Without the slightest hesitation, you reach into the thorny bush and grab hold of the cold iron lever. With one powerful pull that drains your remaining energy—KRAKK!—The ancient mechanism inside the gate roared loudly.
The giant stone door shifted slowly, emitting a deafening friction sound. You immediately sneak into the newly opened gap just as a large black shadow begins to cover the area behind you.
"THERE! AT THAT GATE!" shouted Daniela's shrill voice that was very close above your head.
You make it in and immediately push the cover lever on the inside side. BAM! The gate was tightly closed, locking the sound of the angry screams of the Dimitrescu princesses outside. You fell seated, your breath gasping in the darkness of the silent outer forest.
You are now on a steeply downhill path. In the distance, the dim light of an old village could be seen flickering behind the fog. However, when you try to stand up, you notice something strange.
The wound from Cassandra's bite on your neck no longer hurts. Instead, the wound radiates a sense of warmth that radiates throughout your body, giving you unnatural strength. You look into the palm of your hand; Your veins seemed to blacken slightly, as if something was flowing in them—Cassandra's blood.
Suddenly, from behind the large tree in front of you, appears an old man in tattered clothes and an old rifle in his hand. He looks at you in horror, his eyes fixed directly on your neck.
"You... You brought their 'curse'," he whispered in a trembling voice. "Who are you? And how can you survive that cursed castle?"
Me : Who are you?
The old man jerked, the rifle in his hand trembling slightly as he took a step back. He looks at you with eyes full of fear and disbelief. The moonlight that pierced through the fog shone on his wrinkled and scarred face.
"My name is Grigori," he whispered in a hoarse voice, as if afraid that his voice would lure something out of the darkness of the forest. "I'm just the gatekeeper of this village... or what's left of this village."
He lowered the muzzle of his rifle slightly, but his eyes remained fixed on the black veins that began to run down your neck—traces of Cassandra's blood running through your body.
"I've seen a lot of people enter the castle, but never seen anyone come out... especially with such a 'sign'," Grigori swallowed, his voice now sounding more like a warning than a threat. "Their blood... The blood of the princesses... It's not just a wound. It is devotion. They have marked you as theirs, Zak."
He turned his head towards the village whose lights were flickering down there.
"If you enter the village with that mark, the remaining inhabitants will consider you a monster. They'll burn you alive before you have time to explain," Grigori approached, then pulled out a dirty old scarf. "Close your neck. Hide the sign if you want to survive down there."
Suddenly, from the direction of the forest behind you—behind the gate you just locked—there was a loud crack on the rock. Srettt... srettt... Something much bigger and wilder than Dimitrescu's daughters was trying to climb the gate wall.
"Hurry up!" hisses Grigori. "The Lycans already smell your blood. They don't care if you have a sign from the castle or not, for them you're still fresh meat!"
Me : Taking a scarf from Grigori and following it to the village: Hoping to hide among the residents.
Without wasting any time, you snatch the dull scarf from Grigori's hand. The fabric is rough and smells of wood smoke, but it's your only protector now. You wrap it tightly around your neck, covering the black traces that radiate from Cassandra's bite marks.
"Follow me! Don't take that scarf off, no matter what!" hisses Grigori.
He turned around and ran with a very agile pace for the size of a man his age, sneaking among the large mossy trees. You follow him right behind, while the sound of scratches at the gate turns into a terrible hoarse roar.
AWOOOOOO!
A gray-haired figure with salivating fangs jumped over the stone gate—a Lycan. His fiery red eyes combed through the darkness, and his nose sniffed the air greedily. He has smelled your unique smell of blood.
"Run, Zak! Don't turn your head!" shouted Grigori.
You go down a slippery hillside until you reach the outskirts of the village. The houses here are made of old wood and stone, many of which have windows nailed to death with boards. The atmosphere was very quiet, only the sound of the wind moving the church bells in the distance.
Grigori takes you to a cellar behind an old church. He pulls a wooden door on the floor and forces you into the damp darkness.
BRAKK!
He closed the door just as the sound of heavy and rapid footsteps rang out on the ground outside the warehouse. The Lycan discs start scratching the wooden doors above your head.
"Shut up... don't make a sound," whispered Grigori in total darkness.
You sit leaning against a cold earthen wall. Suddenly, the warmth in your neck turns into a intense burning sensation. Your vision in the darkness became very sharp—you could see the flying dust and every wrinkle on Grigri's face as if the room was brightly lit.
"Bag..." Grigori looked at you in horror. Your eyes begin to emit the same golden yellow flash as Cassandra's eyes. "That scarf won't be enough if your eyes turn like that."
In the corner of this warehouse, you see a cracked mirror and a tightly closed holy water bottle.
Me : *I asked* Grigori, will I turn into a lycan?
Grigori looks at you with trembling eyes, his rifle he holds tightly to his chest. He shook his head slowly, but his face was still passively pale.
"No, Zak... not Lycan," he whispered in a voice that was almost lost to the sound of nail-scratching above the barn door. "Lycans are the ones who failed... those whose bodies reject the grace of Mother Miranda. They became wild beasts that lost their minds."
He points towards your eyes that are starting to glow golden in the dark.
"You... You are turning into something higher. The blood flowing in your body is the blood of the Noble Family. You're not going to be a wolf, but you're slowly becoming part of them—part of Dimitrescu's Castle."
Grigori crept closer, his voice now full of warning.
"If this change continues, the sun will be your enemy, and blood-hunger will be your only thought. You will have their powers, but you will lose your humanity. You will be the 'son' they never had... or perhaps, just a new collection in their wine bottle."
CRACK!
One of the wooden door boards above was shattered. A huge hairy claw surged into the gap, trying to grab whatever was underneath. The lycan growled, its foul smell filling the narrow room.
"Pocket! Use your power now!" shouted Grigori as he loaded his rifle bullets. "If you don't fight back, they'll tear us apart before you have a chance to change completely!"
You feel an overwhelming wave of power flow from your neck to your fingertips. It tastes hot, tangy, and... very tempting.
Me : Unleashing your powers: Trying to control flies or creating sharp claws like Cassandra to slash through those Lycan claws.
You close your eyes, letting the heat waves that burn in your neck explode all over your body. The pain is unbearable, as if your skin is being peeled from the inside. However, along with that pain, came a terrifying force.
Cassandra's blood in your body reacts to the threat. You can feel thousands of tiny heartbeats beating under your skin.
BZZZZZZZTTTTTT!
From behind the scarf around your neck, and from the tips of your darkened fingers, a cluster of pitch-black flies exploded. They swirled around in the dark air of the warehouse, emitting a deafening buzzing sound, just like the flies that surrounded Cassandra.
"Oh my God..." Grigori jerked back, his face pale as he looked at you. He lowered his rifle, too afraid to shoot. "He... he's really a castle boy!"
The flies, moving at your will, lunged at the Lycan's claws that were smashing the wooden door above. They swarmed the thick fur and flesh of the beast, biting and tearing with unimaginable ferocity.
AWOOOOOO-YELP!
The Lycan's triumphant roar turned into a shrill scream of pain. The creature tried to pull its claws, but your flies held it back, eating its flesh alive. You can feel every bite of the flies in your mind, a sensation that is both terrifying and satisfying.
"Enough, Zak! Stop!" shouted Grigori, trying to resuscitate you. "If you continue to use this power, you won't be able to go back!"
You gasped, his eyes burning bright gold in the darkness. The flies slowly returned to your body, leaving behind the Lycan's claws that were now only a shattered white bone above the door. The ferocious creatures outside fled lame, moving away from the warehouse.
The atmosphere was quiet again, leaving only the sound of your breathing hunting and the subtle hum that was still felt in your ears. However, inside this warehouse, under the moonlight that enters through the shattered doorways, Grigori now looks at you with a completely different view.
He is no longer afraid of you as much as he is afraid of monsters. He looks at you with... a terrible tribute.
"You... you have their blood, Zak," whispered Grigori, his voice trembling. "In this village, there is an old prophecy about the 'Ninth Son' coming from the castle to end the darkness... or take it."
Grigori crawled closer, then knelt down before you.
"The other villagers... they will not understand. They'll try to kill you," he said in an urgent tone. "But I... I'll help you. In the old church above, there was a secret passage leading to the Cave of Exile. There, there's an ancient artifact that might be able to help you control this power... or at least hide it."
Suddenly, the sound of the church bell above your head starts to ring loudly. TENG... TENG... TENG...
It wasn't an ordinary clap. It was a red flag. The villagers were gathering. They might have heard the Lycan's roar just now and saw your strength.
"They're coming, Zak!" shouted Grigori, rising to his feet with difficulty. "We must go now! Choose your way!"
Me : Follow Grigori into a secret passage in the church: Head to the Cave of Exile in search of the artifact.
You nodded quickly, grabbing your scarf that had fallen to cover your hot throbbing neck. Grigori immediately pulled out an old wooden cabinet that covered the corner of the barn, revealing a narrow hole that led directly to the foundation of the church above.
"Follow me, don't let go of your grip!" whispered Grigori.
You crawl through a narrow, mossy stone passage. The sound of the bell ringing above your head is deafening, the vibration is felt to your bones. Up there, you can hear the screams of the angry mob.
"Burn the barn! There's a devil down there!" "I saw those flies! That's the magic of the castle!"
The smell of kerosene and smoke began to sneak into the hallway. They actually burned down the warehouse where you were hiding. If you're just a second late, you'll be roasted alive.
After crawling for a few minutes, you emerge behind the magnificent but damaged altar of the church. Faceless angel statues stare at you in moonlit darkness through broken stained glass.
Grigori pressed a floor tile hidden under the pulpit. A stone spiral staircase leads to an open underground staircase. "Here it is... The Exile Cave. The place where the ancestors kept things that Mother Miranda was not allowed to touch."
You descend the stairs until you come to a natural cave room filled with clear water. In the center of the room, on a stone pedestal is a silver mask adorned with very fine wing carvings—similar to the medallion you gave Miranda.
"That mask," Grigori pointed with trembling hands. "Legend has it that this mask can dampen the 'dark side' of the blood you carry. If you wear them, your golden vision and those flies will be hidden... You'll look like a normal human again."
However, as you approach the mask, a cold, sharp sound echoes from the darkness of the corner of the cave.
"So here you are hiding, Zak?"
It wasn't Cassandra. This sound is higher and crazier. Daniela emerged from the shadows, her body slowly compacting from a group of flies. He looks at you with pure hatred.
"Cassandra was punished for letting you run. He's now locked up in the coldest basement by Mom," hisses Daniela, her scythe shiny exposed to the reflection of the water. "Give me that mask, and maybe I'll kill you quickly before Mom finds you."
Pov : Immediately put on the silver mask: Hope his power activates right away and protects you.
Ignoring Daniela's threat, you lunge forward and snatch the silver mask from its stumps. The metal feels as cold as ice, but when it touches the skin of your face, it feels like being electrocuted by thousands of volts.
Cring!
The mask is as if it sucks the heat out of your neck. Your sharp golden vision slowly dimmed into normal human vision, and the hum of flies in your head was instantly silent. You feel "heavy" again—your humanity is locked in this mask.
"NO! How dare you!" Daniela screamed in anger. He darted forward, his sickle raised high to split your head.
However, something strange happened. As Daniela approached, the silver mask on your face emitted a faint wave of pale light. Daniela jerked back as if she had just touched the fire.
"What is this?! This light... It hurts!" Daniela covered her face, her flies' bodies began to scatter because of the holy aura emanating from the ancient mask.
Grigori, who was trembling in the corner of the cave, shouted, "Zak! That mask is protective! As long as you wear them, they can't touch you with their magic! But you can't use your fly power either!"
Daniela growled, her fangs clearly visible. She couldn't get close to you because of the aura of the mask, but she continued to circle in the darkness of the cave like a hungry predator.
"You think a piece of old metal can save you forever?" hisses Daniela. "Mom would tear down this whole cave if she knew you were here. And don't forget Cassandra... she's suffering in the underground freezer because of you."
You stand tall with a silver mask covering your face. You feel safe for now, but you're trapped inside the cave with Daniela guarding the only way out.
Me : *I'm approaching Daniel* Take me to the castle now. Cassandra. I have to meet him