Vescrutia: Legacy

Qarinah smiled—not out of arrogance, but out of understanding. There it was. The moment of hesitation. The smallest ripple in the raging tide. She took another measured sip from her bottomless glass, savoring the thick, crimson liquid as if she had all the time in the world.

"You heard me, didn't you?" she mused, her voice smooth, almost indulgent.

She took a single step forward, closing the distance just enough to make her presence an undeniable force. She was dwarfed in his shadow. The air between them crackled with residual energy, the last vestiges of his spent fury swirling around them like dying embers.

"Khei."

The name was barely spoken, a whisper woven into the spaces between destruction. It did not demand, did not command. It simply was. A thread of awareness cast into the storm, searching for something—someone—lost within it.

"You are not powerless."

A void of silence. Then, a flicker—so faint, so fragile. But it was there.

Qarinah’s smile deepened, her fangs glinting in the half-light.

"Come back, darling. It's time to wake up."

Ulduin moved.

It was not the blind, animalistic lunge of before, nor the earth-shaking wrath that had reduced his enemies to ruin. This was slower, more deliberate—a towering specter of raw power reaching toward the only thing in his sight that had not fled or fallen. His massive hand rose, fingers curling, a motion both instinctual and uncertain.

For a breath, the world seemed to contract around that singular moment.

Then, it unraveled.

A tremor ran through his form—deep, visceral, like a fault line straining under immense pressure. The muscles along his arm tensed, then faltered, his claws twitching as if caught between two conflicting wills. His breath hitched, no longer the measured cadence of an apex predator but something… human.

The change was instant.

His hulking frame convulsed, shifting inwards, collapsing upon itself. His ivory hide split apart, dissipating into wisps of shadow that curled and recoiled before vanishing altogether. His claws dulled, fingers shrinking back to their natural form. The monstrous snarl gave way to the sharp gasp of someone violently pulled from drowning.

And then, Khei Noh fell to her knees.

Her body was slick with sweat, her body bare and trembling. Her breathing came in ragged, uneven gulps– every inhale dragging her further from the abyss. The weight of exhaustion bore down on her, limbs weary, her body betraying the immense toll of what had just transpired.

But she was back.

And for the first time since the carnage had begun, the arena was silent.

——---——— ——---———
Current Energy Level: 10%
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Qarinah exhaled softly, tilting her head as she regarded the crumpled form before her. Slowly, deliberately, she took one last sip from her glass before allowing it to vanish between her fingers, the crimson remnants clinging to her lips like the final brushstroke of an unfinished painting.

Then, she stepped forward.

Not cautiously—caution was for those who feared consequence. Qarinah feared nothing. She crouched beside Khei, watching her with a quiet intensity, her gaze drinking in every quiver of muscle, every shuddering breath.

“Mmm, there you are..” she murmured, amusement laced with something far more difficult to define. “Welcome back, love.”

With the ease of someone who had done this before, she reached out, brushing damp strands of hair away from Khei’s face. Her fingers were cool against fevered skin, a stark contrast to the heat still radiating from Khei’s exhausted form.

“You made quite the mess, darling,” she continued, voice soft but edged with the undeniable weight of expectation. “But you also did an exceptional job.”

Her touch lingered just long enough to make a point before she withdrew, straightening once more. She did not offer her hand to help Khei up—this was not kindness wrapped in condescension. This was observation, curiosity, and something dangerously close to… patience.

Then, after a moment, she smirked.

“Tell me, how are you feeling? Would you like to discuss my findings now, or would you prefer some rest?”

Khei lied there, chest rising and falling in shallow, uneven breaths. Her body still thrumming with the remnants of Ulduin’s rage. Every muscle ached, every nerve felt raw, overstimulated—like she was still burning from the inside out. She swallowed, the taste of iron thick on her tongue.

Then it hit her.

She slapped Qarinah's hand away, her eyes narrowing. "You—" she started, voice hoarse but laced with something dangerous. Her hands curled into trembling fists. "You forced it."

The words were barely above a whisper, but they carried weight. The kind of weight that could crush mountains.

"I fucking told you no," she seethed, pushing herself upright with unsteady arms. "I told you I wasn’t ready, that I couldn’t control it—and you fucking did it anyway."

She stared at Qarinah, trying to read her, but something wasn’t right. The way she stood there, poised, composed—untouched. Khei barely remembered anything from the transformation, but in the fog, in the chaos, there were glimpses. Fragments of a memory she shouldn’t have.

“I saw you die.”

Her throat tightened. She had seen it, hadn't she? The way she was burned, broken, obliterated—only to stand there now, as if it had never happened. As if the very concept of death was a mere inconvenience.

A cold knot formed in Khei’s stomach.

"You’re not human," she said, more to herself than anything. Her voice had lost some of its heat, replaced with something colder. Calculating. "And you’re not just some sorceress either."

She met Qarinah’s gaze, searching, demanding. "Talk. What are you?"

——---——— ——---———
Current Energy Level: 20%
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Qarinah held Khei’s gaze, the playfulness in her expression fading into something more measured—still amused, but now laced with a rare sincerity. She exhaled softly as if humoring a long-awaited question.

"I am a vampire." she said simply, the weight of the truth settling between them. "One of the oldest, in fact."

She watched Khei carefully, gauging her reaction before continuing. "I do not age. I do not wither. And no matter how many times I am slain, I always return."

She tilted her head slightly, golden eyes gleaming with something not quite human. "Yes, you're correct. You saw what you saw, but that is my nature. I persist. I endure. And unlike you, I have had a very, very long time to master what I am."

Her lips curled into a wry smile. "So, before you ask—no, I do not fear death. And no, your Ulduin does not frighten me." She stepped forward, slow, deliberate. "But you, Khei? You interest me. Because for all your power, you are still learning what you are. And whether you admit it or not, you need someone who understands what it means to be something... more."

She extended a hand, palm up, as if offering something unseen. "I did not force you to become Ulduin to torment you. But because you need to understand him—to understand yourself. You may hate me for it now, but in time, you will see that I was right."

Her smile softened, though the sharpness in her gaze never wavered. "So, tell me, darling—now that you know what I am, do you still trust me?"

Khei stared at Qarinah, her breath still ragged, her body trembling in the aftermath of her transformation. The admission should have unsettled her more than it did. A vampire. The word carried weight, implications—but none of it cut deeper than the exhaustion clawing at her limbs or the frustration curdling in her gut. She was just.. so mad.

“..fuck you.”

Her voice was hoarse, edged with something brittle—rage, resentment, or maybe just sheer fatigue. She clenched her fists, nails digging deep into her palms as if the pain could tether her to wakefulness. Her vision swam, her body swayed, but she forced herself to stay upright, to meet Qarinah’s gaze with unwavering defiance.

"You think I needed to understand?" she spat, each word sharp enough to wound. “I already understand. That you—for all your talk of trust—played me like a fool." Her breath hitched as she swallowed against the lump rising in her throat. “What was it? Did you just want to taste his blood? Was that it? Some twisted indulgent vampire shit?”

She exhaled, shuddering, the fury giving way to something quieter—something raw and wounded. Her voice softened, thick with exhaustion. “You say you don’t fear death.” Her fingers loosened, the last remnants of her strength slipping away. “Then how the hell can we be anything alike? How can you possibly understand what it’s like.. to fight.. for your life?”

Her words stretched as the world tilted beneath her. Her legs buckled. The last thing she registered was the cold embrace of the ground rushing up to meet her before everything faded into darkness.

——---——— ——---———
Current Energy Level: 30%
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Qarinah watched as Khei crumpled, the last vestiges of defiance slipping away with her consciousness. She caught her before she could fully collapse, cradling the younger woman with effortless grace. Even now, even in sleep, Khei was all tension—worn threadbare but still resisting, as if even rest was a battlefield she refused to surrender.

With a slow inhale, Qarinah cast her gaze around the ruined arena. The echoes of destruction still clung to the air, but already, the ancient magics embedded in the stone had begun their silent work. Cracked marble knit itself together. Blood and viscera faded into nothingness. Soon, there would be no sign of the carnage, no trace of the monster or the battle fought in its wake—only the quiet, undisturbed perfection of the restored coliseum.

She adjusted Khei’s weight in her arms, tilting her head as she considered the girl’s unconscious face. So much fire. So much rage. And yet, beneath all that, something terribly, painfully human.

Qarinah smiled—softly this time, not out of mockery but something else entirely.

“Oh sweet child, you have no idea what I understand,” she murmured, more to herself than to the sleeping girl. Then, with a flick of her wrist, shadows coiled around them like a living veil, swallowing them whole as she carried Khei away.

The arena, pristine once more, stood silent behind them.