ANMELDENChapter 42: The Eternal Blood MarkValenfort was no longer a city. It had become one gigantic open wound, bleeding through every crack in time itself. Above, the crimson moon hung split in two like the blind, dead eyes of a fallen god. The air was thick with the stench of rust and ash.Evelyn stood atop the ruins of the Divine Tower, broken marble scattered around her feet like shattered bones. Rivers of blood human or vampire, impossible to tell ran between the stones. And in front of her stood Lucien Draven, the King of Blood, teetering on the knifeedge between man and monster.He no longer looked entirely human. His eyes burned a deep, arterial red. Black blood-veins crawled up his neck and shoulders like living tattoos. His skin seemed scorched by the moonlight itself. Every breath he took was a low, wet rasp that made the air itself choke.Evelyn forced her voice steady, but it trembled all the same. “Lucien… stop. You’re tearing yourself apart.”He lifted his head slow
Chapter 41: Legacy of BloodThe wind blew through Valenfort like the last breath of the old world. The once-proud buildings were now nothing more than rusted steel skeletons. Atop the collapsed tower, Lucien Draven stood still, his eyes fixed on the horizon covered in dried blood. The pale moonlight reflected off his eyes, which were no longer the crimson of the Blood King, but a cold, emotionless silver.Every step he took left a trail of blood. Not someone else’s blood, but Evelyn’s own, which had fused with his soul from the sealing ritual. She no longer existed in human form, but her voice… still echoed in him like a rain of memories.“Lucien… don’t let blood decide what is right or wrong. Remember why I held your hand.”Those words were the only thread that kept him human.Down in the valley of ashes, the survivors of the Crimson Pact began to gather. There was no light, no faith, only survival instinct and the rumor of the “Blood Emperor Reborn”. In their eyes, Lucien now symbol
Chapter 40 The Blood Emperor’s HandFootsteps echoed in the ruined corridors of the Divine Tower, mingling with the deep, hoarse ringing of the last bells. Valenfort was no longer a city, it was a bleeding wound, and each soul within it was but a dying memory.Evelyn walked, her tattered cloak dragging on the ash-streaked ground. Her eyes were empty, but within her a storm was raging. Her heart had long since died, but her blood still flowed, blood that no longer belonged to a human.In the distance, Lucien Draven, the Blood Emperor, stood in the middle of the plaza that had once been the center of the Hunters’ Guild. From his body, black veins spread like chains, binding the earth, making Valenfort a part of him. He was no longer human nor a vampire. He was the Fusion, the crystallization of the Blood King and the Saint’s sin.Evelyn stopped, watching him in the bloody wind. “Lucien.” Her voice was hoarse. “You have truly chosen this path?”Lucien turned his head. His face still bo
Chapter 39 – The Heir of the Blood KingValenfort, one month after the Great Destruction.The city no longer rang with bells, no longer reeked of blood; only the echo of unquiet souls remained. Above, the crimson moon had faded to silver, yet in the hearts of its people, fear had never truly died.Among the ruins, Evelyn Cross walked alone. A long black cloak trailed across the ground, its hem stained with ash and dried blood. Beneath the hood, her eyes glowed with a quiet red light, the unmistakable mark of the Blood King.No one recognised her anymore. To the world, Evelyn Cross had perished alongside the Crimson Pact. But in the darkness she had been reborn, neither fully human nor wholly vampire.She was the Crimson Heir, the last successor of the Blood King.---That night she sought the Blood Vault, the cavern where Lucien once imprisoned traitors. Now it was nothing but a cold, empty cave, its walls thick with centuries-old bloodstains.Inside, Adrian sat in the centre of an an
Chapter 38: The Blood King’s Final SongDust and smoke still lingered in the air above Valenfort. Charred ruins rose like desperate hands trying to grasp the sky. The city, once a symbol of both worlds, was now nothing more than a cold corpse.Amid the wreckage, Evelyn sat motionless, her eyes empty, staring at the fading blood moon. In her arms lay the motionless body of Lucien Draven; his face was terrifyingly peaceful. Beneath the silver light, he looked like a fallen angel who had finally found his last sleep.“Get up…” she whispered, voice choking. “You once told me never to be weak before blood and darkness. So why did you let go in front of me, Lucien?”No answer. Only the wind threading through broken tiles, wailing like a mourner.Evelyn bowed her head, letting her hand touch his gradually cooling face. She could feel it clearly: the last traces of warmth slipping away from his skin. A stream of dark crimson blood flowed from his chest, dripping onto the ground, seeping into
Chapter 37 – Blood and DarknessValenfort tonight was shrouded in a silence so deep it sent chills down the spine. High above, a blood-red moon hung in the sky like the eye of some distant, alien god gazing down upon a world where blood and shadow had become one. The wind swept through the ruined streets, carrying the thick, metallic scent of blood.Evelyn stood in the middle of the shattered square, her black cloak soaked and crusted with dried blood. This place had once been the heart of the Hunters’ Alliance; now it was nothing but ash and rubble. At her feet, a trail of blood stretched toward the collapsed stone steps. Beneath them, Lucien was waiting.She gripped her silver sword tightly (a blade forged with the very blood of those she despised most). Her hand trembled, not from fear, but from a nameless tension. Something inside her was cracking; one more step, and everything she had ever believed in would collapse completely.The sound of boots echoed through the stone corridor







