The moon hung high over the Velcroft estate, its silver glow slipping through crimson-curtained windows. Most of the noble guests had left, their wine-slick tongues still whispering about the mysterious man who dared to challenge Lord Ceylan.
Inside Seraphina's study, the air buzzed with a different tension.
Velas stood shirtless, his skin faintly glowing from the energy drawn through their earlier contact. Seraphina poured herself a glass of blood-hued wine, her gown slightly disheveled but her gaze sharp.
"You weren't supposed to provoke Ceylan that hard," she said.
"You wanted to make an impression," Velas replied, stretching his arms behind his head. "I just made sure it stuck."
She gave a slow, amused sigh and approached him. "You're dangerous, Velas. Not because you're reckless—but because you know exactly how much risk you can get away with."
"Should I apologize?"
"No. Just don't get cocky."
---
[Seraphina Affinity: 58% → 60%]
[Insight Gained: "She fears losing control more than she fears danger."]
---
Velas's gaze drifted to the relic case on the table. The divine fragment rested there, runes faintly pulsing.
"You still haven't told me what that thing really is," he said.
"Because I don't know," Seraphina replied, sipping her wine. "And that's what makes it valuable."
Velas approached the case slowly, sensing its hum, its quiet breath like a sleeping beast.
"I want to touch it."
Seraphina raised an eyebrow. "Are you suicidal?"
"No. Curious."
"I'll allow it—on one condition." She turned to him, eyes glittering. "If something happens, and you start changing in ways I don't like… I'll kill you before it finishes."
He met her gaze without fear. "Deal."
She released the ward with a motion of her fingers. Velas lifted the lid.
The moment his fingertips brushed the surface of the fragment, the system pulsed.
---
[Divine Relic Contact Initiated]
Language Matrix Syncing…
Dormant Code Analyzing…
Compatibility Detected: 71%
Partial Bond Formed – Unknown Fragment 1/6 Acquired
New Trait Unlocked: Whisperbrand (Passive) – You may now decipher divine remnants and communicate with fragments of forbidden knowledge.]
---
A whisper rippled through his mind, not in words, but meaning.
"Lost… yet longing. Half a name. Half a throne."
Velas gasped and pulled back, vision flickering. His hands trembled slightly.
Seraphina's expression sharpened. "What did it do to you?"
He looked up. "It… spoke. Not in words. In feeling. It knows me."
Seraphina walked toward him, slowly, almost reverently. She reached out and touched his chest—right over his heart.
"You're tied to it now."
"I think I already was."
---
The relic was sealed again. The bond, though faint, pulsed like a second heartbeat in Velas's chest. The legacy whispered quietly, promising more.
But Seraphina wasn't the only one watching.
---
Meanwhile, in a quiet villa across the upper district of the capital, Lord Ceylan stood before a mirrored window, hands clasped behind his back. A servant knelt beside him, blood dripping from her lip, eyes glassy and dazed.
He hadn't fed on her.
He had drained her.
"That man," Ceylan muttered. "He's not hers. He's something older. Something dangerous."
From the shadows, a figure stepped forward—slim, cloaked, masked.
"The council will want to know," the figure said.
"Tell them nothing yet," Ceylan replied. "He's new. If we act too early, we'll drive him deeper into her arms."
He turned away from the window.
"We'll bleed him slowly. And if he's what I suspect… we'll turn him."
---
Back at the estate, Velas lay on Seraphina's silk-draped bed. The air was warm, perfumed, rich with the aftertaste of power.
She sat beside him, brushing her fingers through his hair. Her gestures were oddly tender tonight.
"You're not just another pretty weapon," she said quietly. "You're becoming something… else."
"I was always something else," Velas murmured. "You're just catching up."
She smiled at that—genuine, for once.
"Then I should warn you," she said, gaze turning serious. "If you start rising too fast, they'll come for you. Not just Ceylan. The real powers in the capital. The masked ones. The old ones."
"Let them," Velas said. "I've only just begun."
---
[Quest Unlocked: Seraphina's Circle – Survive three noble threats and earn her full trust]
Progress: 0/3
Reward: Unique Skill + Full Access to House Velcroft Archives]
[Personal Evolution Milestone: 23/100 Lust Energy → Tier 2 Awakening Approaching]
---
As the night deepened, Seraphina curled beside him—not as a puppetmaster, but as a woman who, for once, didn't feel in control. Velas didn't sleep. He stared into the dark ceiling, li
stening to the whisper in his blood.
The fragment wanted something.
And somewhere in this city, the other five were waiting.