Bloodlines: A Vampire’s Legacy

The weight of the old man's words still pressed on Lucian's mind as he stared at the ancient ruin drawn in the leather-bound book. The image stirred something deep within him—an ache, a whisper in his blood that urged him forward. This was where he would find answers. This was where the truth of the Noctis awaited.

Viktor closed the book and glanced at Lucian. "We move at first light."

The old man, still seated in his creaking chair, folded his hands in his lap. His wrinkled fingers tapped against one another, his gaze unreadable. "If you go there, you may find what you seek… but you may also awaken things best left buried."

Lucian exhaled sharply. "That's a risk I have to take."

The old man nodded slowly. "Then I will give you one last warning." He leaned forward, his voice dropping to a whisper. "The Noctis were not just erased from history. They were hunted. Feared. The Council ensured their extinction for a reason. If they discover that you are one of them, they will not simply try to kill you."

Lucian's throat tightened. "Then what will they do?"

The old man's gaze darkened. "They will make sure you never existed."

A heavy silence filled the room. Viktor clenched his jaw but said nothing. He already knew what this meant. The Council had resources beyond comprehension. If they truly saw Lucian as a threat, they wouldn't just send hunters. They would send something far worse.

Lucian swallowed hard and pushed himself to his feet. The raw energy coursing through his veins had yet to settle. His body still trembled from the awakening, his senses sharper, the air around him tingling with something unseen.

Viktor placed a firm hand on Lucian's shoulder. "We should rest. We'll need our strength."

Lucian nodded, though he knew sleep would not come easily.

The sky was painted with streaks of gray when they left the old bookstore behind. The city still slept, the streets empty except for a few stragglers who paid them no mind. The cold morning air bit at Lucian's skin, but he barely noticed. His thoughts were elsewhere.

Viktor led the way through the winding alleys, their footsteps silent against the cracked pavement. They needed to get out of the city unnoticed. The hunters were watching.

"We can't take the main roads," Viktor muttered. "Too risky."

Lucian glanced around. "Then how do we get out?"

Viktor smirked. "The same way I get into places I'm not supposed to."

He led them toward a forgotten part of the city, where the buildings sagged with age and time had erased all signs of life. At the end of a narrow alley, Viktor stopped before an old drainage tunnel.

Lucian raised a brow. "You're kidding."

Viktor chuckled. "You'd be surprised how many things move through this city unnoticed. This tunnel leads out past the checkpoints. No one will expect us to take it."

Lucian sighed but didn't argue. They had no other choice.

Viktor pried open the rusted grate and slipped inside. Lucian followed, the scent of damp stone and decay filling his nostrils. The tunnel was narrow, lined with crumbling bricks and stagnant water pooled at their feet. It stretched into darkness, the exit nowhere in sight.

As they moved deeper, the air grew heavy. Lucian felt it first—the sensation of being watched.

He stopped. "Something's here."

Viktor tensed, his hand resting on the hilt of his blade. The tunnel was silent, but the shadows around them felt unnatural, shifting like they were alive.

Then, a whisper.

Low, guttural, inhuman.

Lucian turned sharply, his instincts screaming at him. Out of the darkness, something moved—something fast.

A blur of black shot toward them. Lucian barely had time to react before he was slammed against the wall, cold hands gripping his throat. He snarled, his eyes flashing gold as he struggled against the attacker.

It was a vampire—but not like any he had seen before. Its skin was stretched tight over its skull, its eyes hollow and filled with unnatural hunger. The stench of rot clung to its body.

A revenant.

Viktor cursed, drawing his blade and slashing at the creature. The revenant hissed, releasing Lucian just as Viktor's blade sliced through its arm. It stumbled back, but it did not bleed. It merely turned its empty gaze on Viktor, unfazed.

Lucian didn't hesitate. He lunged, his newly awakened power surging through him. His hand shot forward, and for the first time, the darkness around him moved.

A tendril of black mist erupted from his palm, striking the revenant like a whip. The creature shrieked as the shadows coiled around it, suffocating it, devouring it.

Lucian gasped, stepping back as the tendrils withdrew. The revenant collapsed, its body reduced to dust.

The tunnel fell silent once more.

Viktor exhaled, gripping his blade tighter. "Well. That's new."

Lucian stared at his hands, his breath uneven. The power he had unleashed felt foreign and familiar all at once. It had responded to his will, as if it had been waiting for him to call upon it.

"What the hell was that thing?" Lucian asked, his voice low.

Viktor wiped his blade clean. "A revenant. The Council uses them when they don't want their enemies to escape." He gave Lucian a look. "Which means they already know we're leaving."

Lucian's stomach tightened. There was no time to waste.

They pressed on, moving faster now. The tunnel stretched for miles, but eventually, a faint glow appeared in the distance. The exit.

Viktor pushed open a metal grate, revealing a field beyond the city walls. The scent of fresh air hit them, washing away the stench of the tunnel.

Lucian climbed out, glancing back one last time. The city loomed in the distance, but he knew he could not return. Not yet.

Viktor dusted himself off. "We need to move fast. If the Council sent one revenant, they'll send more."

Lucian nodded, his resolve hardening. They had to reach the ruins. They had to uncover the truth.

The Noctis within him had awakened.

And now, there was no turning back.

As they moved through the wilderness, Lucian felt the presence of something unseen lingering in the distance. The Council was watching. The hunters were coming.

But for the first time, Lucian wasn't just running.

He was heading toward something.

Something that had been waiting for him all along.