veterans, which I am. S-ranks are called Champions. SS-ranks are called Ascendants, and SSS-ranked beings are labelled as Transcendents."

  So I'm a Veteran, then. That's just past halfway. How humbling. The Void Prince floated over a milkshake and sipped, hoping the sugary liquid would drown the bitter pill he had just swallowed. "How many Transcendents are there?"

  "Far less than there used to be. There can't be more than fifty in the whole multiverse. Only two are known to reside in Machaeverosa. One is actually in this very forest, west of here, Sov the Monk. The other is even further west of here, Hundrail, the Thenian God of Seas." Cynthia raised her hand as she saw Xyn's lips vibrate. "We'll never get anywhere with these endless tangents. Listen. Your questions will be answered in the end."

  Xyn nodded and reluctantly let his questions fall down his throat along with the milkshake.

  "Great Karma. In the history of Karmas, only a few dozen can get that label. Five stand out among them, for they appeared at the same time, and were believed to share a common source. The strongest Mystic in history is Venis Vescias, the Empress of Destruction. Before dying, she acquired five grand powers in addition to her innate ability to destroy everything she could conceive. Oh, I should have mentioned this before, but reincarnation is a proven fact in Universe 7."

  "It is?" Xyn's voice jumped as he blurted out; he couldn't help himself at the claim.

  "Yep. Every Mystic without fail has memories of their past self - just their previous incarnation."

  Interesting. What would my past self be like? The idle thought flashed through Xyn's head.

  "There are theories that Universe 7 operates in a loop. Some theories point to it being the origin of the multiverse, but I won't get into that. Anyway, it is believed that Venis Vescias reincarnated into five individuals. In history textbooks, we call this group the Scions of Destruction. Each wielded a Great Karma. Absolute Victory, Chalice of Blood, Fate Swapper, Death's Farm, and Yupeon's Trident."

  Xyn's eyes lit up in recognition. The puzzle pieces that had seemed random were slowly coming together in his head to form a cohesive image. "I take it Chalice of Blood is relevant to your situation, Miss Vampire."

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  "An astute observation. You are correct. There are plenty of fictional races created via Karmic means, but vampires stand head and shoulders above all others," Cynthia said, her pride echoing clearly between the sounds of rain hitting the roof. "The first hundred people who drank from the chalice became vampires, First Bloods. All of them were frighteningly powerful, Ascendants. Those they turned became Second Bloods, Champions, and Third Bloods like me are Veteran-rank existences."

  "Bronze medal."

  "Yep, but I've no complaints. There is a trade-off, you see. First Bloods can use all sorts of mystic abilities, but they have the typical vampire weaknesses: sunlight, silver, garlic and the inability to invade homes. Second Blood vampires are also heavily restricted. Me, not at all. I can walk in the sunlight and don't need to consume blood to survive. Yes, shaping blood is the extent of my vampire skills, but it is all I need to get the job done."

  A stream of blood appeared before the vampire and flowed into the form of a rapier, dissolved a second later, only to assume the shape of another weapon. A whole arsenal was shown before the blood returned from whence it came.

  "How much do you know of Universe 3, Xyn?"

  "Gods live there. They draw their power from their believers and narratives and are weaker outside their home universe. Also, some of them were transmigrated to this realm."

  Cynthia nodded. "Correct. A handful, or rather, four Thenian Gods have found themselves in Machaeverosa. The God of Blood and Slaughter and the Goddess of Harvest came during the Great Shift. Next came the God of Travel, and lastly, there's the God of Seas. Only the last managed to keep his head above water after coming to this realm. The others were chewed up by Machaeverosa. The God of Blood and Slaughter, in particular."

  "What happened to him?"

  "He made a fool of himself. Machaeverosa had reduced him to an Ascendant upon arrival. The red giant didn't seem to notice, or maybe his base urges were irresistible because he dared to challenge one of the strongest beings at the time, Curos. The Great Titan had yet to enter his hippy phase and used his Final Strike to turn the Thenian God into a gory paste. He didn't die, though. Someone with a screw loose ended up passing by the body of blood and decided to take a sip for whatever reason. That man then began to hear the Thenian God in his head. He did the God of Blood and Slaughter's bidding. Followers were gathered, and knowledge was spread. In no time, the cult known as Crimson Sea was born."

  That blood mage must have been a cultist then.

  "They are the most prevalent and dangerous cult in the world. Not because of their members, no. A-rank is about as strong as they get. Rather, it's due to how easy it is to become one."

  Cynthia summoned a glass' worth of blood and had it assume a familiar symbol.

  "You add mana to that while thinking of the terms Blood and Slaughter, and by the next second, you can become a blood mage."

  "Really?"

  "Yeah. Pretty much any mage can do this, and Crimson Sea has spread this knowledge far and wide. Every day, new blood mages come to be. The blood magic the Thenian God offers is mighty tempting. It's regarded as an A-rank weapon. However, the cost is too high. No matter who you are or your intentions, you'll become a slave to blood and slaughter. That's the one upside. The cult's ultimate goal is to resurrect Aeroes, but their nature gets in the way. The process requires a sophisticated ritual that depends on many powerful cultists working in tandem."

  Hm, so that's what that magical circle was about. Xyn connected the dots.

  "It's rather comical. The stronger the blood mage, the more unhinged they are. They can't help themselves and go on slaughter fests, which draws the attention of people like me. I'm an Adventurer, but my prey of choice ain't monsters, it's cultists. As a vampire, I'm the perfect counter. I can render their blood magic null and void. The fight gets boiled down to martial skill and mana output, and I win every time. I came here to Manx to investigate a rumour about Medric, a Blood Cardinal, who was passing through these parts."

  "Uh?" Xyn raised his hand awkwardly. "About that..."

  "What?"

  "I may have already dealt with your blood mage."

  Cynthia's face scrunched up for a second before returning to normal. Her left hand closed around a freshly summoned page, and she swished it until one side was pointing toward the psionic.

  "This guy here?"

  "Yeah, that's him. He doesn't look like that now. What's left of his corpse is a hundred kilometres east of here, in a dried-up lake. I met him on my first day. He was doing a ritual of some kind. I stopped him dead in his tracks."

  "That's...good. You did the world a service, Void Prince. There's a substantial reward for his death. You'd need to have the body or proof of identity, though. What did you do with the tattoo?"

  "I destroyed it."

  "Excellent. Too many people let curiosity get the best of them. You have a good head on your shoulders," the vampire said, showing a look of approval.

  Xyn nodded, not bothering to clear up the misunderstanding present.

  "Since he's dead, rushing through this interaction is unnecessary." Cynthia had her summoned blood scoop up some cupcakes and biscuits and reclined back, getting comfortable. "Let's continue."

  Xyn smiled. "Let's."