The necro-soil fields groaned.
The Night Castle's walls pulsed faintly, crimson veins crawling across black stone. The Hives hummed like organs, every beat squeezing life from the enslaved. And in the center of the yard, Lucas stood before the altar, one hand resting on the cold surface, his eyes sharp as knives.
Selena lingered beside him, her gown dragging across bone-dust, her lips still wet from her latest indulgence. She smiled faintly, elegant and terrible. "My King, the feeders whisper of something new. The system stirs, yes?"
Lucas nodded once. "It is time to build higher."
The system answered with a heavy chime, deeper than the Relay, heavier than the Forge.
[Ding!]
[Special Structure Unlock Condition: Met.]
[Blueprint available: Night Monastery.]
[Requirement: Sacrifice ×100 living units (human stock).]
[Function: Provides Selena Draculea with dedicated Sovereign upgrades. Ritual chamber amplifies her evolution path.]
[Warning: Cost irreversible. Population yield will fall. Risk of global notice ↑.]
Selena's crimson eyes gleamed brighter. "A monastery… a temple to the Queen of Night. Built with screams." She licked her lips slowly, devotion and hunger blending together. "Please, My King, let me have this."
Lucas looked at her for a long moment. Then he raised his hand.
"Prepare the hundred."
The feeders were dragged from the Hives—men, women, young, old. Their collars glowed faintly, filigree wire tightening around their throats. Some cried, some begged, some were silent in blank acceptance. Ghouls pulled them into the yard and arranged them in neat lines, their chains binding them together like a net of despair.
Bone Dogs circled, tails rattling, jaws clacking. The Sentinels formed a square around the altar, shields planted in the ground. The Relay pulsed, connecting every life in the yard to Lucas's will.
Selena walked among the chosen, her bare feet leaving red prints on the stone. She touched faces, stroked hair, whispered softly into trembling ears. "Your end is holy," she cooed. "Your screams will build my throne. Be grateful."
Some collapsed, sobbing. Some bit their lips to stay silent. None escaped.
Lucas raised his hand. The altar glowed red, sigils crawling up its surface like veins.
[Ding!]
[Night Monastery Construction — Sacrifice phase required.]
[Sacrifice 100 lives simultaneously to bind structure.]
[Confirm? Y/N]
"Confirmed," Lucas said.
The ghouls drew knives of bone. Selena lifted her hands, elegant fingers curling.
"Begin."
The first throats opened.
The screams rose like a choir, raw and broken. Blood sprayed across the altar, soaking the sigils. The feeders wailed, their chains rattling, their bodies twisting as they were cut down in neat sequence. The ground drank greedily.
Selena walked through the rows as the slaughter unfolded, her gown soaked, her eyes glowing. She bent to kiss one dying woman on the forehead, licking the blood from her skin. She whispered, "You belong to my King forever."
One by one, the lives ended. The yard filled with the stink of copper, the sound of chains snapping, the thud of bodies falling.
Lucas stood still, watching, his eyes fixed on the numbers flickering before him.
[Ding!]
[Sacrifice count: 34/100.]
[Sacrifice count: 61/100.]
[Sacrifice count: 97/100.]
[Sacrifice complete.]
The last victim—a boy barely older than sixteen—looked up at Selena with empty eyes. He did not beg. He only whispered, "Why?"
Selena kissed his lips as the knife slid into his chest. "Because I am hungry."
He died in her arms, and she laughed as his soul poured into the altar.
[Ding!]
[Sacrifice: 100/100 complete.]
[Blood Quota Met.]
[Structure: Night Monastery manifesting.]
The ground shook.
The corpses sank into the soil, dragged down by invisible hands. The altar cracked and split, glowing crimson. From the fractures rose spires of black stone, curving like claws. Chains burst from the ground, lashing together, forming arches. A dome of bone and iron grew upward, rib by rib, skull by skull.
At its peak, a crimson crystal appeared—pulsing like a heart, glowing with stolen life.
[Ding!]
[Night Monastery — Tier E structure complete.]
[Function: Amplifies Selena Draculea's Sovereign Evolution.
Ritual Chamber: unlocks Blood Ascension path.
Aura: Undead morale ++, Feeder productivity +10%.]
[Special: Selena may now perform Crimson Ascension when quota is met.]
The Monastery pulsed. Its walls were painted with blood, its floor engraved with runes. The screams of the hundred still echoed faintly inside it, a hymn of agony that would never fade.
Selena stepped inside slowly, her bare feet leaving red trails on the bone floor. She raised her hands, crimson light shining through her skin. She laughed softly, her voice echoing against the dome.
"My King, this is my cathedral. Built with your will. Built with their lives. It is perfect."
She knelt before the crimson crystal, pressing her lips against it. The glow flared, swallowing her in red light.
[Ding!]
[Selena Draculea — Empowerment unlocked.]
[New Trait: Crimson Sanctity — Selena regenerates faster inside the Monastery. Her powers scale with sacrifices stored.]
[Stored Souls: 100/100.]
[Capacity: 1,000.]
She rose slowly, her face radiant, her lips stained brighter than ever. Her eyes burned with a deeper fire, more alive, more dangerous. She turned to Lucas, devotion carved into every line of her face.
"My King," she whispered, trembling with hunger and power, "give me more. Fill this temple until the world itself kneels."
Lucas's eyes were steady, cold, merciless. "We will."
The system whispered again.
[Ding!]
[Global Announcement.]
[Unknown Lord has constructed a Night Monastery.]
[Warning: Selena Draculea's power ascends. Soul capacity growing.]
[World Directive: Immediate elimination required. Delay risks total collapse.]
Across the world, Lords trembled. Coalitions whispered. The Silver Banner burned their campfires brighter, their voices harder. Fear spread, but so did anger.
And in the Night Castle, Selena sat inside her new temple, blood dripping down her chin, her hands raised to the crimson crystal.
Lucas watched from the doorway, his eyes cold as winter.
"More sacrifices," he said. "We climb higher."
Selena laughed, elegant and terrible, her voice echoing like a hymn across the yard.
"Yes, my King. The night is eternal. And it will feast."