In the underground Subterra facility, inside the cell where Shin lay dead, Rick Falkner approached the body. He removed his top hat, pressed it to his chest, and bowed.
"I am sorry," he whispered, a hint of sadness in his voice. Moments later, a few female elves in black cloaks entered the cell. They froze, taken aback at the sight of Shin's lifeless body. These were the same elves who had attacked the bar on that day, when Miyu saw Shin for the last time.
Miyu, still crying on her knees, crawled forward with shaking hands, trying to embrace Shin's corpse. But the elves quickly stopped her, holding her back.
"Let me go!" she cried.
Rick gave them a silent gesture. The elves obeyed, forcefully taking Miyu away. Once they were gone, silence filled the cell. The gloom settled again, quiet as a graveyard. A single tear ran down Rick's cheek, but he didn't make a sound. He wiped it away, then sat down against the wall opposite Shin, leaning back just like the time they were held captive as children. Except now, Shin was no longer talking.
"You know, I have been searching for you all this time. It has been 15 years since I last saw you on that day. Your sister was even more desperate than me. She didn't rest for even a single day; she kept searching and fighting against those noble vampires for 15 years only to find you. I often saw her crying alone near the seashore. Silent tears fell as the sea bears witness; so did I."
Ricky closed his eyes as he recalled those memories.
"Oh… I almost forgot to tell you," Ricky said quietly. "Your sister… she can use her Vampire powers now. I was shocked when I found out you two were half-Vampires. And guess what? Miyu's really strong. Strong enough to stand toe-to-toe with Valentina—one of the founding vampires of Gehenis."
He gave a faint smile, as if remembering something.
"That day we got separated from you… we were taken aboard a massive pirate ship. But just as it was about to depart, the Veilkeeper ambushed the vampires and saved us. We've been with them ever since."
Ricky paused, then continued with a bit of pride in his voice.
"Four years later, Miyu awakened her powers. She joined the Veilkeeper's elite squads. With her help, they were able to conquer two sectors. It was the first time the Veilkeepers had ever taken control of any territory."
He sighed, and his tone shifted to something softer now, a little bitter.
"I, on the other hand, was useless. I tried to get injected with the King's Embryo... multiple times. But it failed every single time. They said I was defective. Powerless. Just an ordinary human."
He looked down for a moment, then back at Shin's lifeless form.
"Even after everything we did, we still couldn't find you. Miyu and I tried so hard to remember this place, the Subterra Facility. But no matter how hard we tried, we couldn't recall its location. It was like our memories had been sealed away. The illusion was too strong. It kept this place hidden, even though it was right under our noses. The entrance was cloaked, too. Not even the Veilkeepers' elite commanders or the elves with their gifted vision could see through it."
He let out a dry, ironic chuckle.
"How could we? It was the work of the 'King of Deception' after all. Putting that aside…I heard you're the King. The one this world has been waiting for. That's why the Veilkeepers were so desperate to find you."
He looked at Shin with conflicted eyes.
"I don't know much about this 'King' stuff. Honestly, I always thought I'd just ask you about it when I finally found you. But... I guess I'm too late."
Ricky sighed again and slowly rose to his feet. He dusted off his coat, then glanced at the cell door.
"I'll take my leave now. The elves will come to retrieve your body. I'll go prepare for a proper burial."
But just as he turned to leave, something strange stirred behind him. A cold and haunting gaze.
Ricky froze. His instincts flared, and he slowly turned around. There, on the far wall, was an enormous green eye, cat-like and glowing, the size of Ricky's head. It wasn't a painting. It was alive. And it was staring directly at Shin's corpse.
Before Ricky could react, more eyes began to appear. One by one, they blinked into existence on the walls, the ceiling, even the floor. Some narrow and slitted, others wide and round. All of them were different.
All of them were watching Shin.
Ricky stood still, his breath shallow, surrounded by eyes that shouldn't exist, eyes that seemed to peer through more than just flesh. Ricky reached into his coat and drew a gun from the underarm holster. He moved cautiously, his instincts on edge, though something told him the eyes weren't hostile.
Then, a strange, dark green energy began to seep from Shin's corpse. It started faint, like mist, but quickly thickened into a dense, swirling mass. Within it, tiny dark stars shimmered, glowing dimly. Suddenly, all the eyes on the walls shifted their gaze, fixating on Ricky. Their glare felt like it pierced through his soul.
A drop of cold sweat ran down the side of his neck.
Not even the founding vampires of Gehenis had shown power like this.
The energy from Shin's body began to coalesce, forming into something fluid and alive. It detached itself and slithered toward Ricky like a sentient slime. Startled, Ricky raised his gun and fired.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Each shot echoed sharply, but the bullets had no effect. The slime kept advancing. Then, without warning, it sprang up and forced itself into Ricky's mouth. He gagged, trying to spit it out, trying to vomit, but the thing wormed down his throat and forced him to swallow it.
Gulp!
He gasped for air, his hands trembling. A sticky trail remained in his mouth, leaving a sickening taste that nearly made him vomit. Breathing hard, Ricky steadied himself. But dizziness hit him like a wave. His heartbeat pounded out of control, and his eyes burned like someone had poured scalding water into them.
"Urgh!"
He staggered, clutching his head.
Did that thing poison me? Was this a trap?I should've been more careful, he thought. But something had already begun to change inside him. The burning sensation faded slowly, and Ricky forced his eyes open, trying to make sense of the situation. The cell had transformed. A thick gray fog now blanketed the area, obscuring his vision. The eyes that once watched him from the ceiling had vanished.
He shifted his gaze to Shin's body, and his breath caught in his throat. Shin was no longer a skeletal husk. Flesh and blood had returned to his form, and the faint rise and fall of his chest signaled that he was alive and breathing.
"Shin! Are you alive?" Ricky called out, the joy momentarily overtaking him. He reached out instinctively, his hand trembling with hope. But when his fingers touched Shin's body, they passed right through him. It was as if Shin's form was nothing more than a hologram.
Ricky tried again, desperation creeping into his movements, but no matter what he did, he couldn't make contact. Shin remained unresponsive, untouched by his attempts. Anger flared in Ricky's chest. He clenched his fists, grinding his teeth. His mind raced with confusion. Is this an illusion? He wondered. Is Theo behind this?But this feels unusual. An illusion isn't so easily detected. If this is Theo's illusion, I could have touched Shin. Now that I think about it, Shin looks like the young kid he was back then. Is this the past? Perhaps this is a memory, but who left it here? Or did I gain these memories from that slimy thing?
Ricky's thoughts spiraled as he tried to make sense of what was happening. The questions flooded his mind, but no answers came. Suddenly, from the wall that Shin was leaning on, right above his head, a pair of hands came out.
They were delicate, glowing with a soft, feminine light, and they wrapped around Shin's body from behind, pulling him gently. Then, a head appeared, followed by her shoulders and chest, as if she were stepping out from the wall itself.
Ricky stood frozen, unable to speak, his eyes wide with disbelief at the impossible sight before him. But just when he thought the scene couldn't get any more surreal, it did. With a sudden, sharp flapping sound, a pair of black wings burst from the girl's back, unfurling like the wings of an angel. She wrapped her wings around Shin, creating a protective shadow over his form.
The girl was ethereally beautiful, with short, blonde hair, dressed in a gothic-style outfit that hinted at elegance. But Ricky couldn't see her face clearly. It was obscured by a black, half-transparent wimple, shrouding her identity in mystery.
The girl lowered her head, resting it gently atop Shin's, almost maternally, before her delicate fingers caressed his face, as if comforting him.
"I finally found you," she whispered, her voice calm and soothing. She examined him carefully, her lips curling slightly into a small, knowing smile.
"Are you hurt? Are you in pain?" she murmured, the concern in her voice almost maternal in nature.
"Don't worry. From today onwards, you are Free… Master."
With a sudden motion, the girl flapped her wings again, and some of the black feathers broke free from her wings, swirling gracefully around them. The feathers drifted through the air, falling slowly in a mesmerizing, almost hypnotic dance. But before Ricky could process any further, the gray fog in the room thickened once more, swirling around rapidly, until it completely enveloped him. The thick mist pressed in on him from all sides.
The scene around Ricky shifted abruptly, and he found himself standing amidst a fierce snow blizzard, surrounded by the barren, icy expanse of an Antarctic coastline. His feet sank deep into the snow, but oddly, he felt no cold. The blizzard, fierce as it was, didn't carry any chill. No biting wind or freezing temperatures.
Where the hell am I? Is this another memory? Ricky thought, his mind struggling to comprehend what was happening. He squinted through the swirling snow and noticed a group of people gathered near the coastline. Curiosity drew him towards them, and as he approached, he could sense their astonishment. But nothing could have prepared him for what he saw next.
Wow! Ricky's jaw dropped in sheer disbelief.
The people were staring, wide-eyed, at a colossal iceberg floating just off the coast. But this was no ordinary iceberg. It was massive, easily the size of Mount Fuji. And inside the ice, frozen in time, was the body of a dragon.
The dragon's size was equally monumental, its body easily as large as the iceberg itself. Its form was perfectly preserved in the ice, frozen in death but so lifelike it seemed as though it might snap back to life at any moment.
The dragon was white, its scales shimmering with faint blue lines that glowed softly against the ice. It was truly majestic, its long tail coiled beneath it and its wings tucked against its body. The creature was regal in its frozen state, a sight so magnificent it took Ricky's breath away.
For a moment, everything around him seemed to fade as he gazed at the frozen titan. The mystery of this place, the dragon, and the strange memory he was experiencing weighed heavily on his mind. The scene shifted again, and Ricky found himself standing in an open snow-covered field. The landscape was eerily quiet, save for the sound of crunching snow beneath the boots of the armed guards patrolling the area. The dragon's enormous, frozen body lay in the center of the field, surrounded by a perimeter of soldiers.
Ricky's gaze fixed on the dragon's body once more, but now, the situation felt more clinical and unsettling. A group of scientists, wearing masks and protective suits, were carefully studying the dragon's remains. They moved with precision, each one taking great care as they extracted a few scales, some flesh, and even a sample of dragon blood. Every action was methodical, almost as if they were treating the creature's body like a specimen in a laboratory.
As they worked, they occasionally took notes, their pens scratching against paper, but the most remarkable thing was the dragon's eyes. The left eye, though immense and captivating, was a typical cat-like green, exuding an almost hypnotic intensity. But the right eye was a strange and terrifying sight. Instead of the natural pupil, it bore a large clock-like symbol that hovered over the eye, with the clock's hands moving backward—counting down in reverse.
Ricky's breath hitched. What is this? He thought, eyes widening at the bizarre phenomenon.
The scientists, too, seemed both fascinated and disturbed by it, especially when a middle-aged man stepped forward. He was different from the others. His presence commanded attention. The man wore a white lab coat that reached his thighs, and a badge on his left breast pocket read: "Dr. Elias Hawke, Paleoarchaeologist."
Another female scientist spoke up as she was writing down something on a clipboard in her hand.
"The Algor Mortis test results are still pending, but based on our preliminary findings, we estimate that this creature died approximately one million years ago, likely around the time the Quaternary glaciation era began, when most of the Earth was entering its freezing phase."
Dr. Hawke turned around and smiled, a mixture of awe and disbelief on his face. "What a fascinating creature... This is going to revolutionize not just science, but our very understanding of reality. It defies everything we know—biology, evolution, even history itself. If this thing is real, then every assumption we've made about the natural world is up for debate," he said.
As the scientists continued their hushed conversation, Ricky's gaze locked onto something even more astonishing. A single droplet of green liquid formed at the corner of the dragon's strange right eye. The liquid slowly began to roll down the dragon's scaled face, like a tear escaping from the eye of a long-dead beast.
The scientists, clearly aware of its significance, scrambled to collect the liquid in small vials, their hands moving with urgent precision. Ricky watched as the liquid glistened in the cold air, its color almost unnatural in its vibrancy.
But then, Ricky felt a strange sense of recognition. His heart skipped a beat as the realization hit him.
The King's Embryo! Isthis where it came from? Is the King's Embryo, which is said to bring the king into this world, a dragon's tear?
Ricky's excitement surged. This was monumental! He had stumbled upon something huge, something beyond his wildest expectations. This could change everything. But before he could fully process the magnitude of what he had discovered, the room around him began to shift once again.
The grey fog that had once enveloped him swirled up and around him, blocking out everything. The sensation of the fog was suffocating, pressing in on him from all sides, as the world dissolved into a vortex of grey mist. His surroundings vanished, and the scene before him shifted once more, taking him somewhere new.
Ricky was now standing in a giant lab room. The lab around him was vast, filled with the hum of machines and the soft shuffle of footsteps. Scientists in white coats and masks moved about, absorbed in their work. But it was the center of the room that caught his attention. An enormous vertical glass tube containing the same green liquid he'd seen before. Within it floated a massive, cat-like eye, its shape familiar yet unsettling. The green clock symbol on the eye's surface ticked down in reverse.
The dragon's right eye...
Ricky immediately recognised it.
Then, his attention shifted as he saw Dr. Elias Hawke standing in front of the tube. He looked different now, older, wearier. Some of his once-dark hair had turned white, and an unshaven beard now framed his face. He was staring at the floating eye, lost in thought.
Beside him was a Kid. He was rubbing his face against the glass of the tube, staring at the strange phenomenon inside. Dr. Hawke bent down to the child, his voice gentle as he spoke, "Listen to Dad, okay? You need to go home. Mommy is waiting for you."
The child looked up at him, confusion in his innocent eyes. "But I thought we would go home together."
Dr. Hawke's face softened, and he placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, his voice tight with emotion. "Don't worry, I'll come back soon. I have some stuff to do. When you go home, be a good boy and take care of your mom, okay?"
The boy nodded, not fully understanding, but trusting his father's words. "Okay."
Dr. Hawke kissed his son on the forehead, his eyes flickering with sadness as he gave him a tight hug. The scientist seemed to fight back tears, but he managed to hold them in as he watched his son being taken away by another scientist.
After seeing his son leave, Dr. Hawke turned around and addressed the room with a noticeable shift in his voice, "Everyone, listen, I think it's time. We've wasted enough resources and money. The government is pressing us. We have to make a decision: either we destroy the dragon's body along with all our research, or we proceed to the next step."
The room fell into a tense silence. The scientists, who had been busy with their tasks, stopped and looked at Dr. Hawke. Anxiety was written on their faces as they processed his words.
A female scientist, who looked to be in her thirties with glasses, spoke up. "Are you saying we should start testing the DE-23 on humans? Have you gone insane? We haven't even been able to determine the full scope of strange effects it has on the human body. Because of that, we neither have the government's permission nor do we have anyone who will volunteer to have DE-23 injected into their body."
She held a cigarette in her hand, taking a drag and releasing the smoke gently into the air before continuing. "Or are you suggesting we should find human subjects through illegal means?"
Dr. Hawke stood resolute, his expression unwavering. "No, we won't do anything like that. I…" His voice faltered for a brief second, but then he gathered his resolve. "I will volunteer."