Vampire Summoner's Rebirth: Summoning The Vampire Queen At The Start

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After having been slaying golems here and there, we finally saw something.

Zack noticed it first.

"W-What is that place?"

Zack gasped, looking into the distance, at the end of this long corridor, a bright blue light emerged, illuminating everything.

I immediately knew what it was.

"Wait, that's… that must be the end of the labyrinth, or maybe the center!" I said. "Let's go!"

"The center!" Eleanora said happily. "Yeah, let's go!"

"Hey! Wait for me!" Zack screamed, chasing us.

We ran forward using our mechs as quickly as possible, Hendrick climbed through the walls and ceiling like actual spiders did, an interesting ability of his mech.

"There!"

Eventually, once we reached the end of the corridor, there was a large, expansive hall, with several tubes connected everywhere all at once.

"This place…?" Zack looked around. "So this is the center of these ruins, where this… that?"

"This place looks slightly similar to the spaceship- Huh?" Eleanora wondered.

"Hm?" I looked in front of us.

There was something at the center, a huge blue crystal, connected to dozens of enormous tubes and cables, circuits constantly being fed by this core's energies.

It resembled the giant core in the spaceship!

Although it was much smaller, but it was definitely that, right?

Indeed, it was!

"This has to be the place…" I nodded. "This must be the-"

"You're… finally… here…"

And then I heard her voice once more, she whispered to my very mind. I stepped forward, glancing at the huge stone, which began glowing.

"That's a Neutonium Core," I said.

"So that's what it is…" Eleanora nodded.

"A neu- what?! Wait, so those crystals are the Neutronium Cores?!" asked Zack. "That super expensive stone that the machines use to…"

"Yeah," I nodded. "I'm shocked that this entire time since the game's launch no other person has reached this place."

"I mean, you already saw what you have to go through to get here, right? A bunch of dangerous golems, most people would get instantly killed," said Zack. "You guys somehow survived and were pretty strong… insane, that's the power of a Whale I guess."

"Hmm," I ignored his last remark as I moved forward. Your journey continues at empire

I looked at the glowing stone, which had the slight shape of a heart, attached to it were countless tubes absorbing its boundless energy and pouring it into the ancient ruins.

"Can you hear me?" I said out loud.

I tried to get away from Zack so he wouldn't listen to what I'm talking about.

Eventually, I was only a couple of meters from touching the crystal itself.

It emanated a very strong heat; it could easily incinerate me if I approached any further.

No response.

"Hmm…"

I walked a bit closer, the heat was strong, slightly burning my skin.

"I heard your voice before," I said. "So please, don't make me feel like I have dementia or something."

Then, silence again.

Perhaps I should try a different approach, it felt like she was having difficulties talking too.

Hmm.

"Help me…"

"Huh?"

Her voice again, and she asked me to help her?!

But why?

"What's happening? Why do you even need help?"

"My soul… divided…"

"What?"

"Sealed… away…"

"Your soul was divided and sealed away?"

What was she even talking about?

Is this real?

"Are you the same one that talked to me outside of this virtual reality?"

"…Yes."

So somehow the consciousness of the Neutonium Mother Core, as I'll call her now, is also within this virtual reality game?!

So is this even a game, or something else?

If it's fueled by her own powers, perhaps… it could have devolved into something else.

I have so many questions, but it seems she can't even talk to me for much longer.

"What happened to you? No, what exactly are you?"

I tried to ask her two questions, but maybe it was too much.

"Please save me… Child of… Ether…"

There she goes with the "Child of Ether" again, what does that even means?

"Why do you call me Child of Ether?!"

Silence.

And then…

"Because you are…"

"I am?"

"You are the one… the… one… that has…"

"What?"

"That has… a piece of my… soul and heart…"

A piece of her soul and heart?

Does she mean…n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

The Demonic Neutonium Core I crated inside of my body?

"In that case, Hermes, Patrick, and Emilia are also Child of Ether, right?"

"No…"

"They aren't? But why? It's not the same thing?"

I waited for her response, stepping back so the heat of the core wouldn't affect me too much.

"You made them… that way… and… this is… ah… I…"

Her voice grew faintier.

"Please… hurry…"

"What's wrong?"

"My divided soul… cannot go on for too… long… you must touch the… virtual core."

Virtual core? Her soul…

Does this mean that this is indeed a virtual world, but that this huge crystal represents a piece of the Neutonium Mother Core's soul?

Then…

I have to touch that core while burning to death?

Hah…

I guess there's no helping it.

"If that's what I need to do…" I said. "Fine, but once I retrieve you, you will explain to me what's happening."

"I will… try…"

Not the best response, but it's good enough I suppose.

I steppe forward, the heat was intense.

I quickly took out the nanomachine strengthening syringe and injected it into my player avatar.

I felt a rush of tiny little metal particles enter my bloodstream.

Eventually, they attached to muscle tissue and bones, and then even my skin, making me tougher.

"I wonder if there are some like these but outside of this game…"

Thanks to the toughness and resilience that the nanomachines granted to me, I touched the core while burning, but at least I wasn't dying anymore.

"I barely made it… Before I burn…!"

I touched the core, as I felt blue flames and electricity engulf my entire body, the pain, albeit dulled as a game, was still real.

RUMBLE!

The crystal trembled, suddenly electrocuting my entire body at the same time as I felt something else within it enter my body.

"Thank you for saving me…"

FLAAASH!

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