CHAPTER 36 — The Blood of the Lords
The night was a strange one in Liberty City.
The air itself hummed — as though the city's neon veins pulsed with fear. Somewhere deep beneath the Spire Tower, beyond the marble lobbies and restricted vaults, an elevator door opened to an abyss that no citizen had ever known existed.
Seven figures stepped out — the Supreme Lords.
Their silver masks reflected nothing. Their footsteps echoed like a death march.
The chamber they entered was vast and circular, carved from black stone and lined with machinery that pulsed in rhythm with their hearts.
At its center stood an altar — old, older than the city, older than any known civilization. Symbols burned faintly across its surface — a fusion of mathematics, language, and madness.
Lady Verane, the eldest among them, approached the altar and placed her hand on it. A scarlet shimmer ran through the lines as the floor began to move, shifting into a perfect circle of seven pillars.
> "We were promised eternity," she whispered. "And tonight, we renew that promise."
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The Covenant
One by one, they stood at their pillars. Each raised a vial of black liquid — the Blood of the System, distilled from their ancestors who made the first pact with the entity beneath the city centuries ago.
They poured it into the altar's center. The blood hissed, burning through the stone, and the lights in the chamber flickered violently. The entire underground facility trembled.
The youngest lord — a nervous man with trembling hands — hesitated.
> "Lady Verane… are we certain this is still necessary? We have the military, the drones, the surveillance—"
Her gaze was cold steel behind the mask.
> "Power fades, boy. Flesh withers. Only the Seal endures."
The others began to chant. Ancient words not of human origin.
The walls responded, glowing with veins of liquid fire.
A shadow stirred in the darkness beyond the altar. It had no face, no form — just a shape of immense gravity, like the idea of something that shouldn't exist.
> "My children…" the voice rumbled, like thunder under water.
"Have you come to feed me again?"
Lady Verane bowed deeply. "To renew the pact, O Keeper of Dominion. Grant us what is ours — seven lives unending, in exchange for seven thousand below."
The voice chuckled, a sound that cracked the ceiling. "Your greed is constant. Very well."
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The Offering
Screens rose from the floor — surveillance feeds from all across Liberty City.
Prisons, hospitals, underground shelters.
All showing men and women who had vanished over the years — test subjects, political enemies, "disappeared" citizens. The Lords' private database of the forsaken.
With a flick of Verane's hand, the feeds synchronized.
The people on-screen began to scream. Their life force was being siphoned, glowing threads of light pulled from their chests into the altar's core.
Jack's voice echoed faintly through one of the Lords' communications — he and Stellman were watching the data spike from a hidden console miles away.
> "What the hell is this?" Jack muttered, eyes wide.
"This isn't a ritual — it's mass slaughter!"
Stellman's jaw clenched. "They're sealing their lives… converting human souls into digital immortality. That's why H.I.M. can't kill them — they exist in both realms."
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The Rising Horror
Back at the altar, the ritual reached its peak.
The air grew thick; sparks of golden energy danced between the Lords' bodies. Their masks cracked, revealing pale, ageless skin that shimmered like metal. Their veins glowed. The youngest screamed as his body began to twist, flesh melding with circuitry.
The Keeper's voice deepened.
> "You have served me well. But one of you doubts."
The chamber froze. The youngest fell to his knees, shaking. "No… please—"
The altar exploded in black flame. His body was consumed instantly, his soul ripped from him as fuel for the others. The remaining six didn't move; they simply absorbed his energy with silent approval.
Lady Verane raised her hand. "Seal complete."
The Eye symbol flared on each of their foreheads, synchronizing them to the dark network beneath the city — the original Matrix of Dominion.
Their lives were now tied directly to Liberty City's infrastructure: power grids, data streams, even heartbeat monitors. If the city lived, so did they.
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The Watching Eye
Far above, on the city's rooftops, H.I.M. stood silently, the wind tugging at his coat.
He had seen it all through the Devil's Eye.
Every chant, every scream, every flicker of life devoured below.
He clenched his fist. "So that's your secret," he murmured. "You made the city your coffin."
The Devil's voice whispered within him:
> "And you, my champion, shall be the one to break their seal. But you cannot do so without sacrifice."
H.I.M. looked down at the glowing skyline — his empire, their empire, built on lies.
His eyes burned golden again. "Then let them burn first."
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The Lords' Confidence
In the ritual chamber, the Lords laughed.
Lady Verane turned to the others. "He thinks he can stop us. Let him come. The moment he strikes the city, he strikes the tether that keeps us immortal. He would destroy everything — even himself."
One of the older Lords chuckled. "He will not dare. He has tasted power, and power demands preservation."
Verane smiled coldly. "Perhaps. But if he dares, then the prophecy will be fulfilled — the Eye will consume the Hand that wields it."
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The Devil's Omen
That night, every citizen of Liberty City dreamed of the same vision:
A colossal eye opening in the sky, watching them.
A voice whispering from nowhere and everywhere:
> "When the city bleeds, the Lords will fall."
And somewhere in the darkness, H.I.M. prepared his next move.
The time for shadows was ending.
The war for the soul of Liberty City had only just begun.
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End of Chapter 36 — The Blood of the Lords
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