The next night was not quiet.
The winds howled through the trees like mourning spirits. The moons—two of them—hung low in the sky, one tinged red. Graxion sat by a dying fire, bandaging wounds that would have killed most men. But he wasn't most men anymore.
The victory over the Shadowbound left more questions than answers. The "Remnant Flame" now flickered in his core, warming him in ways shadow never could. But what disturbed him most wasn't the power—it was her words.
> "You still remember... Then maybe you still have a chance."
A chance for what?
Before he could dwell on it longer, the system chimed.
> [Unknown Presence Detected]
Class: Bloodkind – Latent Vampire]
Threat Level: Moderate–Severe
Caution advised: Entity is tracking you.
He stood up immediately, blade drawn. "Another test?"
The fire extinguished. A red mist crept through the clearing.
From the trees stepped a man, tall and slender, dressed in old leather armor that seemed decades out of place. His eyes were a glowing crimson, and his aura whispered of centuries. But he wasn't attacking.
Yet.
> "You carry the shadow," the man said, voice smooth and sharp like shattered glass. "And yet, you breathe like a man."
Graxion narrowed his eyes. "I am a man."
> "No. You are a contradiction." The stranger stepped closer. "A being who walks in both death and life. Light and dark. Shadow and—"
> "Get to the point."
The man smirked. "My name is Sorin Talen. You're not the only one searching for answers. And you just lit up the entire continent's ley lines like a dying star."
Graxion froze. "Talen?"
The name echoed inside him.
Not because he recognized it—but because the shadow did.
A flash. A vision. A boy with brown hair, standing tall. A red aura. A future that hadn't happened yet.
Quinn.
> "Who are you really?" Graxion asked.
Sorin didn't answer directly. "We're part of something old. You, me, and a few unlucky others. The blood is awakening. And whether you like it or not, shadow is just the beginning."
He tossed something into the fire pit. With a hiss, it reignited—a cold blue flame revealing a symbol drawn in blood and ash.
Two rings intertwined.
Shadow and Blood.
Graxion stepped back. "Why are you showing me this?"
> "Because someone's coming," Sorin said. "Someone worse than the Shadowbound. A hybrid—a creature of perfect balance between vampire and void. And if he rises…"
The flame exploded upward, taking the shape of a creature with wings of bone and eyes like stars.
> "Then the world ends. Again."
The system pulsed.
> [Quest Unlocked: Legacy of the King]
Objective: Discover the origin of the Bloodline. Seek the first progenitor. Survive the coming eclipse.
Reward: ???
Failure: Timeline collapse.
Graxion stared into the flame.
> "And what if I refuse?" he asked.
Sorin tilted his head. "Then someone else inherits your ring."
And just like that, he vanished—no sound, no trail. Only mist remained.
Graxion looked down at his hand. The ring pulsed faintly, the shadows within trembling... not from fear, but excitement.
For the first time, he wasn't just a cursed anomaly.
He was a link in a chain stretching across time—one that would one day reach a boy named Quinn.