The ground exploded beneath their feet — soil and stones flew in every direction as a massive shadow rose from the depths.An enormous werewolf, the Pack Leader, surged forward, its deep, growling roar shaking the air.Its fur shimmered as if covered in molten ash, and its eyes burned with ancient hatred.Its clawed paws tore the earth apart, scattering smoke and dust as it lunged toward Cassadee.
Rintal recognized it immediately.— "The pack leader…" he muttered. "It followed us."
The beast clashed with Cassadee like a storm.Claws struck blades, growls clashed with screams — two primal forces colliding in fury.Cassadee spun, her twin daggers sparking as they sliced the creature's thick hide, but the Alpha was unstoppable.With a single bite, it sank its fangs into her shoulder, tearing through flesh, and growled in a deep, demonic voice:
"Devour. Evolve. Become stronger."
Cassadee screamed in pain and rage, her voice shaking the fog.Rintal seized the moment — he lifted his wounded brother, Areday, onto his shoulders.The seal on his arm flared — a single flash, and in the blink of an eye, they stood before the massive castle gate.
— "Hold on, my twin!" he hissed, pressing Areday against the door.Together they pushed, the ancient hinges screeching in protest.Behind them, the beast's roars and Cassadee's screams mixed — like the dying breath of a storm.
With one last push, the gate burst open.From the darkness poured a flood of deformed, fetus-shaped spirits — slimy gray bodies like the offspring of a nightmare.Rintal pulled Areday aside, both of them throwing themselves behind the great door as the creatures swarmed the courtyard.Cassadee turned — but it was already too late.
The ghosts fell upon her, crawling into her flesh, slithering beneath her skin like living worms.Her scream no longer sounded human.The Pack Leader broke through the chaos and, with a single motion, bit off Cassadee's head.The fetus-spirits rose from her body, glowing faintly as they drifted upward, vanishing into the night like lost souls.
Seeing this, the two thieves seized their chance and ran inside the castle.The gate slammed shut almost by itself — only a small push was needed from them.They barred it from within.Outside, the Alpha hurled itself against the door again and again, its roars echoing through the castle halls — but it could not break through.Finally, there was silence.
Rintal carried Areday, panting, bloodied, and dust-covered, into the nearest room.For a moment, only the faint dripping of water echoed from the walls.He pushed open a heavy oak door — it creaked slowly, revealing a chamber thick with stale air, as if time itself had stopped there.
The room was a gothic library-dining hall — once, perhaps, a noble's gathering place.Tall shelves of black oak lined the walls, filled with moldy, leather-bound tomes.The air reeked of mold, candle wax, and suppressed blood.The fireplace had long since gone cold, but the ashes still glowed faintly, like a buried memory.On the table lay silver cutlery — once ornate, now rusted and cracked, gleaming faintly in the pale moonlight seeping through the shattered windows.
Heavy, dusty curtains hung from the ceiling as if trying to suffocate the room.Several doors led elsewhere, but none seemed safe — darkness peered through each of them.
Above one shelf hung a massive, hand-painted world map.The canvas was nearly blackened by age and moisture, yet its outlines were still visible.Strange continents were drawn in blood-red ink: Solmaren, Frozeland, and Night Nation — where the Thieves' Clan was born — along with many other lands.Tiny shadows crawled along the map's edges, as if the ink itself were alive.In the corner, faint words could still be read:
"The world the gods have forgotten.""And declared a prison."
Rintal set Areday down on a chair whose crimson upholstery had long since faded to black.The wooden floorboards swallowed their footsteps without a creak — as if the castle itself were listening.
Rintal looked around the room and whispered:— "This place… it breathes."
Areday gave a weary smile, wiping blood from his lips.— "This castle isn't dead, my twin. It's only sleeping… and we just woke it up."
— "Do you know anything about Zofia?" Rintal asked quietly.Areday's eyes darkened.— "We didn't just lose Zofia that night," he whispered. "We lost our entire family… the Thieves' Clan. They're all dead."
Tears welled in his eyes.Then he took a deep breath.— "But now's not the time to dwell on it. We need to understand what's happening here… and what's happening to you, Rintal."
As Areday placed his hand on Rintal's shoulder, the seal suddenly ignited — glowing red like fresh blood.A cold, metallic voice echoed in Rintal'smind:
"Areday is the traitor."
Rintal screamed in agony, collapsing to his knees, clutching his head as the seal burned his flesh.— "Rintal!" cried Areday, kneeling beside him. "What's happening to you?!"
The seal's light flared — blinding, crimson radiance.And then, the visions began.
Years Earlier — The Kingdom of Velmorath
The vision took him to a cold land of mountains and shadow: the Vampire Kingdom of Velmorath, ruled with an iron hand by Lord Varyen Drathmir.
The Thieves' Clan — The Night Alliance — to which Rintal, Areday, and Zofia belonged,had been hired by a secret rebel order that had infiltrated every level of the vampiric empire.Their mission was simple:
To steal a forbidden relic — the Heart Medallion.
It was no mere ornament.It contained Lord Drathmir'sreal heart, preserved through an ancient alchemical ritual that had claimed millions of lives.Through it, the vampire became immortal — and whoever possessed it would hold dominion over him.The rebels planned to use it as leverage during a secret council — their one chance at freedom and fortune.
Deep within the Kárthir Mountains lay the Sangrel Chamber —a vampire shrine the locals called "The Sanctuary that Breathes Blood."There the Heart Medallion was kept — a black obsidian amulet pulsing with a shard of Drathmir's heart, granting eternal life to Velmorath's ruler.
The medallion floated within a massive sarcophagus of obsidian.Pale, white flames illuminated the chamber.Ancient blood-script covered the walls:
"As long as the heart beats, the kingdom lives."
The air was cold and damp, and the walls themselves seemed to pulse like living flesh.
That night, only Rintal and Areday entered the chamber.They were the best — the heart of the clan.Zofia and the others held back the guards above while the two descended into the sanctuary.
Rintal knelt before the sarcophagus, feeling the demonic energy radiating from the medallion.Areday watched the signals from above, ready to rush out if Zofia's team fell under attack.
Under Rintal's fingertips, the seal burned, and he felt the medallion's presence watching him.
The heart slowly opened;red mist rose into the air, as if life itself wanted to escape from it.Just as Rintal lifted the medallion, Zofia's voice rang through the comm-shell in Areday's necklace:
"The Moon… has been devoured!"
Their amulet — used as a danger signal — was made of silver filled with liquid metal.When danger approached, its core turned black.
— "My twin, we have to move!" shouted Areday.— "They're attacking Zofia's group!"
At the entrance, vampires stormed into the chamber —their armor marked with the crest of Velmorath:black, crimson, and silver — symbols of immortality, royal pride, and blood-born power.Their eyes burned with hunger and wrath.
— "Just a few more seconds!" growled Rintal.— "The amulet's black as night — I'm going to help them. Finish it!" Areday shouted, breathless.— "Understood, my twin," nodded Rintal.As Areday turned to leave, Rintal called after him:— "May the night guard you."Areday smirked faintly at the doorway.— "May the night guard you, brother."
The Battle Above
The ground above was already chaos.Zofia and the other thieves fought fast and silent as shadows.Their arrows whispered through the air, their blades glimmered under the moonlight.But the vampires — Drathmir's sons — would not fall easily.Steam rose from every wound, healing them as crimson fury filled their eyes.
Zofia parried a strike with her daggers and shouted:— "Areday! There are too many!"Areday fought three at once — slit one's throat, impaled another through the chest,but the third grabbed his arm and slammed him to the ground.He gouged out its eyes and snapped its neck with a raw, brutal motion, then rose to fight again.
— "Use the smoke, Areday!" yelled one of the thieves, Derran, before a blade slit his throat.Areday gasped, reaching beneath his coat — his fingers brushed the New Shadows Bomb,his own invention meant to conjure hallucinogenic illusions through smoke.It had only been tested once — and even then, nearly killed him.
— "Masks on! NOW!" he shouted.
Zofia grabbed her companion; the last five thieves pulled their masks over their faces.Areday pressed the rune atop the bomb — the symbols shifted from dark blue to silver —then he hurled it high.
A single, soundless flash.Silver smoke burst forth, as if the moon itself had been ground to dust.It devoured the battlefield — sight vanished, only steps, screams, and bones cracking could be heard.
But the illusion became too strong.It didn't just conceal — it drove mad.The vampires' minds were consumed by their own deaths, reliving them again and again.Their leader fell to his knees, clutching his heart, and began tearing the hearts from his own comrades.
His eyes rolled back as he muttered:
"Blood for the night… blood for rebirth."
He tore out his heart — truly, with his bare hands —and the blood, like a living serpent, slithered across the ground toward the others.The trail rose into the air, the hearts forming the points of a pentagram, the blood connecting them.The vampire did not scream — he chanted.
"Sanguis… vinculum… vitae!"("Blood… bond… life!")
Their bodies fused through the blood, their flesh twisting together,the air ignited crimson, and blood magic began to pulse.
— "Back! Everyone back, NOW!" shouted Areday through the mask.Zofia ran, the others followed —but there was nowhere left to go.
The Heart Awakens
Meanwhile, Rintal had finally unlocked the seal.He grasped the medallion — and with it came a dark mist that sparked faintly.— "Finally…" he whispered.— "Please don't explode on me," he muttered, panicked.
He started running toward the tunnel entrance — he could already see the smoky light ahead where Areday and the others were.— "I have the heart! I HAVE IT!" he shouted.
The heart glowed brighter and brighter, as if ready to explode in his hands.Just before reaching them, fear struck him — he realized what was happening.
— "It's going to blow! GET DOWN!"
The blood outside boiled.The ground shook.The vampires' bodies exploded as one —flesh, blood, and magic merged into a shockwave that tore through the cavern,a red flash consuming everything.
Silence followed —a silence so deep that even one's heartbeat could not be heard.
The Aftermath
Ruins everywhere.Areday lay beneath rubble, his world shattered — he knew what he had done, and the weight crushed him.His life lay in ruins too.He was unconscious when a hand tore the stones off him —and as he opened his eyes, he saw his own face looking back.
Smoke still shimmered in the air as Rintal lifted the cracked beam from Areday's chest.The ash rose in swirls, blood-scented dust coating the air.Rintal knelt, slid his arms beneath his brother, and lifted him out.
— "My twin…" he whispered hoarsely.
Areday's eyelids fluttered, focusing — the world narrowed to a single point: the same face, the same scars, the same breath.
— "It's like… looking at myself," Areday murmured, voice fading.
Rintal nodded sharply — there was no time for words.He slung Areday over his shoulder, moving carefully through the wreckage.The Heart Medallion pulsed beneath his cloak like a restrained heartbeat.
— "The others…" groaned Areday.— "We'll find them," Rintal replied. "Now."
Hours passed in desperate searching.Every vampire corpse they found — and every thief's body — except one.Zofia.
Areday and Rintal stood among the ruins, surrounded by their mutilated comrades.Derran's left leg and right arm were gone.Others were torn in half.Some reduced to scattered remains.The air stank of burnt flesh and death.
Areday vomited — he couldn't bear the sight.Rintal kept searching silently, obsessively — even his fiancée's ring was missing.Panic began to crush him.
— "Zofia…" he whispered, his voice swallowed by the silence.
Beyond a collapsed hallway, behind a scorched wooden door,on top of a heap of rubble, lay a silver hair clip —a crescent shape following the moon's curve, cracked in its center.Rintal fell to his knees, lifting it gently between his fingers as if touching a bird's wing.
— "She's… gone," said Areday, voice breaking. "I… I…" but he couldn't finish.
Could Rintal truly blame him?Could anyone?The thief made a choice to save lives, yet ended up taking his own family's.
— "Not now," Rintal cut him off harshly. "I'll keep searching. Even if I die here."
Areday's eyes filled with tears.— "Brother…"
Rintal could no longer hold back his own tears — he cried like a newborn.Since the death of their parents, he'd never felt such loss.It was as if he were still that eight-year-old boy, buried beneath the ruins of his village,reliving his pain again and again.
Rintal screamed.He broke completely.
"ZOFIA! ZOFIA, CAN YOU HEAR ME?! ARE YOU HERE?!"
"At least not her… please, God, not her…" he whispered through sobs.
Areday stood beside him, guilt crushing his soul.He knelt and wrapped his arms around his brother.
From the depths of the ruins came the metallic echo of boots — rhythmic, hollow.Velmorath's guards — vampires, their crimson eyes flickering beneath their helms,their armor gleaming with cracked black-silver-red sigils.The air grew colder; the torches burned pale violet.
— "They're coming," said Areday quietly, standing up.Rintal clenched Zofia's hair clip and slid it into his breastplate pocket.
He didn't move.He felt his life had lost all meaning.He wanted to die.
— "GET UP! WE HAVE TO GO!" Areday shouted, grabbing him by the arm.With one powerful motion, he lifted his friend to his feet.
— "If Zofia could see you now, she wouldn't want this.She'd want you to live — to dream."
Rintal's eyes flickered — a faint light returning to them.He nodded.— "Let's move. Quickly."
He took two shaky steps, turned once more to the ruins, and whispered:
"May the night guard you all."
Then the two thieves, silent and swift as shadows, slipped away into the dark.
He saw that night again.The past he tried to bury.The heist in the vampires' castle.The artifact they sought — the Heart Medallion pulsing with forbidden power.Areday's mistake — the one that caused the explosion.The blood and smoke that swallowed Zofia, their friends… their entire family.
Rintal gasped awake, the seal on his arm fading.But the voice still echoed in his skull:
"Traitor."