Year 1 Spring Dawn
The crimson night had passed.Morning rose slowly, turning the River of Blood into liquid gold beneath the pale sun.The mist drifted over the banks, carrying the faint scent of iron and flowers.Among the swaying Higanbana, a small child lay asleep — white-haired, pale, breathing softly as if the river itself cradled him.
From the forest path came the sound of hooves.Two riders appeared, cloaked in black and crimson.Their armor bore the sigil of House Van Helsing — a silver bat and sword beneath a red moon.
The man reined in his horse, eyes gleaming like molten ruby.The woman beside him dismounted and knelt beside the child, her voice trembling.
"Kain, look at him… he's alive."
"No mortal survives the Blood River," said Lord Kain Van Helsing, his tone sharp but cautious."Careful, Lirien. That river devours everything that breathes."
Yet the boy stirred as sunlight touched his face.His eyes opened — twin mirrors of the crimson sky.
Lady Lirien Van Helsing drew back, awestruck.
"His eyes… they're the same as yours, my lord. The same as the moon."
The child sat up slowly, blinking.
"Where am I?" he whispered.
"You are safe," said Lirien, kneeling again. "What is your name, little one?"
He paused, listening to something distant, a whisper only he could hear.
"Ketsuraku," he said.
The air stilled.Even the river seemed to listen.
Before either noble could speak, the mist thickened.The water darkened, swirling into crimson spirals as a figure stepped forth from the fog — tall, pale, and terrible in beauty.
White hair flowed like silk. Two horns curved from her temples — one blue, one red.Her eyes, one crimson and one icy white, shone with ancient patience.
Hel.
Lirien fell to her knees instantly. Kain followed, lowering his head in reverence.The river whispered in countless voices as Hel's shadow stretched across the shore.
"You stand on sacred ground," she said softly. "This child was born from the river you fear."
Kain's voice was steady, though his fangs glinted as he spoke.
"Then he is yours, my lady. Why bring him here?"
"Because he must walk among the living and the dead," said Hel. "He must learn your ways before he remembers mine."
She raised her hand, and the river behind her glowed with faint light.
"Raise him as your own, Lord Kain Van Helsing. Give him a home, a name, and a family."
Kain's eyes narrowed slightly.
"And what will you ask in return?"
The lilies bent toward her as if answering.
"A promise," said Hel. "When he comes of age, his hand shall belong to me."
Lirien looked up in shock. "His hand?"
"In union, not in chains," said Hel. "He will return to the river when his soul ripens. You may keep him until that time."
Kain stood silent for a long moment. The wind around them stopped.
"And if we refuse?"
The river stirred, waves rising like the breath of a sleeping god.
"Then the blood that gave your house immortality will dry beneath the next Blood Moon."
Lirien reached out and gripped her husband's hand. Her eyes met his, filled with both fear and compassion.
"She speaks truth, Kain. Look at him… he's not a curse. He's a gift."
Kain exhaled slowly. Then he stepped forward and placed his fist over his chest.
"Then I, Kain Van Helsing, accept your pact, Lady of the River. The boy shall bear my name until you claim him."
Hel's expression softened. She touched the child's hair.
"Then it is done."
A faint light glowed on the boy's chest where her hand rested. The runes of the river burned briefly, sealing the covenant.
Behind her, in the reflection of the water, a familiar shadow appeared — a tall man in a dark carnival coat and tilted hat.He twirled his cane, watching quietly. His red eyes gleamed beneath the brim.Ix.
He didn't speak, but his grin widened — as if the entire world were performing for his amusement.
Hel glanced toward the reflection, her voice cold.
"Do not meddle."
The reflection chuckled once, then faded into ripples.
Hel turned back to the nobles.
"Guard him well, House Van Helsing. His destiny binds us all."
The mist dispersed, her form dissolving into the river's glow.When silence returned, only the boy remained, staring quietly at the lilies that swayed in the gentle wind.
Lirien knelt beside him and wrapped him in her cloak.
"Welcome home, my son," she whispered.
Ketsuraku looked back at the water one last time.He saw only his reflection — a pale child with eyes that held both life and death.
Far away, unseen, the faint echo of carnival bells drifted through the wind.Ix's laughter lingered for just a moment — then vanished with the dawn.
Thus began the life of Ketsuraku Van Helsing,the child of the River of Blood, adopted by vampires, bound by divine promise, and watched by gods.