"That," Katherine whispered, her voice barely audible over the settling dust, "is Lucien."
She took a step forward, but Elijah's hand shot out, gripping her arm with enough force to stop even her vampire strength.
"Look carefully," he warned, his voice low and measured. His gaze fixed on the pools of absolute blackness that had replaced Stefan Salvatore's eyes. "That is a demon."
Katherine didn't bother looking at Elijah, her focus entirely on the figure standing over Dracula's broken form.
Despite the black eyes, despite the borrowed body, she could feel the same sense of absolute loneliness emanating from those eyes - that unique emptiness that was quintessentially Lucien.
The feeling that he could only count on himself and no one else in the world.
"Are you certain?" Kol asked, his usual flippancy absent. "Is that really Lucien?"
Katherine nodded absentmindedly, her eyes never leaving Lucien's form.
"Then things are even worse than we could have possibly imagined," Kol said, his voice uncharacteristically grim.
Rebekah turned to her brother, impatience flashing across her features. "Just spit it out. We have no time for your mysteries. What's going on here?"
It was Klaus who answered, his voice tight with barely contained fury. "It means that Lucien has been turned into a demon."
"Torture," Elijah said simply, the single word carrying the weight of centuries of witnessed horrors. His expression was sorrowful, his eyes reflecting a deep, genuine regret.
The group's attention shifted as Dracula, turned his head to see the newcomers. His eyes narrowed at the sight of Klaus.
"Niklaus," he muttered, the name dripping with absolute hatred.
Klaus threw Dracula a mocking smile that barely concealed his rage at what had been done to Lucien - the boy he had come to consider his son.
"It's been a while, Count. Long time no see. You've seen quite the better days, I see," Klaus observed casually, though his eyes burned with the promise of violence.
Dracula attempted to rise, his face contorting with hatred. "YOU-"
Before he could finish, Lucien appeared behind him with a speed that left no blur, no indication of movement.
One moment he stood a small distance away, the next he was behind Dracula, gripping the vampire lord's head in his hand.
With terrifying force, Lucien smashed Dracula's face into the ground. The stone floor cracked with the impact, sending a spiderweb of fractures across the ancient tiles.
"I don't like being ignored, pet," Lucien said, his voice eerily calm. "A good dog shouldn't ignore its master."
Complete silence followed. Not even the Originals had been able to follow Lucien's movement. The only sound was the soft settling of dust from the cracked floor.
While everyone was shocked at that- Klaus himself was also focused on another thing, staring at the face Lucien was wearing.
Stefan Salvatore.
His friend from the 1920s, his brother in blood and revelry before Klaus had compelled him to forget.
What was Stefan doing here? How had Lucien come to possess his body? What had happened to the Ripper of Monterey to make him a vessel for the boy?
Lucien pressed his boot onto Dracula's head, grinding the vampire lord's face further into the cracked stone.
"I'm not done with you," he whispered, the words carrying clearly in the silent chamber. "Not yet. Not for at least another millennium."
Elena stood transfixed, her small hand clutching Katherine's arm.
Her human eyes saw somebody she couldn't even recognize.
But her angelic sight pierced through the veil of flesh and blood to something beyond. She saw Lucien - not just the boy she knew, nor simply the demon the others perceived.
She saw a vast, silent swirling expanse of... darkness.
Everyone else was a symphony of noise to her enhanced senses - fear, anger, confusion, grief - a cacophony of living emotions.
But Lucien... Lucien was silent. Utterly, terrifyingly silent.
She simply couldn't hear him.
"Beautiful," she whispered, the word escaping her lips unbidden.
Lucien's attention shifted back to Dracula. He grabbed the vampire lord by his long hair, yanking his head up from the cracked stone.
Dracula gasping for breath - despite not necessarily needing it, him so used to letting his body breathe rather than fueling it with only magic - moaning in pain.
Without hesitation, he in a blur, plunged his fingers into Dracula's eye sockets and gouged out his eyes, crushing them in his hand with a wet squelch.
"AAAAHHHHHHHH!" The Count roared in agony.
"There," Lucien said, casually. "Now I've taken your light. Like you took mine."
Dracula continued roared in agony, his hands flying to his empty sockets as blood streamed down his face.
"Your eyes will not heal," Lucien commanded, reality bending to his will.
Kol's eyebrows rose slightly, his mind racing.
Lucien's reality compulsion was ACTUALLY working on Dracula - a being whose power equaled or even - if his senses were telling him right, right now, even in this weakened state, surpassed that of himself.
Even Klaus, with all his might, as the Hybrid and the Wolf of Ragnarok, couldn't compel beings of such power.
Trevor, who had been silent throughout all this, watching, suddenly began...walking.
Walking toward Lucien and Dracula.
The Originals watched him curiously, while Katherine's eyes narrowed with suspicion.
"Trevor!" Nadia called out, her voice tight with concern. "Get back here! It's dangerous to get between them!"
The two of them had gotten decently close, to at least be able to talk like normal people during the journey here.
Trevor ignored her warning, continuing his determined approach until he stood before Lucien and the fallen Dracula - Gabriel Belmont, his ancestor.
For a moment, he simply stared down at the vampire lord, his expression unreadable.
Remembering it all - remembering all the recounts of his ancestors in their quest to cleanse this stain on their family's noble name.
Remembering the death. The suffering. The loss of his own father and sister in this near-eternal quest.
It's all about to end now.
Without ceremony or declaration, Trevor drew his chain-whip - the Morningstar.
The ancient weapon ignited with starfire - the actual fire of the stars of God, blessed with remanents of Lucifer's grace by the archangel Gabriel in his mercy to Leon Belmont - casting brilliant white light through the gloom of the chamber.
With swiftness he brought it down in a deadly arc toward Dracula's head, ready to end the vampire lord once and for all.
The Morningstar never reached its target.
Lucien in an instant caught the whip mid-strike - his hand immediately bubbling and bursting where it gripped the holy weapon.
Trevor and the Originals' eyes all widened at it - this was the Vampire Killer, something even able to kill them if it truly hit for a prolonged moment.
Yet, Lucien in a vampire body was... resisting it, even during a direct hit.
Despite the obvious pain, his expression remained unchanged, his black eyes not even turning toward Trevor.
"Trevor, don't," he ordered quietly.
With a subtle twitch of his free hand's finger, Trevor was telekinetically pushed backward, the force carefully controlled to avoid harming him.
He slid across the stone floor, coming to rest several feet away, his expression a mixture of shock and confusion.
There was only silence then, besides Dracula's muffled gasps of breath and pain.
'Why did he stop the Hunter from killing Dracula? With that weapon, the Count would be unable to revive again. That is its purpose. Has the boy truly lost it in his need for vengeance, or is there something... else going on?' Elijah thought to himself, his expression both grim and curious.
"Ruaaaghhhhhhhhh..." A sound was suddenly heard.
As all were processing what just happened, nightcreatures began pouring from the shadows.
They fell from the ceiling in droves, crawled along the walls, emerged from every dark corner of the massive chamber.
Their twisted forms - part human, part monster - filled the space with grotesque movement and inhuman growls.
Elaine, who had been trembling against the wall since their arrival, suddenly bolted toward Lucien.
Despite everything she had witnessed - his cruelty, his transformation, his torture of Dracula - she ran to him as her only source of safety, hiding behind his form as the nightcreatures closed in.
What surprised the newcomers most was that Lucien made no move to push her away.
The nightcreatures continued to pour into the chamber, their numbers growing from hundreds to thousands.
The ceiling hole, so distant it appeared small despite its massive size, framed the scene like a distant eye looking down upon them.
"Get ready," Klaus growled, his eyes flashing yellow.
The Originals moved into defensive positions, Katherine stepping protectively in front of Elena and Nadia. Trevor readied his whip once more, his eyes darting between Lucien and the approaching horde.
Lucien's gaze shifted from Dracula to the army of monsters surrounding them. He looked upward toward the distant ceiling, his expression contemplative.
"Isaac, Hector," he suddenly called out, addressing the unseen forgemasters. "Do you really think your toys can do anything? Are you... that foolish or just that desperate?" He paused, head tilting slightly. "Maybe both?"
Silence answered him. Lucien chuckled softly, the sound eerily human.
"Whichever it is," he continued, "I'll show you that I'm not in the mood for your interference. My game is with your Master."
With a subtle shift in his posture, Lucien's voice took on the unmistakable resonance of reality compulsion.
"Kneel," he commanded.
"Guuaaaagh!" A night creature explained in shock as it fell headfirst.
For, with this command in an instant, every nightcreature in the vast chamber - thousands upon thousands of them - fell to their knees in perfect unison.
Those clinging to the walls and ceiling lost their grip, screaming shock and pain, as they rained down upon their kneeling brethren below, creating a writhing sea of monstrous forms.
Not a single gap remained in the carpet of prostrated creatures.
The Originals, not taking chances, erected a barrier of wind and lightning around their group. When stray nightcreatures were pushed against this wall, they roared in agony as their flesh charred and disintegrated.
Through it all, Elena maintained her grace barrier, the blue-white dome of light continuing to protect them from the divine wrath that permeated Sodom and Gomorrah.
Lucien's black eyes surveyed the kneeling army, a flicker of boredom crossing his features.
"Kill yourselves," he ordered.
Without hesitation, the nightcreatures turned on each other.
They bit, clawed, and tore at their neighbors with mindless abandon. What had been an organized army transformed into a chaotic mass of self-destruction.
Nightcreatures ripped out their own throats, plunged claws into their chests, or simply bashed their heads against the stone floor until their skulls shattered.
Five minutes of horrific carnage later, only corpses remained.
The floor had disappeared beneath a dark ocean of viscous blood, the walls splattered with gore to a height of several feet.
Lucien casually leaned down, dipping his fingers into the pool of dark blood. He brought them in front of his face, looking at it for a moment, before bringing them to his lips and licking them clean with deliberate slowness.
"Delicious," he murmured, a satisfied smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
Katherine watched without flinching, her eyes filled not with disgust but with unwavering devotion.
No matter what Lucien did or what he had become, she would never see him as lost.
He was her god, her everything.
Elena, too, continued to watch with fascination rather than horror.
To her, Lucien was still beautiful - perhaps even more so now.
She had experienced his protection during the Red Sun ritual when he fought against a sea of monsters, and in her eyes, he was protecting her still, only with greater ease than ever before.
Her protector simply was stronger now than ever before.
Lucien raised his hand upward, palm toward the ceiling. "Come to me," he commanded the blood.
The ocean of dark fluid began to move, rising from the floor in hundreds of streams that twisted and flowed through the air toward Lucien.
He opened his mouth, and the blood poured in - a continuous flow that should have been impossible for any being to consume.
As Lucien drank, the air inside the castle grew heavier.
"What's happening?!" Yelled out Rebekah, as she raised her arm over her head, to keep herself steady under the new pressure.
"He's getting stronger," Klaus muttered.
The ground beneath their feet began to crack further, the walls developing fractures that spread like veins across the ancient stone.
The very atmosphere seemed to groan under the weight of Lucien's expanding power.
After a full minute, the last droplets of blood vanished down Lucien's throat. The pressure in the chamber eased, though the damage to the structure remained.
For a long moment there was only silence, as Lucien had his eyes closed, taking it all in.
Suddenly he opened them, and turned his attention to a nearby wall, Lucien extended his hand. "My dark knight," he called, "come to me."
Reality itself seemed to shatter as a massive figure crashed through what appeared to be the fabric of existence itself.
Darth Vader - Lucien's Qareen - materialized in the chamber, his mechanical breathing echoing ominously through the space.
Without hesitation, he knelt before Lucien, head bowed in perfect submission
Lucien looked down at his servant for a long moment of silence before he placed his hand on Vader's shoulder, a smile - warm and genuine - spreading across his face. It was the first expression of true emotion they had seen from him.
"Rise, my shadow self," Lucien said, his tone almost gentle.
"Master..." Vader uttered, his tone regretful, despite months having passed where he was banished - his only thought was his regret at being bested from aiding his Light, and needing to be saved.
Vader finally stood, towering over his master, his lightsaber held ready at his side.
"My Lord!" Isaac's desperate call suddenly echoed inside Dracula's head.
Lucien, as sensed something, instantly for the first time became alert, raising his head.
His instincts warning him.
"Let go! Let go of your divine protection of the castle! Don't worry about us!"
The forgemaster's voice grew more frantic. "The Son of God has fallen! Divine wrath will damn him all the same!"
Dracula, still prone on the ground, his face a mask of blood from his empty eye sockets, suddenly went still.
Understanding dawned on his features, and without hesitation, he released the divine protection that had shielded the castle and its occupants from the wrath lingering in Sodom and Gomorrah.
Lucien sensing something wrong, instantly moved, grabbing Elaine and Vader and throwing them bodily through the air into Elena's barrier. Vader instantly landed on his feet, while Elaine landed safely as Katherine caught her.
But Lucien himself remained outside the dome of grace.
He couldn't approach - his demonic nature would shatter Elena's light if he came too close.
Dracula's hand shot out, grabbing Lucien's ankle in a grip of surprising strength. His bloodied face split in a terrible grin as maniacal laughter bubbled from his lips.
"I finally understand!" Dracula crowed between bursts of laughter. "I know why you haven't killed me yet! It's because you couldn't!"
His laughter grew more hysterical, echoing through the vast chamber.
"Without my presence protecting everything from God's remnant wrath in this place, you - fallen as you are - will be destroyed!" Dracula's laughter reached a fever pitch, the sound of a man who had found hope in the depths of defeat.
"This entire time, you were trying to distract me with pain, strengthening yourself to find a solution, but you have failed! I understand now!"
Lucien didn't dignify him with a response. He kicked Dracula hard in the face, breaking free of his grip.
But as he stepped away, his expression changed. His teeth clenched as white divine flame suddenly erupted around his body, engulfing him in brilliant light.
'Damn it,' Lucien thought to himself.
"LUCIEN!" Katherine screamed, lunging forward toward the barrier's edge.
Klaus caught her around the waist, physically restraining her as she fought against his grip with all her considerable strength.
"Let me go!" she shrieked, her eyes wild with panic. "LUCIEN!"
Elena reached toward him, her hand extended just inside the barrier's edge. Her sight perceived something in the flames that the others couldn't see.
"It's calling him back," she whispered, her voice filled with wonder and fear.
Trevor instinctively reached for his whip before realizing the futility of his reaction.
He could only grit his teeth, sweatdropping.
Damning this situation.
This simply wasn't something that could be fought with - this was divine judgment itself.
"No," he breathed, watching helplessly as someone he had come to see as family was consumed by holy fire.
Nadia placed a steadying hand on her mother's shoulder as Katherine continued to struggle against Klaus's iron grip.
Elaine wept openly.
Even Rebekah's expression softened with concern, while Elijah maintained his composure despite the worry evident in his eyes... trusting.
Kol watched with fascination and horror, his mind trying to find a solution.
Through it all, Dracula's laughter continued, growing more triumphant with each passing second.
As the white flames climbed higher around Lucien's form, Katherine's screams echoed through the chamber, matched only by Dracula's laughter and the crackling roar of divine fire.
----------------------
(Author note: Hello everyone! I hope you all enjoyed the chapter.
Do tell me how you found it.
So... Lucien is now facing God's Wrath that engulfed Sodom and Gamorrah.
Do tell me what you think will happen now.
If we reach 99+ comments in the next 3 hours, I'll probably drop the next chapter.
I want to test out setting a goal, since I see some other authors doing it with power stones, but well, I like meaningful comments better.
So, I'm about to go write it.
Well, I hope you guys are excited, see you all later,
Bye!)