The Actor

Mahal, the Temple of Art.

Daylight still lingered, though the sun had already begun its western descent.

The front doors of the Temple of Art stood half-open. Spotting Rosie and her companions, a young handmaiden at the entrance stepped forward to greet them.

Her gaze lingered briefly on Balu the beastkin, a microscopic flicker of surprise crossing her face before she quickly recovered her polite smile.

Nikus flipped up his visor and spoke in a steady voice, “Is the High Priestess here? I need to speak with her.”

The handmaiden bowed slightly. “Sir Nikus, the High Priestess is in her prayer room. I will inform her of your arrival immediately.”

“No need, I'll go find her myself.”

Nikus held up a hand to stop her and strode inside.

Vera followed right behind him.

Rosie followed as well.

Balu shouldered his rusty hammer and stomped across the threshold.

The handmaiden remained where she was, staring after Balu's receding back in stunned silence.

Usually, whenever these green-skinned beastkin crossed paths with them in the streets, if they didn't spit outright, they would at least hurl a few insults, making no effort to hide their disdain for “art.”

Yet today, this beastkin not only hadn't hurled any insults, but had actually stepped into the temple. The shift was almost too drastic.

The prayer room was located at the end of the inner courtyard corridor.

An armed handmaiden stood on either side of the entrance. Their tan leather armor fit snugly against their contours, and two daggers were tucked into each of their belts.

When the armed maidens spotted the group approaching down the hall, both turned their eyes toward them simultaneously.

One of them raised a hand. “The High Priestess is currently in prayer. She is not receiving guests.”

Nikus halted a few paces away, removing his helm and tucking it under his arm before speaking with polished grace:

“Please inform Her Grace that Nikus has an urgent matter to report.”

The armed maiden replied briskly, “My apologies, Sir Nikus. Without the High Priestess's explicit permission, we cannot disturb her.”

Nikus stood in place, his lips twitching as if to argue, but he held his tongue.

After two beats of silence, he took a step back and leaned sideways toward Vera and Rosie, murmuring, “It seems we won't be seeing the High Priestess for now.”

Rosie bypassed him directly, stepping forward to face the two guards.

“Hey, listen up, both of you. We didn't come here to bother the High Priestess—we're worried she might have already met with foul play. You'd better check on her.”

The two guards exchanged a look.

They were far more familiar with the details of the serial murder cases rattling the city than most citizens.

Furthermore, since Nikus's group was staying at the temple, guards came by nearly every day to brief them on the investigation.

A few sweet words from the temple handmaidens were all it took for the city guards to spill everything—often in far greater detail than what they told Nikus.

The guard who had spoken finally nodded. “Please wait here.”

She turned, placed her hand against the heavy wooden door, and knocked lightly twice. Though soft, the sound echoed clearly through the quiet corridor:

“High Priestess, distinguished guests have arrived.”

No answer came from inside.

Silence lingered in the hall for several beats.

The guard's fingers paused on the wood before knocking again with a bit more force. “High Priestess! Are you within?”

Another brief moment of silence followed.

Just as everyone began to think there would be no reply, a languid voice finally echoed from beyond the door.

“Let them in.”

The guard's expression visibly relaxed as she answered, “Yes, High Priestess.”

She drew her hand back, and together with her companion, pressed against the double doors, pushing inward.

The heavy doors of the prayer room swung slowly open to both sides.

A wave of air laced with floral fragrance, cosmetics, and an indescribably sweet, heavy incense surged out from within.

Purple drapes hung from the ceiling down to the floor, cascading in soft folds along the flanking walls.

Slender candles burned on candelabras, casting flickering shadows against the fabric.

A purple carpet covered the floor, its borders embroidered with silver vine patterns.

In the center of the carpet, a silhouette reclined on a daybed covered with a plush throw.

Sheer purple gauze draped like liquid from her shoulders, pooling at the crooks of her elbows, translucent in the candlelight.

The curves of her collarbones, shoulders, and waist peeked tantalizingly through the delicate fabric, her skin glowing with a warm sheen under the ambient flicker.

A faint, ambiguous smile played upon her lips.

Nikus froze, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly as he swallowed audibly.

Standing at Nikus's side, Vera's eyes swept over the High Priestess from head to toe, her tongue darting out to lick her dry lips.

Rosie felt a sudden rush of heat surging to her nose. She hastily sniffled, trying to suppress the warmth.

“So she's got slightly bigger pecs, big deal.”

A gruff voice rumbled from behind them.

The High Priestess's eyes lingered briefly on Balu before drifting away, ignoring his remark entirely as she turned her attention back to the other three.

She shifted into a more relaxed pose, the folds of her gossamer gown shimmering gently in the candlelight with her movement:

“My dear guests... what brings you to me?”

Her voice was languid and soft, ending on a magnetic lilt that made one yearn to keep listening.

Nikus opened his mouth, paused, reorganized his thoughts, and finally spoke:

“Uh... well, we just came to check on you, worried you might be in danger.”

His tone lacked its usual crisp decisiveness, replaced instead by an awkward hesitation.

The High Priestess studied his face for a moment before replying softly:

“I am fine, thank you for your concern. Please, take your leave.”

“Oh, alright. We'll be going then.”

Nikus nodded, turned around, and began walking toward the doorway.

Rosie and Vera turned as well, preparing to exit.

“We're leaving already?! Are we looking for the vampire or not?!”

Balu's grumbling voice boomed through the prayer room.

Vera's footsteps abruptly stopped.

Her posture stiffened for a split second, and she reached out her hand.

“Ow!”

Rosie clutched her backside, letting out a sharp yelp of pain.

She stared at Vera with a bewildered expression. “Why did you pinch me?”

Vera didn't answer. Instead, she raised her hand.

Slap! A sharp crack resounded.

Nikus rubbed his cheek, looking equally bewildered.

“Charm... Spell!”

Vera drew her hand back and fixed her gaze on the figure still reclining on the plush throw, enunciating each word with chilling clarity.

Rosie's mind snapped completely clear in an instant.

The sweet incense drifting through the room caught in her nostrils again, but this time, far from pleasant, it felt nauseatingly thick—unnaturally so.

She gripped the hilt of the sword at her waist.

At the same time, her incantation rapidly filled the prayer room.

“O radiant Holy Light! Answer my call and grant me your strength!”

“Holy Light!”

Golden brilliance materialized out of thin air, enveloping the High Priestess.

The High Priestess didn't react at all.

Her expression retained its languid smile, as though a gentle, warm breeze had merely brushed past her face.

Just as Rosie began to fear she had made a mistake, green smoke began sizzling off the High Priestess's skin.

“Argh! It burns! It burns!—”

Unable to maintain her act any longer, she let out a shriek.

“Impudent!”

The two armed maidens at the doorway drew their blades, stepping forward to intercept Rosie, but a figure blocked their path.

Vera rested one hand on her rapier hilt and raised the other in a stopping motion.

“I am a vampire hunter of the Dawnguard. That is not your High Priestess.”

Both guards froze.

They stood gripping their dual blades, their gazes darting back and forth between the “High Priestess” and the party.

That was unmistakably the High Priestess—her voice, appearance, and demeanor were identical to her true self.

Yet a Dawnguard hunter was currently blasting her with light, and she was clearly getting burned by it.

Recalling how the High Priestess had refused to leave her quarters recently, the two women couldn't make sense of the situation and stayed frozen in place.

The golden light persisted for a moment before dimming and completely fading away.

“...Hahaha, exposed so quickly?”

The “High Priestess” raised her head.

“I wanted to play around a bit longer.”

As her last words faded, her face and body began to shift.

A falling purple curtain obscured her outline for a fraction of a second, and when it passed, her appearance had completely transformed.

Standing before them was a woman even more voluptuous and breathtakingly bewitching, her proportions mind-bogglingly extreme.

If the High Priestess was an 80, this woman was a 99.

She needed just one more point to reach perfection.

One could tell as much from her insatiable, ravenous expression.

“Who are you?! What did you do to the High Priestess?!”

The voice of one of the armed maidens shattered the silence.

Her tone trembled with barely suppressed fury.

The woman tilted her head, glancing over at her with a smile that sent chills down the spine:

“Her? She's already become a part of me.”

She flicked a long tongue into the air before pulling it back into her mouth.

“So, how was my act as the 'High Priestess'?”

“Die, blasphemer!”

The guard charged past Vera, her twin swords crossing in front of her to spin a silver fan of deadly light.

Simultaneously, the other guard flanked from the opposite side, staying low as her twin daggers flipped into a reverse grip.

The two struck at the unknown woman at the exact same moment.

Four blades thrust in a crisscross pattern from two directions, locking down every possible escape route.

The woman merely raised her hands slightly.

Sizzle, sizzle. Two soft sounds tore through the air.

Two thin threads of crimson shot from her fingertips.

They crossed and expanded in midair like a spider weaving a web, enveloping both armed maidens right before their blades could touch her.

The next second...

Blood exploded everywhere.

The bodies of the two guards shredded into countless crimson fragments in midair.

A rain of flesh and gore cascaded down, staining the purple carpet a dark, muddy red.

A thick, heavy stench of blood diffused through the chamber.

The woman stood where she was, tilting her head back slightly as if enjoying a refreshing shower.

The green smoke left over from the Holy Light burn dissipated entirely.

Rosie stood where she was, her meteoric iron sword unsheathed, sinking into a battle stance.

“Is she really that ugly monster from beneath Stratholme?” she asked grimly.

“This was likely her appearance before she turned into a vampire,” Vera said beside her.

Accustomed to death, Vera remained completely unbothered by the guards' bloody demise.

She had already warned them, but they chose to rush to their deaths anyway.

Though at least their deaths revealed one of the vampire's attack methods.

So in a way, their deaths served a purpose.

The woman lowered her gaze, candlelight outlining her profile in a sharp glow.

“Little girl! You certainly know a lot~”

“I am a vampire hunter,” Vera replied coldly. “How else would I hunt you down if I didn't?”

“Is that so... then be sure to entertain me properly.”

Nikus pulled his helm back down, hiding his face completely.

He reached back and drew his broadsword.

“And here I thought I had met a kindred spirit. Turned out to be nothing but a fraud!”

The woman turned her eyes toward him, slowly appraising his silver armor from top to bottom. A smirk curled up the corner of her mouth, filled with shameless appreciation:

“Actually, I rather admire you. Why not join me? I promise... I can give you pleasures you've never experienced before.”

Nikus didn't answer, but his blade rose in response.

“Can someone tell me what the hell just happened?”

Balu scratched his bald green head, a look of utter confusion on his face.