Chapter 41 - The Crimson Pact 2

The underground sanctum pulsed with heat, the air thick with the scent of blood and ancient magic. Red torchlight danced across the stone walls, casting monstrous shadows that writhed like living things. Lucien stood at the center of the chamber, shirtless, his chest glistening with sweat and streaked with blood from the ritual's sacrificial cuts. His hands trembled—not from fear, but from the raw power coursing through his veins, a torrent of crimson energy that felt alive, hungry, and untamed. The Crimson Pact was no myth. It was real, and it was calling to him, its pull as undeniable as the beat of his own heart.