Skyrim: The Last Son of Akatosh

A month has passed since these vampires kidnapped me, during which I discovered several things.

First, there aren't many of them, and they're not affiliated with anyone. It's just them, though that doesn't mean escaping this place is easy.

Second, they only operate in Riften because they're more familiar with it and know it well.

Third, they are the ones kidnapping children. From what I overheard, they abducted children because they were easier to transport and had a higher chance of surviving the experiment the vampires were conducting.

Fourth, they believe my high magic reserves make vampire hypnosis ineffective on me, even though I obey them despite not speaking. They tried for a whole week without success before finally giving up.

One thing I keep wondering about is the experiment they're trying to conduct. They feed me three meals a day, which have gradually become larger, and make me drink this strange liquid.

I tried to recall if it was from the base game or added by a mod, but nothing came to mind. For a moment, I thought it might be Redwater Skooma from the Dawnguard DLC, but I didn't experience any of the illnesses caused by drinking it.

Another thing that made me realize they weren't just ordinary vampires was their reaction if a slave ruined the experiment—they killed them on the spot.

One of the slaves thought I was doing something to sabotage the process and tried to kill me, but she was caught by Yrsa, who mercilessly executed her.

She used Vampiric Drain, and for the first time, I couldn't learn the spell.

I figured it had to be because she was a vampire and that it was something 100% unique to them.

Although, I remembered a similar spell that could absorb vitality from an enemy, but I couldn't recall its exact name or effects.

For the entire month, I couldn't do anything except eat, drink that liquid at night, and stay in the cell, leaving me no time to practice magic since I was always being watched.

They didn't let me go anywhere, so I couldn't figure out how to escape.

'Hmm? They're coming? That's strange—they shouldn't come until much later.'

The last remaining slave came to me with a strange smile on her face.

"Come. Lady Yrsa is calling for you."

I obeyed silently and followed her.

'The path is different this time.'

They didn't take me to the large chamber but to another side of the place.

We walked through a brightly lit hallway.

As we passed a well, I saw an arm at the bottom, but since we kept moving, I couldn't see more. I assumed it was where they disposed of the other children who failed in their experiments.

We continued until we reached a chamber even larger than where the vampires ate.

'A magical rune?'

In the center was a massive, intensely red magical rune surrounded by multiple black gems, which had to be Black Soul Gems.

I knew this was the experiment they had been talking about, but I didn't know what it was or what it would do to me.

I thought about running back, but when I looked, I saw two slaves blocking the way, so that wasn't an option. Using magic was out of the question; if I attacked head-on, the vampires would easily defeat me, since they outclassed me in magical power.

"Step into the center of the rune."

Left with no other choice, I obeyed.

As soon as I stood in the center, I felt dizzy and collapsed to the ground.

"W-What?"

I watched as strange black smoke poured out of the Black Soul Gems, swirling around and enveloping everything.

"At last, my experiment will succeed, and everyone will witness my incredible creation!"

I began to feel cold—an unbearable cold that felt like it was breaking my bones. My mind grew foggy until all I saw was darkness.

--

--

[Omniscient POV]

Lun began to open his eyes and realized he was back in the cell, though his head was throbbing with pain.

"Damn it! Damn it! DAMN IT!"

A loud scream came from Yrsa.

'What's going on?'

Lun heard something fly across the room and shatter.

"Calm down, there's no need to—" Aurelia tried to soothe her, but it didn't work.

"No need to get angry? Do you have any idea how much effort I put in this time?! I doubled everything! The soul gems! The accumulated blood! The victims of the experiment! The doses for the subject! I even had more magic, and yet it still didn't work! And you want me to calm down?!" Yrsa yelled furiously.

"While I do enjoy seeing you shut Aurelia up, perhaps we should think about what went wrong—and what went right. The slave is still alive, unlike the others," Kaela said.

Yrsa calmed slightly, pondering what had gone wrong.

"The same steps were done as with the other children, only everything was increased. They all died, but he didn't. He didn't even transform into a vampire," Yrsa said.

"Could it be that one cannot transform into a vampire without Molag Bal?" Liv asked.

"Impossible! With this, he should have transformed. That's why I've been experimenting for decades," Yrsa retorted.

"What if it wasn't the experiment's fault, but the slave's?" Aurelia suggested.

"The slave?" Yrsa asked.

"He has Argonian traits, so perhaps he has resistance to diseases. Vampirism is a disease, so maybe that's why," Aurelia reasoned.

"I don't think that's it. The Hist wouldn't create a half-Argonian. It must be another species," Yrsa mused.

Yrsa began contemplating her next steps.

"Go and bring me more infants. I'll need them for future experiments, and I'll also need more sacrifices. I won't fail now that I've come this far. I don't care if you have to leave The Rift to find them—I need them."

As this conversation unfolded, Lun listened from his cell.

'An experiment to create a vampire without Molag Bal's intervention. I'm in serious trouble. I need to escape. If I can get out while the vampires aren't here, it should be easier. I'll have to wait.'

He lay back, trying to alleviate the headache while staying alert for the vampires' departure from the cave.

The vampires began preparing to search for more children. Liv, Kaela, and Aurelia took a small number of slaves to expedite the capture of their prey.

'Two hours have passed.'

Lun sat up slightly, checking to see if there were any slaves around.

'Good, no one's here.'

Having not used magic for some time, he cast a Restoration spell on his head, making the headache vanish.

'At least I didn't forget how to use magic.'

He began checking his body for injuries caused by the ritual, but he didn't feel anything unusual.

'I'll have to examine myself more thoroughly later.'

He tried to open the cell, but it was locked. He grabbed the lock and began lowering its temperature with ice magic, to avoid making noise by breaking it by force.

After a few moments, he successfully froze the lock, and with a slight squeeze, it shattered.

'It worked. Perfect.'

He opened the cell and looked around, ensuring no one was nearby.

'Come on. You can do this.'

He began walking slowly, trying to leave the cell block while ensuring he didn't disturb anything that could make noise.

As he approached the exit, he started gathering a bit of magic in his hand in case he encountered someone head-on.

When he reached the end of the hallway, he cautiously checked to see if Yrsa or any of the slaves were around, but saw no one.

'Alright. I just need to get out of this place, climb the stairs, and hope I don't run into any slaves.'

He proceeded slowly, making sure not to make any noise.

'If I get out of here, I'll need to hide from the slaves and leave the cave.'

He was about to reach the exit when a voice stopped him in his tracks.

"How did you get out of your cell?"

Yrsa had just emerged from the chamber where the experiment had taken place.

"I asked you, how did you get out of your cell?" she repeated.

Lun remained still, waiting for her to approach.

"Did you not hear me? I asked if you—"

Using Alteration magic, Lun conjured a large sphere of light and quickly hurled it at Yrsa. Then, using a technique similar to casting a fireball, he made it explode, creating a massive flash of light.

"ARGHHHH!!"

Yrsa screamed in pain as the light's explosion burned her severely.

"Damn it."

Lun sprinted down the hallway, hearing Yrsa's enraged shouts.

"GET THAT DAMN BRAT!" she screamed furiously.

He continued running down the hallway, trying to use magic.

'I used everything up. Damn it.'

He reached the stairs and began ascending as quickly as possible, hoping to hide or make it to the exit.

At the top, the first thing he saw was an arrow heading straight for him, which caused him to stumble back down a few steps.

"D-Damn it."

He tried to remove the arrow but didn't have time, as one of the slaves charged at him with a greatsword.

"How dare you harm Lady Yrsa?!"

He attempted to cast a ward for protection, but having exhausted his magic earlier, he couldn't. The slave's strike decapitated him in one clean cut.

Lun's head tumbled down the stairs, step by step, as he struggled to process what had just happened. "Did I die?" was the only thought in his mind during his final moments before everything stopped.

"A year. You've been in Nirn for a year and still haven't gone to the Temple of the Divines. But I suppose that's my fault for leaving you in Ivarstead."

'Huh? What's going on?'

"You still don't understand, which is normal. After all… your destiny is not to die."

Suddenly, everything began rewinding until Lun opened his eyes once more.

"What? What?"

He couldn't fully process what had happened when he heard Yrsa's scream again.

"Damn it! Damn it! DAMN IT!"

He stood up again as he heard Aurelia speak, just as he had before.

He touched his neck, feeling that his head was still attached to his body.

"What just happened?"