Grudges and pain are a part of life, either unavoidable or unforgivable. Grudges hold sway over one's thoughts, every action taken is in reflection of the past actions of another. Spite and malice hold the reigns to the heart and mind of those with grudges, always wishing and acting to bring the source of their animosity one thing, pain.
Pain is far too vast to ever be understood in simple words, but the heart knows pain and can explain better than any phrase or flattery message. Like prickles of lightning, a flood of pain engulfs it's victims, never letting them see or know if escape is possible. The weeping widow, the abused partner and the orphaned child, all embody an emotional pain never fully understood by the world.
The widow, weeps for the memories that will never be, the moments in time with her husband are over, his presence cut away from the tapestry of joy and placed in the bosom of her grief. That is her pain.
The abused partner cries tears for the love she once felt with her partner, the past memories of romance have been dragged through razor blades of harsh brutality and cruel unwanted acts. That is her pain.
The orphaned child holds tears of the life lost with those meant to love him, see him grow and live his life, that future lies forever lost as his loved ones are placed in the soil, their companionship and affection, stone and silent, forever. That is his pain.
From pain, grows sorrow, misery and grief, which can open the window to anger, justified or not, with reason or without reason. The widow can feel rage at the unfairness of time and life, ready to snatch away the person she vowed to be with forever, as if to mock her, and her grudge is born.
The abused partner feels sorrow, anguish and loneliness, that can open the cracks for rage at the past, where everything was better to her eyes and love reigned over her, like showering diamonds, but instead now she is pelted with stones of disdain and cruelty, by the love she once had. Her grudge is born.
The orphaned child can wallow in feelings of sorrow, grief and loneliness, before his heart opens up to anger and the unfair thing that is life, which wilts the blossoming flowers of innocence in the boy's heart, leaving a barren field of thorns, where protection against affection and attachment is a double edged sword, striking at anyone who nears the child and the child's heart. His grudge is born.
Such is the way of Pain and Grudges, a cycle from which humans can step into with no clear exit on their eyes. Its a pit in a dark void, where emotions grow cold, numb and animosity and malice fester like a hot rash, leaving scabs and open wounds. The pain increases day by day, tear by tear, the heart growing more numb and the soul suffocating under the rage and feelings from the past, striking the mind like whip lashes, never letting the thought of forgiveness even be born.
That is how Lesley had felt.
Always angry, ready to lash out and defend himself from pain, his mind and heart laced in thorns, that bleed all niceties from his veins. He is always reliving the day he lost his family, circulating it in his mind, so he never forgets his family or the monsters that took them away. He'd vowed to kill as many undead as he could, even if he died to them. His grudge was born.
It was this reason that he hated Mel from day one, never trusting the zombie, never letting his guard down, always ready to strike back at any sign of attack. It frazed his nerves, but he would not let up, feeling that if he did, it would be a betrayal to his family. But, despite everything, Mel, the zombie, always stayed the same, a presence at his side, not drawing his full wrath but making aware he was there.
Lesley hated it. The zombie made it hard to hate him, and Lesley had to constantly remind himself that Mel ate people, which helped. But, after going to live with Mama V, Lesley had had to do what he called the unthinkable. Something he condemned zombies and Survivors for doing.
He had eaten human meat too.
This had happened unintentionally, after a while of staying there, he grew hungry and Mel got him some food. It had been a bowel of dried jerky, which Lesley, who had not been sleeping well, didn't question. He ate the whole bowel, only to have Veranda tell him it was made from human meat. The revulsion Lesley had felt, almost eclipsed the shame in his heart, because then, at that moment, he lost any defense against Mel's...niceness.
He couldn't find enough reasons to be angry, to be harsh or to lash out. Lesley started eating the jerky on a daily bases, sometimes getting dried raisins and prunes, his heart slowly acclimated, deciding dying from hunger would not help him get to the citadel. It was a hard thing to swallow, literally, he took two minutes to swallow his jerky, and five minutes to chew it. After a while, he got used to it, and to his dismay, he got used to having Mel around. They may have lived together in the apartment, but Les tried to never interact with Mel, not even when he was bored, he'd just read the brown book.
But, now he actually interacted with the undead man.
They weren't chatty, but Lesley would ask Mel to do things, just to pass their time together. From moving things, fetching things and going outside the warehouse to find stuff for him. He'd gotten a toothbrush, a ripped towel, a cracked porcelain cup and a lot of other junk. The only thing he'd taken when they left was the toothbrush and towel, everything else stayed with Mama V.
Lesley stopped hating Mel, his grudge against the undead didn't seem to hold weight against Mel, despite the times he'd attacked Lesley. They'd both cut and wounded each other, they had both eaten human flesh and had both been together long enough that Lesley could say-
"Mel, I need you," Lesley spoke through the pain of Mel's teeth gnawing on his shoulder,"I really need you. We are kinda the same, I realized earlier. I hated being used by Death, my days watched by her, but...it must have been worse for you. You were...ugh...a regular zombie, minding your business, when I got shoved at you. You didn't want me around, you just were told to watch me. You were the puppet to her and I was her plaything. We were in the same boat, right? I... I... hmmm. I'm... s-sorry. I'm sorry, I can't fully trust you, and I'm sorry for whatever you've gone through. But...please wake up, come back, I... I can't do this by myself. I need you. Please, Mel."
...
Dark fog filled his senses, numbing every sensation, like being dizzy and drowsy in a murky dream. He'd been like this for a while and he couldn't tell how long, only that he'd been like this many times. Alone, in a confusing cacophony of voices, that made no sense.
"You...have...why?"
"That...look...my."
"Soon...we...not "
"I...hate...look."
"When...I...we?"
"That's...not...ask."
He couldn't tune them out, they hit him like accusations to a crime he didn't remember committing, an invisible jury, calling for his execution. Other times they were sweet, affectionate voices, echoing in the despair of his confusion. Mostly, they were screams and shouts of fear, hatred and pain. He felt like he shouldn't be here and yet he should, undecided and confused.
Was this despair?
Was this the afterlife?
Where was he?
Why was he here?
He didn't know, he couldn't think clearly yet. Sometimes he did, but then it faded away, like sand slipping through his fingers. He really wanted to get out of here, because he felt like he needed to do something. Check on something. It was important, but he could not remember what it was.
"Hey! I...no!"
"Help!"
"Some...please."
"Why...I ...help!"
"Please ...we ...stop!"
"Please ...I ...you."
Huh?
That voice, he groggily thought, the last one. It sounded familiar and important. He tried to listen to it, but it was like listening for a calm breeze in a typhoon.
"I...help!"
"Someone please...Ahhhh!"
"You...monster!"
"We could...love...me!"
"I need...you."
"You..wait...we-!"
"Ahhhh!"
The harder he listened the clearer the voices became, but it made him feel a hard hot pain in his gut, like a metal rod was twisting his guts and burning his insides. Yet, he had heard that voice again, so he persevered, listening harder.
"You two...die!"
"Why ...this!?"
"Help us ...please!"
"I ...need ...help!"
"I need ...you."
There! The voice, he heard it! His slow mind focused hard, ignoring the screams, pleas, whispers and shouts. He trained his mind to listen on that one voice. It was hard, but after a while he finally focused enough to hear the words.
"I need you, Mel"
Mel? That's my name, he remembered and with that realisation came a vibrant tangy flavour in his mouth. It was rich, potent and invigorating but it didn't fill him with anything but horror. He knew this taste in his mouth, he had promised never to taste it again.
Mel jerked back from Lesley's shoulder with a groan like a gasp.
Slowly, his mind started to acclimate, looking around and noticing he was in a different place from before. This was not the warehouse with those other humans, and that little human. Mel was slightly confused, not even being bothered that he had one eye again. He'd had one eye for a long time, so he was used to having poor depth perception.
"Mel? Are you...back?"
"Hughh" Mel tried to speak but his vocal cords were slightly decayed, and instead he just nodded his head slowly. Lesley sighed and let him go, wincing at the bite mark on his shoulder.
"Sa-sar...sarri" Mel groaned softly and Lesley gave a chuckle as he looked at him..
Mel was deathly pale, with the pasty skin of a cadaver and an empty eye socket. He wore a white t-shirt and grey shirt with faded worn out blue jeans and sneakers. He had a vacant expression, a slight scent of old bread and his head hung low slightly.
"Thanks for apologizing but I don't need it. I made you do this." Lesley looked at Mel," i dont know what happened to you, but there isn't time. I need you to do something, really important."
"Ggguhh" Mel nodded his head slowly. He didn't know what it was, but he'd do it. Many things were foggy, distant and numb in him right now but he still remembered his promise.
He'd die for Lesley.
"Sorry about this." Lesley leaned forward and took Mel's finger, biting down hard to draw blood and drinking a small drop of it. It tasted horrible like burnt rotten eggs!
But Mel showed no reaction, just stared vacantly at Lesley.
"Ggguhh" Mel gave a small groan.
Lesley gave a calm sigh as he activated his ability [BLOOD FAMILIAR] and drew a bit of blood from his bitten shoulder. They had both drawn each others blood, so the ability should work now. Lesley watched as the blood flowed green, turning into vapour and forming two rings, one was green and the other was red, both were the size of wristbands.
[You have activated [BLOOD FAMILIAR]]
[Choose your recipient's fate]
[Companion or Slave?]
Huh? Lesley noticed the options, quickly checking what each would entail.
[
|•|
[Blood Familiar [Slave] is a minion to serve at your beck and call, it's will crushed and spirit submitted before you. All Aether gains go to you, and increases your power. You can choose its path and influence it's evolution and should your slave die, you gain it's soul, to use as you see fit.
|∆|
[Blood Familiar [Companion] is an ally like no other, ready to assist and walk with you side by side on your path. Minds and Souls are linked, and you both progress with each other, and can share each other's power. Should your companion die, you gain there soul, to cherish and keep as yours, and yours alone.]
|•|
]
Hmmmmm, Lesley looked at the two choices and thought hard about it. The [Slave] would help him become stronger faster and he did need to get Aether right now before he turned into a zombie. However, the part of a crushed will and spirit made it a very brutal choice, one he didn't like.
In the end he chose the [Companion] , he didn't want Mel to become his puppet, that would defeat the whole point of having done this. He wanted Mel coherent and able to think and function like before. Besides, puppeteering Mel made him feel like Death. He didn't want to be her like, controlling people, even the aforementioned people were undead.
The moment Lesley made his choice, the red ring vanished and the green ring flew into Mel's chest, and circled Mel's heart. With a large pulse, Mel's heart began to beat, all the Aether in his body, started to circulate in his veins. A small grey shiny stone next to his heart, barely the size of a bead, grew bigger, becoming the size of a peach.
Mel's eye became more clear, as a light silver shimmer appeared in his empty eye socket, his eye growing back. Lesley ,himself, felt a rush in his head, that quivered and slithered out, like a blast of green vapour going out and towards Mel's skull. Lesley eyes glowed green momentarily before settling down back to normal.
[Blood familiar [Companion] has been chosen]
[ Your Status has updated.
|•|
STATUS:
Name: Lesley Woodsman
Species: Human
Title(s): Primordial Heir, Aggrieved One
Bloodline: Primordial Phoenix {Incomplete}
Bloodline class: Primordial {Extinct}
Status: Bloodline integration {8%}
Class: None
Cultivation Rank(s);
Physical cultivation: Level 2 {Mortal coil}
Spiritual cultivation: Level 4 {Soul Awakening}
Main law: Reanimation
Minor law(s): Reincarnation {Sealed}
|∆|
ATTRIBUTES:
PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES;
Strength: 23
Agility: 27
Stamina: 55/55
Vitality: 32/35 {Undeath infection in progress}
Sanity: 85/85
|∆|
MAGICAL ATTRIBUTES;
Spirit: 35 {+30}
Aether Soul Sea: 40/40
Aether Core: Awakened {Unstable}
Soul points: 0.0
|∆|
SKILLS:
BLOODLINE ABILITIES:
[PHOENIX ATTUNEMENT | Passive] The Primordial Phoenix burned with the First flames, power and energy is it's nature, as it is yours. Energy perception and attunement is increased during meditation and cultivation. {+30 increase in Spirit.}
[PRIMORDIAL PERCEPTION | Active] You scan entities and objects to get information and avoid ignorance unbecoming of a Primordial. Knowledge is power, and you are powerful if you're smart. {Useful to the third stage of cultivation above your Level.} [Level 1]
*
MAIN LAW ABILITIES:
REANIMATION;
[NECROS ABSORPTION | Passive] The undead have limitless stamina, and you want a share to their boundless energy. Absorb Necros Aether from slayed undead creatures to convert into energy [Level 1]
[UNDYING | Passive] You posses a Lower Undead's level of vitality, so killing you is a bit of a hassle. Physical damage is reduced by a quater and your healing rate is high. {Fatal injuries can still lead to death and healing requires sizeable amounts of Aether.} [Level 1]
[DEAD AURA | Active] You posses an aura of a corpse, making the dead comfortable around you and the living, not so much. Roam the zombie hordes with a feeling of ease, you're surrounded by kin. {Undead creatures with stronger Spirit can sense your Life Energy.} [Level 1]
[BLOOD FAMILIAR| Active ] Taught by the ancient Undead of the Blood law, this is the skill all Novice beginners need to gain a minion or companion. By sharing blood with another, you can bond with them and become linked as Master and Familiar or Master and Slave.[Level 1]
[UNDEATH TRIALS| Legendary] {Level 5 Spiritual cultivation required}
*
MINOR LAW(S) ABILITIES:
REINCARNATION;
[INCARNATION CHAIN] {Sealed}
[CYCLE PSYCH] {Sealed}
|∆|
[FAMILIAR]
Name: Mel {Change?}
Species: Undead
Title {s}: Lost Lamenter, Primordial Familiar
Rank: High level Zombie {Pseudo state}
Class: None
Main law; N/A
|∆|
PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES:
Strength: 25
Agility: 20
Stamina: { Limitless }
Vitality: 35/35
Sanity: 80.0
|∆|
MAGICAL ATTRIBUTES:
Spirit: 20 {+20}
Zombie Core: Grey {Early awakening}
|∆|
UNDEAD ABILITIES:
[NECROS BITE | Level 1]
[ZOMBIE DASH | Level 1]
[LIFE SENSE | Level 1]
|×|
FAMILIAR ABILITIES;
[SOUL LINK | Level 1]
[PRIMORDIAL ATTUNEMENT | Level 1]
[TWO TO ONE | Level 1]
|∆|
Summons: 0/5
Items: None
Note: Accursed Delicacy
Time till undeath; 1 hour and 53 minutes
{Law Descent and Plane ascension imminent in 2 months, 3 weeks, 4 days and 4 hours}
|•|
]