[SUMMARY & TRANSLATIONS] Tsukihime -A piece of blue glass moon- (CONTAINS SPOILERS)
Tsukihime -A piece of blue glass moon- Synopsis
This thread is for posting spoilers for the Tsukihime remake in a more organized, digestible fashion.
In order to facilitate that, I will be posting my own experience with playing the game, what one would call summaries, in this thread, and then organizing them into an index for easier viewing.
If there are other things that need to be highlighted, then I will add those as well, even if they are posted by others. Hopefully we can all work together to make things a bit more digestible and easy to access.
(I've enclosed other choices, and dead ends in spoiler tags. It might be a bit confusing when you're trying to read Ciel route, but just remember to not read the parts that the spoiler'd choice covers if you wanna have a coherent experience.)
Last edited by Petrikow; August 24th, 2022 at 11:21 AM.
His family are acting strange, they are being awfully noisy, but he cannot understand why.
In a dream-like state an unknown woman's voice calls out to him, telling him how things could have been different.
His family is being massacred. But he is simply a child, he does not understand. Before long, it is his turn as well. The killer turns towards him, but a being he recognizes as his mother covers him. He doesn't understand what is happening, he is simply a young child after all.
He looks up at the moon.
His vision fills with blood.
- - -
The heir of the Tohno family, Tohno Shiki wakes up after being in a coma. The doctor tells him its a miracle that he is alive. He was in an accident and was basically considered dead.
But more than anything, what Shiki wants to know from the doctor is why the hospital is full of scribbles everywhere. The doctor, talking behind his back, starts to suspect brain damage.
One day, Shiki tries tracing the scribbles of his bed, and without any resistance, it breaks apart. He is spotted by a nurse and then scolded by the doctor. Yet when they ask how he did it, his story about tracing the scribbles is treated as a lie.
One day, he gets fed up with the hospital, and runs outside until he comes unto a wide plain. There he encounters an unusual red-haired woman. She is called Aoko Aozaki and is willing to talk to the day on equal terms, without treating him as a child.
Thereafter, Aoko and Shiki continue meeting upon the plain outside the hospital. One day, Shiki shows off his unusual ability. Before he can destroy the tree, Aoko slaps him and tells him off rather harshly. She explains that he should never use his ability to destroy, but promises to help him.
The next day, Aoko brings him a pair of glasses. When Shiki puts them on, he notices that he can no longer see the lines and is overjoyed. He declares that it's almost like magic, to which Aoko responds that she actually is a Magic-user. Aoko tells him his ability can see the end of things, and that the ability is his to use as he will, despite her earlier harsh words.
Shiki understands it is the last he will see of her as he parts from the plain.
Last edited by Petrikow; August 26th, 2021 at 01:13 PM.
He ponders how he got to his point in life. After his accident, he was disinherited by his father, Tohno Makihisa. He was sent off to live with the Tohno branch family known as the Arima household. For the last 7 years he has lived there.
However, today he has been called back to the Tohno household after having recently learned that his father has deceased. His foster mother Keiko sent him off without much fanfare.
On the train, he encounters his upper-classmate, who he apparently became acquainted with just a week earlier, at least according to her. She is carrying a lot of stuff, having apparently been out early in the morning doing volunteer work at the park. Ciel invites Shiki to visit her at the tea ceremony club after school.
Ciel and Shiki's excited chatter is interrupted by a blue-haired sharp-looking middle schooler, who chides them for being loud in public. Ciel has some business elsewhere and leaves Shiki at the station to go to school on his own.
Shiki arrives early and does some light studying. As class starts, a loud presence barges into the classroom. With his dyed orange hair, deep tan and pierced ear, Inui Arihiko loudly greets Shiki. The odd pair are old friends.
Shiki thinks its unusual for Arihiko to arrive at class so early, to which Arihiko blames the recent murder incidents that have been occurring in Souya. The conversation wakes the attention of another of their friends; Yumizuka Satsuki. She says its called the "Vampire Killings" after some of the victims were found with their blood drained.
At lunch, Shiki walks out into the corridor and meets Ciel. She offers to make up for the mishap at the train, inviting him for lunch. Shiki secures them a seat in next to Arihiko. Supposedly Ciel had at first plans with Arihiko, but dropped it to talk to Shiki.
Ciel brings Shiki curry. They small chat until Ciel asks where Shiki lives. He hesitates, but Arihiko spills the beans about his circumstances. Shiki gives in and tells Ciel about his family, and how he is moving today.
Arihiko feels bad, and eventually tells Ciel he has to talk to Shiki alone. After she leaves, Arihiko tries to cheer Shiki up about the move.
Eating with Arihiko alone
Arihiko invites Shiki to lunch, with the promises of a special guest, supposedly an upper-classmate, but the person in question does not show up. Shiki does not buy that Arihiko would come early to school just because he's scared of going out at night. Arihiko says he actually came to talk to Shiki, since he heard from his sister that Shiki is moving households today, and was hoping to cheer him up.
After school, Shiki is pondering on what to do, and not feeling quite ready to go home, he decides to make good on his promise with Ciel and visits her at the Tea Ceremony club.
After going around looking for the place, Shiki finally finds it after consulting a map. Only Ciel can be found in the room. She explains that the Tea Ceremony club was long abandoned and that only recently has she been trying to revive it.
Eventually, Ciel asks him about his family again. Shiki says he never felt like he could properly return's the Arima family's love for him. He explains how with his Father now dead, he was called back to the Tohno mansion. The two start spend the rest of the time small-talking until the school starts to close.
On the way home, Shiki thinks back to the history of his family, their origins as a major industrialist backer. His father never liked his rebellious attitude, even as a child, and was glad to be rid of Shiki after the accident gave him an excuse to do so. He worries that his younger sister Tohno Akiha, who has become the head of the family, now hates him for escaping his responsibilities.
He thinks back to when they used to play together. There was another person who played with them. But he cannot recall who it could have been.
As he arrives before the Tohno mansion he is impressed by its size, being bigger than his school. He is let in through the gate remotely and ponder his memories as he walks through the plot.
As he enters the mansion proper, a youthful red-haired girl wearing an apron greets him. She quickly deduces him to be Shiki and so starts addressing him formally. She introduces herself as Kohaku, a maid who works at the mansion.
Kohaku leads him to the living room, where he has to wait 10 minutes for Akiha to finish her business. Kohaku urges him to explore a bit in the meantime.
Shiki obliges the request, and head back out into the lobby. There he encounters a strange looking man whose entire body is wrapped in black bandages. The man introduces himself as Saiki Gouto. Shiki has no memories of him from before, to which Gouto says that it's because he's not part of the family. Gouto calls Shiki an dropout and an outcast, yet also claims to have been happy to hear that he was recalled to the Tohno mansion. Before long, he claims his business concluded and leaves.
Shiki returns to the living room and is shortly escorted to Akiha's study, the former study of his father. She informs him that his life is going to take a drastic turn from her on out, informing him that his manner has to improve if he is to represent the Tohno family.
Shiki wants to know why he was recalled to which Akiha responds that she decided it was necessary, no matter what Makihisa had in mind. She overruled all the people from the branch families in her decision and even had them evicted from the mansion.
From now on, Shiki has to obey an 8 o'clock curfew. To help in that endeavor, he is assigned his personal maid; Hisui. Hisui is in contrast to Kohaku very subdued and stoic. She leads Shiki to his new room, supposedly the same he lived in 7 years ago.
Finally, he is then lead to the dinner room, where Akiha and Kohaku are waiting. They eat dinner in awkward silence while Shiki desperately tries to remember his table manners. Akiha is clearly miffed by his sad performance. She then has his mobile phone confiscated.
Shiki returns to his room, and requests of Hisui to stop addressing him so formally, to which she has a hard time obliging.
During the night, Shiki suddenly wakes up and in a trance, walks into the attic. He is looking for something, but can only find odds and ends of little trinkets. He finally spots a cylinder with a bunch of old bandages. The image sticks in his mind, but he eventually returns to his room and falls asleep.
Last edited by Petrikow; September 4th, 2021 at 09:59 AM.
Shiki has an ominous dream, his vision filled with an azure landscape. Someone is talking to him. He is not meant to see any dreams.
Shiki is awoken by Hisui, who urges him to eat breakfast.
Kohaku greets him in the dinner hall, and presents him with a Japanese-style breakfast. Shiki thinks the meal is delicious, but has to inform Kohaku that she has made too much for him, and he feels bad for having to leave things uneaten.
After his breakfast, Shiki visits Akiha who is drinking tea. While discussing the quality of the tea, suddenly a boisterous voice is heard approaching them. A busty, and loud older woman appears on the scene, demanding from Kohaku a cup of tea for herself.
The person in question is Dr. Arach, who explains to Shiki that was an associate with Makihisa during their college years. She now serves at the mansion as Akiha's "friend", doing work on the building among other things. Then just as she arrived, she disappears, leaving Shiki rather bemused.
Akiha makes Shiki promise to return at 6, even though his curfew is at 8 as they prepare to leave for school. Kohaku approaches him before he can leave, and gives him his phone back, telling him to keep it a secret.
On his way to school, Shiki reflects on now having to walk instead of taking the train. Feeling like a transfer student to his own school. As he arrives at school he notices that Arihiko is now back to his usual pace, being absent in the morning.
Today however, no teacher appears. With the students about to leave, suddenly a youthful woman instead barges into the room. She introduces herself as Noel, and will be taking the place of their previous teacher who has disappeared under unclear circumstances.
The boys of the classroom are instantly smitten with the young teacher, while the girls feel an ill-will towards the amount of attention she is getting.
During lunch break, Shiki encounters Ciel in the corridors. She has bought a few too many curry breads and offers to share them with Shiki. The two eat together on the schoolyard. Akihiko then suddenly barges in, taking one of the curry breads for himself.
After a deadly scuffle with an irate Ciel, Arihiko eventually returns with his own lunch and the three spend the lunch together, talking about their preferences of older girls, to which Shiki mentions Noel to Arihiko, who was absent in the morning.
After school, Shiki is approached by Noel. She has something she wants to tell him. However, it appears to be a sexual advance, which transfixes Shiki, especially unto her neck. As she asks for him to remove his glasses, the spell breaks, and he rebukes her. She claims it was a simple joke. She warns Shiki to not pry too much during the night, unless he wants to become like his former teacher.
Shiki is a bit stunned by the events, and his minds starts to wander. He decides to take a bit of a detour before heading home. His feet take him all the way downtown where he encounters the very same middle-schooler who had chided him on the train the day before. She asks for a 100 yen coin and buys a drink, eventually handing it over to him. He notices how late he is and rushes home.
Despite just barely making the curfew, Akiha is still furious with Shiki and reduces his allowance, as well as forbidding him from eating dinner. He returns to room dejected, but finds Kohaku waiting for him outside. She has brought his a bit of something to eat, despite Akiha's earlier remarks.
After eating, Shiki heads to the living room, once again deciding to speak with Akiha. However, the only person he founds there is the strange-looking Gouto. Shiki is surprised that he is at the mansion once more. Gouto insists that there is nothing odd about him being at his home. Gouto badmouths Makihisa's curfew to which Shiki argues back. The two talk for a bit before heading to bed.
During the night, Shiki is awoken by a loud howling. He presumes the noise to be that of a wild dog. Unable to sleep, he heads outside to investigate, but finds the noise becoming quieter and quieter as he does so.
He eventually reaches the outside gates and seems a shadowy figure looming above a canine looking body. The figure pulls out a weapon and impales the canid, which disappears into the night, leaving no corpse. He stares a bit more, and then suddenly he snaps back. There is no figure.
Shiki returns to his room confused, wondering about what he just witnessed.
Last edited by Petrikow; September 4th, 2021 at 09:59 AM.
Shiki dreams of his time in the hospital, when he meet Aoko.
He wakes up wondering if what he saw last night was a dream. Hisui is by his bed-side as per usual.
Shiki meets Kohaku and Akiha in the living room, where tea is once again being served. He asks them about the noise last night, wondering if that's normal around the Tohno mansion. But Akiha and Kohaku did not hear anything last night, speculating that Shiki must've had a bad dream.
Before leaving for school, Kohaku brings Shiki a small wooden box. It's a keepsake from his late father. Though Shiki wants to leave the object alone, Kohaku's curiosity of its contents spurs him to open it. Inside is a knife labelled "Seven Nights". Noticing he's about to be late, Shiki pushes the knife into his bag and hurries off.
As Hisui is seeing Shiki off by the gates, he notices there are a lot of people by the fence. Hisui informs him that the police found some traces of blood there last night and are investigating.
Shiki arrives just in time for homeroom class. Arihiko is there in the morning, having come early to meet Ciel. As Noel enters the class she notices two absences. One girl, and one boy.
Eating with Ciel
As lunch break rolls around, Shiki decides to visit the Tea Ceremony club, brining a curry bread with him. Ciel is hesitant at first, but upon seeing the curry bread, lets him in.
Ciel brings up the investigation around the Tohno estate, thinking its connected to the Vampire Killings. Shiki says he doesn't like the term. Wouldn't a vampire just create more vampire if they sucked blood like that? Ciel says, perhaps the ones they found are people who for some reason couldn't become vampires. Shiki tells her to stop being so dramatic.
As he leaves, Noel is outside, holding a crucifix. Shiki remembers that she volunteers at the nearby church. The two exchange some words, and part ways.
As lunch break rolls around, Shiki eats alone in the cafeteria before returning to the classroom. It is only then that he notices that one of the absent students is Satsuki.
During classic literature class, Shiki's anemia acts up and he almost faints before Arihiko props him up. His friend loudly exclaims that Shiki is feeling unwell and has to go home, to which Shiki obliges. Shiki thinks back to last night.
He wanders gormlessly around in his anemic state, stopping at the station before realizing he's heading the wrong way. He sits down and tries to collect himself.
Then he spots her. A great beauty passes him by amongst the crowd. Golden hair and crimson eyes. Shiki is transfixed. His senses becomes warped, and before she can leave his sight, he begins to stalk her.
The impulse takes over Shiki's mind, and he obsessively stalks the girl all to way into her apartment complex, breaking the locks to the back door and deducing the location of her suite from the elevator's position.
As he knocks on her door and hears her voice, the impulse acts out. His knife comes flying out and in an instant, he dissects the girl into 17 pieces.
When his senses return to him, the cut up remains of the girls lie strewn about the floor in a pool of blood. Shiki starts to puke.
Ciel Route start
He tries to deny it, but he can't. This is reality. Shiki screams and rushes out of the building.
Shiki stops at a park. The weight of his sins carry heavily upon him. He considers suicide, but can't, he still wants to live. Instead, rain starts to fall and Shiki doesn't move. He might freeze to death.
Someone calls his name. He looks up and sees Ciel carrying an umbrella. She is worried about his health, telling him to return home. Shiki says he can't, so Ciel instead invites him to her home, practically dragging him with her.
Ciel prepares some tea and tells Shiki to undress from his cold clothes, but he doesn't move. Eventually she undresses him herself, seeing the massive wound upon his chest. Shiki says its from 7 years ago and she needn't be worried.
Shiki tries to leave, but Ciel holds him back, knocking off his glasses in the process. The world of death unfolds before him, and Shiki screams out in terror. He confesses that he's done something terrible and doesn't deserve her kindness.
Ultimately Shiki stays the night. Though given Ciel's bed, Shiki still can't sleep. Ciel is awake too, the two talk. Ciel says that she believes all people are sinners in some ways, the difference is between those who try to make things right, and those who don't. And she's certain Shiki is the former.
Eventually Shiki falls asleep.
He tells himself its a dream and that he'll soon wake up. His consciousness fades.
Shiki wakes up. Hisui stands before him. She explains that she found him in the park, after they had gotten worried when he didn't return from school in time. Shiki apparently had acted quite normal at the time, though he himself recalls none of the matter.
He thinks back to the girl. It must have been a dream, he surmises.
Last edited by Petrikow; August 30th, 2021 at 12:13 PM.
Shiki wakes up in the mansion once again. He is still in disbelief of the dream he had. Hisui has cleaned his clothes, as they were supposedly dirty after he rested so long in the park.
Shiki still has plenty of time before school, but the dream has left him with no appetite. Kohaku rebukes him for trying to skip breakfast and drags him into the dinner room. Shiki talks a bit with Akiha during the breakfast.
Ciel Route start
Shiki wakes up at Ciel's place. He panics for a bit, but lets out a energetic greeting. He says he needs to hurry back home, Akiha is surely furious with him. Ciel says she already made Arihiko call and pretend he was sleeping over.
As he's walking home, Shiki thinks back to his sin. He's prepared himself for the worst, perhaps the police has already arrived. But he's accepted it already. He's going to try and atone.
Hisui greets him at the mansion and leads him into the living room. Akiha is upset with him, but understands he had no choice from what Arihiko conveyed to her. Shiki asks what, to which a tirade of clearly false stories are enumerated.
Shiki takes his usual route to school, but as he comes closes in near the gates, he spots an unusual figure waiting there. It is the woman he killed. Panic runs through his mind, if it was not a dream, then how is she alive?
Shiki flees for his life, his instincts telling him she's planning on returning the favor for killing her. No matter how fast he runs, he can't shake the girl.
Eventually forced into a back-alley, Shiki is forced to talk to the girl. She admonishes him for killing her, but declares that she'll forgive him if he feels sorry. She introduces herself as Arcueid, an immortal vampire.
Though she originally wanted to kill Shiki, she finds him interesting and proposes that he help her exterminate another vampire haunting the city.
Before their chat can continue, a black leopard appears behind them. It attacks Shiki, who is saved by Arcueid. Then, even more uninvited guests appear. A pair of smoldering corpses attack them as well. Arcueid identifies them as "the Dead", though remarks they appear to be a new sort.
Arcueid easily disposes of the Dead, after which the black leopard disappears as well. She once again asks of Shiki's cooperation, explaining that him killing her has taken away most of her power and that she needs someone to watch over her while she recovers.
Shiki hesitantly agrees.
Lower Arcueid's affection
Shiki says he won't help her. Arcueid's eyes fill with threatening intent. She uses her eyes to paralyze him and says that he ought to know his place. Shiki is then practically forced to help out.
[OP plays]
- - -
A girl who together with her boyfriend, pursued an urban legend around the north station of Souya has encountered the legend itself. She is stuck in a sea of corpses, desperately searching for a light so she may escape the hell she has fallen into.
Voices of suffering echo throughout the unknown halls, as she clings to her last hope of escaping alive. She looks down upon her hands and notices them having come alight. Yet she is overjoyed, though the pain assaults her, she has finally found her light out.
A deep voice rings out, still seeking more of the flame. Despite the inferno, he is still cold.
- - -
Arcueid brings Shiki to a high-class hotel, having rented out the entire top floor for herself. The two banter for a bit, until Arcueid decides to sleep. Shiki understand that it's his chance to run away, if he would so like.
Lower Arcueid's Affection
He leaves the hotel behind, only stopping when he gets to the park from yesterday. He thinks back to Ciel's words. He is the one who killed Arcueid, does he not want to atone?
DEAD END
Still, Shiki wants nothing to do with the strange world Arcueid has sucked him into. He decides to return home. As he's about to leave the park, a familiar middle-schooler stops him. She says the color on his face looks like death and offers to call him an ambulance. Shiki declines, and notes quietly that she looks even worse than him as she leaves.
It's already dark when he gets to the mansion. His vision is assaulted by something. Two living corpse like the ones in the back-alley attack him. Before he can counter-attack, his world is set ablaze. A stoic voice admonishes him. Shiki burns to death.
His conviction returned, Shiki decides to return to the hotel. Arcueid is upset when he returns, having woken up in the meantime. Nevertheless, she's not furious, as he feared.
Shiki decides to stay at the hotel and watch over her. Shiki admires the beauty who lies defenseless before him and then notices the time and sends a message to Arihiko that he's feeling bad and skipping school. He then sits down on the sofa and falls asleep as well.
In his dream, he sees a memory from long ago. His sister is crying. His hands are stained with blood and before him lies another boy. Shiki knows that he's the one at fault.
Shiki is awoken by Arcueid, who is slightly miffed that the person who was supposed to watch over her fell asleep instead.
Shiki still doesn't quite understand what is going on with the vampires and such, which prompts Arcueid to go through a Vampire Basics course with him.
First she explains the various 6 first grades of the Dead Apostles, but Shiki is still confused so she returns to basics. There are 2 overall types of vampire; True Ancestor and Dead Apostle. Arcueid is a True Ancestor, a natural vampire, while the one attacking the town is a Dead Apostle.
She explains some other basics such as animal familiars, mystic eyes and other vampires attributes.
With that over, she still expect Shiki to then in return explain how he killed her. Shiki reluctantly explains that he has the ability to see "lines" which when traced with a knife causes things to fall apart.
Arcueid recognizes this as the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, a mythical ability which can see the end of all things; a fundamental law of the universe. However, she then urges him to look at her lines now, that it's become night. Arcueid has no lines as she stands bathed in the moonlight. She has no concept of death during the night.
Shiki's glasses makes Arcueid curious, she inspects them and realizes its creator is Blue, one of the four Magics, an opponent she doesn't dare face.
Arcueid asks Shiki to guess how many people she has drained of blood. All of his guesses miss and she eventually says she has not drank blood in hundreds of years.
All of a sudden, Shiki starts feeling extraordinarily hot. He looks at one of the security feeds and sees a shadowy figure and canid surrounded by an azure inferno in the main lobby.
Arcueid freezes up, becoming lost in thought. Shiki wracks his brain as the heat in the hotel room increases. He eventually cannot take it anymore and leaves, with Arcueid remaining behind.
He walks into the corridor towards the elevator. As he reaches his destination, an unease assaults him, the lines on the elevator are thicker than anything hes ever seen before. The door opens, and reveals two dogs feasting in a sea of corpses.
The sight makes him imagine all the death that has occurred in the hotel. But the dogs give him no room to ponder. They attack him. His instintcs kick in and he quickly disposes of the first one, with his mind in the same state as when he killed Arcueid.
But he cannot do the same with the second, his hand gets stuck in its gullet as he tries to pierce it. He finds himself unable to deal the killing blow, thinking back to his talk with Aoko. He remembers his dream, with Akiha crying and eventually goes through with it.
He looks around him and then, can hear a woman screaming for help coming towards him. Then out of the other elevator, a hand surrounded by an azure inferno grabs ahold of her. Shiki watches as the vampire drains her of her life.
With only Shiki remaining, the vampire and his inferno approaches. Shiki looks straight at him, and in addition to all the lines he usually sees, a large cold dot inhabits the core of the vampire. The invader raises his hand, and fire spews out from it. Arcueid appears before Shiki, pushing him out of the way of the flames.
Arcueid stares the vampire down, her eyes turn golden and she orders him to state his name. At first, the vampire says he has none, but Arcueid then asks for his inherited name to which he says that he is called Vlov Arkhangel.
The two exchanges blows, until suddenly, Vlov stops and simply leaves. Arcueid, exerted by the blow she had to take for Shiki, collapses into his chest, falling asleep.
Shiki realizes he has to leave the hotel quickly, before they are spotted. It is then that he realizes the reason for Vlov's retreat. The sun has risen.
Shiki carries Arcueid out of the hotel, and takes her instead to the apartment complex in which he originally murdered her. Before long, he falls asleep, tired from the hectic events of the day.
Last edited by Petrikow; October 1st, 2021 at 11:33 AM.
Shiki wakes up to the sound of Arcueid in the kitchen. She notices his awakening and comes out to greet him, but quickly collapses on the floor. The wound she suffered during the fight with Vlov is severe.
Shiki notices something off about her and manages to convince her to show him the wound. Arcueid has taped it over with masking tape. Stunned at her lack of common sense, Shiki goes out to buy medical supplies and returns to tend to her wound properly, even if she is a vampire.
Arcueid explains that Vlov is not just any vampire, he's an Ancestor, one of 27 vampires who act as kings in their society. All of them possess a Principle, a curse of sorts that manifests as a unique power distinct from their other properties as a vampire. She surmises that is the true nature of his blue flames.
Shiki hears about the hotel on TV, the incident being covered up as an accidental fire. He starts to feel survivor's guilt over the 200 dead and becomes more convinced that the two of them need to stop the rampaging vampire.
Arcueid says that if they wait 3 days, she can regain enough of her power to take him down, but Shiki understands what that will mean for the city. He insists they deal with Vlov immediately.
Arcueid and Shiki compromise, they will wait until night, at which point they will lure Vlov out into the open, at the central park of Souya.
Their plan is for Arcueid to suppress Vlov with her spectral chains, giving enough space for Shiki to finish him off with his eyes. Since Vlov is unaware that Shiki would be a threat, he will most likely treat him the same as any other human, paying him no mind whatsoever.
Time passes and the pair arrive at the park. Arcueid can tell Shiki is afraid of the antagonistic Vlov, wondering why he's not afraid of her, a vampire all the same. Shiki feels that Arcueid, who does not drink human blood, is not someone he can feel fear for.
And then, as they wait, fire streaks into their view. The downtown of Souya is in flames.
- - -
Vlov's mind is in shambles. He's too cold, he must have more warm blood. From his underground lair beneath Souya station, he emerges, his coffin opening up on the surface.
His mere presence is that of a unavoidable natural disaster. The people on the street burst into flames before they know what hit them. Vlov's ghouls are unleashed, they too, consumed by the inferno, turning into smoldering husks, yet still attacking the populace.
Vlov has no reason left. He has abandoned all pretense of hiding.
- - -
Shiki and Arcueid rush towards the scene, but its already too late. People are running in panic, the police has setup a makeshift barrier around the outbreak zone, Shiki can't get in.
rcueid urges Shiki away from the scene, leading him into a back-alley. She grabs onto him, and leaps into the air, to his bewilderment. The two soar above the city, until the land on the other side of the outbreak.
They can see the police futily trying to stop the vampire and his ghouls. If Vlov is not stopped, he will continue until the city is consumed. Arcueid confides that if they just let him "burn out" until there is nothing left to consume, he will be weak enough for her to defeat. Shiki however, cannot allow that possibility and asks for her help.
Arcueid leaps into the air, her figure reflected by the moon. Gravity ceases its influence upon her and she floats, gathering strength before crashing down upon Vlov's location. Her impact shatters the ground, opening up a massive impact crater several tens of meters deep.
Shiki runs after Arcueid and arrives at the edge of the pit to see the two vampires in battle. They are evenly matched, Vlov having brandished a cleaver to fight against Arcueid's claws. As the battle continues however, it becomes clear Arcueid has the upper hand. She steadily chips away at Vlov, taking away more and more of his blood as he regenerates.
Finally, Vlov unleashes his trump card. The fiery claws that had assaulted Arcueid before attacks her, three at once. A massive explosion resounds.
But Arcueid is unharmed. She emerges from the fire in a new attire. The time given to her by Shiki has allowed her to reconfigure her body, now specialized against the heat.
The two continue to fight, and Vlov's impeccable fighting form starts to crumble as he loses more and more of his reason under the pressure. Desperate for more warm blood, he tries to exit the battlefield. Arcueid unleashes her powers, conjuring a stream of vines that burst out of the ground and grabbing onto the fleeing vampire. No matter how much they burn, the vines continue to grow, allowing Vlov no escape.
Arcueid declares the fight over and rushes in to deal the killing blow. However, Shiki has a bad feeling about it and it is then that he realizes. The blue fire is different. It is but an after effect of Vlov's real nature. He calls out to Arcueid, warning her of his true nature. Vlov's Principle is that of cold, not heat.
But is too late, Arcueid's attack tears of part of the last blood Vlov has and he can no longer contain his true nature. The fire is peeled off and Vlov's mind becomes clear again. Him and Arcuied converse about his origins. Arcueid recognizes his abilities as those of Zaria, an Ancestor without any kin. Vlov reveals he killed Zaria to gain their place.
He summons forth a massive spear from his shadow and attacks Arcueid, a massive wave of cold following in its wake, freezing everything in its path.
Arcueid tries something to counter as she hears Shiki call out to her, but is knocked out, her new attire fading into her old. Vlov calls forth his minions to consume her and bring his heart to him. Finally, Shiki makes up his mind, though knowing it amounts to suicide, he rushes to Arcueid's aid.
He will only be able to live a few minutes in the freezing environment, which has become arctic-like. He rushes the Dead and easily cuts them apart with his knife. He approaches Arcueid, trying to wake her up and asking for her assistance. Though now awake, she is too weak to do much.
More of the Dead approach and Shiki repels them. Vlov still doesn't perceive Shiki. Shiki's chance is there. He rushes the Ancestor, who finally notices him just a few meters before the two come in contact.
To both of their surprise, just before Shiki can arrive, Vlov retreats backwards. Vlov doesn't understand why, but his instincts told him that Shiki had the means to kill him.
Vlov finally starts to take Shiki seriously, using his cold to send spears of ice towards him from a safe distance. Shiki is able to repel a few of them, but starts becoming overwhelmed as Vlov sends out more and more.
As Vlov is firing his icicles, one of them hits Arcueid, who once again wakes up. She tears at the ground and throws a block of concrete at him. Vlov once again summons his spear and tears the incoming projectile apart.
Shiki desperately tries to formulate some way of killing Vlov. He understands that even if he had come close to Vlov, the cold aura would've meant his death as he got closer. As he fights, he surmises two things about Vlov's Principle.
1. Vlov cannot move freely while emanating the wave of cold.
2. Vlov can concentrate the wave, or spread it out, and its strength is accordingly affected depending on where Vlov needs it. Shiki needs to find a blind spot.
Shiki retreats to Arcueid, telling her to do the thing with the ground once more. As they talk Vlov continues with his assault. Finally, Arcueid obliges Shiki and tears at the ground again, ripping apart the soil and sending a wave of debris towards Vlov.
Vlov calmly looks on as his assailants go to work. He understand the attack to be a cover for Shiki to approach him. He readies his last blood, his few remaining stocks. There is one within he cannot let go of yet, even if that means his death.
Vlov's spear appears, repelling the debris in front of him. But nothing is there. He looks up and sees Shiki riding on one of the blocks, chained onto it by Arcueid's vines. The vines converge onto the other debris, coming together into an aerial pathway. Shiki can now assault Vlov from above, where his cold aura is not concentrated.
Shiki runs in, there are still 2 more obstacles left for him to overcome. First the spear comes flying, but his body bends and twists just enough to avoid it. Then the icicles fly at him, but he manages to just about avoid dying, taking a few hits in the process.
He sees Vlov's point of death. He's almost there. Vlov isn't done however, he pulls out his cleaver once more to repel Shiki's attack. But it's too late. Shiki's knife cuts out Vlov's existence.
The cold dissipates immediately. Shiki collapses onto the ground, dead tired. Arcueid walks over to him, happy at their victory. She reveals that under normal circumstances Shiki should have died in the cold, but as he warned her of the cold, she coated the surface with a repellant, which no doubt served to save many lives in the surroundings, as well as Shiki.
Shiki is badly injured, but Arcueid offers to patch him up, using the remains of a dead Ancestor to tend to his wounds. Afterwards, Arcueid offers to bring him home, and the two leave the scene.
- - -
Outside the breakout zone, a trio of people are discussing the ways in which they should cover-up the incident, something that will prove difficult given its scale. The boss of the three is called Mario, he orders one of his subordinates, Andou, to clean up the scene while he and his other subordinate, Berlusconi, take care of some bureaucratic work.
He wants to contact two undercover agents that are present in Souya.
Last edited by Petrikow; May 18th, 2022 at 02:12 PM.
Shiki wakes up to find Hisui in her usual position. Hisui has woken him up earlier than usual, seeing as Akiha wants to see him given his 2-day absence.
As he wakes up from his bed he notices his leg is still injured. Hisui brings him a walking stick and they enter the living room.
Shiki wracks his brain trying to come up with excuses for his absence but ultimately decides to tell the truth. With stunning confidence he relays the tale of his vampire hunt to Akiha. She chides him for telling such a brazen lie, but ceases to pursue him about his past behaviour all the same.
She notices his leg injury, which Shiki brushes off as minor. Akiha pokes his leg to which he feels immense pain. He clearly needs medical aid. She says he can either visit Kohaku, or Dr. Arach for assistance. He can stay home for the day as well.
Shiki goes with Arach. Time passes and after a while the eccentric doctor shows up in his room. Though her strange behaviour bewilders Shiki, her medical abilities impresses him all the same.
Arach informs Shiki of his irregular body. She says his body is specialized for burst of movement; his bones are lighter than the usual human, almost like a bird's. She comments that he's the opposite of Akiha, who is a once in a 10000 year "monster".
After the medical treatment, Shiki's leg feels better. He ponders about what to do during his day-off, eventually deciding to take a walk outside in the garden.
As he walks, Shiki cannot help but think back to the blonde vampire who he fought together with the last few days. He does not want to admit it at first, but being with Arcueid was something he enjoyed.
When Shiki returns for dinner Akiha eventually breaks the silence at the table to ask about his day. Learning that he spent it idly, Akiha chides him and tells him to study after dinner.
Shiki heads for his desk after getting back to his room, but his mind still drifts to Arcueid. He cannot concentrate and goes to bed instead.
Shiki wakes up like usual, with Hisui by his side.
He thinks back to Arcueid again, but quickly decides to forget about her and heads for the living room. Akiha is there, enjoying her tea like always. When Shiki approaches her however, he is struck by a sudden fever.
Akiha is worried and approaches him, but it has to opposite effect. Shiki realizes that being close to Akiha is what makes him feel this way. He quickly excuses himself and flies out of the room.
Kohaku tries to stop him for breakfast, but he brushes it off and leaves for school extraordinarily early. As he arrives, he's saddened by the lack of Arcueid waiting for him, realizing he will most likely never meet her again.
His early arrival to school is matched by his teacher. Shiki and Noel talk in the corridor. Noel surprisingly easily excuses his absence from school, understandable because of his anemia according to her. She asks more about his anemia, and gets to know of his accident. She aggressively pursues asking about his accident until Shiki gets uncomfortable and ends the conversation.
Arihiko is once again at school. During lunch break him and Shiki discuss the latest incidents. Most dramatic is the North Gate Souya Station Front fire from the day before. Shiki asks if he's heard about the hotel incident, to which Arihiko says he almost forgot about it.
Shiki brings up the Vampire Killings, saying it should be resolved by now. Arihiko is unconvinced at Shiki's conviction. He brings up a recent article. Another victim has just surfaced.
Shiki is stunned, Vlov is dead. So the only other vampire left is? Shiki who had thought he was already done with the incident, once again resolves to seek out the blonde vampire.
After school, Shiki heads downtown in search of Arcueid. He searches for a good hour, but finds nothing. Though dejected, he doesn't give up and is about to continue when he receives a text from Kohaku. Apparently a blonde woman claiming to be Shiki's girlfriend has showed up at the mansion, and is now talking to Akiha.
Shiki runs faster than he's ever done in his life, rushing back home. He imagines Akiha's wrath and shudders, but still enters the mansion.
Shiki enters the living room. Arcueid and Akiha are there, staring each other down. Arcueid shares some provocative words about her and Shiki's activities to Akiha, stunning the younger sister. Shiki uses the opportunity to take Arcueid by the hand and flee the mansion, requesting of Hisui to keep the front unlocked.
Shiki scolds Arcueid outside the gates for her selfish behaviour, but then realizes he has found who he was looking for. The two walk to the park, and Shiki asks about the Vampire Killings. Arcueid however, quickly deflects any blame from herself.
The vampire responsible is the same as ever. Shiki has misunderstood; Vlov was an outside element, his victims all burn to a crisp, nothing like the one responsible for the other killings. Still, Arcueid insists he does not need to help her anymore, she can handle this one on her own.
The two converse a bit more about Vlov, and Arcueid wonders why Shiki insisted that he had so little time when fighting him. Shiki says that monsters like her cannot understand just how frail humans might be. This upsets Arcueid, who leaves in a huff.
Shiki decides to follow her, but her bad mood leaves him talking to a wall. She stalks the city, looking for something, with Shiki still pursuing her. Eventually, she stops. Before them is what at first glance seems to be an ordinary businessman.
Arcueid urges Shiki to take of his glasses and take a look. The man has more lines than anything Shiki has ever seen before. She tells Shiki to stay put, the man is one of the Dead.
Shiki stays put as Arcueid enters the shadows. His vision fills with death, his fingers paralyzed, unable to put on his glasses. His head hurts from the visions his eyes present him. He finally manages to put on his glasses again.
Arcueid emerges, looking ragged and beat. Shiki gets worried and approaches her. Her wound from Vlov is still hurting her. Shiki scolds her for not taking the time to rest. But Arcueid insists. She has to put on a strong front as to not invite more of her enemies, such as Vlov.
The two return to the park. Shiki has hesitated long enough. He confesses to Arcueid that he still wants to help her. Arcueid is happy. She proposes the two of them should patrol together. With Shiki's eyes he can spot the Dead just as well as she can sense them. She is hunting these minions in order to eventually flush out their master, her true target.
The two once again walk out into downtown, but this time, there are no Dead to be found. It is the first time in a long time in which Shiki has viewed the world without his glasses. He feels his headache come back, but ignores it.
They return at 11 o'clock. Arcueid notices how tired Shiki has become using his eyes so much. She explains that the brain is not meant to process the death of things, which is a concept that emerges straight from the origin of everything; the Root, as magi call it. She warns him that if he overuses them, his brain will cease working and he'll become a coma-patient.
Shiki is about to head back, but decides to talk a bit more with Arcueid. He asks her once again to tell him more about vampires.
Arcueid returns to the subject of the Dead Apostles. There are 6 grades, 1-3 are all known as "the Dead" and are mostly in complete servitude to the vampire who created them. Grade 4-5 have free will, and can be more easily seen as "Dead Apostles". Grade 6 is someone like Vlov, who can command an entire area.
After the talk, the two decide to part ways, promising to meet at the same place the next day at 10 o'clock.
Shiki hurries back to the mansion. As promised, Hisui has left the door open for him. He gets into bed and falls asleep.
Last edited by Petrikow; August 27th, 2021 at 05:29 PM.
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Originally Posted by Deathhappens
