Mosquito System: Blood Required

Blood of a Betrayer

The first rays of the morning sun didn't feel like a blessing. it felt more like they a blowtorch.

​I tried to yawn, but the motion was just a sickening vibration of my chitinous jaw.

Last night was a fever dream. A blurred montage of shadows, the metallic tang of human life on my tongue, and the terrifying rush of playing god.

I still couldn't wrap my head around it. I was a man who used to order expensive steaks and vintage wine... And now, I was a parasite lurking in the weeds.

​As the sun climbed higher, my skin began to sizzle. To a human, it was a pleasant morning. To me, the light was a searing radiation that threatened to cook me from the inside out.

I scrambled into the damp, dark safety of a hollowed-out log, my tiny heart hammering against my ribs.

​"What now?" I croaked into the silence blaming my bad luck.

​I was bored, terrified, and fueled by a singular, jagged purpose: I had to make Xena bleed.

I had to see the light leave her eyes just like it almost left mine. But as I prepared to take flight, the world exploded in a sound like a cracking whip.

​Crooooak.

​What is it? My compound eyes swiveled.

A big shadow loomed over the log...a monstrous, pulsating throat and eyes like golden orbs of death.

​Zip.

​A five-inch tongue lashed out at 0.07 seconds. It was a pink blur of muscle and sticky death.

Survival instinct, sharper than any human reflex, kicked in. I spiraled upward, the tip of that wet muscle missing my hind legs by a fraction of a millimeter.

The frog didn't give up. It's prehistoric face locked onto me with a hunger that mirrored my own.

​"Heaven have mercy!" I buzzed, pushing my wings until they screamed.

I had to get out of here. I had to get my body back before the food chain finished what Xena started.

​[System Notification: Host, you have exactly 5 days of lifespan remaining.]

​I nearly crashed into a tree trunk. "Five days? You told me I had ten days to pay the tax!"

​[Correction: You have ten days to complete the 'Human Ascension' cycle. However, your current biological stability is failing. Without a power boost, your organs will liquefy in 120 hours.]

​"You crazy, glitching piece of junk!" I hissed. "At this rate I'm dead meat either way!"

​[Not necessarily. A Side Quest has been generated. Success will grant you a double-tax credit, effectively buying you time. Failure results in a 'Brutal Expiration.']

​I felt a cold shiver. "Fine. What's the task?"

​[Not all blood is equal, Host. The System craves the Rare. Behold the Power Structure:]

​Rh- Null: The Crimson King. Rarest. Most Powerful.

Ab- Negative: The Blue Blood.

​A Type: The Golden Standard.

​B and O: The Common Yellow and Green.

​[The Circle demands a drop of Rh- Null 'Crimson' blood. Do this, and you will receive a two-drop pay reward. To assist, I am installing the 'Hemoglobin Detection Lens into your eyes.']

​Suddenly, my vision shifted. The world turned grayscale, except for the people.

As I flew toward the edge of the park and into the city, I saw humans walking around with glowing halos of color above their heads.

​A businessman passed by with a bright Golden aura. Type A. A group of teenagers sat on a bench, their heads glowing Green and Yellow. Types O and B.

I spent an hour darting through a crowded market, my wings aching, my vision scanning hundreds of faces.

​Nothing. No Red. Though there's fewer with Blue above their head. Looks like what system said was true.

​I was exhausted, my energy reserves flagging. I landed on a soft, warm surface to catch my breath, my mind drifting toward the abyss of failure.

​"Mom, mom! Look! A tiny mosquito sat on me!"

​A child's voice boomed like a cannon. I looked up to see a giant hand descending like a falling sky.

​"I'll get it, honey! How dare it bite my son!"

​Whap!

​The mother's palm missed me by a hair's breadth. I felt the air pressure from the strike tumble me through the air.

I saw a glimpse of the afterlife in that split second. I didn't stop to look back. I flew until the sun dipped below the horizon, the urgency of my five-day death sentence clawing at my soul.

​I reached the City General Hospital. If there was Red blood anywhere, it was here.

​I drifted through an open window on the third floor, navigating the sterile, bleach-scented hallways.

I checked room after room. Yellow, Green, Gold. Then, I stopped at a private suite.

​A man and a woman were entwined on a sofa in the corner of the darkened room. I recognized the man... It's Roy, a local real estate mogul and a known associate of Arsh.

​"What if your wife finds out?" the woman whispered, pulling him into a chef kiss.

​Roy laughed, a sound like grinding gravel.

"Even if she does, she'll be long gone by the time she can speak. Let's just hope she finds her way to heaven quickly."

​"You're terrible," she giggled. "But Teresha is your wife. She's literally in the next room, she giggled again as if it was the most amusing thing she said ever."

​"And she's useless to me now," Roy sneered, his hand sliding up her leg.

Baby, give me a kiss, he placed his cheek shamelessly.

​A sharp knock at the door shattered the mood.

A doctor stepped in, his face haggard and pale.

"Mr. Roy. It's Dr. Andre. We have a crisis."

​Roy didn't even stand up. "What is it now?"

​"Your wife... At the emergency C-section... she's lost too much blood. The hospital bank is out of Rh- Null."

Fortunately, your records show you are a match. We need you to donate, right now, or she won't make it through the hour.

​Roy looked at the doctor with a cold, mocking smirk.

"Are you being serious? Me? Poke myself with a needle for her? Never."

​The doctor froze. "But she is your wife! She is carrying your child!"

​"And so? If she dies, she will be able to reincarnate faster," Roy said, checking his fingernails.

​The woman beside him, smirked. "How does a mere doctor dare to use that tone with you, Roy? She placed a hand on his chest."

​"If you don't give blood, she will die!" the doctor roared.

​"Then let her die," Roy replied.

The doctor looked at those two monsters helplessly, unable to do anything.

​Till now, I sat on the curtain rod, my compound eyes fixed on the glowing, Deep Red aura hovering over Roy's head.

He was the one. He was the Crimson blood the system demanded.

​But it wasn't just about the blood anymore.

The rage that had started on the rooftop with Xena surged back, a triple-fold heat that threatened to melt my wings.

​You want to watch your wife die for a mistress? I thought, my proboscis twitching.

I'm going to make you wish you were never born to dirty the earth. An inhuman living trash!

​I took off, a silent, invisible karma of vengeance.

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