Vampire Progenitor System

The mist parted.

Lucifer's boots sank into cold stone, but it didn't feel like stone. It felt… soft. Breathing. The entire floor pulsed beneath him, like he was standing on something alive.

He didn't move.

Didn't blink.

Something was watching.

Then it moved.

Far ahead, the air twisted. Warped.

And the monster stepped out.

It wasn't loud. It didn't roar. It just existed—and that was enough.

Towering. Four-legged, but its legs weren't legs—they bent like broken ribs stabbing into the floor. Its body looked flayed, skin draped over muscle that pulsed with glowing sigils. Its face was a mess of melted bone and eyes—too many eyes. Each one stared at a different world.

Lucifer narrowed his gaze.

Then came the voice in his head. Calm. Dry. Familiar.

"…Ah. That one."

"Damaris?"

"I've seen this thing. Once. In the Old Cycle. Back before the fall of the Blood Empire."

Lucifer didn't look away. "You fought it?"

"Easily."

Lucifer scoffed. "Thanks for the confidence."

"No, listen. That thing… It's called Vrahl'An. A Hunger Beast from beyond the Veil. It doesn't just eat flesh. It consumes history. Memory. Soul."

Lucifer flexed his fingers.

"Then why is it here?"

"That's what worries me," Damaris muttered. "I think… the system built this tower from echoes. From every monster I've ever faced. This one shouldn't exist anymore. But it's here. Reborn."

Lucifer raised his hand.

Blood gathered.

A crimson ring formed around him.

The beast raised its head. Slowly.

Then it moved.

The entire floor shook.

Lucifer vanished.

Appeared mid-air—blade drawn—swinging for the beast's exposed flank.

His blade struck.

It bounced.

The flesh didn't bleed. It screamed.

Not in pain.

In joy.

Vrahl'An's mouth opened sideways, a second jaw splitting across its chest. A dozen tongues shot out like spears.

Lucifer dropped low—dodged the first three, parried the fourth with his wrist guard, then backstepped into a phase-shift. He reappeared behind the creature.

Blood burst from his palm.

He formed a scythe—long and curved, black with red veins.

He slashed once.

The creature's left leg buckled.

But it didn't fall.

It laughed.

Not with sound.

With mind.

Lucifer clutched his temple as a wave of noise—no, memory—crashed into him. He saw his own birth. Then his death. Then Luna screaming his name in a version of the world that didn't exist.

He staggered.

The beast pounced.

He caught the claw with both arms. Bones cracked. Skin tore.

But he held it.

And smiled.

"Got you."

His scythe exploded.

A spiral of blood magic detonated under the creature's jaw, blowing chunks of its mask-like skull upward. The explosion rocked the floor.

Lucifer launched himself upward, riding the blast. Midair, he summoned blood tendrils from his back. They spread into wings. He twisted, redirected the momentum, then dropped like a meteor—crashing straight onto the beast's neck.

He drove a crimson spear straight into its spinal crest.

The beast howled.

But then…

It split open.

Vertically.

A second version of it clawed its way out of the first.

Lucifer landed, panting.

"…You've gotta be kidding me."

Damaris spoke calmly. "That's new."

The new beast hissed. Taller. Faster. Sharper. This one moved like it remembered him.

Lucifer's ring of blood began to dim.

[WARNING: BLOODCORE AT 67%]

He ignored the alert.

"Hey. Damaris."

"What?"

"You said you beat this thing easily."

"Not this version."

Lucifer sighed.

Then moved again.

The beast charged.

They clashed mid-floor. Shockwaves shattered the terrain. Rubble floated. Gravity gave up.

Lucifer's punches glowed. His arms were coated in hardblood—a condensed armor made from his own will. He blocked a swipe, ducked under a tongue-lash, then opened his jaw and bit into the beast's wrist.

Blood spilled.

He drank it.

And then spat it out.

It burned.

"Bad idea," Damaris muttered.

"Noted."

Lucifer stepped back. Focused.

His body shimmered.

A second ring formed.

Crimson Dominion.

The world bent.

His presence spiked.

The monster flinched.

Lucifer blurred.

Twelve slashes. Instant. Perfect.

Each one landed.

The beast dropped.

Twitched.

Then it rose again.

Bigger.

Lucifer looked up, breath ragged.

"…Okay. So it evolves."

Damaris spoke lower now. "You're not meant to beat it."

"What?"

"This is a death trial. A pressure gauge. The system's not testing your victory. It's testing how far you'll go."

Lucifer stood still.

His arms trembled. His blood felt thin.

But he didn't fall.

He raised his hand again.

Called it.

The Grimoire.

It unfolded midair—pages glowing. Vampiric runes bled light.

He turned to a forbidden page.

Whispered it.

"Ritual: Binding Maw."

A circle formed beneath the beast.

Chains of pure crimson erupted upward, latching onto the creature's limbs, eyes, and tongues.

It screamed again.

Lucifer walked forward.

Each step pulled more power.

The circle pulsed.

[WARNING: SYSTEM LIMIT BREACHED – USER APPROACHING BERSERK STATE]

"Let it," he muttered.

His body smoked.

The air around him turned red.

He drove his palm into the beast's chest.

The chains pulled tight.

The Grimoire shattered into sparks.

And Lucifer's body ignited.

Fully.

Wings of bloodfire.

Eyes pitch black.

The Progenitor had awakened.

Damaris didn't speak.

For the first time, he watched silently.

Lucifer didn't roar.

He simply attacked.

The next five minutes were chaos.

No form. No technique.

Just destruction.

He tore through space. Through the beast. Through the floor itself.

Each hit folded the world.

Until—

The monster fell.

Hard.

Its core is exposed.

Lucifer raised one last blade.

And stabbed down.

Straight through.

Silence.

The floor trembled.

The system paused.

[30th FLOOR: CLEARED]

Lucifer fell to one knee.

Breathing heavy.

Alive.

Barely.

The corpse of Vrahl'An sizzled—then vanished into dust.

Lucifer wiped blood from his chin.

Damaris finally spoke.

"You changed."

Lucifer didn't answer.

He just looked at his hands.

They were still smoking.

Still red.

"…This isn't over," he said.

"No," Damaris replied. "This was the beginning."

Lucifer stood slowly.

The next floor was still hidden.

But the tower now knew him.

Knew what he was.

And it would only get worse from here.

He walked forward.

One step.

Then another.

And the world shifted again.