It was unmistakable. Those eyes… I had seen them before, but I couldn't comprehend how. Standing before me was Sophia—or rather, her body—but everything about her was off. Her posture, the casual yet unsettling grin, and the way she sat cross-legged on the floor, looking at me as if she were studying me. Her original red short red hair had grown longer and turned white. There was a sharpness in her gaze, an intelligence that didn't belong to the Sophia I knew. But it was her eyes—those piercing, glowing eyes—that sent a chill down my spine. Every time I met them, I felt both uneasy and oddly comforted.
I knew instantly that this was no longer the innocent Sophia I knew. Something else—someone else—had taken her place.
The silence stretched between us, and though I wanted to break it, I held my tongue, waiting. Finally, when I could no longer bear the weight of her gaze, I spoke, my voice steady, though there was an edge to it.
"Who are you?"
Her grin widened, almost as if she had been waiting for me to ask that very question. "Finally," she said, her tone teasing but laced with something darker. "I was beginning to think you'd forgotten how to speak."
I didn't respond, but I watched her closely, trying to piece together what was happening. Her casual attitude only heightened my suspicions. She was dangerous.
"You know," she continued, her eyes wandering down her borrowed body, "I would've preferred if I hadn't been reincarnated into the body of a child. I mean, really? This? I've lost my boobs, and they were my best feature." She said it with an almost comical frustration, running her hands over her small form.
I didn't let myself get distracted. "What have you done with Sophia?" I asked, my voice colder now.
"Oh, so that's her name? Sophia?" She seemed amused by my concern, tilting her head as if it were all just a game. "She's fine. I'm just borrowing her body for a bit. Don't worry, She's totally fine."
I narrowed my eyes. "Borrowing her?"
She rolled her eyes at my tone, clearly irritated by my persistence. "Look, I don't like—"
"Who are you?" I interrupted, cutting her off. My patience was wearing thin, and I had no time for her games.
Her grin faltered slightly, and for the first time, she seemed to take me seriously. "Fine. My name is Iris. That's all you need to know for now."
"Iris." I repeated the name, committing it to memory. "And what is it you want, Iris?"
She crossed her arms, exhaling as if tired of the conversation already. "I'm here to guide you," she said, her voice taking on a more serious tone. "There's a lot you don't understand, Viktor, but you'll need me if you want to survive what's coming."
"I don't need a guide," I replied coolly. "And survive what, exactly?"
Her eyes darkened, and the playful edge to her expression vanished. "I'm here to help you stop the complete destruction of this world—and the annihilation of vampires, humans and other types of monsters."
I studied her carefully. "Annihilation of monsters?"
"Yes," she said, her voice low, almost threatening. "Something is coming, Viktor. Something bigger than anything you've imagined. And if you don't act, your kind—and the world—will cease to be the same as it was."
I was silent for a moment, considering her words. I didn't know if I could trust her, but something about the way she spoke told me she wasn't lying.
She continued, her tone softening slightly. "But before I tell you more, I need to know something important." She leaned forward, her gaze sharp. "What year is it?"
I hesitated, but there was no point in hiding the truth. "1837."
Her eyes widened slightly, and she muttered something under her breath before speaking again. "Damn, A lot of time has passed huh." She glanced at me, her expression unreadable. "Alright, Viktor. Now that we've cleared that up, it's time for some answers. My past is… complicated. But you need to know it if you're going to understand the stakes."
I nodded slowly, keeping my gaze locked on hers. "Go on."
Iris's expression hardened, and when she spoke, her voice was laced with bitterness. "I belong to an ancient race of demi-gods known as the AMPONIA. We were once worshipped, feared, and hated in equal measure. We were destroyer gods—tasked with cleansing the world of impurities, though in reality, it was nothing more than a series of massacres. Every decade, we would descend upon the world, slaughtering anything and everything in our path. Humans, vampires, it didn't matter."
I felt my throat tighten, but I didn't interrupt.
"Eventually," she continued, her voice growing colder, "the world grew tired of us. Humans, vampires, and other creatures formed an alliance to stand against the AMPONIA. But we got wind of their plans and struck early, crushing their armies before they could unite. We thought we had won." Her lips curled into a bitter smile. "And then the Hero appeared."
"The Hero?" I asked quietly, the name triggering memories from the old histories I'd read. But I hadn't thought the stories were real.
She nodded, her gaze distant. "Yes, the Hero. One man who stood alone against all five of us and somehow managed to defeat us. It was… humiliating." She shook her head as if reliving the memory was painful. "I was their leader, The feared Ice queen, Iris Velyndra. I surrendered to the Hero in the end, and he spared my life."
Her eyes grew hard, the bitterness returning to her voice. "But that mercy came with a price. The other gods cursed me for my 'betrayal.' They sealed me away, along with the Hero, for a thousand years. We were imprisoned, forced to wait in darkness, while the world moved on without us."
I listened in silence, trying to process everything she had said. The ancient gods, the war, the Hero—all of it felt too massive to grasp. And yet here I was, sitting in front of one of those gods, a witness to their history.
"Now," Iris continued, her voice cutting through my thoughts, "I'm here to finish what I couldn't a thousand years ago. The AMPONIA will rise again, and when they do, the world as you know it will be torn apart."
A cold shiver ran through me as I realized the gravity of her words. This wasn't some ancient myth. It was real.
Iris smiled again, that same unsettling grin from before. "You, Viktor, are part of a long line connected to the Kernes family. Your blood carries the power to stand against what's coming. Whether you like it or not, you're a key player in this war."
I leaned back, the weight of her words settling on my shoulders. "I see."
Her grin widened, satisfied with my reaction. "We already have a task on hand... and that'll be to find the Hero."
I said nothing, my mind already racing with the possibilities, the dangers, the responsibilities that now lay ahead of me. I had read about these battles, about the wars in my history books, but I never thought I'd be caught in the middle of one—let alone one that spanned across time and involved gods.
Whatever was coming, I couldn't deny the reality of it any longer. I was involved now. And there was no turning back.