The atmosphere in the grand vaulted hall had curdled, turning as thick and suffocating as molten lead.
Every breath felt like inhaling iron filings, heavy and abrasive against the lungs of those trapped within its stone embrace.
The four vampire guards, who only moments ago had strutted with the jagged arrogance of conquerors, were now reduced to twitching, hollow shells.
The lead guard's face was a map of terror, etched with streaks of cold, glistening sweat that pooled in the hollows of his collarbone.
His eyes kept snapping toward the dark, velvet-shrouded corner where the royal girl sat in her unnerving silence. He hiked his heavy iron shield higher—a pathetic, flimsy barrier against the weight of her unmoving gaze.
"Not the main hall!" the lead guard hissed, his voice fracturing like dry parchment.
"Forget the gates. We move through the servants' tunnels. Now!"
To them, every shadow in that hall had grown teeth. They herded the children with a frantic, desperate violence, shoving them toward the narrow darkness of the side passage.
Yet, even in their hysteria, a wide, fearful circle remained around Len. Not a single hand dared to graze his cloak as they moved into the damp gallery.
Luka leaned close, his breath coming in shallow, ragged puffs.
"Len... what have you done? Why did you provoke her?" he whispered. "They look like they've seen their own executions just by looking at her."
Len tilted his head with a slow, mechanical grace, his expression a mask of chilling serenity.
"She looked quite lonely, Luka," Len murmured, his voice a low, melodic hum. "In a fortress built of bones and silence, no one should be left entirely to themselves, should they?"
Before Luka could respond, the gallery was swallowed by a deafening cacophony. From behind a massive, iron-studded door nearby, the sound of massive chains grinding against stone erupted.
It was followed by the bone-shaking boom of heavy metal slamming against metal—a violent, primal struggle of something trying to tear itself out of existence.
The guards froze, their faces turning the color of ash. The lead guard's hands shook so violently that his heavy ring of keys slipped and clattered onto the floor.
"Not this cell! Not here!" he whimpered. "Throw them in the next one! Move!"
In their blind panic, they hauled the heavy bolt of the adjacent door back and shoved the group of five children into the pitch-black void. The door slammed shut with a finality that felt like a tombstone being set.
Inside, the silence was worse than the noise. From the other side of the shared wall, the rhythmic, heavy thuds of something massive hitting the stone continued.
"Len... these sounds... they aren't human," Luka breathed. "It sounds like a mountain trying to break its way through the earth. Can you hear it?"
Len didn't move. He stood perfectly upright in the absolute dark, a silhouette carved from the night itself. For a long minute, he remained silent.
Then, he turned his head toward the vibrating wall.
"He is not a monster, Luka," Len's voice was now a cold, crystalline whisper. "He is terrified. Huddled in his own darkness. He isn't attacking... he is pleading."
Luka's blood ran cold. "What are you saying, Len? That thing sounds like it wants to devour the world!"
But when Luka reached out to find Len's face, the boy's aura shifted instantly. The chilling weight vanished.
"What did I say?" Len asked, his voice now small and entirely innocent. "I don't know what you're talking about, Luka."
Luka gasped, his hand hovering in the air. "You just said... you said it was asking for help!"
Len gave a soft, melodic laugh. "No, Luka. I haven't said a word. Perhaps the shadows are playing tricks on your ears. This place is enough to make anyone hear ghosts."
Behind the wall, in the neighboring cell, two colossal claws were visible. A long, whip-like tail lashed against the floor. The beast lunged forward, but massive obsidian chains jerked it back with a violent snap.
Suddenly, the beast stopped. It felt an ancient, suffocating tide of energy bleeding through the stone wall.
Then, a command rippled through the beast's marrow:
"Would you like to become my shadow?"
"Or do you crave an end to this wretched existence? If it is the freedom of the grave you seek... I can grant it to you now."
The monster began to shiver. Its massive frame trembled so hard the chains rattled like dry leaves. The predatory fire in its eyes died, replaced by a profound, soul-deep terror.
It lowered its massive head, surrendering to the unseen god behind the wall.
In the other cell, Luka's fear reached its breaking point. He grabbed Len's hand—it was ice-cold—and pulled him down.
"Len, sit down! You've been standing there like a ghost!"
He forced the boy onto the floor and pulled him close. "I can't see a thing," Luka whispered. "But the air... it's so cold. Why is it so cold, Len?"
Len let his head rest on Luka's shoulder. "Why do you feel cold, Luka? I feel quite warm."
Their peace was shattered by the sound of the corridor door opening. Three vampire guards entered, hauling a vat of raw meat.
As they shoved the vat inside the beast's cell, the monster surged forward. A sickening crunch followed—the sound of bone snapping like dry twigs.
The lead guard was severed in two before his brain could process the pain. His companion turned to flee, but the serrated tail whipped out, pinning him to the door like an insect.
A soul-piercing, agonized scream tore through the corridor. Luka cried out, burying his face in Len's neck, clutching him with desperate strength.
But as Luka sobbed, Len's eyes flared open in the darkness. They weren't the eyes of a child.
They were two pits of freezing, abyssal light, staring straight through the stone wall at his new pet.
Lene smiled a small, invisible smile. His shadow had been cast, and the hunt had only just begun.