Bloodlines: A Vampire’s Legacy

Chapter 18: The Sleeper Stirs



The vault trembled as the coffin's ancient seal shattered. Dust swirled through the air, carried by an unseen force that sent chills down Lucian's spine.

Something inside the coffin was awakening.

Viktor tensed, his hand hovering near his blade. "Lucian, step back."

But Lucian couldn't move.

His entire being was tethered to the entity inside the coffin, drawn by something deeper than fear—recognition.

A low, guttural breath echoed through the chamber.

Then, the lid slid open.

Darkness poured from within, spilling into the vault like ink spreading across parchment. It moved unnaturally, writhing and twisting, filling the air with a deep, suffocating pressure.

Then, a voice.

Ancient. Hollow. Yet unmistakably powerful.

"Blood... calls to blood."

Lucian's heart pounded. The same words he had heard at the altar.

Then, he saw it.

A figure rising from the coffin.

It was tall, clad in dark, tattered robes that seemed to shift like shadows themselves. Its face was obscured, shrouded in the same living darkness that curled around its form. But the moment Lucian met its eyes—two burning orbs of violet light—he knew.

This was no mere vampire.

This was a Noctis Elder.

The last of its kind.

Until now.

Lucian's breath came shallow. His body screamed at him to run, but his blood recognized this being.

The elder stepped forward, its movements slow yet deliberate. The weight of its presence was suffocating, pressing against Lucian's very soul.

Then, it spoke again.

"You have awakened me."

Its voice reverberated through the vault, layered with an eerie distortion, as if multiple voices spoke at once.

Lucian swallowed. "Who… who are you?"

The elder tilted its head slightly, as if studying him. Then, its form shifted, shadows retracting to reveal more of its features.

A gaunt face, deathly pale. Long, silver hair, unkempt but regal. The weight of centuries sat heavy in its piercing gaze.

"I am Varian Noctis," it intoned. "Last of the great sleepers. And you… you are my kin."

Lucian's mind reeled.

A Noctis. A true one. Alive.

Viktor took a step forward, blade drawn. "Lucian, we don't know what this thing is capable of."

Varian turned his gaze to Viktor, and in that moment, Viktor froze.

Not from fear. Not from choice.

He simply stopped moving.

His breath was shallow, his eyes wide. He wasn't restrained—there were no chains, no bindings. And yet, something far more powerful held him completely still.

Lucian's stomach twisted.

"Stop!" he blurted out, stepping between them. "Let him go."

Varian regarded him for a long moment. Then, with an exhale, Viktor suddenly stumbled back, gasping as if released from an unseen grip.

He looked at Lucian, then back at Varian, his face pale. "What the hell was that?"

Varian ignored him, turning back to Lucian.

"I see the Council's poison still lingers," he said. "The fear they have bred into our own kind."

Lucian hesitated. "The Council wiped out the Noctis. How did you survive?"

Varian's expression darkened.

"I did not survive."

He gestured around them, to the vault. "This place was a sanctuary. A tomb for our greatest. When the Council came for us, we fought. And we lost."

Lucian clenched his fists. He had seen glimpses of it in the vision. The slaughter. The betrayal.

"But before the final hour," Varian continued, "a handful of us sought another path."

His gaze grew distant, as if peering through time itself.

"We sealed ourselves away, hidden beyond the Council's reach. We waited, believing one day a successor would come. Someone to reclaim what was lost."

He stepped closer to Lucian, his piercing gaze locking onto him.

"And now, here you stand."

Lucian swallowed.

The whispers in his blood. The power that had stirred within him. The pull toward this place.

Had it all been leading to this?

Varian tilted his head. "You have questions. Ask."

Lucian took a shaky breath. "What… what am I becoming?"

Varian studied him for a long moment. Then, he reached out.

Lucian didn't flinch as Varian's cold fingers brushed against his forehead.

A rush of power surged through him.

For an instant, Lucian saw.

Not with his eyes, but with something deeper.

A void. Endless. Expanding.

And in that void, a figure stood.

Himself.

But different.

Stronger.

A being wreathed in darkness, golden eyes burning like dying stars. The full potential of the Noctis.

The vision faded.

Lucian gasped, stumbling backward. His skin tingled as if something had just touched his very essence.

Varian's expression remained unreadable. "You are the last heir of our bloodline. You are awakening."

Lucian's mind swirled with too many emotions to name. Fear. Anger. Understanding.

Viktor finally found his voice. "And what does that mean, exactly?"

Varian turned his gaze toward him, his presence suffocating once more. "It means he has a choice."

Lucian looked up. "A choice?"

Varian nodded. "You can embrace what you are… or you can run from it."

Lucian swallowed. "And if I embrace it?"

For the first time, a faint smile crossed Varian's lips.

"Then the world will remember the name Noctis once more."

Silence hung heavy in the vault.

Lucian's heart pounded.

He had been running from the truth for so long.

But now?

Now, he was starting to wonder if it had been running toward him all along.

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

Tip: You can use left, right, A and D keyboard keys to browse between chapters.