Ivares lifted his right hand and beckoned his flame. The pet elemental being rushed forward to meet him, shoving Evalyn aside, her vampiric speed rendered useless.
"Hey! What was that for?" She cried out.
Ivares chuckled. Though she was a top assassin capable of massacring thousands in a heartbeat, she instantly controlled herself, calmed by the simple sight of her master's smile.
"Relax, you deserved that little push as punishment."
As the flame surrounded his master, it manifested itself into a dark, swirling scarf around his neck and shoulders, a familiar sight from centuries past. The sword, the vessel of his rest, was instantly placed at his side. Ivares stepped forward and took hold of Evalyn.
"Now let's get out of here before I grow hungry."
Holding her shoulder, the two vanished like mist and reappeared on the surface, only to find that what should have been his palace had changed radically during his long absence.
"Mind telling me what happened here?"
In front of the grand leader of the clan, an array of large, dark screens was placed. Each one displayed a different scene, strange moving images of the current world outside.
Evalyn straightened her back. Though she was still slightly reeling from the earlier moments, seeing him now, the tall, handsome figure she always knew, made her heart tighten.
"These are the new tools of the era, Master. Each screen displays an important part of the world I need to check on. All of them are showing a live feed of what is happening around us."
Ivares looked around until he spotted one screen that did not seem possibly real: it showed someone standing in a strange, otherworldly landscape as if waiting to be told what to do.
"And that one?"
Evalyn coughed, looking at the gaming controller and console she had forgotten to put away. She didn't know what to tell him.
"Don't mind that one. That is just for entertainment."
Ivares then turned towards another screen; this one showed the image of two girls laughing. He glared at it for a few seconds, knowing full well who it was, before his glare softened into a loving smile as he watched their interaction.
"I guess that is them... or her, to be more precise." He let out a long sigh, knowing that fixing the situation would probably be impossible. There were many ways to do so, but ultimately, it would come down to her choice.
"When can I see her, Evalyn?"
Evalyn looked at her master. She was slightly annoyed that he did not have the same kind of fascination with her as with the mistress, but she could not show it.
"First, we must fix you up. To be able to talk with her naturally, you see, every race is watching her—well, not as much as I am, but they will know once you come into contact with her. So, first off, let's set up a good impression. For that, you will need to change what you are wearing and how you look, my liege. Your hair, for instance, is too long for this era's taste."
Ivares lifted the strands of long black hair that reached his waist and pondered what to do.
"I guess you are right. I will only scare her off. Plus, I must look like I did when I last saw her, not that it will help her remember."
"Precisely. That won't do. How about I help you? Knowing you, Master, you have a way to change your image—you always have a way... Let me see, how about…"
Evalyn began searching through one of the monitors for an image that might help her master woo the mistress. While it mainly catered to her own taste, she made sure it also aligned with the mistresses likes she had observed throughout the almost two decades of watching over her.
Ivares, who was looking at his most devoted servant and his covenant's best assassin, sat down on the comfortable red velvet sofa, being careful not to damage the modern piece with his ancient armor.
He noted that the change brought upon the place was more for comfort and began looking at each of the screens, noticing that the world seemed somewhat peaceful in comparison to the great wars three hundred years ago.
Those wars took place in the Otherworld, a separate space created to keep the Hunters from noticing the other races. Here, though, it seemed humans had expanded in all directions.
He turned back to see the twins, who seemed to be walking somewhere together. Both still had their clans' distinct hair and facial features, even if their expressions and style varied. The two were easily distinguishable, as one wore a dress while the other wore shorts and a shirt.
Besides their clothing, the girls also had different colored eyes and a slightly different complexion. Ivares believed this was simply due to one spending more time in the sun than the other.
Still, the two were beautiful. Their silky black hair and somewhat petite stature were something different from what he was used to seeing from those of the Hunter bloodline. They were usually taller, leaner, and stronger than normal humans, even without physical training. Yet these two seemed to lack those traits, which was strange; he even wondered if they were truly her descendants.
"There. These are the looks you could use to attract the mistress...es. Short, wavy hair, a younger face. I bet your natural bone structure is perfect; just make it look younger and, well, reduce your bulk a little. That might intimidate them instead of attracting them."
Ivares looked at the screen. The various pictures of modern men revolted him; some were even hugging other men, causing his eyes to twitch slightly.
"Well, you are also my intelligence officer…"
With a long sigh, Ivares began to wrap himself in his shadows. To change his image, there was only one true way: he had to mold himself. To do that, he needed to start clean, which was painful.
He began to cut himself into pieces and restructured his body into another form. By now, he did not remember how his true body used to look, but he vaguely recalled bits and pieces, such as the fact he was handsome as a youngling; his body would naturally find a way to revert to that shape once again.
Evalyn, who waited next to him, wondered if her master would take his old form and quickly began looking around for clothes for him. She had long prepared for this day and had readied many outfits within her almost infinite storage. She took only the best, hoping he would emerge looking as fine as he did when they had met back four hundred years ago.
Soon, her master's shadow began to disperse, and there stood what looked to be a twenty-year-old man in his prime: a little shorter than before, thinner, handsome, and very much to her taste. Best of all, his armor was gone. She gulped before causing all the clothes she had amassed to float around the room, letting him decide which one he would use.
Ivares, who had regained his vision, was met with hundreds of floating clothes. He picked out a well-made suit, but before he was ready to put it on, someone suddenly appeared before the two.
"Damn it, Evalyn! I told you to call me when you return! I have been waiting in the entrance of the fuck damn tunnel, waiting for Master to show up!"
Before the two, a woman in her mid-twenties, Bonnie, showed up. She was dressed in a tight but well-ordered black maid's uniform: a high collar, button-up front, and long sleeves with crisp white cuffs. Her brown hair was pulled back into a formal updo, highlighting her striking amber eyes. She seemed furious until she noticed she had returned right before her master.
Ivares, holding the suit he had picked up, chuckled before passing it to her, knowing she wouldn't let him dress himself otherwise.
"Thank you, sire. Here, let me!"
Before he could move an inch, the clothes seemed to disappear and instantly reappear, perfectly fitted on him. Unlike Evalyn or himself, the newcomer had other magic she loved to waste on catering to him. She was Bonnie, one of the best mages in his covenant, but also his personal maid and one of the few who had been with him for most of the millennia.
"Thank you, Bonnie. Great to see you again."
Ivares held out his arms as Bonnie, who instantly recognized his younger face, came close for a hug.
Evalyn let them be, at least for the first ten seconds, but knew that if she didn't peel her away, the crazy maid would keep holding onto him.
"Damn it, cow! Stop pestering our master, and it's not my fault you don't learn to use our liege's shadow magic to sense his whereabouts. Otherwise, you would have known he has been here for at least ten long minutes!"
Ivares sat back down, knowing his two servants' antics. He used his own senses to figure out which of the three in his coven still remained, though. Now that he saw Bonnie again, he wanted to figure out which of the thousand-strong clan members Evalyn did not kill.
He was slightly sad at the betrayal but knew there must have been something behind it all.