Chapter 52 52: Ghoul....

Inside the dark void, Alex stood feeling a sense of foreboding. This was supposed to be where he gained his new class, but why was it so eerie? Stella was done in a few minutes, but he felt like hours had passed, and nothing had changed.

He stepped forward and stopped dead as the world lurched sideways, looking back only to find the darkness that seemed to close around him like a cocoon.

Alex was confused; there was no announcement or words spoken; lingering in the darkness alone caused his mind to become frustrated and stressed; was his device faulty?

Would Paolo trick him into getting Stella?

All sorts of paranoid and fearful thoughts filled his mind, those that should no longer affect him; since becoming a ghoul, he lost these thoughts; he was supposed to have gotten past his weak self.

His mind flashed back to when Amy first began to date him; she was a very attractive girl with large breasts that would sway no matter what she wore, a support bra or mere dress; they were just that wonderful, not to mention her plump ass that could fill out any jeans or pants and cause men to become beasts by simply walking past them, topped off with her cute twin tails and fluffy pink hair.

'She was ranked number two on the list for most desired girlfriend and rank one for the girl boys desired to have sex with most after all...'

Alex was quite jealous, or rather at first; he lacked confidence until the night after he took her first time; his feelings were like being in this darkness now. It was like his mind and body reverted to him back then, unconfident and insecure.

"This is stupid... I am a ghoul now... Why do I feel this way!?" His voice sounded in the darkness, less deep and a higher pitch than he was used to; it echoed, repeatedly forced to listen to his own defiant and unconfident roar.

Silence...

Minutes?

Hours?

Days?

How long had passed as he stood in the void, nothing but his breath and the quiet voice that still resounded in the distance.

"I thought I was stronger than this!" His voice cracked louder, tears forming and falling from his eyes; "What's wrong with me?" He screamed, his voice breaking again, and more tears fell, splashing onto the ground below.

Had someone found him? Was someone here watching him? Had he been discovered? Were they waiting for him to escape before they killed him!?

The answer came moments later, a whisper followed by a gentle touch upon his shoulder; he turned slowly, seeing an old man sitting across from him. The light from the orb above created a halo effect around the old man, his white beard making him look even older despite his youthful appearance.

"I see you are having trouble finding your way."

Alex looked down, knowing he'd failed his test; he slumped his shoulders and sighed heavily; "No... I'm sorry... I don't know how to do this..."

The man chuckled, "You didn't fail. You've already done your part. You're not meant to understand everything when you're only so young..." His voice is tepid and hoarse as the old man now appears on the other side of Alex, like a strange ghost.

"Then what am I doing here?"

"Listening to yourself complain about a minor setback," the old man said, leaning back as a golden chair suddenly formed behind him, his face relaxed before looking towards Alex. "Want a seat?"

"Yes, please." Alex sat down and looked away from the old man, unable to look into his pale blue eyes.

"That's better. Now, I must ask... if you wanted to get back on track, would you know how to?"

"I... I don't know..."

"Well, then, it's simple. Get on track. To guide people to the right path. That's the whole point of this place. You'll never reach your destination if you can't make it through."

"But I don't want to go back on track! I want to keep going forward; I want to become a ghoul! I love my life since the change!" His voice rose in a mix of anger and frustration.

"You shouldn't be too worried. You've got this far. There's no reason you won't continue to the end. I wouldn't worry about it; continue to do what you think is right. Don't lose sight of your goals."

Alex took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, "I guess you're right... I wish I knew what the right thing to do is. I don't want to waste any more time."

"Think of it like this; the darkness will always be there, just like your problems. Just remember what you need to do and act accordingly. I'll leave you to do your thinking, but I hope things work out for you. I know you can do it; you're her son, after all..."

'Let's help him a little; breaking rules doesn't matter to me, an old fossil that couldn't protect his star....'

With that, the old man disappeared, leaving Alex with the same grey-black void he had started in. Alex began to think the old man might be just his imagination; he mentioned his mother, but how could she know some old man locked in some strange void? The moment he was convinced he was going crazy, that old geezer's hoarse voice sounded in his ears again.

"I can tell you're ready for your next step. All you need to do is take it, and you'll be fine."

The moment after his words faded, the void changed; there were now several paths, each with a strange door and picture beside the entrance. As Alex began to inspect them individually, there were more doors than expected.

The first door had a picture of his first lover, the first woman he slept with, and the image was of that night; Amy lay in his chest, her sign of innocence not too deep as it slightly stained his white sheets, tears dripping from her eyes as they had booked the weekend away in the southern city of Galway.

"To my first real woman, she who ignited my passion and desire." It was written under the painting.

The second door was different; it was an older picture as Alex in the photograph was around 8 or 9 at most, with her short black hair, like a boy, her fists swinging to protect the young Alex. It was the second year after meeting Sarah when he began to like her truly, the start of what would become his most deep secret in the future.

"To my first love, she who protected and guided my path when I was lost in the dark and filled with loneliness." This was the title of this picture.

Alex stood silently for a moment; both pictures were important to him, one might seem like sex or lust to another's but for him, that moment was something that changed him forever; connecting with Amy was the moment he stopped comparing her to Sarah, his secret love stopped dominating his thoughts, it was the night that Alex saw AMY clearly for the first time.

He slowly walked along the corridor, several paintings with various people and situations of his life; the further he walked, the more run-down the corridor became; the doors were marked with "danger" signs and warnings, and even his mind was saying 'no, it's not them, these are not the path! Move along.'

The pictures showed moments of his life, but Alex never understood the meaning of this trial, always wondering if Stella had gone through this. He didn't have a hero complex but wanted to believe, just like any person has that small wish to be important. Was he special...

Alex came to the end of the corridor, the end wall void of any doors or pathway; it seemed he had to choose one of the doors as he contemplated his thoughts, life and choices over the past decade.

'I don't want to be a hero... To have enough strength to guide those women... to protect them and return the favours they gave me...'

'Can I say I truly knew and loved them? Probably not, but I want to... Even if I become a ghoul void of all emotion and feelings... I want to keep still my love and affection for those close to me...'

"Can I not be selfish?" His weak voice sounded.

Suddenly a rumbling sounded in the void as a huge door began to form, it was filled with a strange text, but he remembered it was the origin of many languages in his world, slowly taking the time to translate it.

"Mors tua vita mea."

While Alex began to try translating the text, another photo appeared, but this time it was more like a movie, or rather his reflection!

It was him, but the current Alex was the human Alex from 5 years ago, the time he met Amy and was human, while he in the reflection was the Faust form of Alex, him after death, as images and scenes of his actions began to flash in the picture. No...

His meeting with Claire, his strange attraction towards her, molesting and forcing her to become his Vesta...

Meeting Samantha and blackmailing her into becoming his Vesta, fucking her in front of her current lover just because he wanted to see her reaction, desiring to feel more excitement, hoping it would restore his feelings to normal, but it didn't.

Various images of the past few days began to flash before his eyes, from Maria's tragic end to Laura's hopeful plea...

Alex thought everything was right but then realised something.

Why didn't Mildred show up?

Was it because she hadn't opened up to him, didn't submit to become his Vesta?

Or was it because he hadn't fulfilled the promise to her yet?

Alex didn't know.

Then the scene switched; it was something he didn't know; inside the school's main lecture room, the darkness filled the entire place as everyone slept. Yet Mildred was shivering, her eyes darting around and looking towards the door, always as if she was scared someone would break through the door.

Her lips continued muttering, and Alex could see the fear on her face; Laura was only a few spaces beside her, sleeping quite relaxed and comfortable.

"Alex... Why are you not here... I'm scared...."

Mildred's voice was frail before she covered herself with a quilt; Alex watched the image and suddenly realised it wasn't that Mildred was immune to the fear, terror, and memories of what they did to her because she was an adult. She hid those fears and unsightly things because she was an adult!

'Mildred...'

He didn't understand why this trial was showing him these things, but at the very least, if this was real, he wanted to soothe Mildred's pain because she was his Vesta, and he must remember his promise to her.

Instantly after these thoughts, the corridor shook once more, the image returning to the ghoul image of himself, but this time it wasn't a reflection of his ghoul self, but the Alex from the past; he was now the ghoul as if everything swapped places.

The door's message flashed once more.

"Mors tua vita mea." The words were simple, translated into his language, would mean:

"Your death, my life."

Then it began to shudder, the room filling with debris as all the old doors began to crumble, the pictures floating in the air like magical butterflies swaying across the air, a faint light following them as they all began to enter inside the picture of Alex that smiled at him warmly, pointing to the words again that had suddenly changed and been switched, regardless of grammar.

"Mors mea vita tua"

"My death, your life."

With a nod, the younger Alex began to fade, all the pictures now forged into a single painting. As the doors began to open, a strange light filled Alex's vision; he couldn't understand what was happening; there was no choice for him to make, a grin filled his ears, and his eyes closed, trying to block out the extreme light.

It felt like he spent an eternity resisting the light.

Suddenly, a soft voice sounded from beside him; Stella gently shook his body as she heard him mumbling, and his body seemed to shudder and almost fall to the ground, helping him sit down with that dark elf now gone. Her eyes watched him, never leaving his figure, as she worried deeply. Despite claiming to hate him, her heart began to race.

'Please, don't let anything bad happen to this bad guy... I will be the one to punish his bad deeds!'

"Alex?"

"Alex..."

"Alexander!"

Her voice sounded in his ears several times; the first, masked by the ringing noise, then the second, it began to wash away that noise. Finally, his body was shaken roughly before her loud shout reverberated in the church, suddenly causing everyone to snap towards their direction, scowling angry looks aimed at Stells. Still, she didn't care if their prayer was broken.

Desperately she shook his shoulders as the orb dropped to the ground with a clink, its luminosity fading.

"S...Stella....."

"You're okay!?"

Stella was filled with delight; his nose began to bleed before she could wake him up, her mind thinking back to when her willpower was too low and she was almost dying to kill that Ghast, her arms and body wrapped around him, regardless of how she acted or pretending to feel. Her heart was filled with joy; he was okay! He wasn't going to leave her side! Alex was fine...

"Stella...." Alex softly stroked her smooth cheek; her eyes began to dart from side to side as he looked into her face with sincere and serious eyes. "I want you to be my vesta, to remain beside me until the end." His voice was charming, filled with an attractive deep tone that smoothly comforted her ears; she was embarrassed.

Stella's mind began to race, filled with various thoughts, and a became dull, then clear... too chaotic to think properly. Her claim to resist and dislike him still existed, but she could feel his seriousness and sincerity. This wasn't an order, nor was he trying to force her to become his sneakily.

She opened her soft, glossy lips before closing them and repeating several times.

"Don't rush, I will give you time, but I hope you can give me the answer before it twists your mind..."

Alex gently stroked her hair, brushing his fingers through the silky strands as he felt Stella's hands grasp tightly onto his shirt, looking at him intently with her eyes seeking only him.

"Mm... Alexander... Please give me some time... to arrange my feelings, okay?" Stella could only give a subtle nod.

Her face leaned forward, gently pressing her lips against his forehead; a quiet smack sounded before she pulled away before she gave him a small smile as if she had finally gotten a victory, seeing his slightly blushed face. 'Fufu~ so you can act like a normal guy sometimes too?'

"Call this kiss my tentative answer... Okay?"

"Ah..."

Their exchange came to a lul as she suddenly pulled away, realising that her last words and that kiss gave him the answer already, but she still wanted to face him fully; as a succubus, it seemed she could resist his strange power completely.

If she wished, though, she could succumb to him at any time; the fact he wanted her and asked rather than forcing it to happen caused her opinion of him to increase considerably.

The more time she spent beside him, the more envious she became of Amy, who had been his lover for many years.

Meanwhile, Alexander finally looked at his current status screen.

[Alex Damien Faust]

- Leser Ghoul Stage: 1 | Lord Type (500/10,000 Blood Essence)

- Level 11

- Occupation: Ghoul Leader

- Title: Succubi's Bane, Succubi's Kiss,

[Attributes]

- Strength: 20 [10]

- Agility: 20 [10]

- Endurance: 15 [10] --> 20

- Stamina: 20/20 [10]

- Willpower: 17/17 [10] --> 30

- Apocalypse Coins: 558

[Skills]

Eagle Eyes, Contraception, Novice Sword Talent, Bed Skill (Max), Ghoul Tactics, Unbreaking Will

[Spells]

Blood Lance, Corpse Explosion, Empower Vesta

[Items]

Novice Nodachi "Eien"

----

Alex noticed he could expand the Occupation with the small + beside it; once he did there, it showed the various upgrades it would eventually grow into.

Justica Path: Ghoul Commander -> Ghoul Lord -> Ghoul King -> Ghoul Emperor

Dominata Path: Ghoul Chieftain -> Ghoul Warlord -> Ghoul Highlord -> Ghoul Tyrant

Both of them ended with a single Occupation.

"Ghoul Overlord."

Upon seeing his class wasn't the end, the sense of disappointment at the initial sight stopped making him feel depressed. His attribute upgrades were not what he imagined, but then again, willpower and endurance were very important for someone in his position.

'That's right; I am not just a warrior or fighter...'

Alex looked at the still-blushing Stella, brushing the crimson bang from her eye, as she looked towards him with a gentle smile, showing her nervous feelings.

'I am their future overlord, for them whether I become a tyrant or their lord...'