Marcus Corvinus retained only fragmented echoes of his former life.
A faint glimpses of growing up alongside his twin brother William, the days they first began learning magic, and above all else, an unshakable, burning sense of belonging and absolute loyalty toward the one who remade him.
His Creator.
Leylin Farlier.
[Receiving Orders — Priority: Highest]
[Destination: Extreme Night City Base]
He pulled back slowly, fangs withdrawing from the victim's neck.
Even at the cusp of death, the man still radiated the spiritual force of a Rank 3 Acolyte.
Someone he would have steered clear for miles to avoid provoking before his transformation.
Marcus let the almost lifeless body drop onto the cold hard ground.
He knew well what would follow, an undead curse from his infectious bite carries an engineered magic-virus strain that will spread through every drop of his victim's blood.
Even though the man would gradually reawaken, his mind will be stripped of freedom, bound as a loyal thrall to serve the greater cause of his Maker.
He swept his gaze over his growing retinue. In barely two months, his 'family' had expanded steadily.
Eight Rank 3 acolytes nearing breakthrough, and twenty solid Rank 2 acolytes, all born from the same gift he carried.
I wonder how William is doing… he thought briefly, before pushing the thought aside. We'll meet soon enough.
Great bat‑like wings unfurled from his back, membranes stretching wide, and he lifted silently into the moonless night, soaring straight toward Extreme Night City.
He slipped past all outer wards and landed directly within the castle grounds where an elderly Rank 3 Acolyte named Murphy awaited, his hair is grey and thinning yet the spiritual force radiating from him remained dense, steady, and formidable.
Marcus could feel danger emanating from the man, a sign that this fragile looking old man might pose a serious challenge in a direct confrontation.
"You certainly took your sweet time," Murphy grumbled with obvious displeasure, his eyes gleamed sharply before he turned and gestured for Marcus to follow.
They entered the building and stepped into a spacious elevator that descended far deeper than any ordinary level.
When the doors slid open again, Marcus found himself in a vast underground facility blazing with uniform, brilliant white illumination.
Far too bright, harsh and unnatural for his nocturnal senses, but he suppressed discomfort and followed faithfully.
Then he froze.
"William!?"
Walking toward them, was his brother. But he was changed beyond recognition. He is escorted by a composed, sharp‑faced nobleman in polished silver‑trimmed robes, bearing the calm, commanding air of a high‑ranking official.
William became huge, he stood over three meters tall, his build alone radiated intimidating power. What's more is that his entire frame is encased in a form‑fitting shadow-steel armor.
Every heavy footfall made the reinforced stone floor vibrate under a weight that far exceeded what William's size should allow.
A sharp, primal warning churned in Marcus's gut, his instinct screaming that this towering figure held enough power to crush him effortlessly.
"Marcus…" William spoke softly, barely a whisper, yet every word carried clearly to all present. "We will speak… once you finish what you came here to do."
"He has just undergone the full upgrade sequence, personally designed and calibrated by the Master himself, I'd say he's unlike anything this world has ever seen..." Murphy spoke, continuing forward without slowing his pace. "Yours will be just as effective. You have every reason to look forward to it... I do... I used to think that vampires and werewolves could not reach the third rank of being an apprentice, well, technically, you're not really anything that can be categorized as such..."
Marcus steadied himself and nodded in understanding. He trusted 'the Maker's' wisdom completely.
The kept pace and soon entered a sealed, high‑tech chamber where technicians and support staff stood ready.
A graceful, uniform‑clad female assistant gestured toward the center where an upright, smooth‑lined enclosure shaped like a circular sarcophagus made from some kind of translucent reinforced alloy.
"Please step inside the pod," she invited gently with a practiced smile.
Marcus stepped in.
'Oh well… accomplish the task first,' he mused with a hint of private resignation. Personally, he'd rather not turn into a three‑meter giant like William… but if that's what the Maker requires, so be it. 'It's just my own preference for how I look. Nothing more. Transfiguration will always be here to help me out anyway.'
The heavy door slid shut and locked with a soft, solid thud, sealing him in.
[Process Initiating — Bio‑Mechanical Integration]
Smooth mechanical arms extended from the inner walls.
Flexible translucent tubes locked into place against his chest and sides to deliver stabilized nutrient and enhancement fluids.
Breathing apparatus gently fitted over nose and mouth, regulating a special oxygen‑rich mixture.
Precision restraint clamps secured his limbs firmly to hold him perfectly still through the strain ahead.
Ultra‑fine injection probes aligned precisely along his spine and nerve clusters, ready to deliver concentrated evolutionary serums and nanite swarms directly into critical pathways.
Rows of calibrated focused‑energy emitters lit up in a measured glow, scanning, warming, and preparing his cells to accept change without rejection or rupture.
[Filling Chamber with Bio‑Nutrition & Catalyst Solution…]
Clear, cool liquid began rising rapidly around him, submerging his legs, torso, and shoulders, insulating pressure and stabilizing temperature.
As the fluid rose over his head and covered his eyes, the world faded into comforting darkness, and his consciousness slipped away completely.
After an unknown amount of time Marcus slowly regained awareness, every nerve in his body is humming with fresh, vigorous vitality.
An overwhelming urge to stretch coursed through his subconscious like an itch.
CRACK.
A spiderweb of fractures spread across the translucent, shell‑like membrane surrounding him as his limbs broke through some kind of restraint.
He stretched, and with one easy expansion of his frame, it shattered completely.
Broken fragments and thick, clear nutrient gel spilled down onto the grated floor, draining away instantly.
He picked up a shard of whatever the broken material was that clung to his bare body.
It was smooth, hard, yet organic in texture, just like a hardened eggshell.
'I just hatched from an egg?...' his head flooded with questions without answers.
Out of nowhere, a large, polished mirror materialized floating in the air before him, revealing his new form in full detail.
He was still humanoid, but terrifyingly evolved. Two meters tall, lean, rippling with explosive, corded muscle beneath skin of deep midnight‑grey, armored in jagged, rhomboid chitin‑like scales along his shoulders, spine and limbs.
Four powerful, leathery wings rose from his back, instinctively he knew that the lower pair is broad and sturdy for sustained glide, and the upper pair is sharper, angular, built for blistering speed and sudden sharp dives.
His face was half‑masked by natural bone‑growth that can close and open in a nightmarish toothed maw.
His eyes are glowing with a piercing, shifting violet glow, and retractable curved blades peeked in and out of his forearms at will, dripping faintly with shimmering, iridescent venom.
'At least I'm not three meters tall like William, but why do I have a tail!?' he thought with a bit of sarcasm, relief and wonder.
'Not that it matters...'
With a ripple of will, his form fluidly shifted, smoothing and reshaping until he stood as a striking, two‑meter‑tall man of lean, athletic build, with short dark hair and piercing eyes that held a beautiful gradient of deep blue.
"That was quite the view. Your vampire physique has been reinforced and integrated with cutting‑edge magi‑tech alloys and bio‑conductive weave that was based on simulated adult Mankestre snake sinew," Murphy's voice echoed as he seemingly stepped out from a faint shadow.
"Especially your venom glands, they've been upgraded based on breakthrough research into magical beasts and natural rune resonance. Your evolution was far more complex than the others; it required full biological metamorphosis to rewrite your foundation properly… That being said. Welcome back to the world of the living Mr. Corvinus."
Strange, technical terms floated past his ear, patterns, resonance, integration, whatchamacallit… but Marcus grasped the core truth clearly.
He can feel the difference, he was no longer bound by the cold, stagnant curse of undeath.
He had become something new, stronger... Something alive.
Fierce devotion flared in his chest. "All for the glory of the Maker! May this form serve his will perfectly!"
Murphy nodded and gestured as a reinforced platform slowly rose from the floor, holding a complete set of sleek, dark gear etched with faint runes that seemed to swallow light.
"These are standard issue for your new rank: Death Dealer Corps elite," Murphy continued, a sharp hint of disdain in his tone.
"Congratulations on your promotion. Try to achieve something meaningful now, more than just chasing down weak apprentices like before."
'Bitter old man…' Marcus kept his expression calm. He knew Murphy was no different from himself, just another vital piece placed on the Maker's board.
There's hardly any need for petty quarrels.
"Take me to my brother," he said simply.
"Tsk… such a bore," Murphy muttered under his breath. He had discovered a small, strange pleasure lately.
He enjoyed poking at others, provoking reactions, seeing tempers flare, it felt strangely natural, as easy as breathing.
He flicked his long coat with a flourish and walked briskly ahead.
'I guess that's my cue then… what a weird old man,' Marcus followed silently, his heart steady and purpose clear.
"How was it?" William asked quietly, gaze resting on the sun blazing low along the horizon, spilling golden light across the landscape.
Basking in its warmth like this was a joy true undead could never truly enjoy.
Though the undead wouldn't really crumble to ash as the common tavern bard claimed, the radiance of pure, life‑giving energy clashed painfully against their former nature, slowing them and gnawing at their strength.
Now, for the first time in a long while, the light felt gentle, bearable and even pleasant.
"I'd say I'm perfect," Marcus replied, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
"Never imagined I'd rise to the standing of an Official Magus in this lifetime… yet here we are... Life really does know how to surprise you." He nearly laughed thinking back on the humble beginnings and fates they once faced before Leylin found and remade them.
After a short pause, he turned serious. "So… you took care of Alexander?"
William gave a short, grim nod. "It was ordered by the Maker. He held vital information on the founding families of Abyssal Bone Forest Academy so it was really necessary." Brief, precise, and final, William has always been a man of few words. A trait that Marcus knew and expected.
Beneath their outward forms being that of a vampire and werewolf, their true core now ran far closer to the Mankestre bloodline than any traditional monster.
Their powers mirrored that serpent's dreadful talent above all else.
They have potent venom that can rewrite flesh, suppress will, and bend other living beings under absolute control.
Despite the many similarities Marcus shared with his twin. William, their preferred methods of fighting greatly differed.
Marcus preferred to gather, nurture, and command a growing pack of loyal subordinates. He'd circle his enemies and slowly grind them down with his thralls before personally taking action.
William on the other hand liked solitary hunts, relentless pursuit, and ending threats with one lethal strike. Those turned by him behaved the same way he did, it was as of his attitude was an extension package contained within his venom.
"Shall we head to the mission site?" Marcus asked, to which William simply gave an affirming nod and the two moved out together.
Past the outer walls and patrol rings of Extreme Night City, they plunged deep into the shadows of Dark Night Woods.
Ancient twisted trees grew so dense their canopies swallowed most daylight; mist clung thick and cold to the ground.
Hidden amidst the gloom, shielded by layers of concealing and illusory spell formations, stood an old, dilapidated villa, its walls cracked, roofs sagging, looking long abandoned and forgotten to any casual glance.
The twins exchanged a single, quiet look.
[Danger Assessment Complete]
[Mankestre DNA traces confirmed...]
[Mission: Scouting, Sample Collection, Resource Collection]
"There's a body here..." Marcus spoke while crouching down and flipping through the diary which he soon tossed at William.
"It's a 3rd rank apprentice from Ennea Ivory Ring Tower named Roman, it seems like he's an Alchemist who followed traces of some Bloodline Researcher from hundreds of years ago." Marcus explained, while examining an ancient looking ring in his hand before opening a collection bag and standing up to investigate further in.
A child-like giggle echoed and Marcus' hand chopped the incoming sending it back into its hole.
"It's a Gnawing Tile, it was probably this guy who done poor Roman in." William chimed from behind.
"Tough luck out here, but that's to be expected, he's an alchemist and is ill suited for a role in ruin exploration. What could he be thinking of accomplishing in this site?" Marcus chimed lazily.
"Let's find out."