The torchlight behind Chase flickered violently as his blood magic flared—deep crimson and shadows coiling around him like a storm barely held in check. Across the chamber, Councilor Marius stood calmly, arms behind his back, eyes glinting with unspoken power.
Neither moved.
Magic crackled between them. The obsidian floor vibrated with pressure. The entire sanctum felt like it was holding its breath.
Then, in the blink of an eye, Chase lunged.
Marius caught the strike with a single raised hand. The impact sent shockwaves rippling through the gate chamber, dust raining down from the stone ceiling.
"You've improved," Marius said, voice calm. "But still impulsive."
Chase didn't answer. He twisted, shadows whipping from his fingers like blades, carving the air in an arc toward Marius's chest. But the Councilor moved like a phantom—one step back, one hand raised, and a glyph flared into existence between them. The spell deflected the attack with a deep boom, echoing off the walls.
"You're holding back," Marius said, stepping forward. "Because you still think there's hope."
"I'm holding back," Chase growled, "so I don't accidentally turn this place into rubble before I rip your smug face off."
That made Marius laugh—cold and empty. "You still don't get it. This isn't about you escaping. This was always about the awakening."
Before Chase could respond, Marius clapped his hands once—and the entire chamber lit up with runes.
The walls pulsed with energy. Ancient sigils etched into the obsidian ignited with silver-blue light. The magic in the air turned dense, suffocating.
"Your bloodline was never meant to stay hidden," Marius said. "Your mother tried to bury it. Your father tried to run. But you… you were born to transcend it all."
"What the hell are you talking about?!"
"You're not just a vampire. You're a convergence point—a living vessel for arcane equilibrium. Shadow and flame. Order and chaos. The Council was meant to guide you."
"No," Chase said, his voice low and dangerous. "You kidnapped me. You locked me in a cage. You tortured me."
"We freed you—from your delusions of normalcy."
A bolt of lightning burst from Marius's palm.
Chase barely dodged, rolling across the floor and coming up into a crouch. He summoned a spear of raw blood magic and hurled it at the Councilor—only for it to shatter against a shield of swirling light.
He was getting tired. Fast.
Then he felt it—a pull. Deep inside his chest, like a heartbeat that didn't belong to him.
The obsidian walls. The runes. The gate.
They weren't just security. They were amplifiers. This entire chamber was a ritual site, and he was the freakin' battery.
"They're using me," Chase whispered. "This whole place is draining me."
"Now you understand," Marius said. "This chamber was built to contain and convert. We've been feeding off your power for weeks. Why do you think your magic felt... slow?"
Rage surged through Chase like a tidal wave. He slammed his palm into the ground, unleashing a burst of crimson that cracked the floor.
"You're done leeching off me," he growled.
He reached inward—deeper. Past the fear. Past the exhaustion. Past the borrowed power.
He reached for the core.
The ancient bloodline. The truth they tried to cage.
And it answered.
His eyes blazed. His aura exploded outward, sending ripples through the entire citadel. Marius staggered back, shocked for the first time.
"You awakened it?! That's impossible!"
Chase rose to his feet, floating slightly above the ground, his body outlined in flames and shadow. "I told you. You don't get to decide who I become."
Then he moved.
One moment he was across the chamber.
The next—bam—he was in front of Marius, fist slamming into his gut with a sound like a thunderclap.
The Councilor flew backward, smashing into the wall hard enough to leave a crater. His barrier shattered. His mask cracked.
And still, Chase advanced.
"You caged me."
Boom—a kick to the chest.
"You tried to rewrite my fate."
Boom—a palm strike that sent lightning dancing through the chamber.
"And now?" Chase said, grabbing Marius by the collar and lifting him off the ground, "Now you get to pay the price."
But just before he could strike the final blow, alarms screamed again.
This time, not in warning.
But in panic.
The girl's voice echoed through a communicator rune near Chase's wrist.
"CHASE! The entire mountain is destabilizing! I triggered a chain collapse—get out now or you're gonna be buried alive!"
Chase turned toward the gate. It was partially open now, damaged but still functional.
Marius groaned, blood trickling from his mouth.
"You won't make it far," he hissed. "They'll come for you. They'll hunt you down. You're marked now."
Chase dropped him. "Let 'em come."
He sprinted toward the gate. The chamber quaked around him as the ceiling began to crack. Flames burst from walls. Magic surged wildly.
He dove through the gate just as it shattered behind him.
And for the first time in weeks, Chase felt cold night air on his face.
He was free.
But freedom came with a price.