Blaze took off his mask as his tendrils slithered towards Voss, freeing him from the restraints.
"Thank you, master," Voss said, smiling in a way no human would. "I hope my performance—"
A single word silenced Voss. He hurried back inside, eager to carry out experiments regarding the new vision the Horde Master had shared with him.
As Voss left, Blaze looked down at his unconscious father. A lot of swirling emotions took hold of him at that moment.
It was strange for Blaze. Ever since becoming undead, he had lost most of his emotions. Except for anger regarding his death and joy from killing humans and expanding his influence.
Yet when he looked at Alaric, he felt something else.
Sadness... and hunger.
Blaze checked his status page. His hunger was at zero percent, yet when he looked at his father, his mouth watered.
New thoughts filled his head. All of which led to Alaric ending up in his son’s stomach.
It wasn’t the first time Blaze had felt this way.
It had happened before, but always with chosen. Much like it happened on his first hunt.
The girl was a chosen who ended up becoming half of Marrow. A remarkable creation.
Will my father become someone like her?
Blaze leaned in, tilting his head. He wanted to infect his father, just to see what would happen. His teeth were about to sink in when he jumped back, clamping his mouth shut.
His hunger was getting out of control. So much so that he bit his own hand to calm himself.
I’m not like those braindead rots!
Blaze smacked himself with the tendrils. It was an old trick he used to concentrate, only now he used the tendrils for it.
His jaw snapped out of place, but he didn’t feel any pain that would bring him to his senses. Yet, somehow it worked.
Blaze was calm enough to think strategically and not give in to his instincts. His father, no, Alaric was too important. He couldn’t let his hunger ruin his plan.
Alaric was known for his intelligence. Blaze knew that better than anyone.
Turning him into an undead might rob him of that. After all, the undead he created never retained their former identity. That’s not what Blaze wanted for Alaric.
The obvious choice was to use Mind Plague on him. Yet, he hesitated.
Looks like I’m not drained of empathy yet.
Blaze chuckled and shook his head.
No, he was definitely out of empathy, humanity, kindness, whatever one wanted to call it. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, the tiniest bit of love he had for his kin was the source of his hesitation.
While Blaze contemplated what to do with Alaric, the latter stirred awake.
He blinked a few times, trying to clear his blurry vision. That’s when he first felt something was off. The faint smell of the dead lingered around him.
Alaric scrambled to his feet and was about to run when he saw the zombie’s face from the corner of his eye. His feet froze in place as he turned around.
The memories from before he was knocked out flashed before his eyes.
Blaze squinted his eyes. He didn’t expect such a reaction from his father. The part where he was about to run was more in line with his expectations.
The next moment, Alaric reached out to touch Blaze’s face. It was cold and fragile, like it could break apart with the slightest force.
"Blaze... I’m so sorry..."
Blaze didn’t respond. He simply stood there, staring down at him.
"Forgive me, son," Alaric said, still sobbing as he buried his face in Blaze’s chest. "Forgive me for not protecting you. For failing you."
Upon hearing that, Blaze couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.
What did he mean by failing to protect him? With everything he was doing, he would have died sooner than later. Either at the hand of a chosen, like he did, or from an undead.
Gradually, Alaric stopped crying and smiled. He was happy to have been reunited with his son. Even if it happened in such a twisted way.
However, Alaric’s rational mind suddenly took hold of his emotions.
Whether Blaze was his son or mot shouldn’t have mattered to a zombie. It was their nature to feed, yet Blaze stood there without trying to attack him once.
"Unless... you retained your conscience even after death?" Alaric mumbled.
Blaze smiled and nodded.
"Wait. Maybe... you’re not too far gone!" Alaric exclaimed. "With time and research... maybe we can fix this, fix you! Come on, let’s head to the base and clear up all the misunderstandings—"
Alaric grabbed Blaze’s arm, wanting to drag him along. However, Blaze didn’t move.
Alaric turned to face his son, but then something shifted.
Blaze was still smiling, but it wasn’t warm as before. It was as if there was something different about him. It was the kind of expression a scientist wore before dissecting a frog.
The next second, Blaze pulled Alaric into a hug. Alaric was taken aback because Blaze had never hugged him before, but his worries soon melted away.
Death could change anyone, and since Blaze had returned from the dead, that phrase was more applicable to him than anyone else.
Little did Alaric know, Blaze had something else going on in his head.
Father... how can you be so gullible? You want me to meet the people who want me dead?
Blaze scoffed internally. At that moment, he made up his mind.
Alaric, as he was now, wasn’t of any use to him. Blaze had hoped the hardships of the apocalypse would change him, but that didn’t seem to be the case.
How could he let his father be a failure? What would his horde think of him if his father was so useless?
Thankfully, he had a way to remedy that.
He let go of Alaric, but before the latter could turn away, Blaze’s tentacles slithered onto him, holding his face in place.
I forgive you, father.
"Blaze, what are you doing?" Alaric asked, trying not to panic. "Let go of me! Blaze!"
Alaric’s cries fell on deaf ears as something changed in the human. The panic faded away, replaced with calmness and an urge to serve.
[Mind Plague successful.]
[Status: Submissive.]
[Mental Override: Complete.]