The King In Black

Chapter 35

Abaddon stopped the engine of his car and stepped out. He looked up to see dark clouds forming over Jericho. It seems to be raining a lot nowadays, making it harder for him to track down the thing that is going around murdering people. His little goat followed him out of the car. He had brought him as a backup, cause you never know plus the lamb liked Valeria. He opened the door to the shop only to be met with... no one.

Abaddon: That's weird.

He closed the door and walked towards the reception desk only to see a note on it. It was from Valeria. 

"Sorry about this but granny needed me to do some errands while she was visiting some friends. You can wait in my room. I'll be back"

He shrugged his shoulders and dropped a message to Valeria, he looked down at Destroyer. 

Abaddon: Looks like your mama isn't here kiddo. She said we can wait in her room.

Moving towards the stairs, he slowly made his way to Valeria's room. He turned the knob and entered the familiar room. Valeria's room was a mix of tomboyish. It was turquoise mixed with earthy tones of terracotta, dark green, and mustard yellow. One side of the wall where the bed was located was covered in artwork of the Day of the Dead motifs. Under his feet was laminate flooring in a medium to dark finish. On the other side of the wall was a large seventy-inch screen TV which faced the multiple beanbags that were placed up on a fur-like mat.

Abaddon moved and picked up one of the game controllers placed under the TV. He switched on the PS5 console and took a seat on the soft cherry red beanbag, right next to a mango yellow beanbag.

Feeling a push against his leg, he looked down to see Destroyed trying to climb onto him. Abaddon chuckled at the lamb's adorable look and picked him up, placing the baby in his lap. The lamb pushed against him and quickly got into a comfortable position in his father figure's lap. He rested his small head down and looked at the TV as if he could understand what was happening. 

He quickly took out his phone and snapped the picture with his baby goat and sent it to Valeria. He knew she looked at the little lamb like it was her own child and cared for it the same. She probably had her gallery full of pictures with it. Maybe sending one to be added to her collection wasn't a bad thing. It would lift her spirits up, metaphorically and literally. 

The symbiote man stared at his baby goat for a second seeing to suddenly give him this much attention but he shrugged his shoulders and rubbed the baby's head as the counsel came on. He browsed through the games and stopped at a particular one.

'Bloodborne'

Abaddon: I didn't know she already brought this game.

He selected the game. He looked through the bloodline origins that were provided for the player to choose from and after some hard thinking he decided on the origin 'Waste Of Skin' 

Players who were unfamiliar with these types of games or were complete noobs would laugh at him but the experienced players would approve. This origin allowed the player more particular him to choose the strengths and flaws of his character. Allowing anyone with more than a single barely working brain cell to make their character as strong as they liked. 

He named the character after himself, to become familiar with it more quickly. To those who don't know this. Names hold power. They are one of the reasons why people can identify themself out of a crowd of hundreds and thousands of people. Names allow recognition, they are like hearth. Spreading warmth to a person. Thus when people want to familiarise themselves with something they either talk to it as a person or name it. Whether after themselves or a completely new name depends on the person. Every human being does it on a subconscious level, that is why toddlers tend to name things because they are more aware of this function and follow their instinct to do so unlike adults. 

"Oh, yes...Paleblood"

After that iconic dialogue, the game started and he tested out the controls. The character pushed the doors open and made its way down the stairs. The character entered the hall below, fighting the wolf-like beast even as he dodged its attack as best he could he would take damage from it, with one last blow. It killed his character. 

Of course, It wouldn't be easy! That would take the fun out of the game!

Abaddon smirked and focused on the game, the lamb in his lap watched the game with a look that was almost similar to an academic student listening to a teacher give out knowledge. He started with the threaded cane because it had more reach, it was a combo of two weapons allowing him but also because it looked stylish! Hunter's blunderbuss was more than enough to cover up for the damage that the whip may not be able to deliver. 

Slowly he progressed in the game giving it full attention. His hands split up, black and red small tendrils, they plunged into the gamer controller taking over it. His irises turned into slits increasing his already incredible perception to almost the point where one could say he was seeing the future. Nothing could be left hidden from his new set of eyes. Abaddon's hair looked more spiker than before to those who would notice it. 

He looked like a mixture of a beast and a man, not that he was human to begin with but now he looked more feral, more ferocious than before. He looked like an amalgamation of a human-eldritch-symbiote. His face looked sharper and sleeker yet held his muscular features. He kept his attention solely on the game as he progressed further and further into the story. Developing his character to be more like him, not just with the looks but also with the skills and stats. 

Due to his 'Waste Of Skin' bloodline permitting him greater flexibility than the other stiff builds, it gave him more authority to enhance the weapon and the flesh of his character way more than any other bloodline would allow. 

Thunder roared outside as the game progressed further going deeper into the lure of the bloodborne. Finding out the truth about Yharnam, the healing churches, the men turned monster, sad raging celestial God-orphan, the old ones and...Flora The Moon Presence. 

The game continued reaching climax after climax yet there was not a silver of moment to rest. There was only kill or be killed. To drink the blood or become the blood. After all, We are born of the blood, made men by the blood, undone by the blood.

Another roar of thunder, this one louder than before. Lighting flashed across the sky like it was sentient and struck down like divine judgment. 

.

Valeria gushed over the adorably cute image of her baby goat that Abaddon sent her when he messaged her about his arrival. She happily skipped towards her room upstairs and kicked the door open with a huge smile plastered on her face. She displayed two large bags of snacks and shouted in joy.

Valeria: Hey, I got snacks-

She stopped midway of her sentence when she looked at her room. Her room was perfectly fine except for the large charred mark where her beanbags and mat should be. The TV was cracked and the game console was smoking with no sign of Abaddon or her baby bean.

Valeria: What the fuck?