The forest of Libertas vanished behind them slowly.
Not in a single moment, but in the quiet way familiar things dissolve when distance grows. The wooden cabins, the smoke from cooking fires, the low hum of evening life—all of it faded into the deep green of the forest until only trees remained.
Nyx turned once while walking.
Her small figure paused for half a heartbeat, her eyes lingering in the direction of the settlement.
She could no longer see Libertas.
But she could still feel it.
The invisible bloodline barrier the Red Raven had cast shimmered faintly through the forest like a hidden curtain. Beyond it lay the only place she had ever called home.
She turned back.
Kael still hadn't regained consciousness.
Izazel carried him over his shoulder with surprising ease, as if Kael weighed nothing more than a travel pack.
Ashfang walked beside them silently.
The Red Raven flew ahead.
Its wings left trails of faint crimson particles in the air that dissolved slowly into the night like embers fading in the wind.
No one spoke for a long time.
The forest changed gradually around them.
At first it was still the familiar territory Kael had once hunted in—dense trees, moss-covered stones, twisting roots.
But after several hours of walking, something shifted.
The air grew colder.
Not winter cold.
Older cold.
Ancient.
The trees grew taller here, their trunks blackened and thick, branches twisting like skeletal arms reaching for the sky.
Even the ground felt different beneath their feet.
Harder.
Ashfang slowed slightly.
The wolf sniffed the air.
"Different forest," he sent quietly.
Izazel nodded.
"Yes."
Nyx looked up at him.
Izazel noticed the question in her eyes.
"We've left Kael's territory," he explained softly. "This land belongs to no one."
The Red Raven circled above them and called once—a sharp cry that echoed through the trees like a warning.
Izazel glanced up.
"Which means it belongs to everything."
Nyx frowned slightly.
Ashfang understood first.
The wolf's fur lifted along his spine.
"Hunters."
Izazel smiled faintly.
"Exactly."
---
They continued walking.
Hours passed.
The moon climbed higher in the sky.
Kael stirred once in Izazel's arms.
A faint groan escaped him, his breathing uneven.
Nyx immediately stepped closer, her small hand touching Kael's arm gently.
The red glow beneath Kael's skin pulsed again.
Izazel felt it.
His expression darkened.
"The subsystem is still feeding," he murmured.
Ashfang looked up sharply.
"Danger?"
Izazel nodded.
"Yes."
He shifted Kael's weight slightly on his shoulder.
"If it continues like this, his authority may collapse completely."
Nyx's grip tightened.
Izazel noticed.
"She saved him once," he said quietly, glancing down at her.
Nyx didn't look at him.
Her eyes remained fixed on Kael.
Izazel sighed softly.
"She cannot save him again."
They needed something far more powerful now.
Which was why they were walking through this cursed forest in the first place.
---
The Red Raven suddenly stopped mid-flight.
Its wings spread wide.
It hovered in the air above them.
Ashfang growled immediately.
"Something ahead."
Izazel lowered Kael slowly to the ground.
Nyx knelt beside him instantly.
The forest had grown silent.
Too silent.
Even insects had stopped moving.
Izazel rolled his shoulders once.
"Well," he muttered, "that didn't take long."
A low sound drifted through the trees.
Not a roar.
Not a howl.
Something deeper.
Something older.
Branches snapped.
Heavy footsteps approached slowly through the darkness.
Ashfang stepped forward immediately, placing himself between the sound and Kael.
His teeth bared.
The Red Raven descended quietly, landing on a branch above them.
Its glowing eyes remained calm.
Which meant the creature approaching was not its enemy.
But that didn't make it harmless.
The forest parted.
And something massive stepped into the moonlight.
It stood nearly three meters tall.
Its body was shaped like a wolf—but far larger than Ashfang, its fur dark gray and streaked with scars that looked centuries old.
Its eyes burned silver.
An ancient beast.
Not a subject.
Not a creature under authority.
Something wild.
The wolf stared at them.
Then it looked directly at Izazel.
Its voice entered their minds like distant thunder.
"You carry blood."
Ashfang's growl deepened.
Izazel raised one hand slightly.
"Peace."
The giant wolf studied him carefully.
Then its gaze shifted to Kael lying on the ground.
The silver eyes narrowed.
"This one smells… broken."
Izazel exhaled quietly.
"Accurate."
Nyx glared at the creature.
Ashfang stepped half a step forward.
Izazel spoke again.
"We are only passing through."
The ancient wolf tilted its head slowly.
"This land is not a road."
Izazel smiled faintly.
"No."
"But tonight it must be."
The creature stared at him for several long seconds.
Then its eyes flicked upward to the Red Raven.
Recognition passed between them.
The wolf stepped aside.
"Bloodheart business," it said.
Izazel inclined his head slightly.
"Yes."
The wolf's gaze returned to Kael.
"If he dies here," the beast added quietly, "this forest will eat him."
Nyx tightened her hold on Kael's arm.
Ashfang's growl vibrated low in his throat.
Izazel lifted Kael again.
"He won't die."
The wolf did not argue.
It simply vanished back into the forest.
Just like that.
Ashfang watched the darkness for several seconds before relaxing slightly.
"Old beast," he muttered.
Izazel nodded.
"Very."
Nyx looked at him.
He explained quietly as they resumed walking.
"Creatures like that existed long before systems."
"Before empires."
"Before humans built kingdoms."
Nyx glanced back toward the trees.
The forest was much larger than Libertas.
Much older.
And far more dangerous.
---
They walked through the night.
Eventually the forest thinned.
The ground began to slope upward slowly.
Ashfang's ears twitched.
"Smell… stone."
Izazel nodded.
"We're close."
The Red Raven soared ahead and then descended again in a wide spiral.
The first structure appeared through the trees.
Not wood.
Stone.
Black stone.
Massive walls rose from the earth like a mountain carved by ancient hands. Towers pierced the sky like spears, their tops glowing faintly with crimson light.
Nyx stopped walking.
Her eyes widened.
Even Ashfang froze.
Before them stood something that made Libertas look like a small village beside a kingdom.
The Bloodheart Domain.
Izazel watched their reactions quietly.
"Impressive, isn't it?"
Ashfang snorted softly.
"Big."
Nyx stared upward at the towering gates.
They were enormous.
At least twenty meters tall.
Carved into the stone were ancient symbols—sigils older than the system Kael carried.
Vampire magic.
Ancient bloodline power.
The Red Raven landed on one of the gate towers.
A horn sounded immediately.
Deep.
Resonant.
The gates began to move.
Slowly.
Stone grinding against stone echoed through the valley as the entrance opened.
Inside, torchlight illuminated a vast city carved into the mountainside.
Black towers.
Bridges of dark iron.
Rivers glowing faint red under moonlight.
Nyx stared in silent disbelief.
Ashfang's tail lowered slightly.
"So many…"
Izazel walked forward calmly.
"Yes."
"This is my home."
Figures appeared along the walls.
Tall.
Pale.
Elegant.
Vampires.
They watched silently as Izazel approached the gate carrying an unconscious human boy.
Whispers spread quickly among them.
Because everyone recognized the prince.
But the human he carried…
That was new.
Very new.
The Red Raven descended beside the gate.
Its voice echoed clearly.
"Prince Izazel Bloodheart has returned."
The massive gates opened fully.
And for the first time since Kael had been abandoned by his family…
He crossed the threshold into a place ruled by ancient power.
Unconscious.
Bleeding.
And unknowingly walking straight into the center of vampire politics.
Izazel stepped through the gate.
Nyx and Ashfang followed.
Behind them, the forest faded into darkness.
Ahead of them…
The Bloodheart Castle waited.
And somewhere deep within those crimson halls, a man older than empires watched their approach.
Lord Dormon Bloodheart.
The father of Izazel.
And the first ancient power Kael would meet beyond the forest.
The Crimson Journey had only just begun.