The city stopped pretending to be safe.
It began with bodies.
Not in the streets—no.
Too obvious.
Too… human.
They were found in places no one checked.
Between walls. Beneath floorboards. Hanging inside abandoned wells.
Drained.
Twisted.
Marked.
Kaer stood over one of them.
A man.
Or what remained of him.
The skin was pale—unnaturally so. Veins blackened beneath the surface, like something had burned through him from the inside.
And on his chest—
A symbol.
Carved.
By something alive.
Kaer's jaw tightened.
"Natorhog," he said quietly.
Lilith stood beside him, arms crossed.
"You're sure?"
"Yes."
A pause.
"They're not just working together anymore," Kaer continued. "This is coordination."
Lilith glanced around.
Empty alley.
Too quiet.
"Then we're already late."
That night—
The air changed.
Kaer felt it first.
A pressure.
Subtle.
Like reality itself was being stretched too thin.
His ring pulsed faintly.
The Ring of Paradox.
Reacting.
Warning.
Something was breaking.
"They're here," Kaer said.
She just drew her blades.
From the rooftops—
They descended.
Dozens.
Vampires.
And among them—
Larger shapes.
Heavier.
Wrong.
Natorhog.
The first wave hit fast.
Too fast.
Kaer raised his hand—
"Summon."
The wolves tore into existence.
But something was different.
Their forms flickered.
Unstable.
Kaer felt it immediately—
A strain.
Sharp.
Like something inside him resisted.
Not now.
Not here.
The wolves lunged.
Clashing with the first vampires in a blur of claws and blood.
Lilith moved beside him—silent, precise. Every strike clean, every movement efficient.
A vampire lunged at her—
Vanished.
Her form blurred—
Then reappeared behind it.
A clean cut.
Gone.
"More are coming!" she called.
Kaer didn't answer.
He was watching the Natorhog.
They didn't rush.
They observed.
Learning.
Adapting.
One stepped forward.
Its eyes locked onto Kaer.
Recognition.
It moved.
Faster than before.
Stronger.
Kaer barely dodged.
The impact shattered stone where he had stood.
Too close.
He raised his hand again—
"Summ—"
Pain.
Sharp.
Immediate.
The word caught in his throat.
Something resisted.
The air around him warped.
The wolves flickered again—
Then stabilized.
But weaker.
Lilith saw it.
"You're not at full strength."
"I know."
That was a problem.
A big one.
The Natorhog attacked again.
This time—
It wasn't alone.
Two more joined it.
Coordinated.
Precise.
They were testing him.
Kaer exhaled slowly.
Then—
He let go.
Something deeper.
Something Oyosinna warned him about.
A symbol.
A threshold.
"Fine…" Kaer whispered.
"You want to see?"
The air around him darkened.
The wolves changed.
Their eyes—
He moved.
Faster.
Cleaner.
Different.
The first Natorhog didn't even react in time.
Kaer's blade cut through it—too easily.
Too deep.
It collapsed.
But Kaer felt it.
The cost.
A pull.
Like something inside him had been… taken.
The second creature hesitated.
Fear.
Good.
Kaer stepped forward.
But Lilith grabbed his arm.
"Stop."
Her voice cut through everything.
"You're losing something."
Kaer didn't answer.
Because she was right.
The remaining enemies retreated.
Just…
Done.
For now.
Silence returned.
"It looks like I won."
A pause.
Kaer's gaze shifted into the darkness.
"…And yet… something is still breathing near me."