(Author note: Hope you guys enjoy this- this took me a DAMN while 7.6k plus words chapter.
Enjoy!)
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In a hidden chamber deep within the labyrinthine corridors of Castle Dracula, two men stood before a collection of ornate mirrors.
Unlike ordinary looking glasses, these mirrors displayed scenes from distant locations throughout the castle - magical windows into events unfolding beyond their sight.
Isaac's fingers traced the edge of the largest mirror, his expression impassive as he observed the swirling vortex of black smoke coalescing into a monstrous serpent.
The creature towered over a small group of figures, its size dwarfing even the tallest among them.
"Was this wise?" Hector asked, his voice barely above a whisper. "Lord Dracula gave no orders regarding the Originals."
Isaac didn't immediately respond.
The silence stretched between them, broken only by the soft crackle of torches lining the stone walls.
The forgemaster's gaze remained fixed on the mirror, watching as the serpent's massive form blocked out what little light filtered through the ruins of Sodom and Gomorrah.
"Lord Dracula is occupied," Isaac finally said, each word measured and precise. "The Son of God requires his full attention."
Hector shifted uncomfortably, his eyes darting to a second mirror that showed their master standing before a young man with blood trickling down his neck.
"We took aid from a crossroads demon," Hector pressed, unable to hide his concern. "Such alliances have... consequences."
A ghost of a smile touched Isaac's lips. "All actions have consequences, Hector. The question is whether those consequences are preferable to inaction."
He turned from the serpent mirror to face his fellow forgemaster. "Loathe as I am to admit it, I have no desire to witness a repeat of history."
"Klaus Mikaelson," Hector murmured.
"Indeed." Isaac's expression darkened. "I will not stand idle while that abomination and his family threaten our master again. Not when he is so close to achieving his potential."
Both men turned their attention to the second mirror, where Dracula and Lucien faced each other in the devastated remains of what had once been the castle's great hall.
"Once Lord Dracula has consumed the strength of God's Son," Isaac continued, "not even the entire Original family will stand against him."
The mirror's surface rippled slightly, as if disturbed by unseen currents, before settling to show the confrontation in perfect clarity.
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Lucien clutched his neck where Dracula's fangs had pierced him.
The wound was already healing - Stefan's vampire body ensuring that - but the violation ran deeper than mere flesh.
He lowered his hand to his side, watching as Dracula flexed his fingers, testing his newfound power.
'He's right,' Lucien thought, a cold realization settling in his chest. 'I'm supposed to be a creature of balance - light and dark in harmony. But I'm not at my full potential yet. I can only control so much darkness and light simultaneously.'
The blood of countless nightcreatures still coursed through his veins, corrupting him from within.
He had darkened his soul far beyond what he could safely control, and the consequences were now manifest.
His "holiness" had been diluted to the point where Dracula could drink from him without permission, without his blood rejecting the vampire's intrusion.
His soul has darkened - and it is no mere stain to be cleansed. Either the cure is administered or that rotten piece is cut off- neither of which are really viable right now.
Dracula clenched his fist, and the very air around him seemed to bend, distorting like heat waves above summer asphalt.
His eyes, normally crimson, now held flecks of yellow - a remnant of Azazel's blood merging with Lucien's power.
"Fascinating," Dracula murmured, examining his hand with the clinical interest of a scientist observing a particularly successful experiment. "Your blood... it contains such potential."
Silence fell between them.
In her protective sphere high above, Elaine pressed herself against the transparent barrier, watching with wide, terrified eyes. Beside her, Lucien's original body lay unconscious, small and vulnerable.
Dracula's gaze lifted to Lucien, a smile spreading slowly across his features. He raised one hand, index finger extended, and made a beckoning motion.
"Come," he invited, his voice carrying the weight of centuries. "Show me what else you can do, Son of God."
Lucien's jaw tightened. 'I'm in deep shit now anyway,' he thought grimly. 'Might as well sink deeper.'
With deliberate focus, Lucien reached inward, gently nudging Stefan's consciousness.
The vampire's soul had been resting, peaceful in the absence of torment for the first time in decades. Lucien hated to disturb that peace, but he needed help.
'Stefan,' he called mentally. 'I'm sorry to wake you, but I need you.'
There was no verbal response - Stefan's soul couldn't control itself enough for words - but emotions flooded through their shared consciousness: terror, confusion, disorientation.
Then recognition as Stefan perceived Dracula through their shared vision, standing tall with blood-stained teeth visible in his satisfied grin.
'I need your hate,' Lucien continued. 'All that rage, all that fear you've bottled up for decades. Every moment of suffering, every humiliation. I need you to channel it toward me.'
Confusion rippled through their connection.
'Think of all the payback you want to give him. Everything you've dreamed of doing to him. Let it flow to me.'
For a moment, there was resistance - not refusal, but inability.
Stefan had been conditioned through decades of torture to suppress such thoughts.
Dracula had beaten the defiance out of him through mental torture, reading his thoughts and punishing him for any negative feelings toward his "Lord."
But something was different now.
Stefan could feel Lucien's presence - strong, supportive, unafraid.
For the first time in twenty years, Stefan found the courage to acknowledge his hatred. The emotion began as a trickle, then a stream, and finally a torrent of pure, undiluted rage.
Lucien embraced it, channeling it into the Force. His eyes shifted from blue to molten gold as he established his Force domain instantly - in this adult body, plus all the hate, not needing 10 minutes to set it up.
He added his own hatred to Stefan's - for all the suffering Dracula had caused.
His father nearly dying because of the Dark Spear while fighting Dracula's werewolf knight.
Lucien sacrificing his life force to save John.
Fleeing to Mystic Falls and becoming entangled in the Red Sun Ritual.
Being branded as a living sacrifice.
Katherine nearly dying from Tezcatlipoca's bite.
The kidnapping, the torture - all of it could be traced back to to this smiling devil in front of him.
"You're the literal architect of all my greatest suffering. It's time you paid the fucking price," Lucien growled.
Dracula's smile widened. "Finally, some-"
He never finished the sentence.
Lucien had already moved, vampire speed enhanced by the Force, crossing the distance between them in a blur too fast even for Dracula's senses- the Count's eyes widening in shock, caught off guard.
Massive bat wings erupted from Lucien's back as he drove his fist into Dracula's face with the full weight of his body behind the blow.
The impact was thunderous - stone cracking as Dracula's body was sent flying backward, crashing through three consecutive walls before disappearing into the darkness beyond.
Lucien didn't hesitate. He launched himself forward, wings propelling him through the holes Dracula's body had created. He found the vampire lord rising from a pile of rubble, dust falling from his shoulders.
"Impressive," Dracula acknowledged, brushing debris from his sleeve with casual elegance. "But predictable."
Lucien's response was to thrust his hand forward. "Burn," he commanded, channeling the Dark Side into Force lightning that erupted from his fingertips.
Blue-white energy arced across the chamber, striking Dracula squarely in the chest.
The vampire's body convulsed, his elegant clothing smoldering as the lightning coursed through him.
But rather than collapsing, Dracula raised his hands, fingers splayed, and began to absorb the energy.
"Is this the extent of your power?" Dracula asked, his voice strained but controlled. "Parlor tricks?"
Lucien cut off the lightning and shifted tactics.
Drawing on Stefan's natural abilities, he focused on the moisture in the air, rapidly cooling it around Dracula.
Ice crystals formed, spreading fast to encase the vampire's legs and lower body.
Dracula looked down at the ice with mild curiosity. "Interesting approach."
With a casual flex of his muscles, he shattered the ice into thousands of glittering shards. Before the pieces could hit the ground, Lucien gestured sharply. The ice fragments reversed direction, accelerating toward Dracula like a thousand tiny daggers.
Dracula's form dissolved into mist just as the ice shards would have impaled him. The mist flowed around the projectiles, reforming behind Lucien. A hand closed around Lucien's throat, lifting him off the ground.
"You have potential," Dracula said, his voice inches from Lucien's ear. "But you lack experience."
Lucien grabbed Dracula's wrist with both hands, channeling reality-bending compulsion through his touch. "Release," he commanded.
To Dracula's visible surprise, his fingers opened involuntarily. Lucien dropped to the ground, rolling away and coming up in a fighting stance.
"Reality manipulation at such strength level," Dracula observed, flexing his hand. "Impressive for one so young."
Lucien didn't waste time responding.
He charged forward, feinting left before dropping into a slide that took him beneath Dracula's guard. As he passed under the vampire lord, he thrust upward with a wooden stake pulled telekinetically from the debris.
Dracula twisted with inhuman speed, the stake missing his heart by inches, tearing through his shoulder instead. He hissed in pain but caught Lucien's wrist before he could withdraw.
"Close," Dracula acknowledged, "but not close enough."
He yanked Lucien upward, intending to throw him across the room, but Lucien had anticipated this. He used the momentum to flip over Dracula's head, landing behind him. In the same fluid motion, he swept Dracula's legs from under him.
The vampire lord fell backward but turned the fall into a graceful handspring, landing on his feet several yards away. He touched the wound in his shoulder, examining the blood on his fingertips with mild interest.
"You fight well for someone inhabiting a borrowed body," he said. "But how long can you maintain this level of exertion?"
As if in answer, a massive black figure materialized beside Lucien - Vader, his red lightsaber humming ominously in the dim light.
"Master," the Qareen acknowledged, mechanical breathing echoing through the chamber.
Dracula's eyes narrowed. "Ah, the shadow self. I wondered when you would join us."
Vader didn't respond verbally. Instead, he lunged forward, lightsaber arcing toward Dracula's midsection. The vampire lord sidestepped with millimeters to spare, the plasma blade passing close enough to singe his clothing.
Lucien used the distraction to launch another attack, transforming his right arm into a mass of writhing tentacles - using reality compulsion to do this - that wrapped around Dracula's legs.
The vampire snarled, tearing free with a display of raw strength that sent pieces of tentacle flying.
"Enough games," Dracula growled, his composure slipping for the first time.
He raised his hands, and the very stones of the castle responded to his will. The floor beneath Lucien and Vader buckled and rippled like liquid. Columns twisted like serpents, lashing out at them from all sides.
Vader's lightsaber became a blur of crimson energy, slicing through stone as quickly as it could reshape itself. Lucien took to the air, his wings carrying him above the chaotic floor.
From this vantage point, he spotted a massive chandelier hanging from the vaulted ceiling. With a gesture, he severed its chain. The iron and crystal construction plummeted toward Dracula, who looked up just in time to see it descending.
Rather than dodge, Dracula raised one hand. The chandelier froze in mid-air, hovering for a moment before reversing direction, hurtling toward Lucien with even greater speed.
Lucien barrel-rolled to avoid it, but the massive fixture clipped his wing, sending him into a spin - all objects in this Castle being immensily durable and potent from the magic within.
He crashed into a wall, stone cracking under the impact. Before he could recover, Dracula was there, hand closing around his throat once more.
"You rely too much on theatrics," Dracula criticized, squeezing slowly. "Power without control is merely-"
A red lightsaber blade erupted from Dracula's chest, cutting his lecture short. Vader stood behind him, having arrived across the chamber in an instant.
Dracula looked down at the plasma blade protruding from his chest with genuine surprise. Then, remarkably, he laughed.
"Interesting," he said, his voice unchanged despite the lightsaber impaling him. "Very interesting indeed."
He reached back without looking, his hand passing through Vader's armor as if it were smoke, closing around something solid within.
With a single, powerful motion, he pulled Vader forward, over his shoulder, and slammed him into the ground with enough force to crater the stone floor.
The lightsaber deactivated as it was torn from Vader's grip. Dracula stepped back, the wound in his chest already closing.
"Your shadow is becoming tiresome," he told Lucien, who had used the distraction to free himself and was now helping Vader to his feet.
Vader rose slowly, his mechanical breathing slightly irregular. "I exist to serve my master," he stated, his deep voice resonating through the chamber.
"Noble sentiment," Dracula replied. "But ultimately futile."
He moved with blinding speed, crossing the distance to Vader before either could react. His hand plunged into Vader's chest plate, grasping something within. Vader froze, his breathing suddenly stopping.
"Fascinating construction," Dracula observed, examining whatever he held within Vader's chest. "A heart made of pure will and darkness."
Lucien lunged forward, desperate to help his shadow self, but Dracula's free hand shot out, catching him by the throat once more.
"Your attachment to this construct is touching," Dracula said, "but it has interfered with our dance long enough."
With a gesture from Dracula, a shimmering portal appeared in mid-air beside them - a mirror-like surface that reflected nothing in the room.
"Perhaps some time apart will help you focus on our discussion," Dracula suggested. He withdrew his hand from Vader's chest, releasing whatever he had grasped. Then, with casual strength, he hurled Vader's massive form into the mirror portal.
"NO!" Lucien shouted, reaching out with the Force to try and pull Vader back.
But it was too late. The mirror portal rippled like water as Vader passed through it, then solidified once more, showing only Lucien's desperate reflection.
"He will find his way through my castle's mirror realm eventually," Dracula said dismissively. "Though it may take him centuries. Time flows... differently there."
Lucien's eyes burned with renewed hatred. With a roar of rage, he broke Dracula's grip and attacked with renewed fury, all strategy abandoned in favor of raw power.
His fist connected with Dracula's jaw, the impact sending shockwaves through the chamber. Before the vampire could recover, Lucien followed with a knee to his midsection, then an elbow to the back of his head as he doubled over.
Stone cracked beneath their feet as Dracula was driven into the floor.
"You think yourself a god," Lucien snarled, punctuating each word with another devastating blow. "But you're just a monster who's lived too long!"
He grabbed Dracula by the throat - a reversal of their earlier positions - and slammed him repeatedly into a nearby column. The ancient stone crumbled under the assault, dust filling the air around them.
For a moment, it seemed Lucien had gained the upper hand. Then Dracula's expression shifted from surprise to amusement.
"Finally," he said, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, "some spirit."
His hand shot up faster than thought, catching Lucien's next blow mid-swing. With a casual twist of his wrist, he broke Lucien's arm at the elbow, bone splintering with a wet crack that echoed through the chamber.
Pain lanced through Lucien's borrowed body, but Stefan's vampire healing immediately began knitting the fractured bone. Before the process could complete, however, Dracula launched his counterattack.
The vampire lord's fist drove into Lucien's solar plexus, folding him in half. As Lucien's torso bent forward, Dracula's knee rose to meet his face, the impact shattering his nose in an explosion of blood.
A follow-up uppercut lifted Lucien off his feet, sending him flying backward.
Lucien twisted in mid-air, his partially healed arm protesting the movement.
He landed in a crouch, one hand braced against the floor, blood dripping from his shattered nose onto the stone beneath him. His broken arm hung at an awkward angle, bones grinding audibly as they continued to realign themselves.
"Impressive recovery," Dracula acknowledged, casually brushing dust from his tattered clothing. "Most would remain down after such a combination."
Lucien's response was to slam his palm against the floor. "Rupture," he commanded.
The floor between them exploded upward, jagged spikes of stone erupting toward Dracula like the jaws of some massive beast. The vampire sidestepped with inhuman grace, but one spike caught his leg, tearing through fabric and flesh.
Dracula glanced down at the wound with mild curiosity as it immediately began to close. "Creative," he commented. "But predictable."
He gestured toward the stone spikes, which responded to his will, reversing direction to target Lucien instead.
Lucien rolled sideways, barely avoiding impalement as the stone daggers embedded themselves in the wall behind him with enough force to penetrate several feet of solid rock.
Without pausing, Lucien thrust both hands forward. "Ignite," he commanded, focusing on the air surrounding Dracula.
The atmosphere itself combusted, engulfing the vampire lord in a sphere of intense flame. The heat was so extreme that nearby stone began to glow red, then white, softening like wax.
For a moment, Dracula disappeared within the inferno. Then, through the dancing flames, Lucien saw movement.
Dracula was walking forward, completely unaffected by the fire, his expression one of mild irritation as his already damaged clothing continued to burn away.
"Fire?" Dracula asked, his tone suggesting disappointment. "Against a being who has walked through the flames of Hell itself?"
He swept his arm in a horizontal arc, and the flames parted before him, compressed into a swirling vortex that he redirected toward Lucien with a flick of his wrist.
Lucien had a split second to react. "Freeze," he commanded, focusing on the approaching fire.
The flames instantly transformed into a wave of ice crystals that crashed against him, the sudden temperature shift causing the air to crack audibly.
Though the fire's heat was neutralized, the momentum remained, and Lucien was thrown backward by the impact, his skin lacerated by thousands of ice shards.
He crashed through a partially collapsed wall, stone fragments raining down around him as he rolled to a stop in an adjacent chamber.
Blood flowed from countless small cuts, staining what remained of his pants crimson. His vampire healing was already sealing the wounds, but the process was slower now, overtaxed by the continuous damage.
Lucien pushed himself to his feet, swaying slightly as his body struggled to compensate for blood loss.
He could feel Stefan's consciousness within him, radiating fear and confusion, but also a growing anger that mirrored his own.
"We're not done yet," Lucien muttered, drawing on that shared rage.
He focused on his body, calling on both the Force and his vampiric abilities. "Transform," he commanded.
His form began to shift, skin dissolving into a swarm of bats that spiraled upward, filling the chamber with the sound of leathery wings and high-pitched screeches.
The swarm condensed, then expanded, reforming into Lucien's shape - but changed. His skin had taken on a gray pallor, veins pulsing black beneath the surface.
His fingers had elongated into claws, and massive bat-like wings extended from his back once more.
Dracula stepped through the hole in the wall, observing Lucien's transformation with interest. "You learn quickly," he noted. "But imitation is a poor substitute for experience."
To demonstrate, Dracula's own form rippled, then exploded outward in a cloud of mist that filled the chamber like a living fog. The mist swirled around Lucien, tendrils brushing against his skin with an unnatural coldness that seemed to penetrate to his very bones.
Lucien lashed out with his claws, but they passed harmlessly through the fog. He tried to take flight, wings beating powerfully, but the mist followed, surrounding him completely.
"You cannot fight what you cannot touch," Dracula's voice echoed from everywhere.
The mist began to thicken around Lucien's throat, solidifying just enough to constrict. He clawed at his neck, fingers passing through the semi-solid fog that was slowly suffocating him.
Desperation sparked inspiration. Lucien ceased his futile struggle and instead closed his eyes, extending his senses through the Force. He could feel Dracula's presence within the mist - a concentrated point of evil and power.
"Solidify," Lucien commanded, focusing his reality-bending compulsion on that specific point.
The mist directly around Dracula's consciousness instantly condensed back into solid form, catching the vampire by surprise. Before he could react, Lucien drove his clawed hand into Dracula's chest, fingers closing around something solid within.
"Found you," Lucien growled, tightening his grip.
Dracula's eyes widened in genuine surprise, then narrowed in cold fury. The remaining mist rushed back into his body, completing his reformation. He grabbed Lucien's wrist, trying to force his hand from his chest.
For a moment, they were locked in a motionless struggle, Lucien's claws embedded in Dracula's flesh, the vampire's fingers digging into Lucien's wrist with enough force to crack bone.
"Impressive," Dracula acknowledged through gritted teeth. "Few have ever managed to touch my heart."
"Let's see if it burns," Lucien snarled, channeling Red Force lightning directly into Dracula's chest- previously having used only Blue-White for this moment- to catch the Count off guard from the lightning.
Crimson energy coursed through the vampire lord's body, his back arching as electricity danced across his skin.
"AAAAHHHHHHH!" Dracula roared in agony - for the first time since the battle began truly hurt.
The smell of burning flesh filled the chamber, acrid and thick. Dracula's grip on Lucien's wrist tightened further, bones grinding audibly as they fractured under the pressure.
'Damn this boy, what is this strength- he is destroying my very power! I need to break free with haste!' Dracula thought to himself, in agony.
With a roar of pain and rage, Dracula tore Lucien's hand from his chest and hurled him across the chamber.
Lucien crashed through a stone balustrade, fragments of carved rock exploding around him as he fell to a lower level of the castle.
He landed hard on a marble floor, the impact driving the breath from his lungs. Above him, a massive chandelier swayed precariously, disturbed by the violence of his fall. Lucien rolled to his side, wincing as his broken wrist shifted, bones grating against each other.
Dracula leapt down after him, landing with catlike grace despite the smoldering hole in his chest. The wound was already closing, flesh knitting together with supernatural speed.
"You continue to surprise me," Dracula said, his voice betraying a hint of genuine respect, as his wounds slowly healed. "Perhaps there is more to you than mere power."
Lucien's response was to gesture toward the chandelier above Dracula's head. "Fall," he commanded.
The massive iron and crystal construction broke free from its chain, plummeting toward Dracula with the force of a meteor. The vampire glanced up, then casually sidestepped, allowing the chandelier to crash to the floor beside him.
"Predictable," Dracula chided.
"Was it?" Lucien asked, a grim smile spreading across his face.
The chandelier hadn't been the true target. The floor beneath it - already weakened by their battle - gave way under the impact. A gaping hole opened beneath Dracula's feet, and he dropped out of sight, disappearing into the darkness below.
Lucien didn't waste the opportunity. He focused on his shattered wrist, accelerating Stefan's vampire healing with the Force- powering the dark magic with the Dark Side.
The bones realigned with a series of sickening cracks, tendons and ligaments reattaching themselves. The pain was excruciating, but he pushed through it, forcing himself to his feet.
He had perhaps seconds before Dracula returned.
Scanning the chamber, he spotted a fallen nightcreature nearby - one of many that had been destroyed during their battle. Without hesitation, he staggered toward it, dropping to his knees beside the corpse.
His clawed hand plunged into the creature's chest, tearing through ribs to reach the still-liquid blood within.
He brought his hand to his mouth, drinking deeply of the black ichor. Power surged through him immediately, his numerous wounds closing, strength returning to his limbs.
"More," he growled, tearing deeper into the nightcreature's body, consuming more of its blood.
With each swallow, his form shifted further from human.
Wings expanded once again from his back, no longer bat-like but draconic, scaled and powerful.
A slow clapping sound drew his attention to the hole in the floor. Dracula rose through it, levitating upward with effortless control, his tattered clothing fluttering around him.
"Embracing corruption so readily?" the vampire lord asked, landing lightly on the marble floor. "I expected more resistance from the 'Son of God.'"
Lucien rose to his full height, now towering over Dracula's form, "Whatever it takes," he rumbled, his voice deeper.
"Indeed," Dracula agreed. "A pragmatic approach I can appreciate."
Without warning, Dracula launched himself forward, moving so quickly he seemed became a blur.
His fist connected with Lucien's chest, the impact sending shockwaves through the chamber that shattered nearby windows. Glass rained down around them, glittering in the dim light like falling stars.
Lucien absorbed the blow, now a bit more resilient than before. He countered with a sweep of his massive tail - a new appendage that he had just formed with by muttering under his breath "Tail, form" - catching Dracula in the side and sending him crashing into a marble column.
The vampire lord recovered instantly, rebounding off the column and diving at Lucien's legs. Lucien attempted to take flight, massive wings beating powerfully, but Dracula caught his ankle, dragging him back to the ground.
They crashed together through the weakened floor, plummeting to yet another level of the castle below. Lucien landed on his back, Dracula on top of him, the vampire's hands closing around his throat.
"You cannot escape me," Dracula hissed, fingers digging into Lucien's scaled flesh.
"We- We'll see about that," Lucien answered roughly.
"Burn," he commanded - powering the dark magic more with the Dark Side - as he opened his mouth and exhale a torrent of flame directly into Dracula's face.
The vampire recoiled, his skin blackening, hair igniting. The smell of burning flesh filled the air once more, acrid and thick.
Dracula rolled away, hands covering his face as his body struggled to heal the extensive burns. Lucien pressed his advantage, rising to his feet and advancing on the wounded vampire.
"Not so confident now?" Lucien taunted, gathering energy for another blast of dragonfire.
Before he could release it, Dracula's hand shot out, fingers splayed. The very air between them seemed to solidify, forming an invisible barrier that caught Lucien's flame when he exhaled, containing it in a sphere of compressed energy.
"Your power is impressive," Dracula acknowledged, his burned features already beginning to heal, "but unrefined."
With a gesture, he sent the contained fireball back toward Lucien, who barely managed to dodge. The sphere exploded against the wall behind him, stone melting like wax under the intense heat.
Lucien growled in frustration, then focused his concentration.
Eyes beginning to shine like twin suns, an aura of pure Force energy surrounding him.
"Let's try something different," Lucien said, his voice echoing with power.
He raised his hand, and every loose object in the chamber - broken stones, shattered glass, fragments of wood - rose into the air, suspended by his telekinesis.
With a flick of his wrist, he sent the debris hurtling toward Dracula in a deadly storm.
The vampire moved with fast, dodging larger projectiles while batting aside smaller ones. But there were too many, coming too quickly.
Stones tore through his already tattered clothing, glass shards embedded themselves in his flesh, a jagged piece of wood impaled his shoulder, narrowly missing his heart.
Dracula snarled in pain and annoyance. He thrust both hands forward, and a wave of pure force erupted from his palms, catching the remaining debris and sending it back toward Lucien.
Lucien created a Force shield, the projectiles bouncing harmlessly off the invisible barrier. Without lowering his defense, he reached out with his other hand, focusing on the wood embedded in Dracula's shoulder.
"Grow," he commanded, using more of the Dark Side to power the dark magic- forgoing Force Lightning or any other power, to use as much Force energy to power the reality compulsion, it being his greatest current weapon.
The wood responded, sprouting branches that expanded within Dracula's flesh, tearing through muscle and bone as they grew.
The vampire roared in agony, clawing at the suddenly animated wood as it threatened to impale his heart from within.
With a display of raw strength, Dracula tore the entire wooden growth from his body, taking chunks of his own flesh with it. Blood poured from the wound, sizzling when it hit the floor.
"Enough games," Dracula growled, his composure finally cracking.
He raised his arms, and the very castle responded to his will. The floor beneath Lucien's feet suddenly became liquid, stone flowing like water.
Walls twisted and bent, columns writhed like serpents. The entire chamber began to reshape itself according to Dracula's desire.
Lucien found himself sinking into the liquid stone, which hardened around his legs, trapping him in place.
He struggled against the restraint, channeling the Force to break free, but the stone continued to flow and harden faster than he could shatter it.
"This castle has been my home for centuries," Dracula said, approaching slowly as Lucien continued to struggle. "It is an extension of my will, responsive to my every desire."
Lucien's eyes narrowed in concentration. If the castle was part of Dracula, perhaps it shared his weaknesses. He placed his palms against the stone encasing his legs.
"Consecrate," he commanded, channeling the light side energy and grace into the material.
The stone began to glow with a soft white light that spread outward like ripples in a pond.
As the light touched various parts of the chamber, they began to crumble, turning to dust.
The effect reached Dracula, who hissed in pain as the light burned his feet through his boots - him not being holy enough still to resist the light side, powered by drops of archangel grace, corrupted or not.
The vampire lord leapt backward, levitating to avoid contact with the spreading consecration.
With a gesture, he tore a massive section of ceiling free, dropping tons of stone toward Lucien.
"Disintegrate," Lucien commanded, focusing on the falling debris.
The stones dissolved into fine dust before they could crush him, creating a cloud that filled the chamber, obscuring vision.
Lucien used the momentary cover to break free from his stone prison, shattering it with a kick.
Through the settling dust, he could see Dracula hovering near the chamber's high ceiling, eyes scanning for his opponent.
Lucien remained motionless, controlling his breathing, masking his presence in the Force.
When Dracula's gaze passed over him, Lucien struck.
He launched himself upward with incredible speed, closing the distance between them before the vampire could react. His fist connected with Dracula's jaw, the impact sending the vampire lord crashing into the ceiling.
Dracula recovered quickly, rebounding off the stone surface to dive at Lucien. They met in mid-air, exchanging blows so rapidly their limbs blurred. Each impact created shockwaves that further damaged the already crumbling chamber.
They fought across the chamber, ricocheting off walls, ceiling, and floor.
Lucien landed a devastating kick to Dracula's midsection, sending him crashing through a stone pillar. The vampire retaliated with a punch that caught Lucien in the temple, momentarily stunning him.
Taking advantage of Lucien's disorientation, Dracula grabbed him by the throat and slammed him into the floor with enough force to crater the stone.
Before Lucien could recover, Dracula was on him again, raining down blows with centuries of combat experience behind each strike.
Lucien raised his arms to block, but Dracula's assault was relentless. Bones cracked under the onslaught, only to heal and be broken again. Blood splattered across the floor with each impact.
Desperate for reprieve, Lucien focused his remaining strength. "Ex- Explode," he commanded, directing the energy outward from his body.
The force of the explosion sent Dracula flying backward, giving Lucien precious seconds to recover. He rolled to his feet, body aching despite his vampire healing working overtime.
Across the chamber, Dracula rose as well, his clothing now reduced to tatters, exposing a torso covered in wounds that closed even as Lucien watched. The vampire lord's eyes glowed with an inner fire, his expression one of cold fury.
"You continue to resist the inevitable," Dracula said, his voice unnervingly calm despite his obvious anger. "It would be admirable if it weren't so futile."
Lucien wiped blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. "I'm just getting started," he replied, though the words lacked conviction.
He could feel his strength waning, the corrupted power he'd consumed from the nightcreatures already burning away.
Dracula seemed to sense his faltering energy. "Are you?" he asked, a cruel smile spreading across his face. "Then perhaps it's time I stopped holding back."
The vampire lord's form began to change, growing larger, more monstrous, into a titanic size. His skin darkened to a deep gray, veins pulsing black beneath the surface.
His fingers elongated into claws, and massive bat-like wings erupted from his back, spanning nearly twenty feet from tip to tip.
"Behold this form," Dracula's voice boomed, deeper and more resonant than before. "An aspect of mine I showed to armies who dared oppose me."
Lucien took an involuntary step backward, momentarily overwhelmed by the sheer power radiating from Dracula's transformed state.
Then, steeling himself, he reached deep within, drawing on both Stefan's rage and his own determination.
"Two can play that game," he muttered.
Focusing his will, Lucien began his own transformation. His body expanded, skin hardening into scales, limbs thickening with muscle.
Wings sprouted from his back - again, and again not bat-like but draconic, leathery and powerful. His face elongated into a reptilian snout, teeth sharpening into fangs.
Within moments, Lucien stood in his dragon form, towering even slightly over Dracula's monstrous shape. He opened his massive jaws and roared, the sound shaking the very foundations of the castle.
Dracula appeared unimpressed. "A dragon? Against me?" he asked, his voice carrying a note of amusement. "... Seriously?"
Without warning, he launched himself at Lucien, moving fast. His claws tore into Lucien's scaled hide, drawing rivers of blood that steamed when they hit the floor.
Lucien retaliated with a swipe of his massive claws, catching Dracula across the chest and leaving deep furrows that quickly began to close.
He followed with a blast of dragonfire, engulfing the vampire lord in flames hot enough to melt stone.
When the fire dissipated, Dracula stood unharmed, protected by some unseen barrier. "Fire cannot harm me," he stated simply. "I have walked through the flames of Hell itself."
"You said that fucking before, and I burned you still, jackass!" Lucien roared.
"Y- You-" Dracula began, a vein of rage appearing on his head, before forcibly calming himself.
He then gestured, and chains of pure darkness erupted from the floor, wrapping around Lucien's draconic form, binding his wings, restricting his movement.
Lucien struggled against the restraints, muscles straining, scales scraping against the magical bonds.
"Your power is impressive," Dracula acknowledged, approaching the restrained dragon. "But you lack the experience to use it effectively."
Lucien's response was to inhale deeply, gathering energy for another blast of dragonfire.
Before he could release it, Dracula was upon him, one clawed hand closing around his throat, the other driving into his chest, fingers wrapping around his heart.
"AAAHHHGgghhh!" Lucien roared in pain.
He thrashed wildly, the chains of darkness straining but holding firm. His concentration shattered, and his draconic form began to destabilize, scales receding, size diminishing.
Within moments, he had reverted to Stefan's human form, still bound by Dracula's dark chains, the vampire lord's hand still embedded in his chest - Dracula having chosen to become smaller with him - clutching his heart.
"Remarkable," Dracula observed, his own form shrinking back to his human appearance, though his hand remained within Lucien's chest. "Your heart continues to beat despite my grip. The resilience you have is amazing."
He withdrew his hand slowly - choosing to not rip out his heart - blood pouring from the wound in Lucien's chest. The hole began to close immediately, vampire healing working overtime to repair the damage.
"But even immortals can be broken," Dracula continued, releasing the dark chains with a gesture.
Lucien collapsed to his knees, blood streaming from countless wounds. His body was healing, but slowly now, resources depleted by the extended battle and multiple transformations. He tried to stand but found his legs wouldn't support him.
Dracula watched dispassionately as Lucien struggled. "You fought well," he acknowledged. "Better than many who have opposed me over the centuries. But the outcome was never in doubt."
Lucien's gaze darted around the chamber, searching for anything that might help him. His eyes fell on a fallen nightcreature nearby, its black blood pooling beneath its corpse.
Seeing the direction of his gaze, Dracula smiled coldly. "Still seeking external power?" he asked. With a casual gesture, he ignited the nightcreature's remains, including its blood. "True strength comes from within, not from parasitic feeding."
"R- Rich coming from you, you p- piece of shit," Lucien muttered under his breath.
Desperation drove Lucien to his feet, swaying unsteadily. He lunged toward another fallen creature, only to have Dracula intercept him in a blur.
The vampire lord caught Lucien by the throat, lifting him off his feet. "Enough," he said, his tone suggesting mild disappointment.
He threw Lucien across the chamber with casual strength. Lucien crashed into a wall, stone cracking under the impact. Before he could recover, Dracula was there, pinning him with one hand.
"You fought well," Dracula repeated, "for one so young."
Then, with deliberate slowness, he lowered his head to Lucien's neck and bit down once more.
Lucien struggled weakly, but Dracula's grip was unbreakable. He felt his strength - already depleted - draining further as Dracula drank deeply from his corrupted holy blood.
When Dracula finally released him, Lucien slumped to the floor, barely conscious. The vampire lord stood over him, reinvigorated, power radiating from him in palpable waves.
"Much better," Dracula said, wiping blood from his lips. "Now, shall we conclude this lesson?"
He grabbed Lucien by the hair, yanking his head up. Cruelly, he began slamming Lucien's face into the stone floor.
Each impact sent pain lancing through Lucien's skull, even as his vampire healing struggled to repair the damage.
"Do you know why you failed?" Dracula asked conversationally, punctuating his question with another slam. "Because you are alone."
Slam.
"Abandoned."
Slam.
"Even your Almighty Father, God Himself, has abandoned you!"
He paused, his voice dropping to a whisper that carried more emotion than all his previous words combined.
"Just as He abandoned me."
Dracula released Lucien's hair, letting his head drop to the blood-slicked stone. He stood, pacing in a tight circle around Lucien's prone form.
"Light always dominates darkness," Dracula continued, his composure returning. "The more you darkened yourself, the more of your light I stole for myself.
My body has constantly been adapting to the power I took from you, digesting it, having me grow in strength the longer this went on. The longer this went on, the more destined I became to win."
He crouched beside Lucien, grasping his chin and forcing him to make eye contact.
"I will make you submit," he promised. "I will turn you into my weapon. I will feed you so many demons and souls that you will bring the entire Host of Heaven to its knees with a word."
His voice softened, becoming almost tender.
"And you will grant me my greatest desire - the return of my wife, whom God stole from me!"
With a final surge of rage, Dracula lifted Lucien and threw him aside. Lucien's body bounced across the stone floor before coming to a halt against a far wall.
For a moment, silence filled the chamber. Then Dracula's gaze lifted to the protective sphere still floating high above - the bubble containing Elaine and Lucien's original body.
"And now," he said softly, "for my grand prize."
He raised one hand toward the sphere, then slowly lowered it. The bubble responded to his will, descending gently until it rested on the floor before him.
Elaine inside could only watch in horror as the monster towered over the bubble.
With a single claw, Dracula punctured the transparent barrier. It burst with a sound like breaking glass, with Elaine seated inside, clutching Lucien's child body protectively against her chest.
Her eyes were wide with terror, tears streaming down her face. But as Dracula loomed over her, something shifted in her expression.
"Finally, what I have sought for near on two millennia," Dracula stated, his focus only on the child body, ignoring Elaine like she wasn't even there.
She though had watched Lucien fight the entire time, had seen his struggles, his pain, his determination - all of it.
This boy in a borrowed adult body, battling against impossible odds to protect her.
Wiping away her tears with the back of one hand, she tightened her grip on Lucien's child body.
"No," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
Dracula raised an eyebrow. "No?"
"I won't give him to you," Elaine said, her voice stronger now despite her terror.
Across the chamber, Lucien struggled to rise, blood streaming from countless wounds.
"Run, Elaine!" he called out, his voice hoarse. "Run!"
Dracula regarded the woman with cold detachment. Then, without warning, he swiped his hand through the air.
Faster than Elaine could process, Lucien's child body was no longer in her arms but dangling from Dracula's massive hand, held by the neck.
"Your courage is admirable," Dracula told her, "but ultimately meaningless."
He turned his attention to the child's body, examining it with clinical interest. Then, almost as an afterthought, he backhanded Elaine.
The slap, delivered with only a fraction of his strength, was still powerful enough to separate her head from her shoulders.
Both parts of her body were sent flying across the chamber, landing with a sickening thud near where Lucien lay.
Lucien's eyes widened in horror as Elaine's severed head rolled to a stop just inches from his face. Her eyes, still open, stared sightlessly at him, the last expression of defiance frozen on her features.
"No," Lucien whispered, reaching toward her with a trembling hand. "No, no, no..."
Dracula watched dispassionately, still holding Lucien's original body by the neck.
"That is the price of standing against me," he said simply.
He turned his attention to the child's body in his grasp, seemingly dismissing Lucien as no longer a threat.
With deliberate slowness, he bit into the child's neck, drinking deeply from the uncorrupted blood within - having become so powerful, that even Lucien's pure holy blood, was now able to be digested without killing him.
Lucien crawled toward Elaine's remains, tears and blood streaming down his face. Despite having known her for only a short time - a hostage brought by Isaac to force his submission - Lucien's heart broke at the sight of her lifeless body.
"Come back," he whispered, cradling her severed head in his hands. "Please come back to life."
The boy, still so willful, still so strong, that the smallest piece of his archangel grace inside him, yet to be surrounded and swallowed into his darkness, kept him still... caring.
The words were a prayer, a desperate plea. As he held her, something shifted within him - a profound need to undo this horror, to restore life where death had claimed it.
"LIVE!" he commanded, pouring every ounce of his remaining strength into the word.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then, slowly, a white light began to emanate from Elaine's remains. The light grew stronger, brighter, until it illuminated the entire chamber.
Blood that had pooled beneath her body began to rise, droplets floating upward to rejoin her form. Her severed head lifted from Lucien's hands, moving through the air to align with her neck. Muscle, sinew, and skin knit themselves back together as the white light intensified.
Across the chamber, Dracula paused in his feeding, watching the phenomenon with undisguised interest.
The light reached its peak intensity, then began to fade. As it diminished, Elaine's body stirred. Her chest rose with a sudden intake of breath, her eyes blinking in confusion.
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Somewhere a bright light was swallowed by darkness.
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"What...?" she gasped, hands flying to her neck, finding it whole. "I was... I died. I felt it."
Lucien began to rise slowly to his feet, his expression hidden by shadow. Elaine looked up at him, relief washing over her features.
"You saved me," she whispered. "You brought me back." instinctively realising this.
But as she gazed up at his face, her expression shifted from gratitude to horror.
Lucien's eyes, once blue, then molten gold, had transformed into bottomless pits of absolute blackness.
Lucien Winchester had become a demon.
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(Author note: And finally DONE!
Took me SO LONG to write this. Good Lord...
Well, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter.
So Lucien has fully fallen, and become an actual demon.
How do you think it will go next chapter.
Do tell me me if you guys are excited.
Well, If you have questions do ask, and I hope to see you all later,
Bye!)