Chapter 5: Chapter 4: Diverse Destinations

The powerful foursome manage to both split up and stay together at the same time. As Warren walks in the direction of the room where the convention's first event will take place, he is slowly and stealthily followed by his brides and his vampire spawn, all of whom are mildly interested in whatever is about to happen next.

At the same time the clones of the four powerful royal vampires stalk off in separate directions. Warren's clone leaves the convention center, unseen and unbothered by mundane beings, and heads in the direction of the glamorous skyscrapers. The clones of his tiny harem of powerful vampires each head in different directions as well.

Aleera's clone, ready and eager to inflict violence on her foes, heads in the direction of the city's harbor. The savage vampire is in search of both brutes and beauties to transform into vampires. She wants to add muscle to her master's legions, as well as beauty, and she knows that by visiting the city's slums and alleys, many of which are situated near the harbor for which the city is named, she'll be able to find both in abundance.

Marishka's clone is heading towards the city's business district, determined to recruit a variety of people to the strange faction she is a part of, such as lawyers, bankers, and doctors, all of whom live and work in the heart of the city's business quarter.

Verona's clone is the one going the smallest distance from the city's convention center. The clone of the raven-haired pseudo-goddess of undeath and submission is heading towards Harbor City's city hall. The clone is determined to target important members of the city government strategically and use them to secure essence via oaths.

The sun is beginning to descend towards the distant horizon and the knowledge that that heralds the end of the workday drives Verona to move quickly. The vampire is determined to make several important moves tonight, and while she doesn't need subtlety to enact her schemes she does need to locate those she intends to victimize.

Verona is speedy as she dashes towards her intended destination. The swift vampire finds herself in front of her destination mere moments after she exits the convention center, and she smiles as she walks up the steps leading to the meek looking building that she dreams of turning into one powerful piece of her husband's dominion.

A few bureaucrats are departing from the building, as eager to leave it as she is to enter it. She glances at them and activates [Mindlink] whenever someone new exits the building. She dutifully studies the minds of those she sees, and speedily makes judgment calls on whether to turn the government workers into the newest members of her family's faction.

The other clones are all heading distances that are roughly equidistant from the convention center. Because of this curious bit of trivia the other clones reach their destinations at more or less the same time, whether it's Warren's clone reaching the lobby of a prestigious hotel, Aleera's clone reaching a small warehouse where men whose jobs are not exactly legal gather and loiter when not at work, or Marishka creeping into a bank located in the middle of the city's business quarter. All of the clones gleefully hurl themselves at their work.

Aleera studies the warehouse and begins to do mental math about the nature of essence collection. She is trying to calculate how many of the ne'er-do-wells in the warehouse she should turn into vampires and how many she should turn into thralls to extract the maximum possible amount of essence in the area in the smallest amount of time. It is challenging math for even a mathematical genius to try and do, and as intelligent as Aleera happens to be she is no mathematical genius.

Marishka invisibly stalks the ground floor of the bank she has infiltrated. The young-seeming woman is a practiced diplomat and seductress, and just being in the bank is bringing back happy memories. She is invisible to the human bank-tellers who simply do their jobs, oblivious to the eerie predator in their midst, but she has a breathtakingly beautiful smile on her face as she makes her way towards the back of the bank. 

Warren is loitering in the lobby of the hotel, unseen by anyone as he studies the minds of the humans who are either staying in the hotel or are employees who work at the place. He uses his powerful telepathy to sift through the minds of the rich heirs and heiresses who are using their parents money to stay in expensive suites throughout the building.

He is in no rush, and the casual look on his face hints that a small part of him even enjoys the predatory hunt he is on. His handsome features are animalistic as he surveils the hunting ground he has given himself, and that is causing him to look otherworldly even as his body begins to fully incorporate the perks he possesses, including an appearance-enhancer which makes even his ascended body more striking and appealing to gaze at.

---

I silently stand near the back of the grand event room in which the gathered crowd of convention goers are slowly being funneled. For the last few minutes I've stood here, studying the curious scene with an open mind 

Hundreds of people are being funneled into this gargantuan room. It is an odd thing to witness, and if I look around I can see my brides and the spawn I sired long ago situated throughout the room. As I wait for the actual event to start I take advantage of the moment of calmness, and speak to my handbook.

"What are [Ascendants]? That term keeps popping up, and I need to be armed with knowledge before I can truly get begin to work towards regaining my old might." I ask, speaking to the book via telepathy. 

"Ascendants are a special class of being that has begun to understand and manipulate some of the most esoteric layers of reality. You are a sanguinarch, the very first one in fact, though others have emerged in the time you've been haunting the multiverse. Your kind are masters of essence, one of the deepest layers of reality. There are three other known kinds of ascendants." The book replies, mysteriously.

"You were slain by Xerxes, a mythic wyrm aspected dragon lord who has mastered the storm element. Dragon lords are dragons and dragon-riders who have mastered the layer of reality from which greed originates, and in turn they have gained the power to grow stronger by amassing hordes of things. They have become what gods are to mortals, but to dragons and their allies and relatives. That ability to grow stronger as they amass a horde is how they have managed to become ascendants." The book continues, causing my eyes to widen slightly.

"The other two known types of ascendants are archdemons and cosmic gods. Archdemons are the rulers of the multiverse-spanning over-Hell, and they are empowered by the eight deadly sins, which form the ethereal backbone of the over-Hell that the archdemons rule over. Cosmic gods are strange ascendants who have earned power over various layers underpinning reality that they call 'Domains'." The thing explains. 

"Cosmic gods can do incredible things through the manipulation of their domains. Of all of the ascendants cosmic gods run the widest gamut as far as power and influence go, followed by sanguinarchs who can do incredible things with essence, but lack many of the abilities to bolster their followers that other ascendants, particularly cosmic gods and archdemons possess in abundance, or the same individual power afforded to dragon lords." The book tells me.

"Truthfully, each type of ascendant being has a specialty. Sanguinarchs are unmatched in their individuality, thanks to the flexible nature of essence, and have the strangest personal territory thanks to dominions. Dragon lords possess the greatest armies and the greatest individual power. Cosmic gods have the greatest ability to bolster their followers. Archdemons have the oddest servants, and often possess difficult to assail personal territories tucked away in the ultra-hell their kind call home, as well as the easiest way of powering up thanks to their power over sins." My strange tome explains, causing me to think about how to tackle each type of powerful foe I could someday face.

"If I were to use [Absorption] on another ascendant, particularly one of a different type, would it allow me to steal their unique powers?" I ask my book, curiously. At the same time the event I am here to attend finally begins, with a man in a well-tailored suit, the M.C. of the convention, beginning to speak and introduce the actors, actresses, and writers who stand up and wave when their names are called.

"Yes, you can steal the abilities of another ascendant. It is not easy, requiring a hefty amount of essence created by interacting with another ascendant, but it is possible." The book explains, even as I casually watch the event unfolding before me. That means that when I encounter another ascendant, if I am clever I can weaken them and even steal from them in ways that permanently debilitate them!

I suddenly sense the curious sensation of one of my brides converting the first victim of the afternoon into one of our vampires. I can tell who did it too, it was Aleera over in some dilapidated warehouse on the harbor, where she is about to begin to play with her food. The vampire is some large, bruiser-type criminal, and I can distantly feel the transformation he is undergoing.

As he is transformed into one of my servants his mind and body are altered in ways that are handy for me. He is pushed well beyond peak human as far as things like physique and durability go, his mind is enhanced, and even his attractiveness is bolstered, and all of that is before one factors in the truly supernatural traits he is being given. I can feel his body becoming a strangely malleable thing, one with an amorphous, flexible form that he can control if he focuses. 

The once mundane human is gaining many of the same abilities possessed by Gregory and Rosemary. He is, to be frank, gaining amazing abilities that will make him the envy of his peers in the days to come. I also sense his mind being changed, becoming submissive and obsequious to the wills of my brides and myself, which is a pleasant change. I can appreciate a good, devoted servant. 

The figure is becoming an elite vampire, but not a magnum opus one. The only real difference between the magnum opus vampires and the kind that he is becoming is that magnum opus ones can actually turn people into vampires without relying on their masters, my brides and myself, so magnum opus vampires are better at creating essence-gatherers than the breed he is becoming.

A few moments later, while the M.C. of the convention's opening event is gleefully passing off the microphone to allow the convention's speakers and panelists to say a few words, I begin to feel my other dark brides following in Aleera's footsteps. The sensation of them creating more servants is a nice one, as I can feel my influence on this world subtly expanding thanks to each new vampire my brides create.

I can channel my powers through my vampiric spawn with incredible ease, aside from particular powers such as my ability to dominate people. I can even hypnotize people through my vampiric spawn, or use my telekinesis through their bodies. Each time my servants or brides turn people into vampires I gain new eyes, ears, and even hands through which I can more precisely warp the world in ways that benefit me.

"Verona, please send a clone of yours to Marishka and Aleera." I say, suddenly, to my bride. This surprises her but she doesn't reject or chide me, and she simply does as I ask of her. I smile at her, tilting my head in her direction to do so, when she does as I ask, which causes her to smile back at me. Neither of her sisters offer any resistance or mutter any complaints when they see her, as both women are eager to have the power she offers on their side while we entrench ourselves in this world. I also don't communicate my intention to her, but I don't need to.

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I asked her to do that so that each of my brides has easy access to the "Dominating" focus, even without myself using a bit of my own mass to give them the power to dominate people. I could have sent myself with them, but that'd cost me some of the total mass I can use to shapeshift using [True Shifting], and that'd deprive Verona of a chance to dominate some people, which is something I hate depriving her of.

She has a very transparent, and loud mind, and while she is a mature, powerful individual, she also has her own quirks. One of those quirks is that she likes dominating people. Keeping her happy means giving her an outlet for her desires, and this is as good as any other outlet might be, plus it is productive.

For the next forty minutes, I am treated to a variety of sensations. Chief among the sensations I am treated to is the sensation of my influence very, very slowly expanding across Harbor City.

I am the source of some of those sensations, such as when I target and convert the lead housekeeper of the hotel my clone is in, and at times my brides earn victories of their own such as when Verona skillfully dominates one of the most important secretaries in the city's government; the secretary of the city planner. All the same, no matter who in my family attains any number of victories, I can still feel the victories all the same. And victories, unsurprisingly, feel quite pleasant.

These victories even result in more than just me acquiring new means by which I can gather essence. The act of converting people into vampires also brings with it a few level ups, as well as valuable experience practicing my own powers.

When the event comes to an end, the convention attendees are left to their own devices for a few hours. As soon as the convention's M.C. lets us go, I allow my body to be guided mostly on instinct and I dive into the depths of my own mind.

---

In the depths of my mind I am free to peruse the various skill trees I can access. These gigantic things are intimidating, even for me, and each contain hundreds of possible upgrades for me to pick from.

I quickly glance at and dart through several of the skill trees I can currently choose from with ease. My intellect, thanks to my ascendant nature and my possession of the "Cultured" focus, is more than enough for me to memorize simple, albeit dense, trees like the ones before me.  

Each of the different trees has a unique name that allows me to identify it at a glance with starting ease. One of the trees is named "Sanguinarch", and focuses entirely on things related to my sanguinarch abilities, which is not surprising, but what is surprising is that I possess a tree named "Essences".

This particular tree is especially extensive, containing truly hundreds of different options to choose from. Many of the options are hidden behind prerequisites, but even those that I can buy as soon as I have enough experience are intriguing. I can see things like [Essence of the Knife] and [Essence of the Warlord] available without any barriers, and by glancing at their names I can also see their descriptions. They... aren't bad, honestly.

Each level up grants me points I can use here, and it takes a few points to purchase even the cheapest options. As I scan through the options available to me I notice that some of the essences, when glanced at, reveal that if purchased they may unlock new trees, or add options to existing ones, which is intriguing.

I begin to apply my intelligence a bit more creatively as I study the options in the various skill trees that I can buy from immediately. I think about my weaknesses, particularly the nature of essence and areas where it struggles or is inefficient.

The first, and simplest thing I think of, is that essence-manipulators like me struggle with the fact that essence is an expendable resource that we permanently expend whenever we want to do something like create something from nothing, or any sort of creation-based feat unless we're in our dominions. This ability, in my case, can eventually be solved if I do something like invest in myself enough to purchase "Metacreativity", a power that I can purchase by going into the skill tree wherein omega lord and nova powers can be bought, but it can also be solved more interestingly elsewhere.

That weakness is solved, or at least begins to be addressed, by an essence which is clearly meant to be used to unlock further mechanical essences, named the [Essence of the Machine]. The solution in the case of that particular essence, is not the most elegant one but it is a real, workable solution, for someone patient enough to use it properly. With that essence someone can create nanomachines which can create technology for them, and can do other, minor tasks as well... 

Furthermore the essence in question also grants access to a whole branch of mechanical essences. I can tell that in the eyes of many those other, later essences would be the real draw of this particular essence, but what it offers me now is of more interest than other investments I'd have to make in the future if I brought this essence as a means to an end elsewhere on the tree.

Purchasing the essence would cost me all of my initial points but it is a beginning towards addressing one of the problems with essence, and it promises me intriguing future evolutionary options. I contemplate the options before me, and turn to the book I possess, speaking to the thing telepathically.

"So... If gods, vampires, dragons, and demons have ascensions... Do robots and cyborgs?" I ask, quietly. I am initially met with silence, which itself is an answer to my question. But then the book speaks to me, and causes my mental eyebrows to rise in a curious smirk.

"No... As far as I know, which means as far as you knew, robots and cyborgs do not have ascensions. But before you came along, neither did vampires." The book replies.

"I was a pioneer and a trailblazer before... I wonder if I can become one again?" I ask, to no one in particular, even as I decide to go ahead and purchase the mechanical essence.

As soon as I purchase it I feel the skill tree points I had earned when I leveled up fade away, returning to the place where they came from, presumably. I also feel something odd occurring to my senses... Namely that a bunch of symbols and logos are appearing and interposing themselves on my perception of reality, almost like I am some sort of video game character!

I feel my new abilities etch themselves onto my soul, and I chuckle as I study the strange, video-game like overlay that has put itself over my old perception of reality, which is doing things like recording distant conversations, adding subtitles to them, and allowing me to know the names of people around me by displaying their names over their heads. All in all it is an extraordinary introduction to my new powers, but not nearly as astounding as the sheer sensation of one's own body beginning to produce nanomachines.

Within me I feel creative and constructive nanomachines being produced and configured to be unleashed on my surroundings at a moment's notice, which gives me a curious rush of excitement. I mentally glance at my skill trees and notice a new one simply known as "T.S.A.", filled with abilities that are far too expensive for me to purchase.

"Someday..." I mutter, excitedly looking through the strange new tree of future powers. All the while my nanomachines filter through my memories, and the memories of those I have either dominated or otherwise recently fed on through other methods of essence extraction, all for the sake of acquiring information on easily replicable technology I can use to practice using the nanites that are currently filling me up.

I extend my mind and allow it to touch and seize control of the nanites, which is thankfully easy to do. Human minds are fleshy, chaotic, organic, difficult to fully understand even for a powerful machine, The minds of machines are not nearly as chaotic as the minds of organic lifeforms, at least not machines like the ones I am currently controlling.

I command the machines inside of me to construct a small pistol, and I am delighted when they pour out of me to fulfill my quest. The things pour out of my clone, as unseen by mundane beings as he happens to be, and they immediately set about working hard to fulfill my request.

I eagerly watch the machines warp and fiddle around with reality itself, using what appears to be precise alchemy, chemistry, and metallurgy to convert portions of the hotel floor into components of a pistol. When they finish constructing the component parts of the weapon they work together to assemble it. It takes all of a few moments from when they started converting pieces of the comfortable floor underneath my clone's feet into components of a gun, to when they offer the assembled and tested weapon to my clone.

"Exceptional... At least a partial solution to one of the big difficulties with essence." The clone mutters, even as he visually tracks the nanites that dart to and fro around him. It... really is an impressive display, especially since the [Essence of the Machine] offers me many exciting prospects beyond its actual promised abilities.

Even in the depths of my mind I can't help but crack a smile at how neat it is that this essence has the potential to be the catalyst for many adventures.

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