Lucas stood in the center of the Marrow Spire's heart chamber, hands still glowing, eyes flickering crimson. The giant pulsing blood-crystal behind him was now humming like it just booted into "massively cursed mode."
All was quiet.
Too quiet.
"Maybe," Lucas began, "they didn't hear it?"
[System Emergency Broadcast (Screaming Internally)]
Ancient Beacon Status: ON (and probably loud enough to wake your dead grandma)
Current Radius of Detection: 1,200 kilometers
Entities Now Aware of You: 47 (including but not limited to: lich-vampire hybrids, crypt banshees, and something called 'Uncle Toothface')
Tactical Advice: Run, scream, or… yeah, just run.
Extra Tip: You might want to kiss the goat goodbye.
A tremor shook the spire.
Mira caught her balance. "Lucas… we need to go. Now."
"Right, because staying and throwing a party inside the Vampire Death Beacon™ is probably not a great idea."
From the walls, ancient runes lit up one by one, forming a circle around the crystal.
From each glyph, a voice whispered in the Old Tongue:
"The Blood Reclaimer walks… bring the offering…"
Lucas squinted. "Okay. That's probably not about tea and cookies."
Dreg raised his hand. "I brought cookies?"
Lucas sighed. "Of course you did."
[System Update: Hostile Forces Incoming]
Estimated Arrival: 3 hours
Mood: Murdery
Difficulty Level: 'Final Boss Teaser'
Time to Regret Everything: Imminent
Lucas snapped into action. "Grab the scrolls. Rip some glyphs. Touch nothing else."
Dreg immediately touched something else.
A secondary spire lit up with the symbol of a screaming skull on fire.
Lucas stared at it. "What is wrong with you, Dreg?"
"I thought it was a rune snack."
"That is a skull, Dreg. A screaming skull."
Mira shoved a relic into Lucas's hands. "We have what we need. Let's go. Before Uncle Toothface shows up."
Lucas paused. "That's not real, right?"
[System Note: Oh, he's very real. And he remembers you.]
Alignment: Chaotic Mess
Favorite Hobby: Tearing out kneecaps
Last Seen: East Crypt 12B. Screaming. Forever.
The group ran. The spire shook. Somewhere in the sky above, storm clouds formed into the shape of a snarling bat.
"Wow," Lucas said while sprinting, "I really do make an impression."
They burst through the spire's top—yes, exploded out of it—and landed in a half-formed blood tree on the ridge.
The goat was waiting.
Of course it was.
Lucas groaned. "You. You saw that coming, didn't you?"
The goat stared. Blinked. Licked its lips.
[System Final Update – Chapter 21]
Status: Officially Hunted
Enemies: All of them
Bloodline Exposure: 100% (like full vampire nudity but worse)
Next Objective: Get back to the city. Fortify. Or cry. Both work.
Bonus Thought: You woke up today and chose chaos. I respect that.
Lucas stood, brushing dust off his cloak. "Let's go home."
Mira raised an eyebrow. "And do what? Fight an army?"
"No. We're gonna do what we do best." He smirked.
"Which is?"
Lucas turned, cloak flaring in the bloodwind. "Wing it."