Lucas woke up in his coffin-bed—which was actually just a very dramatic stone slab he pretended was comfortable—and blinked.
There was a vampire kneeling at the foot of it.
Then another.
Then... ten.
"...I swear to blood, if this is some kind of flash mob, I'm going to scream," Lucas muttered.
Dreg bowed so low his forehead hit the floor. "My lord. You summoned us."
"I was sleeping."
"You breathed," Rook added, appearing from the shadows with his usual death-whisper voice. "And your blood pulsed in a commanding frequency."
Lucas sat up slowly. "I breathed and now you're having a loyalty seizure?"
[System Alert: Crimson Dominion - Passive Aura Active]
Nearby Vampires: Affected
Response: Instinctual Obedience
Effect: Unintentional Cult Leader Energy
Note: You can turn it off. But it's funny like this.
"Turn it off? Nah," Lucas muttered with a smirk. Then louder, "Everyone... bring me a sandwich. Right now. I want a variety. Be creative."
Twenty vampires disappeared in a blur of speed. Lucas turned to Mira, who had just walked in and looked unimpressed.
"You're abusing it already."
"Technically, testing it," Lucas corrected.
Moments later, the vampires returned—each holding a wildly different version of a 'sandwich.'
One had raw rats between flatbread.
Another used two bricks and a slice of moonleaf.
One somehow brought a literal blood sausage wrapped in toast and a prayer.
Lucas stared at them. "This is what obedience gets me? A damn blood sausage prayer burrito?"
Rook knelt again. "I added runes for digestion."
"Cool. You're on latrine duty."
Meanwhile, in the City
As Lucas experimented with Crimson Dominion (and deeply regretted the sandwich incident), the city responded a little too well.
Vampires began painting his sigil—the crimson palm—on buildings.
Some wore it on their cloaks.
One had it tattooed on his neck.
Lucas watched it all unfold from the tower window, sipping cold blood and muttering, "This got culty real fast."
Mira appeared beside him. "You're their anchor now. Your power stabilizes the newer bloodlines. Of course they worship you."
"Can they worship me with fewer chants and less neck ink?"
"No."
[System Update: City Status – Lucian Ascendancy Forming]
Clan Loyalty: +17%
Clan Discipline: +10%
Architecture Upgrade Unlocked: Temple of Blood UnityWarning: They will definitely make it weird
Lucas sighed. "Fine. Build the damn temple. But no blood fountains shaped like my face this time."
No one answered. The sound of chiseling had already begun.
"…They're building the face, aren't they?"