Three years later...
The room was quiet, filled with the soft fragrance of roses and pale curtains swayed in the breeze spilling faint light across a wide bed draped in pink silk. The chamber was both vintage and minimal elegance woven into every corner.
On the king-sized bed lay a man. His chest rose and fell faintly, his long blue hair spread across the sheets like strands of midnight sky. His eyes were closed, his face pale but handsome.
In his dreams, fragments of his life unraveled.
He saw battlefields drenched in blood, his sword Moonlit Crescent flashing with black Mana as it cut through demons, beasts, vampires, even dragons. He heard the cries of soldiers chanting his name, the world calling him DemiGod Slayer, the savior of humanity.
The scene shifted.
The halls of the Imperial Saint Academy rose before him. He saw his younger self standing tall, always first and unmatched. His name etched in golden letters as the one who graduated with the highest score in history.
Another memory bled through again.
Training grounds, where his master, a stern yet kind man watched over him with pride. The man who had taken him in from an orphanage, who with his gentle wife had given him warmth, family and purpose.
And then the warmth vanished, chains closing around him, the dungeon walls pressing in, and Isadora Virelai, Queen of the Abyssal Vampires, the forbidden bond, the night that had destroyed everything.
And then finally… death…
Kyren's eyes snapped open. He shot upright, sweat dripping from his brow. His chest heaved, his breath ragged as though he had run a thousand miles. For a moment he sat there in silence staring at the ornate ceiling, his thoughts in chaos.
"Seems like… I died," he whispered to himself. His lips curved into a bitter smile. "So this is Heaven?"
He pushed aside the covers and set his feet on the cool marble floor. The coldness hit at his skin, but it grounded him and slowly he stood and walked toward the carved wooden door. His hand lingered on the handle for a moment before pulling it open.
What greeted him was not angels.
But a little girl around two years old, stood in the hallway. Her hair was a silky black streaked faintly with blue, and her deep blue eyes sparkled as they gazed up at him.
She tilted her head in curiosity and innocence blending in her smile. She was beautiful, impossibly so like a doll come to life.
Kyren's breath caught in his thorat, he couldn't help but smile softly. "An angel," he murmured. "So I truly am in Heaven."
He bent down to her level, his voice gentle. "Little angel, could you guide me? Show me the way?"
The girl blinked in confusion. "Heaven?" she said with a serious little frown. "No, you're not in Heaven, you're in our castle."
Kyren froze for a second, then let out a chuckle. "Huh? A test? Very well." He reached out and lifted her carefully into his arms. She was light and warm, she giggled happily as she rested against his shoulder.
"What's your name, little angel?" he asked.
She grinned. "Avaline… Avaline Virelai!"
The name struck him like thunder. His smile faltered slightly, though he forced it back onto his lips. "Avaline… Virelai. You said this is your castle? Tell me where is it?"
She tapped her chin thoughtfully before answering. "We're in the Abyssal Vampire Temple. In the Abyssal Vampire Empire!"
The words slammed into him like a hammer. His arms stiffened and his heart skipped a beat.
"W-What…?" His mind screamed, panic surging beneath his calm expression. "Abyssal Vampire Temple? Then… where am I really?"
He forced his voice steady. "Avaline, who is your mother?"
Avaline smiled proudly. "My mother is Isadora Virelai!"
His blood ran cold. His chest tightened, his breath catching in his throat. He swallowed hard then asked next question he dreaded. "And… your father?"
Avaline leaned closer, lowering her voice as if sharing a precious secret. "You are my father Kyren!"
For a heartbeat, the world went silent. His mind went blanked.
He felt his soul had torn free of his body at her words. Memories surged back like a flood—the chains, the forbidden magic, the mark glowing on her chest and his, the heat of that cursed night with the vampire queen.
He stood frozen, Avaline's innocent eyes staring up at him, while inside him the weight of fate came crashing down like a mountain.
"So… you finally woke up?" A calm voice came from behind. Kyren turned his head and for a fleeting second, he wished he could dig a hole and disappear.
Leaning casually against the wall, arms crossed as if watching a performance, stood none other than Isadora Virelai.
"Mom, look!" Avaline chirped happily, her small arms tightening around his neck. "Dad has finally woken up from his sleep!"
Isadora's lips curved into a sweet smile for her daughter, but her eyes flicked to Kyren with a glint of mockery.
"Yes… our great hero has finally opened his eyes after three long years of peaceful sleep."
Kyren face stiffened. "Three years?" Her words rang in his mind, sharp and heavy. "I've been asleep… for three years?"
"Go play, Avaline," Isadora said softly, her tone almost gentle. "Your father and I have things to discuss."
"Nooo!" Avaline pouted, clinging even tighter to Kyren. "What if Daddy goes back to sleep again?"
Isadora's eyes softened for her daughter, though her voice carried a hint of sarcasm. "No, baby he won't. Isn't that right, Kyren?"
Kyren forced himself to meet her gaze, then turned to the little girl in his arms. He stroked her hair gently, his voice steady.
"Don't worry Avaline, I won't fall asleep again. I promise. Now go play for a while, I'll come back to you soon."
Avaline's face brightened, though a reluctant frown lingered. "Okay… but don't forget you promised to play with me!"
"I won't forget." Kyren lowered her carefully to the floor.
The little girl skipped away down the hall, humming a tune until her voice faded into the distance.
The moment she was gone, Kyren's smile disappeared then turned back, only to find Isadora standing right before him, so close that her face hovered mere centimeters from his own.
Her sapphire eyes gleamed with secrets, her breath brushing his lips as she whispered, "Welcome back… my dear captive."
Her voice was sweet as honey and bitter as poison at the same time. Kyren could feel the killing intent behind her smile. He swallowed, forced his voice steady and asked.
"Why did you save me back then, when I was unconscious in the dungeon? And Avaline…" His eyes flicked toward the hallway where the little girl had disappeared, "…is she truly my daughter?"
Isadora leaned in more closer, her face is so close he could see the faint shimmer of her fangs when she smiled.
"Do you think I would grant you a quick death? No, I saved you so I could toy with you and make your soul know things worse than dying."
She let her words hang for a moment, watching the shadow of doubt flicker across his eyes, then she smiled faintly and said almost like she was teasing, "And yes… Avaline is our daughter."
Her tone shifted, softer but sharper. "Did you forget the forbidden magic you used? The mark it burned onto my chest, the chain that tied our souls? The spell that messed with my mind… until I lost control and we became… intimate."
Her sapphire eyes locked on his, cold and unyielding. "I never thought the great DemiGod Slayer would sink so low to use such a dirty trick just to save his own life from a vampire."
Kyren opened his mouth to deny it but the truth pressed on him too hard. But her every accusation stabbed like truth. His hand curled into a fist so tight his nails bit into his palm.
"I thought binding my soul to hers would be the perfect move. A trap, a death sentence we would share. But instead…"
Kyren let out a long sigh and said in a low steady voice, "Fine then, let's fight, let's see who walks away alive."
He lifted his hand, forcing his tired body to obey, and pictured mana flowing through his veins. Slowly a black glow formed in his palm, faint at first then brighter, pulsing like a heartbeat.
Isadora's smile faded, her eyes sharpened as she stepped back, her own mana stirring like a storm.
Kyren smirked faintly, "Phantom Judgment Palm!"
The attack shot forward, black aura cutting through the air but… then it vanished like smoke the moment it touched her presence.
Isadora blinked in surprise. Kyren froze, blinking twice as if his brain had just glitched. "Wait… what?"
His jaw clenched, veins bulging on his temple as he tried again. "Phantom Judgment Palm!"
The same thing happened again. The energy vanished into thin air before it even touched her.
Kyren's eye twitched, gritting his teeth then poured everything into one last strike, his mana swelling until it burned against his skin. His palm blazed with black light and then it fizzled out like a bad firework.
The hallway went dead quiet, only a soft draft brushing past them like it was mocking him.
"Pfft…" Isadora covered her mouth, her shoulders shaking, then she couldn't hold it anymore and burst out laughing. She bent forward, clutching her stomach and tears of amusement in her eyes.
"Ahahaha! Oh this is too good, our great hero, the mighty DemiGod Slayer, waving his hands like a clown, where did all that power go, hmm?"
Kyren just stood there dumbfounded, his jaw nearly fall on the floor.
"What the hell is happening to me…?"