Down below, the vampires had all stopped their chatter, heads tilting upward as the sky shifted.
Silent crimson auroras danced across the pure blue expanse, weaving like veins of living light. Stars flickered unnaturally—some dimming to nothing, others flaring rose-pink with a pulse that felt like a distant heartbeat. The air hummed with power too vast to comprehend, a pressure that pressed against the soul, making breaths shallow and hearts stutter.
Silas felt dread coil in his gut the longer he stared, cold sweat beading on his pale skin despite the warm realm air. He turned to Raven, voice cracking slightly.
"W-what monster has been above us all this time?!"
Raven scoffed, arms folded tight, bloody eyes gleaming with unshakeable pride.
"What monster? That's my hubby up there, fool."
"Right, hehe," Summer and Katherine added in unison—shadows curling playfully around Summer's fingers like eager pets, Katherine's voice carrying a melodic laugh that danced on the edge of danger.
Silas nearly stumbled, face draining of color. "Your w-what?"
Elowen's eyes behind him sparkled with something unreadable—hunger, hatred, fascination swirling together.
'So, he is here… good~' she thought, fangs pressing into her lower lip hard enough to draw a bead of her own blood.
Not far off, Seth and Connor stood like statues, frozen in the weight of the phenomena.
"T-this can't be real, right?" Connor whispered, voice barely audible.
Seth shook his head slowly, eyes fixed on the sky. "Brother… I've told you before. That guy is a monster. At this point, you better hope the Prince can do your dirty work."
The phenomena vanished as suddenly as it began—auroras fading, stars steadying, the hum cutting off like a blade through silence.
Ash descended from the skies, wings folding neatly with a soft rustle, white hair catching the realm's light like flowing moonlight, new katana sheathed at his side in a ripple of rose-pink essence that lingered in the air like perfume.
His blood-drop eyes scanned the gathered Noctis vampires, desires flashing clear as day—raw, unfiltered.
One craved his women with jealous fire.
The other craved their deaths to claim him alone.
Ash frowned faintly, then shook his head.
'Ah, just wait a few moments longer.'
He turned to Raven and the others, voice calm amid the lingering tension.
"Everything's done. We can leave this realm now…"
He winked at Connor and Seth, amusement glinting.
"And we even have a few guests waiting for us~"
Before anyone could react, he channeled Law of Mana and Space.
Threads of mana wrapped the group—warm, invisible, absolute.
Reality folded with a soft sigh.
They vanished.
They reappeared on the other side of the gate, back on Astralis proper—four suns casting strange multi-shadows across the land, the air thick with the scent of distant roses.
"Ash, you will be coming with us!"
Five Fifth Calamity Nocturne vampires approached instantly, weapons drawn—blood-swords humming with restrained hunger, auras pressing like crimson storms that made the ground tremble faintly.
Raven stepped forward, raising her hand. "Stand down. He's—" She stopped herself, before saying too much.
Summer's shadows coiled tighter, ready to strike. "He's not your prisoner."
Katherine's voice carried a warning note, melodic but edged. "Lower your weapons."
Ash smiled lazily, wings rustling softly.
"Ladies… don't worry."
Space rippled again—gentle, inevitable.
He teleported them all—himself, the women, Seth, Connor, even Silas and Elowen—directly into the heart of the Nocturne branch domain.
They materialized in the grand hall, marble floors cold underfoot, crimson torches flickering along walls veined with living blood.
Right before the assembled elders… and Liam Nocturne.
The Second Prince sat at the head, Ninth Calamity aura already flaring like a silent blood-moon—oppressive, psychotic, beautiful.
Ash stood calm, wings half-spread, smile never fading.
The hall froze—elders' breaths catching, guards tensing, the very air thickening with impending violence.
Liam's psychotic eyes locked on him, silver hair gleaming, fangs bared in a smile that promised exquisite pain.
The moment everyone's vision cleared, the grand hall of the Nocturne branch domain felt colder, heavier—crimson torches flickering along blood-veined walls, the air thick with the scent of iron and old power.
Reactions rippled through the group like cracks in ice.
"S-second Brother?" Raven muttered, bloody eyes widening as she saw Liam seated at the head, silver hair gleaming like a blade under torchlight.
Summer's shadows coiled tighter around her fingers, worry flickering in her dark eyes—she knew the Second Prince's reputation all too well: beautiful, brilliant, and utterly psychotic.
Katherine's breath caught, blonde hair shifting as she stepped closer to Ash, the same fear tightening her chest.
Connor stood slightly behind, faint triumphant smile curling his lips as he stared at Ash's back. 'Tsk, thinking you can touch my Katherine? Fool!'
Seth's face remained unreadable, but his grip on his sword hilt whitened—calculating, wary.
Silas and Elowen froze mid-step, realizing they now stood in enemy territory. No open war between Nocturne and Noctis, but unannounced arrival was suicide. Silas's sly smile faltered; Elowen's hateful fascination sharpened.
Liam's psychotic eyes locked on Ash, silver hair gleaming, fangs bared in a smile that promised exquisite, lingering pain.
"Raven…" Liam's voice was silk over razors.
"You were tasked to retrieve the clan's stolen artifact. Yet you're… what? Falling in love with this weakling?"
Beads of sweat trickled down Raven's forehead, fists clenching at her sides. She opened her mouth to speak—
Ash's voice cut through, calm and lazy as he stepped forward.
He walked slowly toward the obsidian table, gaze sweeping each elder: Alucard's sovereign calm, Isolde's icy disdain, Ester's quiet watchfulness, Damon's brute intensity, Kaelthyr's narrowed eyes.
He smiled.
"Oh, my dear master," Ash said lightly, stopping a few paces from the table. "Tell me… where do you stand?"
Kaelthyr's eyes narrowed sharply. He wasn't an idiot—he knew exactly what Ash implied. Initially, he'd planned to use his name to shield the brat. But in the short time he'd known Ash, one truth burned clear:
'This brat… he's going to cause a scene!'
[Host, don't be foolish. He's your ultimate treasure trove… going against him violates system rules.]
Liam's gaze snapped to Kaelthyr, smile widening. "Master?" he asked, then scoffed. "The legendary Kaelthyr finally decided to take a disciple, huh?"
Kaelthyr opened his mouth—
Ash's voice sliced through again, dripping sarcasm. "Haha, just joking, master. I wouldn't make you go against your blood like that!"
The sarcasm was so thick Kaelthyr nearly spat blood.
Ash activated Conceptual Sight and Inspect, gaze boring deep into Kaelthyr's soul.
[System's Core – A crystalline orb of divine origin, etched with infinite runes of causality and rebate. The heart of a Transcendent-grade system, capable of binding destinies, amplifying growth through disciple achievements, and enforcing unbreakable rules across cycles.]
'I'll take this for myself…' Ash thought.
The core shuddered inside Kaelthyr as if stared at by something hungry.
A seed formed silently in Ash's inner cosmos—perfect copy.
Ash turned to Liam, appraising him fully.
[Liam Nocturne
Age - 1,960 Years Old
Race - Prime Vampire (Nocturne's Crimson Eclipse Bloodline (Mythic))
Rank - Ninth Calamity
Law(s) - Blood 100 %, Shadow 100 %, Eclipse 100 %, Soul 90 %, Madness 85 %, Void 80 %
Calamity Law(s) - View?
Remarks - Second Prince of the main Nocturne Clan. Known as the "Eclipse Prince" for his talent in devouring light and hope. Wields dual blood-shadow scythes that drink souls.
Obsessively possessive; once annihilated a rival branch clan for looking at his then betrothed. Smiles even while torturing. Rumored to have bathed in the blood of a fallen Stellar Sovereign.
Aspect – Mutated Crimson Eclipse Core (allows him to eclipse enemy Laws temporarily, turning their power into fuel for his own)]
"I heard you were looking for me?" Ash asked, voice light, smile never fading.
Liam's psychotic eyes narrowed, aura flaring brighter.
The real storm was no longer coming.
It was here.