In a huge castle, a man and a woman who looked like they were in their mid-30s were sitting across from each other at a long, imposing dinner table. The woman, Anna Crimson, the mother of Angeline Fang, looked serene as she spoke. "How is the blood, my love?"
The man, Leonidas Crimson, with long red hair tied to the back of his head, was picking up a tablespoon. Slowly, he dipped and scooped the thick, dark blood out of the crystal bowl and brought it to his mouth. "Hmm," he murmured, his eyes still closed, trying to savor the taste. He finally opened his eyes, which were a startling, vibrant red. "It's not bad. Is this animal blood?"
"Yes, my love, it is the blood of a Unicorn," Anna replied, a slight, pleased smirk on her lips. "I thought I would surprise you with something different."
As Anna reached for her heavy glass of ruby-red wine, one of the butlers—a figure whose uniform seemed woven from shadow—came into their room. He bowed so low his head nearly touched the marble floor. "Sorry to bother my lord, but the young Missus is on the mirror."
Almost choking on her wine, Anna stood up instantly, her chair scraping loudly on the marble floor. "Did our Angel call?"
"Yes, My Lady," the butler replied, his voice a low monotone.
"Bring the communication mirror here," Leonidas commanded, his voice deep and echoing, the slight boredom gone.
After a few tense minutes, the butler returned with a tall, antique-looking mirror set into a gold frame. The surface shimmered, resolving to show the worried face of Angeline.
"Hello, father," Angeline said.
Leonidas looked at his daughter through the mirror for a few seconds without saying a word, his gaze piercing. Finally, he replied, "Hello, child. Why are you calling?"
"Don't be so rude, Leo," Anna interrupted, rushing forward and waving her husband away. "Hello, my Angel, mother missed you so much! How is my son-in-law and grandchild?"
Angeline replied, "Jiren is doing fine, mother, and this call is actually about my son. He has awakened." Angeline's voice cracked with emotion. "We didn't think that this was possible as most hybrids die before awakening. I want to let him join a school there and ask for your support to help him control his powers. Is it okay?"
Leonidas was slightly stunned when he heard that this hybrid child was still alive and had awakened without drinking blood. He leaned toward the mirror. "I need to think about…"
"Of course, my grandchild can come," Anna replied, giving Leonidas a cold gaze that gave him a noticeable shudder.
Leonidas cleared his throat, submitting instantly. "Yes. I will make preparations for the child. When will you come? Is the flea-bag Jiren still with you?" he asked, the distaste for his son-in-law evident in every syllable.
"Dad, don't call my husband a flea-bag, and we will come tomorrow," Angeline said, pouting angrily into the mirror.
"Hehehe, I am so happy that I am about to see my grandchild," Anna said, her expression warm with anticipation.
When the call ended through the mirror, Leonidas stood up from his chair. He walked slowly to the towering balcony of the castle and looked out to the distant, shadowed landscape of Paruga, deep in troubled thought. His mind was already turning over the complicated politics this unexpected child would bring.
====
When the call ended on Angeline's side, she gave a heavy sigh and went to her husband, who was laying in bed, also deep in thought. Jiren had stripped off his shirt, and the complex scars of a hundred battles crisscrossed his torso.
"Father said that he will make preparations," Angeline informed him, sitting on the edge of the mattress.
"Good," Jiren replied, his voice flat.
"Is there something that is bothering you, babe?" Angeline asked, her fingers tracing a deep scar on his shoulder.
Jiren rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. His eyes were wide and worried. "Yeah. I don't want John to grow up in that place. I wanted him to be normal, to be safe. I don't know if he is going to survive or learn quickly as the others because some of them have a significant head start. My son, one way or another, has to fight, and I am scared." He sat up, the raw fear in his eyes intense. "I don't know if this awakening is like a time bomb, and if he has little time left as we heard that hybrids die prematurely. Also, even if he grows up to be an adult, will he be strong enough, or is he going to die before me? I am a little scared, Angel, I am…"
"Shhh," Angeline whispered, pulling him into a comforting embrace. "Have faith in our son, Jiren. He has the blood of the strongest werewolf and the strongest vampire. He will be ready." She held him tightly, smelling the earthy, comforting scent of him.
====
The next day, John was wearing a baseball cap pulled low, with a large bandage covering his left eye. He had told his friends the agreed-upon lie: that he got a bad black eye from the fall he took in class. He was hanging out with Freddy and Jake near the high school bleachers, trying to build up the courage to tell them the partial truth.
The three of them sat on the worn steps, the setting sun casting long, tired shadows.
"Guys, I have something to tell you," John finally said, kicking a loose pebble.
"What's up, homie?" Jake asked, looking at John's bandage with concern.
"I am going to leave school and go to another school far away. I don't know when we are going to see each other again." The finality of the words twisted his gut.
Freddy's eyes immediately began to tear up. He grabbed John's arm. "Please, buddy, don't leave! Is this because of Duke? Just say the word, and I'll stab him in the back!" Freddy's trembling hand mimed pulling a blade.
John managed a weak smile at his friend and said, "No, don't stab him, Freddy, but I must leave. Also, my parents will come back because they still have work here; they will only leave for a couple of days." He lied about his parents to soften the blow of his own departure.
"Good, I don't know if I will be able to go through with it," Jake replied. Jake stood in front of John and gave him a powerful, final hug. "Be safe, buddy."
====
When evening came, all the Fangs—Jiren, Angeline, and John—were standing in the basement. The familiar scent of their home was now suffocating. John had removed the bandage; his black-and-red eye was now uncovered and exposed to the light.
"Are you ready, son?" Jiren asked, his voice low and serious.
John nodded his head, his hand subconsciously moving to where the bandage had been.
Afterward, Angeline opened a portal using a mysterious, small crystal orb she pulled from her pocket. The air tore open, and a whirling vortex of green and silver light appeared in the corner of the basement, roaring with unnatural energy.
John was shocked. "This can't be real," he thought, the sight of a real, actual portal finally extinguishing the last vestiges of his need for sci-fi fiction. This was better, and infinitely more dangerous.
The family of three stepped through the shimmering, roaring portal. They were instantly greeted by a beautiful woman with flowing black hair and skin as white as snow, and a handsome man with dark red hair. They were, naturally, Leonidas and Anna Crimson.
Leonidas's eyes bypassed Angeline and Jiren entirely and looked straight at John. He immediately noticed the vivid, impossible truth of the boy's face: John's left eye was burning with a crimson pupil, framed by a completely black sclera. There was no hiding it.
Leonidas looked at this child standing before him and the power simmering just beneath his skin. He thought, with cold, calculated dismissiveness: "Only one red eye, huh? Disappointing."