LOGINThe photograph remained in Sera's trembling hands. The faded image blurred as her breathing became uneven. The little girl inside the glass chamber. The silver hair. The crimson eyes.The man standing beside her. Husen. No... It couldn't be. None of it made sense.Fragments of memories she didn't possess pressed against the edge of her mind, refusing to surface. Her fingers tightened around the old photograph."...Who am I...?"No one answered. Even Husen remained silent. He had not taken his eyes off the photograph since Varek disappeared. For perhaps the first time in centuries... The ancient vampire looked shaken. Not by an enemy. Not by a battle. But by the past.A sharp electronic tone echoed through the archive.BEEP.Kael immediately looked down at the communicator on his belt. His expression returned to its usual composed calm.He accepted the transmission. "This is Kael."A familiar voice answered. "The situation has changed.""It has.""We've been monitoring the eastern wing
The silence after the transmission lasted only a heartbeat. Yet, to everyone inside the ruined archive, it felt much longer. Dust drifted lazily through the shafts of white light pouring from the broken ceiling. The communicator in Kael's hand slowly dimmed. His normally composed face had lost its easy smile.Varek noticed. "So..."The ancient vampire tilted his head with faint amusement. "The High Council still fears me."Kael slowly clipped the communicator back onto his belt. "They don't fear you.""No?""They fear what follows you."A quiet chuckle escaped Varek. "I suppose that's fair."His golden eye shifted toward Sera again."They fear her even more."Husen immediately stepped into Sera's line of sight. "You'll stop looking at her."Varek smiled. "You sound possessive.""I sound patient.""And when does that patience end?"Husen's crimson eyes narrowed. "You'll remember why I survived and your followers didn't."The smile vanished from Varek's face.For the first time, genuine
The eastern archive disappeared beneath a cloud of dust. Concrete rained from the shattered wall. Metal shelves toppled one after another, sending thousands of old documents swirling through the air like snow. The vibration beneath the floor slowly faded. Silence followed. Then...A single pair of footsteps echoed through the smoke. Slow. Measured. Confident. Tap. Tap. Tap. No one spoke. Sera instinctively stepped backward. Jonas raised his rifle. Kael shifted into a fighting stance. Husen's crimson eyes never left the drifting cloud of dust. Then a silhouette appeared. Tall. Far taller than Husen. Nearly six feet five. Broad shoulders hidden beneath a long black overcoat whose edges brushed the broken concrete. Unlike Husen's rugged appearance or Kael's refined military precision, this man's presence felt almost... noble.His silver-white hair fell neatly to his shoulders. Not a single strand seemed out of place despite walking through an explosion. His skin carried the same unnatura
The eastern archive had gone silent. Too silent. The alarms had stopped. The lights had returned to their normal white glow. Yet the air still carried the weight of what had just happened. Sera stood before the terminal, staring at the final words that remained frozen on the screen.PHASE TWO INITIATED.Jonas kept his weapon raised. Husen was looking toward the corridor where the mysterious figure had disappeared. Neither man spoke.Then.... Footsteps. Slow. Measured. Coming from the opposite end of the eastern wing. Sera turned. Jonas immediately raised his weapon."Someone's coming."Husen's expression changed. He knew those footsteps. A figure emerged from the corridor.Kael.His coat was perfectly arranged despite the chaos in the rest of Helios. His hair was slightly disordered from moving through the facility, but his expression remained calm. Almost irritatingly calm. His eyes swept across the room.Jonas. Sera. The terminals.Then, Husen.Kael stopped. For several seconds, nei
The alarm continued to pulse through Zelios. Red emergency lights replaced the usual white illumination, washing the corridors in intermittent crimson. Doors automatically sealed across several sections of the facility. Hunters emerged from their rooms, confused and half-dressed in their patrol gear."What happened?""Is it an attack?""Why are the residential doors locking?"Voices echoed through the corridors. Sera stood inside her room, staring at the door. Husen remained beside her. The emergency lights flashed across his pale face. He looked calm. Too calm.Sera tightened her grip on her dagger. "You're not surprised.""I am.""You don't look surprised.""I've learned not to."Another alarm sounded. This one was different. Three short pulses. Then silence. Husen's expression changed.Sera noticed immediately."What?""That's not an evacuation alarm.""Then what is it?""Internal breach."Her eyes narrowed. "Someone is inside.""Yes.""Who?""I don't know."The speaker crackled ag
The footsteps remained outside the door. Sera didn't move. Neither did Husen. For several seconds, the room was completely silent except for the faint hum of the electrical lights overhead. The shadow beneath the door remained. Someone was standing there. Sera slowly reached for the dagger hidden beneath the edge of her shirt. Husen noticed. His eyes shifted toward her hand. She raised one finger. Stay. His expression almost amused her. Even now, he looked as though he wanted to make a joke. She glared at him. He wisely remained silent. Another second passed. Then came a knock. Three slow taps. Sera's heart jumped. Husen's eyes immediately sharpened. The knock came again. "Sera?" Jonas. She exhaled. Husen leaned slightly closer. "Friend?" "Yes." "Should I hide?" "You should have been hiding already." He smiled. Sera quietly moved toward the door. Before opening it, she glanced at Husen. He had already moved toward the far corner, partially concealed by the wall besi







