Lucifer sat with one leg crossed over the other, staring at the faint, red glow in the dark.
The tower resting floor was quiet. Too quiet.
He tilted his head back and muttered, "Gonna lose my mind here…"
His voice echoed in the silence like a whisper spoken to no one in particular.
The last two hours had been still. No new floors. No sounds. Just the distant hum of the blood-charged air and the quiet pulsing of the glass wall behind him. The Core in his chest kept ticking like a clock made of hunger. A quiet, steady reminder that he was close—but not there yet.
Close wasn't good enough.
He stood and started pacing barefoot, fingers running through his blood-matted hair.
"Alright," he whispered. "Let's break it down."
Step one: Become more than what I am.
Not evolution. Not just another stage. He needed to awaken what the first vampire left buried in his blood.
His father—Damaris—had vanished with secrets still locked in his spine. And Lucifer was tired of chasing ghosts.
