Chapter 6: Gathering Shadows
The air in the temple grew heavier with each whispered incantation. Strange sigils burned faintly on the stone floor as Selene knelt at the heart of the ritual circle, her voice hoarse but determined. Kian stood within the circle, clutching his chest as the relic embedded within him pulsed like a second heart. His fangs still ached from the earlier frenzy, and the scent of blood lingering in the room gnawed at his control.
Rai stood just beyond the circle, arms folded, watching with his usual sardonic calm. But there was a tension in his jaw, the kind that betrayed concern.
Selene winced, a hand going to her ribs. "Rai… toss me a blood bag. I need to heal."
Without hesitation, Rai reached into the worn leather satchel slung over his shoulder and pulled out a vacuum-sealed blood bag. He tossed it her way with a casual flick. "Don't waste it. We're running low."
She bit into the bag, her fangs sliding out with a hiss. Crimson liquid stained her lips, and as she drank, her skin seemed to glow faintly, strength returning to her limbs. "Thanks," she muttered, before turning back to the ritual.
Kian's knees buckled. His body trembled with heat and cold all at once. The relic in his chest seared like fire beneath the skin, its glow pulsing in sync with Selene's incantations. He grunted, falling to one knee.
"What… what is this?" he growled, voice strained. "I feel like I'm burning from the inside."
"It's your body adjusting," Selene said, sweat trailing down her temple. "The relic fused with your very essence. This ritual isn't to activate it — it already has — but to stop it from tearing you apart."
Rai stepped closer, crouching just outside the circle. "She's stabilizing your transformation. Think of it like… vampire puberty on steroids."
"Not helpful," Kian snapped.
"Wasn't trying to be." Rai smirked, then turned to rummage in his bag again. Only two blood bags left. His brow furrowed. "We need to restock. You're gonna get hungrier, and I'm not about to let you snack on me again."
Selene lifted her hands, muttering the final phrases. The sigils flared once, and a ripple of dark energy surged through the circle. Kian let out a gasp as the burning sensation in his chest subsided, replaced by a strange calm — like a storm settling into a deadly quiet.
Then silence.
The sigils dimmed.
The ritual was over.
Kian opened his eyes, now a deeper, more unnatural shade of crimson. He stood, the relic's glow dim but steady in his chest. "Is it done?"
"For now," Selene nodded, exhaustion plain on her face. "You're stable. But it'll come in waves. The relic… it changes you. The more you fight it, the more it'll fight back."
Rai tossed him a blood bag. "You need to feed. Don't argue. You'll lose control again if you don't."
Kian caught the bag but hesitated, staring at it like it was some cursed artifact. "I don't want to become a monster."
"You already are," Rai said with a grin, leaning casually against a column. "Question is — do you want to control the monster or let it control you?"
Kian didn't answer. Instead, he bit into the bag, drinking deeply. His body shuddered, veins darkening for a moment, then receding as strength surged through him.
Selene leaned back against the stone wall, letting out a long breath. "We should leave soon. This place is sacred, but not safe. The relic's energy was like a beacon. Others will come."
"Others?" Kian asked.
"Not all who seek the Nightborn want him alive."
---
Far away, beneath the shattered ruins of an old cathedral cloaked in perpetual night...
A circle of shadows gathered.
Vampires, witches, werewolves — the ancient factions of the supernatural world. They hadn't met in centuries, not willingly. The air between them crackled with old hatred and fragile truces.
An Elder vampire, skin pale as bone and eyes black as the void, stepped forward. "It has awakened."
A towering werewolf Alpha snarled. "We should've destroyed the bloodline when we had the chance."
"And risked breaking the ancient pact?" a witch said coldly, her fingers crackling with blue flame. "The Nightborn was sealed for a reason. But now… he's free. And he's feeding."
Silence.
They all knew what it meant.
A prophecy long buried. A threat reborn.
"The last Nightborn walks again," the Elder vampire said. "Whether he is friend or foe, we must decide now… before he decides for us."
The meeting chamber echoed with tension as the factions exchanged wary glances.
One thing was clear: the world had changed. And the balance of power was shifting.
---
Back in the temple...
Kian wiped blood from his lips, the empty bag falling to the floor. He looked between Rai and Selene, heart still pounding.
"What now?" he asked.
Rai cracked his knuckles, tossing the final blood bag to Selene. "Now?" he said, flashing a sharp grin.
"We train. We run. And we pray we're ready before the world comes knocking."