Chapter 13: The Blood Horizon
The sky bled red.
A storm of ashes rained upon the ruined city of Eclipsera, once a beacon of human civilization — now a battlefield where nightmares reigned. Skyscrapers leaned like broken bones, streets drowned in blood and fire, and the air pulsed with the whispers of the Blood Moon.
The apocalypse was no longer a legend.
It was here — burning, roaring, alive.
Riven stood atop a shattered tower, his crimson eyes reflecting the chaos below. The Vampire King—born from blood, tempered by war—watched his own kind devour the remains of humanity. His coat fluttered in the crimson wind, tattered from battle yet burning with royal aura.
Across the blazing skyline, Kael—the Zombie King—emerged through the smoke. His silver eyes glowed faintly, the mark of rot swirling beneath his skin like molten shadow. He was neither dead nor alive, yet more powerful than either. Each step he took cracked the concrete beneath him.
Between them, the battlefield screamed.
Humans, armed with steel and courage, fought to survive.
And leading them… was Commander Ren Arclight, the last military genius of Eclipsera. With a scar running across his cheek and eyes sharp as blades, Ren directed the chaos through his headset.
"Team Sigma, hold the west gate! Delta, fallback—don't waste ammo on elites! We use the Bloodflare Protocol in thirty seconds!"
Bullets tore through the night. Explosions painted the sky.
Yet for every vampire they burned, for every zombie they crushed—ten more rose.
Ren clenched his fist. "We're losing ground… but not our purpose."
Suddenly, a loud tremor split the streets.
A massive wave of red energy—the Blood Moon Pulse—rushed through the battlefield, distorting the air. Humans dropped their weapons, screaming as the ground cracked open. Shadows crawled like veins across the earth.
Riven's eyes widened.
Kael roared.
Both kings felt it—the pull of something ancient. Their powers surged violently, forcing them to their knees. The Blood Moon wasn't just glowing anymore—it was awakening.
Riven drew his sword, forged from pure blood essence. "Kael… the eclipse calls us again."
Kael's voice rumbled, deep and broken. "Then answer it, Vampire King. Or it'll devour us all."
In that instant, an army of mutated creatures—half zombie, half vampire—burst out of the fissures. Their bodies twisted, their screams piercing through steel and flesh. These were no longer servants of any side. They were chaos incarnate.
Ren shouted, "All units, fall back behind the trench line! I'll draw them to the Bloodflare zone!"
He slammed a device into the ground. A circle of blue light ignited, forming a magnetic field. As the hybrids entered, their bodies exploded into dust and fire.
But Ren wasn't safe—he was surrounded.
Just as a clawed hybrid lunged toward him, a blur of crimson light sliced through the air. Riven appeared, his sword dripping with burning blood. "You fight well for a human," he said coldly.
Ren smirked. "And you bleed beautifully for a king."
Before Riven could respond, Kael crashed into the scene, breaking a hybrid in half with his bare hands. His voice was rough. "Enough flirting. The Pulse isn't done."
Above them, the Blood Moon cracked like glass.
Another shockwave erupted—this time turning thousands into dust, while others mutated even further.
Riven and Kael exchanged a look — brothers by fate, rivals by blood.
Then, without another word, they charged forward together.
Vampire speed. Zombie fury.
Steel against flesh. Fire against shadow.
The entire horizon became a dance of destruction — Kael tearing apart hordes with shadow fists, Riven cutting through the air with crimson slashes that split buildings in half.
Ren, standing amid the chaos, guided what was left of his army. "Unit Omega, deploy drones! Focus fire on the hybrids near the Kings — give them an opening!"
The drones screamed through the air, raining silver bullets and ultraviolet bombs. The city lit up like a thousand suns.
And then — silence.
The smoke cleared just enough to reveal Riven and Kael standing back-to-back, breathing heavily. Thousands of corpses lay around them, but the Blood Moon still glowed above—hungering.
Kael's voice broke the silence. "Every time we fight… we lose a piece of who we were."
Riven looked up, his eyes flickering between red and black. "Maybe that's the price of power. Maybe that's the curse of being chosen."
Ren stared at them, realization dawning in his mind. The Kings were not saviors. They were the storm.
Then — a new crack split the sky.
A massive shadow descended from the Blood Moon itself. Wings of flame. Eyes of void.
The first creature of the Eclipse Realm had crossed into their world.
Riven raised his sword.
Kael bared his teeth.
Ren loaded his gun.
The Blood Horizon had only just begun.
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