The sky cracked open along with a fearful cry.
"Stop in your tracks, you bloody bastard! I said stop! You- You- You can’t do this!"
An old, thin, and frail-looking old man begged.
"Each of those smaller worlds will fall into chaos! The magic and all the creatures born from it will vanish along with me! A powerful being like me must not be harmed by someone like you!"
His voice boomed and echoed, yet trembled with fear as he sensed it.
Suddenly, a voice answered, "Lord of Curses, it seems you are underestimating this Overgod."
Soon, the darkness parted in front of the old man.
A tall man with dark long flowing hair stepped forward. He was broad and pale, with crimson veins visible on his skin. His eyes were bright red like bleeding stars, internally suppressing the old man.
He opened his mouth causing his two sharp fangs to be exposed, and he spoke softly.
"I, Cain Moonshade, the Overgod of blood magic, am always well prepared," he said calmly, as if the threats from the old man were nothing but empty words.
The Highest God of curses flinched. "Prepared? You fool! My death will cripple the Multiplanes! Do you not understand?"
Cain sighed, as if speaking to a stubborn child.
"I know you understand your position... Perhaps you’re just denying or cannot accept it but I know you know your origin dried up millions of years ago. You do not create curses anymore; you just hold the title. Everything running across the eight thousand multiplanes has already found replacements: lesser gods, spirits, corrupted beasts, even mortals who spill too much blood."
He smirked. Looking like it was all in his plan. "If anything, killing you might improve the whole system."
The old god sputtered. "You—!"
Cain smirked. "Am I wrong? If I am, may you enlighten this Overgod?" he bowed in an exaggerated manner.
The Highest God of curses nearly choked on outrage. "You—you bloody bastard! You did all that to corner me!? Why are you after me? What wrong have I done to you?"
Cain sneered with malice. "You know what I want..."
The old man seethed with rage as he continued. "The reason you cannot become the highest God of blood magic was because of a blood pact!" He hesitated, then shouted, "Not my fault!"
Cain’s eyebrow twitched.
"...Oh?"
"It is not me!" the cursed god cried. "Your situation is not a curse; it is a blood pact! You should have gone after the Highest God of Pacts, not me!"
Cain paused. After a long time of thinking, he opened his mouth and said, "You’re right..."
Then the cursed god asked, "Will you let me go now?"
Cain shook his head. "No can do."
The cursed god was speechless. "Why?"
Cain smirked and replied, "I need target practice... How am I supposed to know if I can harm another highest God like you if I don’t try? Plus, I never tasted the blood of a high being like you!"
The cursed god was perplexed. This blood bastard is unreasonable... However, just as he thought he was in a deeper pit, he sensed something. Strangely, he laughed, catching Cain off guard. "Finally! You all arrived! I was waiting for all of you. Help me!" the cursed god mumbled in delight.
Immediately, Cain saw the sky crack open a second time. Flashes of every color tore through the void. Figures descended, radiant, massive, ancient, as if their presence bent reality itself.
Highest Gods from the eight thousand planes.
Cain froze and said solemnly, "So this is why you’re babbling like a cornered rat who found his way out!"
The cursed god sneered.
"This is your retribution; you lowly sucking bastard. You think I don’t know who’s messing with me for millions of years? I am not like you... You always act independently, thinking others will do the same. That arrogance is your weakness... Now, we... welcome you to the end of your bloody fucking line."
Immediately, a unified voice from the several peak existences shook the entire reality they are in.
"Overgod Vampire Cain Moonshade, you have committed a forbidden crime: attempting to slay the Highest God that governs natural order, planning to disrupt the balance. Punishment is due."
Cain pointed at all of them.
"You damn bitches... you—" but he composed himself. Causing the Gods Above everything to feel something was wrong.
"No one can bring punishment to this Overgod!"
He shot forward and struck the cursed god with a blood-soaked fist.
But the cursed god raised a dark shield and screamed in panic, "Help me!"
And the mystic heavens answered.
Mana flooded the void—fire, ice, thunder, light, death, creation, time, and space—all merging into one single blast.
Cain roared and wrapped himself in blood magic, hoping to deflect all of it.
But there were too many.
Even an Overgod like him needed millions of years of preparation to slay a single Highest God like the Highest God of curses. Now, he faced all of them at once.
Almost instantly, the combined blast bore down on him.
At first, his shield held. But then it cracked, shattered, and completely collapsed.
Cain shouted, "DAMN ALL OF YOU—!" But the combination of destructive forces didn’t let him finish and he was immediately swallowed whole.
...
Meanwhile, in a lonely tower, in a dark wide room, there was nothing but silence and some occasional wisp of cold night wind.
Then a coffin opened with a soft, ancient creak.
A young-looking man shot up, gasping. He had a thousand mile stare.
Then, slowly... he looked down at his arms and then suddenly, he asked, "Where am I?" But after a few seconds of pause, he suddenly laughed.
It was a wild, victorious laugh.
"Hahaha! I, the great Overgod, survived! I actually survived their attacks!" He slapped the coffin’s edge. "My Reverse Time Blood Spell worked! On the first attempt, it worked!"
He grinned like a child who stole the world’s last cookie.
Reverse Time Blood Spell. A forbidden art he created himself. A spell that triggered only when his existence reached true destruction. It ripped his memories out and hurled them back into his past self.
A rewind button powered by desperation and mystic blood.
Cain wiped imaginary dust off his clothes. "Now, now, now... the question is... where in my life did my memories land?"
He cracked his neck, and blood mana around him flared violently.
"No... Before that, I need to activate my Overgod Blood first. If any of those old bastards are nearby, they would sense me if it’s not activated."
He drew in a long breath. His chest rose, veins throbbing as something luminous flowed through them.
A sharp cough followed.
Blood, bright and crimson, stained his lips before dripping down. His muscles trembled, veins swelling to their limit.
Then the energy dispersed, and silence returned.
Cain opened his eyes slowly. "Finally... My Overgod Blood awakens once more!"
He smirked. "Not one of those fools can sense me now." He observed his body and realized he became so weak. But that doesn’t matter. "Even though I’m back as a fledgling vampire, in just a few thousand years, I’ll be back to my peak."
Suddenly, he cracked a smile.
"My magic blood talent should skyrocket any second and soon have my revenge against them woul—"
He suddenly paused, a frown crossed his face. Huh?
My talent...
Why isn’t it skyrocketing?
Although it’s climbing, why is it so slow?
His eyes sharpened to observe the mana of his blood. He saw an invisible red light flashed. He sensed something. His aura was connected to three threads. Two of them were far away, and one was nearby.
Immediately, his body became like ice.
"My Overgod Blood talent was... shared."
A chill ran up his spine.
"No. No, no, no. Don’t tell me... don’t tell me I am back to that time."
Horror crept into his tone, for the first time, the Overgod was panicking, and he didn’t even finish his sentence and immediately sprinted.
On his way, blood magic constantly explodes from his legs. This propels him fast forward
He feet claws on walls and his aura dissolves flames out of torches as dashed through hallways in an exaggerated manner.
In his head, he was in deep panic.
No. It can’t be.
If it is, then this is a disaster.
My talent... I can’t share it. It’s mine! Mine alone!
Please don’t let it be her. Please don’t let it be them—
He reached a massive reddish door, beautiful, ancient, royal. Bat-like carvings twisted around its frame like living art.
He didn’t slow down. He slammed it open.
And froze as he was greeted by an unexplainable feeling.
Right there, she was, softly standing in the glow of red lanterns. Cain hadn’t seen her face in ages. The familiar long white curls, the warm flush on her pale skin, and her deep crimson eyes could enchant anyone who looked at them.
She was still–
"Beautiful!"
He uttered in his head.
No... Not just beautiful.
To Cain, she looked painfully beautiful.
He couldn’t help but stutter... "She is—she really is—"
One of his three wives.
And the one tied to the greatest disaster in his entire existence.
The room turned silent.
Because Cain knew exactly what this meant.
He had gone back to the day...
The exact day...
His greatest regret.
His greatest weakness.
His greatest sin.
Millions of years before he became an Overgod.
With a shared talent he desperately needed to reclaim.
This girl?
Right in front of him?
She’s one of his wives.
The Master of the Moonshade Family.
"Ivira... Moonshade!" Cain mumbled.