Danmachi: Echoes of a Vampire God

Kael's consciousness returned slowly, as if emerging from a deep, dark lake.The first thing he felt was a dull pain in the back of his neck. Then, a metallic taste in his mouth. And after that, the weight.The world seemed to pulse with an unnatural slowness, as if even the air refused to move.

His eyelids were heavy, but he lifted them with effort.

He realized he was lying on a smooth surface, somewhat cold, covered in what seemed to be soft but resilient roots. The ceiling was lined with luminous roots hanging like vines. He was inside a tall, round cave, with walls shaped from wood.

There was no mud, no messy moss, nor the typical smell he had gotten used to while navigating the dungeon. No, everything was… strangely clean.

There was humidity, yes, but still, clean. No stench, no rot. The yellow light came from those luminous roots on the ceiling—soft, warm.

It wasn't a dungeon.But it wasn't a home either.

He tried to sit up, but his limbs didn't respond normally. He wasn't chained, but soft bindings of thick roots wrapped around his torso and legs. They didn't squeeze, just held him in place, as if to keep him from standing before his time. His head buzzed. And his voice came out barely as a whisper—

—"Naaza…"

He blinked. He remembered the blow. He remembered Naaza screaming his name, the world turning black. And then… nothing.

Silence returned his words. Then, the crunch of footsteps. Someone was approaching.

The figure that emerged from the roots was imposing. Almost two and a half meters of living stone, wings like folded slabs on his back, red eyes glowing with intensity beneath a rugged brow. His silhouette cast a sharp, severe shadow.

Kael recognized him immediately. But not because he'd seen him before, not even because Let had told him a little about him when they were trapped. No, he recognized him from his memories—those that hadn't faded or blurred like the others. His image was etched in his memory like a scar from another time.

"You're conscious. Better that way," —said the figure with a deep voice, like a contained thunder— "saves us time."

He didn't respond.

The stone figure kept staring at him, evaluating him with intensity.

Kael barely managed to sit up; the roots made it difficult to move.

"You know who I am?" —the figure spoke again.

Kael remained silent for a few seconds. Then nodded, slowly.

"Yes… Let told me a bit about you."

"I see… then you must also know I don't like having humans here."

Silence.

"But you don't smell like someone from the surface," —he added— "you're not one of us either… not entirely at least."

Kael held his gaze, but his body visibly tensed.

"I know."

"Then what are you?"

The question hung in the air. Heavy. Uncomfortable. Kael didn't answer immediately. He didn't even lower his gaze. He just breathed, slowly.

"That… I don't know."

A murmur rose at the edges of the cave. Until that moment, Kael hadn't realized how many figures surrounded them. Dozens of eyes opened in the shadows. Figures of all kinds—winged, horned, reptilian, humanoid—watched in silence from the edges of the place.

But they were just there. Not intervening. Not participating, only watching. Watching. But Kael felt something in their gazes, and he didn't just feel it—he saw it. Most didn't trust him, didn't trust what he was, and… what he could become.

But among them, he recognized them. A yellow beak, a blue scarf. A pair of messy red wings. A small green face peeking between roots. They were there. The others were there.

And they didn't judge or fear him like the rest. None of the Xenos he had helped escape from Dix did. They even seemed to be silently supporting him.

Kael looked at them briefly. But didn't say their names. Said nothing. Not even a gesture of recognition. But the beat in his chest grew a little less heavy.

He just lowered his gaze.

"You don't seem to be lying." —grunted the giant gargoyle, crossing his arms— "But that doesn't make you less dangerous."

"Gros, enough." —another voice intervened— "He helped us save our people from Dix and his men. We're not going to interrogate him like a criminal."

Another figure appeared, crossing the cave with calm steps. Red scales covered his body, and two crossed swords rested at his waist. His expression was calm, almost kind. His eyes looked at Kael as if trying to see beyond his face.

"Hello, kid. I'm glad you're conscious."

Kael recognized the Lizardman. Not because he'd met him personally before, but because of what he knew. Lyd. One of the Xenos leaders who would appear later in the story. The most empathetic. The most hopeful. The one who fervently and enthusiastically sought to bring his people—the Xenos—to the surface, and live a peaceful life without being judged as monsters just for being born as one.

"Sorry about earlier, but… you weren't alone," —said Lyd— "you were with someone from the surface, we couldn't risk being discovered. The one who was with you… who is she?"

Then Kael knew—they had Naaza—and though he trusted they wouldn't hurt her, that didn't stop him from worrying about her safety.

"She's just an adventurer. A pharmacist. I saved her… from some monsters while she was exploring this floor. We were on our way to the surface."

"Does she know about us…?"

"No." —Kael explained without hesitation— "I just happened to find her when she was in danger. And since she was alone, I couldn't leave her—she's too weak to be this deep in the dungeon."

Lyd nodded slowly. There was understanding in his eyes.

"Alright. She's safe. Just asleep. A special sap we have keeps her in that state. Nothing harmful. Just a precaution for her… and for us."

Kael sighed in relief.

"Thank you."

"We didn't do it for you." —growled Gross.

"I did." —another voice chimed in.

A new figure emerged, floating naturally from one of the side entrances. Her silhouette was feminine, with golden feathers covering her shoulders and arms, their tips dyed sky blue. Her hair was long, her face almost hypnotic. Her blue eyes shone like those of the deep sea.

"You don't seem like a liar." —she said softly, almost melodically— "But you are… interesting. A strange boy who doesn't know what he is. Who bleeds like the surface folk, but doesn't feel like one."

Kael looked at her without words. He knew her. Ray, another leader of the Xenos.

"Are you going to sing, Ray?" asked Lyd, smiling slightly.

"Only if he asks." —the Siren replied, eyes locked on Kael— "But he doesn't seem in the mood."

"Neither are we." —interrupted Gros dryly.

Everyone turned. Ray's wings contracted slightly.

"We brought him here against our customs. Because now he knows about us. Because Ranye asked. And because… some owe him their lives."

Kael didn't look at anyone, but he felt the weight of that statement. He understood it.

"Do you trust him?" —Gros asked, this time directly to Lyd.

The Lizardman crossed his arms.

"It's not about whether I trust him. He saved us all—even you. With the power he showed in that moment, he could've escaped and left us to our fate, but instead, he stayed and fought Dix. If it weren't for him… we never would've made it out of that place."

Gros remained silent for a few seconds. His stone gaze betrayed no thoughts. But those who knew him sensed a shift in his posture.

"And you, Ray?" —he said.

She tilted her head.

"He doesn't seem like a bad person. At least, he hasn't shown it. And if what they told me happened is true… I don't think he's dangerous. Not in this state, at least."

A dense silence settled again. Kael didn't speak. He waited.

But before they could decide anything… the atmosphere changed.

A shadow moved beyond the cave's dim light. Long legs. Precise. A body divided between the form of a woman and a creature with eight limbs. From all the entrances, the least illuminated one was where Ranye emerged.

The air seemed to thicken with her mere presence.

Kael felt her before seeing her. That tingling at the back of the neck. That tension in his body. Her entrance wasn't dramatic, but it was definitive.

All eyes turned toward her.

They weren't heavy or firm like Gros', nor fluid like Lyd's, nor soft and melodic like Ray's. They were measured. Rhythmic. Cold.

Ranye crossed the threshold without startling anyone. The other leaders looked at her, yes, but there was no tension. They didn't stiffen at her presence, nor lower their gaze. They only exchanged a brief look, like watching another ally arrive.

Kael, however, froze.

His body tensed immediately, involuntarily. As if a string inside him had been stretched to its limit. His memory didn't take long to scream the reason why.

He knew her.

Not in a personal way, but in a visceral one—one only he could feel. And that he had.

The blood. Her blood. The one he had taken, amidst the smoke, desperation, and the need to survive. He hadn't fully recognized her then, hadn't had time to—only her face, her restrained voice, her warmth, the intensity of her eyes. But now that he saw her clearly, he recognized her, remembered her, and not only that, he also remembered the mark of having committed an act that could not be undone.

And now… there she was. Standing. Watching him in silence.

Her body was just as he remembered it. Straight silver hair falling down her back, crimson eyes that seemed to glow with their own light under the cave's illumination. Her human torso contrasted with the black spider body that moved with contained elegance. Her long and agile legs anchored securely to the moss-covered floor, and her figure cast a complex, irregular shadow, as if she didn't fully belong anywhere.

Ranye stopped a few steps away from the group. Her eyes never strayed from his.

Kael swallowed.

And then… she spoke.

"I saw him while exploring the surroundings of the floor," —she said, as if completing a broken thought— "He entered from one of the farthest corridors from the main route. A zone where surface dwellers rarely appear. I've been following him since then. He never stopped, never changed course. I saw him face several monsters… and then, the scene with the adventurer. She would've died if he hadn't intervened."

Ray, who was sitting on a hanging root, tilted her head with interest. Lyd crossed his arms without interrupting. Gros, for his part, snorted with the air of someone who already knows the story.

"And you decided we should capture him?" —Gros barked with an authoritative voice.

Ranye didn't back down —"I decided we should talk to him. But I didn't know if he'd cooperate. Or what that adventurer knew." —she answered without changing her tone— "So I asked Aude and a few others for support."

Gros merely snorted. He neither celebrated nor criticized it. He just accepted it with the seriousness of someone who understands the inevitability of events. He knew that sooner or later, they had to talk to the boy who had saved them… the one they'd been searching for relentlessly since escaping Knossos. But after days without a trace, they had assumed the worst.

He was dead.

Everyone had reached the same conclusion—except her.

Ranye didn't give up. She roamed the surroundings of floor 20 for entire days. She even descended to other levels looking for any trace, a mark, a scent to confirm he was still alive. If Gros hadn't stopped her, she would've been willing to enter Knossos again, even knowing how dangerous that could be.

"It wasn't hard to organize a horde on the secondary route." —she added in a neutral tone— "It was more discreet than acting directly. And no one got hurt."

Lyd nodded with a slight gesture, while Ray smiled calmly to the side. Neither hid their interest. To them, even if Kael wasn't exactly a Xeno, they could feel something inside him… a faint resonance, distant, like a familiar echo. The Dungeon's trace, barely perceptible… but real.

He had been there. Had been born in its depths, just like them. Or something very close. Still, it was clear that Kael was not like them. His appearance was that of an ordinary human—fair skin, dark hair, a well-formed body without any obvious mutations. Only two details betrayed him. One—his ears, slightly pointed, similar to Let's. And two—small black scales hidden in several places on his body. Not many, nor large, but they were there.

Then there was his way of speaking. Fluent, precise. As if he had learned the language from birth—not like them, who, upon awakening for the first time, could barely articulate words. And his gaze… that was the most disconcerting part.

It wasn't the gaze of someone lost. It lacked the confusion of newborn Xenos. Nor fear. Not even doubt. It was the gaze of someone who had already lived. Who had learned. Who knew more than he said.

And as if that weren't enough, there was that.

That way his body transformed when he drank Ranye's blood. Something none of them had ever seen before. A powerful manifestation, visceral… dangerous. Strange. Something beyond what they knew.

And even so, with that very transformation, Kael had fought Dix. He had given them the chance to escape. He had saved their lives.

That's why they were here. Because they wanted to know what he was. What he thought. And what he was seeking on the surface… that place they could not reach without becoming prey.

Kael, for his part, remained silent. His eyes passed from one to the other, recognizing them. He simply watched. One by one. They were real. They were there. He knew them all. Gros, the unbreakable stone, current leader of the Xenos. Lyd, the noble blade, second in command. Ray, the warm voice who cared for all—she was next after the first two.

And… Ranye.

The fourth leader. The one who, in another time, was meant to die. He had read her story. He knew how it ended. Captured, surrounded, cornered by Dix's men during a rescue operation. Even knowing it was a trap, Ranye had formed a team with Aude and other Xenos to save them. Because Cliff and several others were there. Because her protective instinct was stronger than her fear.

And they all died. Even her. The last to fall. She had taken her own life before letting Dix's men do whatever they wanted with her. A proud leader, tough, stubborn. But deeply loyal to her own.

But now, she was alive.

The main cause of her death was gone—Dix. And although there were likely still a few of his subordinates scattered about, without him… they were finished. Without Dix to manipulate Knossos, without his control over the domination crystals or his twisted leadership, the group had fallen apart. Lost. Like dogs without a master.

Ikelos?

He never truly backed them. His presence was as ambiguous as it was unsettling. He almost never gave direct orders, never intervened when he should have. Always on the sidelines. Always watching. As if everything, from the start, had been a spectacle for his amusement.

To him, life was nothing more than that—a game. A board. And every creature, monster or human, just another piece.

Winners.

Losers.

That was all he cared about. It was never redemption, nor revenge, nor power… only the pleasure of watching the pieces move until they destroyed one another.A god with an empty gaze, who didn't even pretend to feel empathy.

Now, with Dix no longer moving the board, the "game" was over.

And with it… so was the fate that had condemned Ranye. Because she, against all odds, was alive. She stood before him, and… watched him.

Kael swallowed hard. He said nothing. He couldn't.

The reason?

Ranye hated those from the surface. She hated them for all the pain they had caused her people—so many murdered, so many tortured. To her, the surface dwellers were nothing more than heartless, empathyless beings, selfish and soulless.

And he looked almost exactly like one of them. But if that weren't enough, he had drunk her blood. Even if it was for survival and to save them, that didn't change the fact that he did it without her permission—he simply took it. From her point of view, it must have looked like he had used her.

Ranye took a step forward. Her body moved with the silent elegance of a hunter. Her human half kept a serene, almost expressionless face —but her red eyes were something else. There was tension in them. Something restrained. Something he couldn't read right away.

Kael still didn't speak. He could feel everyone's eyes on him, but the one that weighed the most was hers. Not because she judged him harshly, but because he didn't know what her eyes were hiding. He expected resentment, bitterness. But what he saw was something else. Something more complicated.

Ranye stepped closer. Her eyes didn't soften, but her voice was clear.

"I remember what you did. I felt it. You took my blood without permission."

Kael held her gaze. He knew any useless word would only make things worse.

"I had no choice." —he replied, without trying to justify himself— "If I hadn't, we all would've died."

She didn't react immediately. She just looked at him. In silence. Evaluating him.

"I know."

That was it. No accusation. No hatred. Not even reproach. Just that statement, short, closed. As if she had already decided before finding him.

Then, Lyd stepped forward. He didn't say a word at first—he simply drew one of his twin swords and, with a smooth and precise movement, cut the roots that still bound Kael's torso and legs.

"You're not here as a prisoner." —he stated, as he sheathed his weapon— "And if we want answers from you, they shouldn't come through force, not after how you helped us."

Kael sat up slowly. His head was no longer spinning, but his muscles were still somewhat numb from the time he had been immobile. Still, his body responded. He nodded without speaking, silently grateful.

Lyd nodded as well, saying nothing more.

Ray descended from her suspended root, her golden feathers glowing softly under the yellow light of the moss. She approached with silent steps, observing Kael with a mix of analysis and kindness. Her deep, serene blue eyes passed no judgment. Only curiosity.

"And what do you propose?" —then Gross growled, arms crossed— "That we just let him go like nothing? We don't know what he is. We don't know where he really comes from, or what he can do. And we all saw what happened when… he transformed."

"I wasn't there." —said Ray, without losing her calm tone— "But I've heard the details. And I can't ignore what he did for us."

"I agree with her." —Lyd added, resting his arm on a low root— "What I saw that day was dark, yes… but it wasn't evil. It was something unstable. As if his form… still didn't know what to hold on to."

Gross clenched his teeth. His expression was that of someone who didn't want to give in, but knew he couldn't win this one easily.

"That makes him even more dangerous."

Ray turned toward him, smiling slightly. It was a calm smile, almost playful.

"Weren't you dangerous once, Gross? Weren't we all?"

Silence fell like a thick fog. Even the Xenos watching from the shadows held their breath. Lyd was the one who broke the silence, his voice firmer now.

This time, he addressed Kael.

"We know you're not from the surface. The aura you had is proof enough of that. But you're not a Xeno either. You no longer seem to have that connection to the Dungeon like we do. And your… peculiarities… are something no other Xeno has ever had."

Kael took a deep breath, keeping his eyes on the group.

"I don't know what I am." —he admitted— "I only remember waking up. Alone. In a cave. I had no name, no clear memories. I named myself after surviving the first days. Since then, I've just tried to hide from Dix, and then everything that happened… happened."

He knew he couldn't say more. That his memories of the future, of the story he once knew, were his only weapon in this world. And that, for now, he had to protect it—even from them.

"That doesn't help us." —Gross said, jaw tight.

"We didn't know what we were when we opened our eyes for the first time either." —Ray reminded him— "And yet, we figured it out. He's still on that same path."

Lyd reflected for a few seconds, absentmindedly caressing the hilt of one of his swords.

"I propose he stay." —he said after a few moments— "At least for a couple of days. Let him live among us. Learn how we live. And so we can learn about him too. Not as a threat… but as a possibility."

Gross glared at him.

"And if he loses control? If he becomes that? He could kill any of ours before we can even react."

"Then we'll face him." —Lyd said with unshakable conviction— "Together. Like we did with Dix. Like we always do."

Ray turned her attention back to Kael. Her voice, now softer, lower, held a closeness she hadn't shown before.

"Would you accept staying? We're not forcing you. We just want to observe you a little. You'll be free to move among us, talk, learn… even help, if you wish. You'll be like one of us."

Kael didn't respond immediately. He knew it. Even though he wasn't against it, he didn't have time. Four days. That was all. Four days before everything changed. Before the story's protagonist arrived and things spiraled out of control. He couldn't afford to waste that time… but he couldn't leave now either.

Not without making something clear.

He knew leaving just like that wouldn't be the best move. Even if he wouldn't make enemies out of them, he'd lose the trust of the Xenos—and though he didn't care much, Kael had wanted to connect with them from the start for one very important reason—

—Marie.

The Mermaid he had started to love. He didn't want her to be alone while he found a way to bring her to the surface with him. But he knew he wouldn't be seeing her again anytime soon. He had many things to resolve on the surface before that… so they were his only option. He wanted to entrust her to the Xenos. To others like her. To those who knew what it meant to be rejected by the world above.

So Kael couldn't risk his possible connection with them.

"I can stay for two days." —he finally said— "But after that… I must leave. There's something important I need to do on the surface."

The leaders looked at each other in silence. None of them said a word. But something passed between them. Finally, and surprisingly, it was Gross who spoke.

"We accept." —he said, dryly but definitively.

Lyd smiled slightly, satisfied. So did Ray. And Ranye… she said nothing. But her eyes remained fixed on him. Not with distrust, nor reproach, nor coldness. But with something harder to name.

"Then it's decided." —declared Ray.

Gross snorted, but said nothing more. Lyd looked at the rest of the group, and only then did Kael finally get a good look at the Xenos who had been watching them all this time from the halls, platforms, and roots. None of them spoke. But all of them listened.

Among them, Cliff let out a faint sound, like a friendly huff. Fear bowed her head slightly, as if hiding a smile. Let, in the distance, murmured something Kael couldn't hear, but his expression remained the same familiar mix of sarcasm and politeness.

"Good." —Lyd said cheerfully— "Then let's start with the basics."

He extended his hand.

"Welcome, kid. To the village of the Xenos."

Kael took it. Firmly. With the same tension that still burned in his chest. It wasn't full trust. It wasn't home.

But it was… a place that could become one.

And for now, that was enough.