The Vampire Prince's Toxic Consort (bxb)

Chapter 35 Seed of Betrayal

Dorian only saw his mother use her gift once, and when he was younger, he often wondered why she never showed him her power.

"Asmodian has a much stronger connection with his scions than any other Elders, and the more we use his power, the stronger the connection is. He will slowly get a hold of your mind, control your thoughts, and it is too dangerous." Mitra used to tell her curious son while holding him on her lap.

Little Dorian was confused, "but isn't it a good thing? That we have a stronger connection with our Elder?"

"Sometimes, good or bad is not a definite thing, and something to some people is good, to others is bad." Mitra said affectionately, "my Elder does not like this world. He always wants to change it. By using his power, he will grow stronger and stronger, and he will be able to re-enter our world to change it to his liking and make it his possession. But mommy like this world, so to mommy, it is not a good thing."

Growing up, Dorian heard many tales about how powerful his mother used to be before she married his father. The rare Asmodian scions were known for their ability to metamorphose. Most Asmodian's apostles were either a shapeshifter or a morpher. The former are adept at changing their own body, while the latter can transform others'. But Mitra was known to be a grand master in both arts, and she could even transform herself into transcendental entities, like one of the Elders. And the transformation was not only limited to appearance. Legend said she was even able to acquire the Elder's power and abilities while assuming the form.

But for some cryptic reason, Mitra vowed never to use her power again. And the only time she broke her vow was when she used her power to shapeshift Dorian into a human so he could escape when the Silverkeep was breached.

And some months later, after Dorian met Julian and learned about Julian's prophetic ability and vision about the future, his mother's words began to make sense. And he started to understand why his mother told him never to try to use Asmodian's gift.

Everyone thought Dorian didn't inherit his mother's ability, but the truth was he had been repressing it. By never trying to tap into the gift, he thought he severed his connection with Asmodian.

But what if he learned to use it? What if he could transform into an Elder temporarily like his mother did and avenge everything his father had done to his mother and him?

Was the cost too huge to justify the end? But did this world truly deserve their bloodline's sacrifice?

Dorian wondered as he stood forlornly in the chapel, gazing at Asmodian's smiling, lifeless eyes. Ere long, he took a few steps closer to the statue. At the bottom of the pedestal, inscribed a hymn to Asmodian in Old Persian. Dorian bit on his finger and smudged his blood on several seemingly randomly chosen cuneiforms. As he was doing it, his mother's warning came to his mind.

"Only use it when you have no other choice."

Well...his only two other choices now were to self-exile or divorce Lucius, and he wouldn't choose any of them.

As he finished, an eerie silence befell the dilapidated chapel as if time suddenly froze. The statue's eyes glowed briefly, and one of the numerous snakes behind the Elder began to move and squirm, and the stone scales transformed into obsidian scales. The black snake sibilated and slithered over the statue's shoulder, its beady eyes stared at Dorian, studying him, and for a brief second, Dorian saw recognition. And suddenly, it fell down to the ground, and the moment it touched the earth, the snake transformed into a scroll.

No doubt, it was his mother's magic. Dorian sighed morosely as his mother's vestigial existence in this world diminished more with the magic being activated.