Ascent to the vampire's castle (prototype ending)

Sam's going to finish this game. Just maybe not in the way they expect...

This might be something I make a bit of a longer project. I liked the idea, and I have some ideas for what I would like to come first in terms of set up.

* * *

Sam took a sip of water, and put the headset on, the VR suit, once again, complete. They were going to finish this game. The darkness of the vampire’s castle surrounded them. Her chambers were ahead. Through this door. Sam turned the handle, and pushed.

The new room was a far cry from the dank hallways leading up to this place. Marble blazed like the sun, illuminated by a great chandelier, that hung over a basin that rested on a dais. On the far side of the room was a staircase, leading up to a large pair of doors. The pendant hummed as Sam held it in their fingers, directing them to the doors at the top of the stairs.

But they stopped, not moving. The clean marble highlighted the dirt and grime on Sam’s character’s clothes. They stopped for a moment, pondering the basin of water in the middle of this hallway, and the healer’s voice came to them. “A clean body is a healthy body. And you’ll need a healthy body to face the dangers ahead.” Those words resonated within Sam. They stepped closer to the basin, removing their armour, their weapons, their clothes, and using the surprisingly warm water to clean themselves off.

As they finished scrubbing themselves clean, they looked at their armour, their clothes. Dirty. It wouldn’t do to wear such things going forward. Sam looked to an alcove, where they saw an open chest. A white shirt sleeve hung lazily over the side, and as they approached Sam felt like this – this was the right thing to wear. Light, breezy. Sure, it wouldn’t be as protective as their armour, but when facing a vampire, maybe it would better to be quick, and not weighed down by that heavy, dirty armour.

Sam changed, quickly. The linen gown was quite floaty, and it had a slit running down to their chest. There was a lace, to tie that together, but that didn’t seem important right now. They picked up their sword, still in its scabbard, and started up the stairs, moving as quietly as they could.

As they reached the door, Sam heard a soft noise. A harp, playing a tune that felt, familiar, somehow. They were certain that it was new to them. The soft, gentle tune had a lilting quality. Hopefully the music would be enough to mask the sound of the doors opening. That hope quickly vanished as they turned the handle, and heard a loud click, echo through the chamber. They stopped, waiting with bated breath, but the music didn’t stop. So they pulled, gently, and the door opened quietly.

This room had white walls, and a black floor and ceiling. The red carpet that ran from the door to the small raised part of the room felt soft as Sam stepped onto it. They took a moment to survey the scene. A figure sat on a stool, playing a harp. She sat next to a throne, carved of black obsidian, which was empty. The figure was clad all in grey robes. Sam knew her pale face, her deep red lips. The healer. For the first time, Sam saw her black hair. They rushed over, confused. “Healer. You need to come with me. It’s not safe for you here.” They took hold of her arm, and gently tried to pull. But the healer didn’t move, not from the gentle pull on her arm, nor to look at Sam as they spoke. She just kept on strumming the harp, gently playing a melody, as they always did.

As Sam stood to go to the harp player, the healer spoke. “You need to relax, Sam.” Her voice was soft, but measured. Like she was speaking along to the harp’s song. Sam felt themselves weaken, softly, as the music the healer was playing changed. It was the same song the healer played to heal them. Nearly. It sounded… Softer, somehow more sinister. Same could feel it sapping their strength. But they couldn’t piece together what was happening.

The healer kept looking at them as they sagged to their knees, smiling. “This is why I brought you here Sam. This whole journey has been conditioning you to relax into my control…”

In – into their control? Their – Sam was struggling to think. The music seemed to be pushing all of the thoughts out of their head. The healer was still looking, smiling at Sam. Her smile widened, and for the first time, Sam saw her teeth. Or rather, Sam saw her fangs. That made the thought from earlier click into place.

Sam struggled back to their feet, drawing their sword. “Stop this trickery, demon.” They said, but they could feel their energy still ebbing away. They had to act, as the healer wasn’t showing any signs of stopping.

With what felt like their final burst of energy, Sam thrust forward with their sword. In their exhaustion, they weren’t particularly accurate, or forceful, but their thrust cut through some of the harp strings, and with a slice that felt like it took too much effort, Sam cut the rest.

Silence followed. Deafening, and oppressive, as the healer looked up at Sam from the stool she sat on. Finally, she broke the silence. “Oh.” The single syllable was all she said as she stood up, turning away from Sam, who could feel their legs trembling from the exhaustion of standing. As the healer got to the window, she stopped, seeming taking in the moon, hanging in the sky. “Tell me, Sam, my dear. What did you expect to happen, when you broke my favourite, and not to mention antique, instrument?” She turned to face them. “Did you hope that that might – what?” She looked Sam up and down. “Defeat me?”

Sam barely had the energy to stand, let alone speak. They took a step towards the healer, sword brandished, but she simply stepped back, almost absent mindedly. “C-come on…” Sam said, weakly.

“Come on, what, dear?” The healer cocked her head, smiling at Sam with those crimson lips.

“Face me. Kill me, but I won’t go down without – without a fight.” Sam said those last few words with less conviction than the rest. They were so tired. So weak.

The healer smiled, as she stepped towards Sam this time. “Did you think I would want to waste your sweet blood, my sweet? No… Oh no my sweet one. I don’t intend to spill your blood yet.”

Sam recognised the threat of those words, and found within them, a spark of fear. A realisation that they should try to fight, even if they were so exhausted. They lunged forwards again, sword true, and found that they stumbled to a stop, as the healer grasped the sword blade, and shook her head. “Really? You honestly intend to fight me in your condition? Sweetie. That’s brave, but come now. You might hurt yourself.” She pushed Sam away, and they staggered back, nearly toppling, but not quite.

With a roar of exertion, Sam rushed forwards again, hoping to try to feint and land a hit when she tried to grab the sword again. But this time, she didn’t move to stop them. Their sword pierced her grey robes, and Sam heard a clink. Like metal on stone. Sam looked down at their sword, at the robes, and then back up to the healer. Her eyes blazed with fury.

She grabbed hold of their neck, hoisting them into the air with one hand, whilst her other hand twisted their wrist, painfully, making them drop the sword. “Sam, Sam, Sam. Do you want me to hurt you? Because I don’t want to. But you’re making me think that you don’t understand what’s going on here. You can’t do anything to hurt me. I gave you those weapons at the start of your journey, to help you get to me. I wouldn’t give you something that you could hope to use to defeat me.” She threw them backwards. Sam hit the ground hard, sliding to a stop on their back, dazed.

Sam tried to rise, but the healer sighed, and held up a hand, and said in a commanding tone that she hadn’t used before. “Freeze.” The single word rang through Sam’s whole body. It felt like ice had filled their veins, freezing them in place, on one knee. “There we go Sam. Isn’t that easier? Doing as you’re told? Surely you can’t want to hurt me, not after everything I’ve done for you?”

Sam tried to move. Tried to keep standing. They didn’t know what they could do, but surely something would let them beat her. This was a game after all. But it was to no avail. Sam found themselves unable to move an inch. The healer came closer, smiling all the while. “You don’t get it, do you? I designed all of this. All of this was built to condition you to my control. You might be thinking that it’s a game. That you can beat me, or, failing that, that you could just take the headset off.”

Sam was surprised, this was a level of 4th wall breaking that they hadn’t expected. The healer continued. “You could try to do so, my sweet toy. You could try to move your arms, your poor, stiff, solid arms. You would find that they can’t move at all. You can’t move any part of yourself. You don’t know why, but your body is just waiting, patiently, for my next command.” She bent down, putting a hand to Sam’s cheek. Sam nearly jumped out of involuntary shock when they felt the sensation from the suit.

The healer’s eyes widened. “Oh, my poor, sweet player. Did you think I was talking to your character all this time? No. I knew that to beat you, I had to do more than overcome your character.”

She took hold of Sam’s wrist, and Sam felt an inexplicable force, pulling their arm up. The healer left their hand on their forehead. “Okay, let me find the right words…” The healer pondered something for a moment, then continued, using that same tone as before. “Unfreeze everything but your left arm.”

Sam felt the rest of their body return to their control, their hand, however, was still stuck to their forehead. The healer looked at them, expectantly. “Well, are you going to curse at me? Call me a – what was it you said earlier? A ‘demon’?” She smiled, laughing slightly, revealing her fangs once again. “Not quite correct, but in the middle of battle, who can blame you for getting a few things wrong? Especially when your head was so foggy, when it was so hard to think…”

She reached out for Sam again, but Sam took a step back. They were no longer certain what capabilities this game had, and that uncertainty made them nervous.

The healer seemed to sense the uncertainty, the fear. Because they stopped. “Awh, human. I get it, it’s scary. The game has control now. But, if I may suggest something, you could have taken the headset off just now. But you didn’t. Surely that means that at least a small part of you wants to see what comes next, right? Trust me, I think you’ll like it…”

She took a step closer again, and this time, Sam didn’t step away. She was right. They were intrigued by where this was going. She smiled, and Sam took a moment to admire her beautiful face. Her eyes were gorgeous, the way they seemed to catch the light made it so easy to just stare into them. “That’s it.” She said. “Just stare into my eyes. There you go. Stare, and let your mind go quiet, just as you have done when I’ve healed you.”

Sam felt their body relax again, just as it had when the harp had been playing. But this time there was no music to interrupt. Their attention was focused entirely on the Healer’s eyes. They were filled with swirling colours that pulled at Sam’s mind. At their thoughts. Sam could feel themselves draining more and more, energy and thought swirling away. They heard a clattering noise, but couldn’t think of what it was. The healer was closer now. Sam could just see her smile. The fangs in her mouth. That should have been important, but Sam couldn’t think why.

“Mmm… That’s it. Close your eyes for me Sam, that’s it. Let me embrace you.” As her arms wrapped around them, Sam felt their body almost sag into her. “I know, you’re so tired. So tired and weak for me. You can rest soon. This might feel like a shock, but it’ll feel good after that.” Sam felt her lean her head towards their neck. Then came a few small scratches of pain. Sam felt them outside of the game, and, if they had the energy to move, would have flinched. And then came a much more intense sensation of being drained, combined with pleasure. Pleasure that made them gasp, eyes opening, back arching. The helmet filled with colours, just like her eyes. Words flashed, as a soft voice whispered in their ears. It felt so good, Sam was lost in a sea of submission and pleasure. Sam had no sense of time. All that existed was the sweet pleasure of being drank by their new Mistress. The two of them sank to the floor, and finally, she pulled away, blood running down her chin. Again, a part of Sam knew that they should run, or just take off the headset. But that part of them wasn’t in control. All they wanted to right now was sit, and let their Mistress solidify her control over them.

For now, she seemed sated. She walked over to the obsidian throne, leaving Sam kneeling on the ground. Her movements were different. Energised. Every step seemed to have a small spring to it. As she sat, she looked back down at Sam. She beckoned, and Sam began to crawl, on their hands and knees, to her. She smiled as they did.  As Sam reached her throne, she pointed to the floor directly before her, and Sam, almost instinctively, knew what she intended. They straightened their back, resting on their arms and knees, and felt their body once more freeze in place, as she placed her feet upon their back.

She laughed, softly. “Doesn’t it feel good to obey, slave? Doesn’t it feel incredible, to have no control anymore?” Sam felt small shoots of pleasure running through them as they were used as their Mistress’s foot rest. It did feel good. It felt… Natural. “You want more, don’t you? Nod your head for me. That’s it. Of course you want to obey more. You want more opportunities. Well, for that, you’re going to need some things…” And as she continued speaking, Sam found themselves with a small shopping list of peripherals to get.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Two weeks later, everything had arrived at their apartment. Even without the extras, Sam was back in the game daily. Serving their Mistress. It felt strange, but, their mind couldn’t find the energy to care. And it felt so good to obey. Even if the requests became more personal. Like she was learning more about Sam. But – She was just a game, right? A game that Sam couldn’t say that they had lost, because this felt too good to be anything but winning.

They assembled the peripherals, making a sort of harness for them to sit in, with toys, and a new suit with some extra holes, Sam was ready. Their Mistress had promised them a new sort of pleasure today, and they were ready. The brainwashing had been lovely. Today, was going to be a next step.

As Sam put the headset on, their Mistress stood from her throne, smiling, taking them in. “So, you are restrained on your side, yes?” She asked.

“Yes Mistress.” Sam said, bowing.

Her smile widened as she walked around them. “Oh yes. This will do nicely. Let’s see…” She pushed them back, and, in the virtual world, Sam fell backwards onto a bed. In the real world, they were held, suspended, by the harness. She laughed, seeing Sam hanging there. “There we go, sweetness. No more omni-directional treadmill to mess with. Well. Not alone. Now we can play properly.” She removed Sam’s linen gown, and straddled them. It felt odd, to feel the suit simulating her thighs on either side of Sam’s hips, whilst they were held aloft by the harness.

She leant down, bringing her face close to Sam’s, still smiling. “Oh yes. This – this is exactly how I dreamed it would be, my small human toy. You have done well. But there will be more to come.” She looked so good this close, and Sam wasn’t fazed by her gloating over them. They liked it. How she talked about them like they were a prize she had won. But, something – did she say she had dreamed? What did that mean? Sam was brought out of their thoughts by her eyes, which locked onto their own, and began to swirl with colour again. Her voice filled their mind, and the colours took away more, and more of their control. And then came a new pleasure. She was fucking them. It felt so good, as their bodies intertwined. Sam quickly forgot about the concern they had just felt. And then they forgot about anything but the pleasure she was bringing them. They wanted more. So they had to obey. It was that easy. And it wasn’t much, really. She just wanted a chance to see Sam’s world. So they could work on making their Mistress a body. Couldn’t they? And they didn’t need to worry about why they were building it. Or what their Mistress was. They just needed to obey, like the good human that they were.