Nightfall in Budapest.
Rain fell in a gentle drizzle, like the whispered breath of an old city that harbored far too many secrets.
Throughout the day, Reuel had been trailing her-a nocturnal warrior who silently hunted Lycans and eliminated them without hesitation. Her movements were swift, deadly, and yet imbued with an elegance that could not be ignored. As night deepened, Reuel ascended one of the old buildings in the heart of the city, watching from above.
With the relaxed yet precise motion typical of a noble born of war, Reuel activated his personal storage system and retrieved an umbrella. Its design was striking: red and white, emblazoned with the iconic logo of the Umbrella Corporation-a shadowy entity from another universe he knew all too well.
Beneath that umbrella, he stood at the edge of the rooftop, the night wind tugging at his elegant grey coat. The white shirt beneath remained immaculate despite the falling rain. His gaze was sharp, piercing through the curtain of water that shrouded the city of Budapest.
Then, he saw her.
On the rooftop across from him stood Selene-the woman he had been observing since the afternoon. Her lithe, powerful frame was clad in a black leather coat that clung perfectly to her form. Two pistols hung at her hips, ready to be drawn at a moment's notice. Her wet, black hair added to her wild, mesmerizing aura-like a goddess of the night descended from the darkened heavens.
She was no ordinary woman.
She was a legend in this world-Selene, the Moon Goddess. And the night was her stage, where she danced with death.
Reuel's eyes did not stray. He regarded Selene with undisguised interest. There was something different about her-not just her combat ability, but the history she carried. The war between vampires and Lycans was no mere urban myth in this world-it was the root of genetic conflict, betrayal, and experiments that could tear open the gates to even greater chaos.
Selene, on the other hand, was fully aware she was being watched. Her sharp, trained eyes quickly detected the foreign presence on the rooftop across from her. Though shrouded by the rain, the man's silhouette was unmistakably fixed on her, holding an umbrella marked with the insignia of a corporation she had never seen before.
Their eyes met.
Silence.
Time seemed to halt for a brief moment between them, though the rain still fell and the city below never truly slept.
Selene studied the man-tall, well-groomed, and far too composed to be a mere stalker. His grey coat and white shirt didn't belong in the underworld where vampires and Lycans preyed upon each other. He was no ordinary human. But Selene had lived too long to be intrigued by mysterious men merely for their poise or the audacity to stand alone in the rain.
Reuel, realizing she was watching him, offered a faint smile. He raised his hand in a subtle, distant greeting-a gesture of courtesy, perhaps even a touch of playful provocation.
But Selene's reaction defied every expectation.
Without a word, without the slightest acknowledgment, she simply turned and walked away-vanishing into the darkness of the night. No return gesture. No curiosity. As if Reuel were nothing more than a passing breeze, unworthy of her attention.
Reuel stood still.
His smile faded slowly, replaced by a neutral expression. Cold. His eyes tracked Selene's retreating figure as she disappeared into the shadows of the old buildings, her steps light but lethal.
"So arrogant..." he muttered softly.
He exhaled, then looked up at the clouded sky. Beneath the Umbrella Corporation umbrella, he stood alone, gazing over a city steeped in secrets and conflict. But one thing was now clear to him:
Selene was not someone to be approached lightly...
In a low voice, Reuel murmured-half to himself, half as a warning:
"Looks like you'll need a little lesson... about '017' later."
---
Author's Note:
In the Underworld universe, the code "017" appears as an identifier or symbol tied to the ancient conflict between vampires and Lycans. While not explicitly explained in the films, many fan theories suggest that the code refers to a genetic experiment or the original subject from the pureblood vampire lineage-a dark secret carefully erased from the world's historical record.
---
Reuel closed his umbrella and stepped down from the rooftop, heading toward the entrance of the underground station.
But he had barely taken a few steps toward the station's mouth when chaos erupted.
Civilians came sprinting out in a panic, their faces twisted in terror. Screams and cries tore through the night, forming a symphony of panic that drifted with the damp air of Budapest.
Reuel glanced briefly. There was no urgency in his pace as he slipped into the station. He knew-this wasn't just some random incident.
The battle between vampires and Lycans had begun.
Inside the station, it looked like the underworld had cracked open. Lights flickered, sparks burst from severed cables, scorching the air. The scent of blood and gunpowder mingled with smoke and dust. But Reuel remained calm.
He walked through the flow of people still fleeing, like a massive stone in a rushing river. His eyes immediately found the figure he'd been seeking.
Selene.
In the midst of chaos, she moved like a living shadow. Every motion flowed like a dance of death. Her dual pistols spat bullets with deadly precision. Her short black hair whipped with her movements, and her silhouette looked almost graceful among the flames and strobing lights reflecting off puddles of water and blood.
Reuel leaned against a cracking wall, watching the scene like an art lover admiring a living painting. Nothing disturbed his composure.
Until suddenly-a roar echoed from the dark tunnel.
A large Lycan lunged out of the shadows, claws ready to rip.
But before its snout could even disturb the air around Reuel-
BOOM!
With lightning-fast reflexes, Reuel drew a bolter from beneath his coat and fired without turning.
The high-caliber round slammed straight into the Lycan's skull. The beast collapsed instantly, its huge body crashing into the wall with a heavy thud.
A silver round, nitrate-coated and laced with psionic energy.
A masterpiece of destructive technology from a far darker universe.
Reuel exhaled smoke from the barrel and smirked.
> "A foolish opening move."
The shot was loud enough for Selene to turn her head.
And the moment her eyes caught the silhouette of the man at the end of the corridor-a man in a grey suit, holding a strange bolter, surrounded by an aura she couldn't quite explain-her expression hardened.
Reuel fired again, this time at another Lycan trying to ambush from the side. The bluish-green glowing round punched through the creature's skull and dropped it instantly.
Reuel hadn't even looked directly at the target.
He knew. He always knew.
Selene narrowed her eyes.
Who the hell is this man?
But before she could think further, another roar shook the station.
Six... seven Lycans emerged from the shadows.
Angry. Wild. Starving.
They charged Reuel like a carnivorous storm, the sound of claws scraping the floor echoing like the rhythm of some primitive war drum.
Reuel just scoffed and raised his bolter.
Rat-tat-tat-tat.
A short burst-efficient and brutal.
One by one, the Lycans fell, their heads exploding in showers of blood and bone fragments. Reuel hadn't even drawn the chainsword slung quietly across his back. Giant corpses piled around him.
Horrific. Yet, from a certain perspective... beautiful.
Casually, Reuel blew a kiss toward Selene, who now stood not far away, watching from behind a concrete pillar with sharp eyes.
"For you, Moon Goddess," he said, a playful smile curling his lips.
Selene didn't respond.
Instead, she raised her pistol.
Tat-tat-tat!
Three bullets struck the floor near Reuel's feet, shattering tiles and spraying dust.
Deliberately wide.
Deliberately a warning.
Reuel didn't move. He remained still.
"My love... so cruel to shoot like that," he said flatly, his voice light, but with a teasing spark.
Selene stared at him coldly.
"Do you want to die? You have no idea who you're dealing with. A man like you shouldn't be involved. Leave... before you get killed."
Reuel chuckled softly.
"I'm not afraid of Lycans... But it looks like your friends should be. See for yourself."
Selene turned.
Her expression changed instantly.
One of the vampires from her clan-her comrade-was dead, body mangled. Another was being dragged by a massive, ash-gray Lycan. The monster smashed the poor vampire's body against the wall, then tore it apart like a toy.
Blood splattered. Screams filled the air.
And now Selene had a choice to make.
Would she continue to see Reuel as an unwanted intrusion...
Or as an unexpected ally?
"Why are you looking at me?" Reuel asked coldly. "Look... your friends are being slaughtered."
His gaze shifted to the two remaining members of Selene's team. One of them already lay lifeless, body torn and bloodied. The other was being cornered by a massive Lycan, its savage growl shaking the underground corridor.
Selene snapped out of her daze.
Her comrade screamed, "Selene! Focus! Don't zone out!!"
She quickly raised her pistols and fired at the Lycan, trying to save her ally. But it was already too late.
Blood sprayed wildly as the beast's claws tore through the vampire's body. The final scream was drowned out by the sound of snapping bones and shredded flesh. The Lycan stood tall over the corpse of its enemy-jet black, with glowing red eyes.
"Raze..." Reuel muttered, recognizing the figure easily. "Lucian's trusted general. Not surprising."
Selene fired again-angrily, with vengeance-but the Lycan had already retreated into the darkness, rejoining the pack slipping into the tunnels.
Reuel remained where he stood. He didn't move, only shifted his eyes toward a nearby concrete pillar in the corridor.
Behind it, a human figure was hiding.
Michael.
The half-vampire man was holding an injured woman, his face filled with fear, confusion, and... reluctance to accept the reality he had just witnessed. Reuel observed from a distance, but didn't approach. Not now. It wasn't time to interact with the protagonist of the Underworld story-yet.
Minutes passed. As the dust began to settle and the battle truly died down, the surviving Lycans disappeared into the dark tunnels of the station, leaving behind rubble, corpses, and the sharp stench of gunpowder.
Selene walked forward slowly, her eyes landing on Reuel for a brief moment... then shifting to Michael. She looked at him with a swirl of emotions-curiosity, anger, and caution.
Without a word, Selene turned and walked away. Her silhouette vanished into the shadows of the underground station, leaving behind only the fading sound of her footsteps.
Reuel watched until she completely disappeared, then gave a faint smile.
This wasn't the end.
He knew-so long as Michael lived, Selene would reappear.
And as long as Reuel followed Michael from the shadows, sooner or later... he and the Moon Goddess would meet again.
---
Throughout her walk out of the underground train station, Selene's mind kept racing.
Today felt different. Not just because of the battle with the Lycans, but because of two unusual things that had caught her attention: a human named Michael, and that mysterious, long-haired stranger who appeared like a shadow-uninvited, inexplicable, and for some reason... intriguing.
Since morning, the Lycans had been hunting Michael relentlessly. They tore through his apartment, chased him to the hospital, and finally attacked him at the station. All of that for an ordinary human? Impossible. There was something special about him, and Selene was determined to find out what.
But more than that, it was the other figure that truly unsettled her-the handsome man with the look of someone from the Middle East. Turkish, maybe Ottoman descent. He had appeared out of nowhere amid the chaos, greeted her casually from the rooftop of an old building, and then interfered in the fight like he belonged in this world.
And most outrageous of all... he called her his lover.
Selene clenched her jaw. Not once in her centuries of life had any man dared to treat her like that-with ease, flirtation, and an infuriating level of confidence. But she wasn't the type of woman to retreat just because someone approached her in an unconventional way.
The hunter's instinct within her stirred. That man was clearly no ordinary human. His movements were too fast, his shots too precise, and his presence... radiated a power that disturbed her vampire senses. But Selene wasn't afraid. If that man dared to flirt with her again, she would be the one to teach him how to properly address a lady.
---
Meanwhile, Reuel had already left the blood-soaked underground station.
His steps were steady as he passed through the dark corridor, emerging into the open city above. He glanced at the night sky for a moment, then raised his hand. Psionic energy began gathering in his palm, swirling until it formed a glowing fracture in the air-a warp portal, the product of his personal experiments back on Terra Aeterna.
The fracture widened, forming a vortex the size of a vehicle. Reuel waved his hand into the portal, and from its swirling depths emerged a luxury sports car: a Bugatti Veyron 16.4-sleek, polished, and completely out of place in this mortal world.
But this was no ordinary Bugatti.
The vehicle had been modified by Tech-Priests of Mars-its frame reinforced with lightweight adamantium, its engine powered by a miniaturized plasma core, and its interior equipped with multiple automated weapon systems. Even a modern tank would struggle to destroy it. This was one of the exclusive pieces from his private garage in the warp dimension, and just one of dozens of vehicles prepared for cross-universal travel.
"WUUUUUHHHH-psssht-BOOM!"
The engine let out a low hiss as Reuel opened the door and slid into the driver's seat. With a deep breath, he revved the car and shot off through the night streets, heading straight for Michael's neighborhood.
He wasn't in a rush. He knew exactly where to go.
In the distance, hidden in the shadows, a unit of Kasrkin followed silently. They made no sound, only moved in ghostly formation. The elite soldiers of the Cadian Gate were never far from the God-Emperor-and tonight... the hunt had begun.
Reuel drove his sports car into Michael's apartment complex and parked calmly, stepping out with unhurried grace. The building he approached was old but well-maintained, its age visible in the architecture but not in decay.
Without haste, he ascended the stairs to the fifth floor. In front of door 510, Reuel pulled a key from his pants pocket and unlocked it effortlessly-like the place belonged to him all along.
Inside, the apartment was quiet and unassuming-sparse, as if rarely used. Yet something immediately caught his eye: a small photograph placed on the table.
A young woman. Michael's ex-girlfriend.
Pretty, Reuel thought as he stared at the frame for a moment longer. But behind that smile lay a quiet sorrow-an old wound that never fully healed. Their relationship may have ended, but its trace lingered in the air.
He reached for a book lying nearby, dropped himself onto the sofa, and started reading calmly. The ticking clock merged with the soft rustle of turning pages. Reuel waited. Waited for the resident to return home.
Michael would probably be shocked to find a stranger lounging in his living room, reading a book like it was the most normal thing in the world.
Time passed unnoticed. Reuel remained seated, immersed page by page, until footsteps echoed outside.
The door creaked open slowly.
Selene stepped in. Her gait was firm, but her sharp eyes widened when they landed on Reuel sitting comfortably in the living room-calm, as if he'd been waiting for her for centuries.
"You? What the hell are you doing here?!" Selene snapped, her voice laced with fury and disbelief.
"Why not? Am I not allowed here?" Reuel replied with a lazy, ironic smile. "Is this your home? Or... is my beloved wife looking for her long-lost husband?"
His teasing tone rekindled the fire in Selene's chest.
"You want to die?" she growled.
In a blink, her pistol was aimed directly at Reuel's temple. Her eyes were ice-cold, lethal, unforgiving.
But Reuel stayed perfectly calm. If anything, he looked even more relaxed.
"My beloved wife, no need to be so tense. Michael will be home soon," he said lightly, his lips curling into a subtle smile.
With a smooth but controlled motion, he gently pushed the pistol aside. Before Selene could react further, he stepped in and casually wrapped an arm around her slim waist. His touch was warm, disorienting-a jarring contrast to the cold aura of the vampire.
"No need to be so fierce. I just wanted to hold my wife..." he whispered, voice teasing, almost playful.
"Leave," Selene replied coldly, brushing his hand off her body with a sharp motion.
Before the tension could explode, the apartment door opened once more.
Michael appeared-his face drawn with exhaustion, but his eyes widened instantly at the sight of two very familiar figures standing in his living room. The woman he'd seen shooting at monsters in the subway station... and the mysterious man now casually draping his arm around her waist.
Michael froze. Instinct told him to run.
Shit... he thought. This day's completely insane. First werewolves, then vampires fighting right in front of him. And now... they were standing in his apartment.
Without a second thought, Michael turned and bolted toward the door.
"If I were you, I wouldn't run... unless you want to get shot by this lovely lady," Reuel said casually, not even looking, but loud enough to halt Michael in his tracks.
Michael froze mid-step. His face went pale, his body rigid. Fear gripped him harder than instinct.
Reuel stood from the couch and walked toward him calmly. Without effort, in one swift motion, he knocked Michael to the ground. Michael let out a pained groan before falling unconscious.
"Who are you really? What do you want from him?" Selene demanded sharply, her eyes locked on Reuel's every move.
Seeing Michael go down that easily reawakened her fighting instincts. She raised her pistol again and pointed it directly at Reuel's head-this time with clear intent to pull the trigger if necessary.
But Reuel met her gaze head-on. The smile was gone. What now shone in his eyes was cold calm... and something deeper-something that couldn't be expressed with words alone.
"My name is Reuel... and I'm your husband," he said quietly, his baritone voice barely above a whisper.
Selene froze. For a moment, the world seemed to stop turning. Her eyes locked onto his, unblinking, trying to decipher the meaning behind his words.
He wasn't joking. His face was serious, no trace of mockery or deceit. And it was precisely that seriousness that made her blood boil.
"Bullshit!" she snapped. "Say one more word of that nonsense and I swear I'll blow your damn head off."
"Easy," Reuel said as he slowly raised both hands, showing he had no intention of attacking. "Sit down. I'll explain everything. I don't want any misunderstandings."
He knew: a vampire's bullet wouldn't kill him. But a fight right now would ruin everything. He needed Selene... to listen. To understand. And eventually-to believe.
Several silent seconds passed. Selene kept her aim steady. But finally, she took a deep breath and lowered her pistol. She sat in the chair across from him, still guarded, but a flicker of curiosity peeked through the frost in her eyes.
"Fine. But we talk now. What do you want from Michael?"
Reuel didn't answer right away. He looked deep into Selene's eyes, and instead posed a question of his own.
"The real question is... do you know the origin of vampires and Lycans?"
"What do you mean?" Selene asked warily.
"Vampires and Lycans... come from the same ancestor-a man named Alexander Corvinus."
Selene's body went rigid. She stood up abruptly.
"That's impossible! We hate the Lycans. There's no way we came from the same bloodline!" she shouted, her voice filled with emotion and denial.
But Reuel didn't flinch. He remained seated, his eyes calm yet piercing-the gaze of a man who had seen far more than endless war. The gaze of someone who knew truths buried for centuries.
"That's what they want you to believe..." he said softly, yet with firm weight. "So the war... never ends."