Great — Option 2
CHAPTER 55 — THE VEINS OF THE DAMNED
The wind over Hollowreach screamed like a wounded animal, rushing through broken iron chimneys and half–collapsed watchtowers. All night, the city had felt wrong, like something enormous was breathing beneath its streets. But it wasn't until the ground cracked open beneath the eastern quarter that the truth revealed itself.
Ravien felt it before the others.
A tremor in his bones.
A whisper in the blood.
Something ancient was waking.
He stood at the rooftop of the crumbled bell–spire, cloak whipping around him, eyes locked on the faint red threads glowing across the cracked streets below. They pulsed like veins. Thick. Living. Spreading.
Beside him, Seris drew a short, sharp breath.
"Those aren't fissures," she whispered. "They're arteries."
Ravien clenched his fists. "He's changing the land now. Jared is forcing Hollowreach to become a vessel."
And then—another pulse.
This time stronger.
The rooftops shook dust loose.
Seris steadied herself. "If the city becomes a vessel, then the living become fuel."
Ravien looked at her. "We stop him tonight."
She nodded once.
No plans.
No hesitation.
Just the hunt.
Part I — The Descent
The two dropped from the tower and sprinted across the rooftops. Every few steps, another vein of red energy erupted across the streets below, splitting stone, melting metal, swallowing entire alleyways. People screamed as the crimson cracks spread toward them like hungry roots.
A blast burst in the distance — crackling bone–white lightning.
"That's him," Ravien muttered.
But no…
Lightning didn't move like that.
Lightning didn't crawl.
When they leapt to the next roof, they saw it clearly — something massive slithering beneath the city. A shape. A shadow. An outline of a monstrous spine ripping across the underground.
Seris froze mid-run.
"Ravien… that's not Jared's magic."
"I know."
"But whose—?"
They didn't get to finish.
A huge claw of bone surged out of the street below, ripping up cobblestones like paper. It grasped a fleeing merchant and crushed him before dragging his corpse into the vein. Screams echoed.
Seris whispered, trembling, "The Bone Serpent… It's real."
"No," Ravien said. "It's worse. They're merging."
Part II — The Chamber of Red Breath
They reached the heart of the disturbance — the Red Breath Chamber, a forgotten cavern beneath Hollowreach. The entrance was a yawning hole torn straight through the foundations of the old barracks.
Ravien landed first, boots skidding on broken stone. The air smelled metallic, thick, and burning hot.
Seris landed beside him.
"Tell me you feel that too," she whispered.
He didn't answer.
He couldn't.
The chamber pulsed.
Every beat matched his heartbeat.
Ravien stepped closer to the glowing pit in the center. Thick red mist rose from it like steam from boiling blood.
Seris grabbed his arm. "Ravien, stop—"
Too late.
The mist coiled around him.
Wrapping.
Testing.
Reading him.
And then—
A voice.
Inside his skull.
"He bleeds my blood. He walks as I once walked. A throne waits for him."
Ravien staggered back. "No. Not again."
The mist swirled violently.
A shape formed within it — a towering silhouette with a spined crown and burning hollow eyes.
Seris backed up with him.
"That isn't Jared."
"No… it's the one Jared is trying to free."
She swallowed hard. "The Vein King."
The voice laughed softly — a sound like knives sliding through bone.
"Your enemy merely opens the door. You… were meant to become the door."
Ravien's blood roared. The mark on his arm — the black sigil left by Jared — erupted with searing pain.
Seris panicked.
"Ravien! Fight it!"
He fell to one knee. "I… can't… it's pulling something out of me—"
The voice tightened, squeezing his thoughts.
"Let go, heir of ruin. Let me in."
Seris struck the mist with her blade — it evaporated around the strike, then returned thicker, angrier.
"Come on!" she shouted. "Take me instead!"
The chamber shook. The Vein King paused.
Then: "No. You are merely the blade. He is the throne."
Ravien screamed.
Part III — Jared Arrives
A blast of shadow ripped through the cavern, scattering the red mist. Ravien collapsed, breathing hard. Seris dragged him back.
Bootsteps echoed.
Jared walked into the chamber like he owned it, the shadows bending around his form. Lightning flickered in his eyes. His blade dripped with the blood of whatever creature had been crawling under the city earlier.
He smirked.
"I see he found you first."
Seris stepped in front of Ravien, sword raised.
"You're not touching him again."
"Oh, Seris," Jared said, annoyed. "You keep pretending you matter in this story."
She launched at him.
Jared didn't even flinch.
Shadow tentacles snapped into existence and hurled her across the chamber. She slammed against a stone pillar, gasping but conscious.
"Stay down," Jared warned. "This is between us."
Ravien forced himself to stand, trembling.
"Why… why are you doing this, Jared?"
Jared stepped close, face inches from his.
"You still don't understand, do you? I'm not trying to kill you."
A cruel smile spread.
"I'm trying to wake you."
Ravien swung at him, but Jared stopped the punch mid-air with two fingers.
"You felt it, didn't you?" Jared whispered. "The pulse. The hunger. The calling."
Ravien growled, "Shut up."
"Your blood is changing. The Vein King chose you long before you chose yourself."
Ravien pushed back with all his strength — and Jared flew backward, slamming into the far wall.
Seris's eyes widened.
"You— you've never done that before."
Ravien stared at his trembling hand. "I didn't mean to."
Jared stood, dusting himself off, grinning like a madman.
"That's it. That's the power I'm unlocking. The throne is waking in you, Ravien."
Ravien stepped forward. "I will never take that throne."
Jared laughed. "You don't get to choose."
Part IV — The Breaking Point
The chamber pulsed violently. The veins in the walls spread further, glowing brighter. The mist rose again, coiling around Ravien, merging with him.
Jared raised his hands.
"Let it in. Become what you were carved to be. I've broken cities to bring you here."
Seris staggered up again. "Ravien—don't let him win!"
Ravien clenched his jaw.
He could feel something cracking inside him.
Something old.
Something monstrous.
The veins wrapped around his arms like chains.
The mark on his skin burned black and red.
"Ravien!" Seris cried, reaching for him.
He reached out too—
But Jared intercepted her, grabbing her by the throat and lifting her off the ground.
"This girl is your leash," Jared snarled. "Your weakness. Once she's gone, you'll finally be—"
A sound cut him off.
Not a scream.
Not a blast.
A pulse.
Deep. Heavy. Ancient.
Everything froze.
The Vein King's voice thundered through the cavern:
"ENOUGH."
The veins surged upward, striking Jared like a whip, hurling him into the cavern wall. Blood sprayed. He collapsed, dazed but alive.
Seris dropped to the floor, coughing.
Ravien fell to both knees, clutching his skull as the mist tried to consume him again.
"You are mine," the Vein King roared. "The throne is already chosen."
Ravien screamed, the chamber spinning, his vision flashing black and red—
Then silence.
Cold.
Empty.
Dead.
Part V — The Aftermath of Red Silence
When Ravien opened his eyes, the mist was gone.
The chamber was still.
Seris crawled to his side, gripping his shoulders. "Ravien—talk to me. Are you still here?"
He blinked slowly. "I… I think so."
"Think so?" she whispered, terrified.
He placed a hand over his heart.
The beat felt wrong.
Slower.
Stronger.
Jared staggered to his feet across the chamber, blood dripping from his mouth.
A cracked grin spread across his face.
"It's happening," he whispered. "It's finally happening."
Ravien glared.
"I will kill you before I become anything like him."
Jared laughed softly, wiping blood from his chin.
"You can try. But your blood is already bending. The throne is coming for you, Ravien."
He stepped back toward the shadows.
"We aren't enemies anymore. You're just late to accepting who you are."
And then he vanished into the darkness.
Seris gripped Ravien's arm tightly. "Ravien… what did he mean? What did the Vein King put inside you?"
Ravien didn't answer.
Because deep inside his chest, beneath bone and muscle and will…
Something new was beating.
Not human.
Not mortal.
Not free.
The Vein King wasn't done with him.
Not even close.