Lyra entered the huge lunch hall slowly, holding her tray with both hands. The place was loud as usual, filled with students from every race vampires, wolves, witches, faes. But the fairy table was always far away, pushed all the way to the corner, almost like nobody wanted them near. It felt like they were some kind of outcasts, even though they were students too.
Lyra sat down beside Echo, Hunter's seat still empty. They always saved a spot for him because he was always either doing chores or getting delayed somewhere. After a few minutes, Hunter finally walked in, looking tired as he carried a tray of food. When he sat down, Echo's eyes immediately caught the burst on his lip.
"What happened to you? Did you get into a fight?" she asked, her voice full of worry.
Hunter shook his head quickly. "No… I hit it on the wall by mistake."
It was a lie. Lyra could tell it was a lie, and Echo definitely knew too. How would he tell them it was actually a vampire who punched him simply because Hunter's face annoyed him for being too handsome? Hunter knew better than to speak. One word from him and things would only get worse.
"But this—" Lyra began, staring at his lip.
"Let it go, Lyra," Echo muttered softly. Her voice was calm but tired, like someone who had seen the same thing over and over again. This wasn't the first time. It happened every day.
Lyra didn't understand. She didn't understand why all fairies acted like nothing was happening. Why they didn't stand up for their own.
She opened her mouth to speak again but stopped when a sudden noise filled the hall. A guy came in dragging a girl with him. They both had bright green hair and pale skin they looked alike, like twins. Lyra recognized them. They were new students from her class.
But the girl looked terrible. Her clothes were torn, her hair messy, her body shaking. There were blood stains on her dress and dried tears on her cheeks.
Her brother dragged her straight to a vampire sitting proudly among other vampires. Hunter recognized him too. He was the same one who punched him earlier that day.
"How dare you!" the brother shouted, crying openly. "How dare you defile my sister! You ruined her life, you destroyed her life, bastard!"
The hall became silent for a moment before the vampire smirked, leaning back in his chair.
"You should be happy I even touched her," he said coldly. "She's just a fairy. And honestly? After I forced myself on her, I regretted it. She wasn't even that good."
His friends burst into laughter. Loud, mocking laughter. Like the pain of the twins was a joke.
The girl cried harder, hiding behind her brother.
"Don't disrespect my sister. Don't speak about her that way," the brother growled, his voice cracking with tears.
"What are you going to do?" the vampire taunted. "Hit me? I said your sister disgusted me. I regretted touching her."
The fairy boy finally snapped and threw a punch, but the vampire dodged easily and kicked him hard. The boy hit the floor with a loud thud, groaning in pain.
Lyra felt her heart race. She looked around the fairy table.
Every fairy immediately bent their heads and focused on their food like nothing was happening. Like they were blind. Like they were scared.
"Is no one going to help?" Lyra asked, her voice shaking as she watched the vampire stomp on the boy again.
"Just ignore it," Echo whispered. "Please, Lyra."
The vampire grabbed the fairy boy by the hair, lifting him up. His fangs grew long and sharp. He was about to sink them into the boy's neck—
When suddenly someone grabbed him from behind and flung him across the hall.
He hit the ground hard, sliding a few steps before standing again. He looked furious until he saw who touched him.
Juniper.
And Damon stood right beside her, his usual smile gone.
"What you have done is enough," Damon said. His voice was cold. "Let them go."
The vampire swallowed hard and stormed out angrily.
Juniper looked up and her eyes met Hunter's for a moment. She saw his bruised lip and the way he tried to hide it.
Lyra waved at her cheerfully, but Juniper ignored her completely and turned away.
"Where are you going?" Damon asked as she walked off.
"Don't feel like staying anymore," she muttered without turning back.
Damon sighed and followed her out of the hall, while the entire place slowly returned to its normal noise like nothing had happened.
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OBLIVION HOLLOW
Oblivion Hollow was the kind of place no living creature wanted to speak about. Even demons feared to whisper its name sometimes. It was a land covered in eternal darkness, like the sky was swallowed by black smoke. The ground was filled with filth, bones, rotten flesh, thick black mud that made squelching sounds with every step. The whole place smelled like death and burning metal.
Creepy demons wandered everywhere. Some crawled on all fours with long twisted necks, some hung upside down from the dark ceiling like giant spiders, and some just stood still in the shadows, watching, waiting for a command. Their glowing red eyes never blinked.
At the center of the hollow was a massive throne made of black stone, bones, and old chains. Sitting on it was Lord Marphas, the ruler of the demons, the most feared among all realms. His skin was dark like ash, his eyes sharp and cold like he was looking straight into your soul.
Two massive snakes, each as long as a road, were coiled around the throne. Their scales shined with dark green poison. They hissed softly as Marphas stroked one of their heads with calm fingers, like he was petting harmless pets.
The halls were filled with loud growls and hissing until suddenly—
Everything went silent.
A demon entered the hall.
He had five heads, all snarling and shaking. He walked slowly, trembling. Every demon present stepped back, staring at him with fear. His presence alone made the filthy air vibrate.
He was one of the two demons who sneaked into the school. He had barely escaped with his life after the second demon got killed.
Marphas's voice was calm but dangerous.
"Where is the Heavenly Pearl?"
The five-headed demon dropped to his knees immediately, lowering all five heads down at once.
"I am sorry, my lord… we couldn't get it… the second one was killed too."
Marphas' smile widened slowly. It was the kind of smile that made every demon in the room shake. Because they knew that when Marphas smiled like that… someone was going to die.
"So what you are trying to say," he said softly, "is that you failed… yet again?"
The demon shaking increased. His five heads trembled at the same time.
"My lord… they are stronger than we expected… they already know we are inside the school and—"
"Vyrian."
The moment Marphas said the name, the entire hall froze. Every demon dropped their heads. Some even fell flat to the dirty floor in fear. The snakes around the throne hissed louder.
A tall handsome figure entered.
He walked slowly, each step sending small ripples of fear across the room.
Vyrian, Marphas' only son.
His mother was a witch, his father a demon. That alone made him powerful. Too powerful. His body emitted a faint red glow like fire was living inside him. His eyes were sharp, cold, and burning at the same time.
Every demon shifted backward when he stepped in. No one dared breathe loudly.
"Forgive me, your highness… please…" the five-headed demon cried as all five heads bowed deeply. The demon's voice cracked, knowing his life was already almost gone.
"You know what to do," Marphas said quietly. "A useless person… does not deserve to live."
Vyrian began walking toward the demon.
With each step he took, the ground under him felt hotter. The five-headed demon screamed as his skin felt like it was burning even before Vyrian touched him.
But then—
"The other demon… before he died… he told me something…" the five-headed demon shouted desperately. "He said… there is someone at the school… so powerful… so mighty… I think she is the one… the one we need to revive the Heavenly Pearl!"
Vyrian stopped.
Marphas lifted his chin slowly.
"Let him be."
Vyrian stopped moving completely. The burning air calmed a little.
The five-headed demon let out a shaky breath, dropping to the ground with relief. He had never been so close to death in his life.
Marphas' eyes glowed dark red.
"Go to the school," he said to Vyrian. "Find out if what he said… is true."
Vyrian nodded silently and turned around, leaving the hall. Every demon released the breath they didn't know they were holding.
Marphas then turned to his personal guard.
"Inform the old witch immediately."
The demon soldier bowed and left at once.
Marphas leaned back on his throne, his snakes hissing happily around him.
"Let's wait and see…" he whispered with a dark smirk. "The game is just beginning."
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The same vampire who raped a fairy girl before was dragging another young fairy tonight. His grip on her arm was so tight that her pale skin was already turning red. He didn't even care that she was crying loudly, struggling, begging him to stop. He only had that wicked smile on his face, the kind of smile that made anyone who saw him feel cold inside.
"Please… please let me go…" the fairy girl begged again, her voice already breaking from fear.
He grabbed her cheeks roughly and squeezed them, forcing her face up to look at him. "Shut up," he hissed, his eyes glowing faintly red. "You fairies like pretending you're innocent. But you're all the same."
He dragged her through the narrow wooden street until they reached his room. It was a huge room, with dark curtains and broken lanterns hanging on the porch. Everything about the place looked scary, like something evil lived inside. And tonight, it was true.
He pushed the girl towards the door and was about to force her inside when he suddenly stopped moving. His smile dropped a little. His eyebrows pulled together.
Because he saw someone.
A figure was standing at the far end of the small hallway, resting casually on the wall like it had been waiting for him for a long time. The moonlight from the broken roof above fell right on the figure, but still didn't reveal the face. Only the outline could be seen.Calm. Unbothered.
The vampire's annoyance came back.
"Who are you?" he snapped. "Why are you standing in my way?"
The figure didn't move from the wall. Didn't even shift. It only lifted its head slightly, and a low voice came out.
"Let the girl go."
The vampire laughed like he just heard the funniest joke in the world. "Are you mad? You can't just come here and try to control me. Get out of my face."
He tried to drag the girl again, wanting to push past the figure. But the moment he took one step forward, everything happened so fast the fairy girl didn't even understand it.
The figure moved.
A swift kick landed straight on the vampire's chest with so much force that he flew backward and hit the floor hard, his back hitting the wooden ground with a loud crack. The fairy girl gasped and covered her mouth.
The figure turned its head slowly to her.
"Run."
The voice wasn't loud, but it was sharp enough to make her legs move on their own. She didn't even look back. She just ran and ran, tears falling down her cheeks as her small wings fluttered in fear.
The vampire groaned and stood up again. His eyes had turned much brighter now, glowing like burning fire. He looked furious.
"You… you will regret this today," he said with anger shaking in his voice. "Do you know who I am?!"
The figure still didn't answer, and that annoyed him even more. He rushed forward with vampire speed, trying to attack with everything he had.
But the figure was too fast.
Every punch the vampire threw missed. Every kick he tried to land was blocked. And every time he blinked, the figure had already moved somewhere else. It was like fighting a shadow.
The vampire was strong, yes. But this fight wasn't balanced at all. He was getting weaker every second.
Then the figure did something that froze his entire body.
It brought out a silver tiger dagger.
The vampire's eyes widened. "No… no, wait—"
He didn't finish before the dagger pierced his chest. His whole body jerked, and in a few seconds he fell to the ground. His skin turned pale almost immediately, his veins turning dark like ink.
The figure knelt beside him silently. It didn't rush. It didn't shake. With the tip of the dagger, it slowly carved words across the vampire's cheek.
"WELCOME THE THORNED VEIL."
Blood dripped slowly from the letters, but the figure didn't look bothered. When it finished, it stood up and took out something from its cloak, a white rose, but not an ordinary one. The petals were thorny, sharp like tiny blades.
The figure dropped the rose on the vampire's chest gently.
Then, without making any sound, it slipped back into the darkness like it had never been there at all.