Reveal

While I had hoped that Magnus attacking the Red Sun would produce results, I hadn't expected this.

The space around us warped violently, bending and twisting as though the very air had become liquid. Before I could react, I felt myself being pulled, dragged through an unseen current. Instinctively, I called out to Luna, her energy flowing through me as I tried to counter the warp, but the magic at work was far beyond anything I could handle.

Magnus, ever the towering presence, reached out. His sword shimmered with astral energy as he tore at the shifting space, managing to hold me steady for a moment.

But then, from the void, chains appeared—thick, jagged, and glowing faintly with runes that pulsed with ominous energy. They wrapped around his body like coiled serpents.

Magnus grimaced, his muscles bulging as he fought against them, the chains groaning under the strain. Yet, even he could not break free.

"Go!" he shouted through gritted teeth, his voice laced with frustration. Then, with a forceful pull, the chains yanked him into the darkness.

I had no time to process the scene as the space warp swallowed me whole.

When the world stopped spinning, I stumbled, disoriented. My surroundings slowly came into focus: a massive cavern, its walls jagged and dark, yet unnaturally smooth in places, as though shaped by tools—or magic.

I placed a hand on the cold surface, feeling a faint pulse beneath my fingers. The rock wasn't ordinary; it thrummed faintly with energy, a constant reminder that this place wasn't natural.

'Where am I?'

I scanned the cavern for signs of life—or a way out—but the oppressive silence answered only with echoes of my own breathing. I tried to gather my thoughts, but a pressing urgency filled me.

If the others had been pulled into this, I needed to find them. Quickly.

Before I could take a step, a voice sliced through the silence.

"So, you are the first sacrifice."

I spun around, sword instinctively in hand, to face the source.

The figure that emerged was pale as death, their skin almost translucent in the dim light. Long, sharp fangs glinted as they stepped closer, and their crimson eyes gleamed with hunger and malice.

A vampire.

But not just any vampire. The air around them pulsed with raw power. It weighed down on me like an iron hand on my chest, thick and suffocating.

This wasn't going to be easy.

I tightened my grip on my sword, steeling myself as the vampire's lips curled into a predatory smile.

"I am Vampire Elder Vaelor, the one who will kill you," the vampire said as I summoned my sword.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Li's eyes narrowed as he leaned back in his chair, his gaze locked on Daedric. The Lord of the Southern Sea Sun Palace was radiating smug confidence, his voice dripping with self-satisfaction as he rattled off an increasingly absurd list of demands for compensation for what he smugly called their "failed investigation." 

There was something about the man's demeanor that set Li on edge, the oily triumph in his smile as if he'd already won a game the rest of them hadn't realized they were playing. Li didn't need to be told; something on this island reeked of deceit, though every lead they had pursued so far had yielded nothing. 

Li's knuckles tightened on the armrest of his chair as he bit back the urge to lash out, his Immortal-rank senses flaring as he tried to pinpoint the source of his unease. 

And then it happened. 

Daedric's smile froze, his smug words caught in his throat as his body shuddered. The color drained from his face, leaving him pallid and wide-eyed, as though he'd just seen the hand of death hovering over his shoulder. 

The air in the room turned cold, and before anyone could react, the space around them began to ripple and twist, as if an unseen hand was tearing at the fabric of reality. 

Li blinked once, and then his eyes sharpened. With a swift motion, astral energy flared to life around him, its sapphire brilliance cracking the warping space like glass, nullifying the forced distortion. 

But even as he acted, Li's expression darkened. 

He could feel it now. 

"You dare hide vampires?" he said, his voice low and dangerous, every syllable heavy with menace. Slowly, he rose to his feet, his gaze burning into Daedric, who recoiled slightly under the weight of it. 

For a moment, Daedric's mouth opened as though he might deny it. But he stopped himself, his lips pressing into a thin line. The pretense was useless now. 

Li took a step forward, his astral energy humming ominously around him. "I asked you a question, Daedric." 

Without a word, Daedric raised his hands. His expression twisted into something between desperation and fury as he unleashed a torrent of red divine flames, the raw power of the Southern Sea Sun Palace's Legendary-grade artifact bursting forth like a tidal wave of fire. 

Li didn't flinch. 

His astral energy expanded in an instant, a shimmering barrier that collided with the flames. The room shook violently as the two forces clashed, sending crackling energy and flickering shadows dancing along the walls. 

"You've betrayed your own people," Li growled, his voice cutting through the chaos like a blade. "Do you think your flames can save you now?" 

Daedric's lips curled back into a snarl, his hands trembling as he poured more energy into the flames. But it was clear in his eyes—behind the fury, behind the bravado—there was fear. 

And Li was not a man who offered mercy to traitors. 

Li didn't waste time pondering how vampires, thought extinct for nearly two centuries, could still walk this world. The crackling sensation of their unique magic—an unsettling blend of blood and night—coursed through his senses, leaving no room for doubt. Vampires were here, and that was all that mattered.

His sword gleamed in the dim light, the blossoms of the Mount Hua Sect's legacy art blooming along its edge, delicate yet deadly. Infused with the sharp charge of lightning astral energy, the blossoms swirled like an approaching storm. With a decisive motion, he swung the blade, releasing a cascade of electrified petals that raced toward Daedric with the ferocity of a tempest.

Daedric's red flames surged forward, desperate to counter the attack, but the energy of Li's astral-enhanced strike crackled through the flames, tearing apart their cohesion. The room filled with the clash of opposing forces, a thunderous cacophony that echoed like the wrath of the heavens.

Meanwhile, across the palace, the spatial distortions tightened their grip. The students, one by one, were pulled into the shimmering warps, their forms disappearing into the fractured threads of space. Screams of confusion and panic filled the air, their voices swallowed by the unraveling magic.

Nero Astrellan stood firm amidst the chaos, his hands raised as mana radiated outward in golden waves. His focus narrowed as he pushed against the distortions, bending the shifting space back into order. Victory was within his grasp.

And then the blow came.

A shadow moved faster than most eyes could follow, a fist hurtling toward Nero with raw, unrelenting force. He shifted, raising his arm to meet the attack, and their clash sent a shockwave rippling through the already fractured space.

The figure stepped into the light—a vampire, its pallid skin and crimson eyes a stark reminder of their monstrous nature. Blood magic crackled in the air, its sinister essence coiling around the vampire like a living thing.

Nero's gaze remained calm, but his jaw tightened. He could sense the sheer power behind the strike—a creature of immense strength. He couldn't afford to focus on the students while this predator stood before him.

"Aren't you the Advisor's student?" Nero asked as he recognised Cassius.

"Someone who is going to die doesn't need to know," Cassius shrugged before moving forward to attack him.