The village lay cloaked in silence, bathed in the pale glow of the midnight moon.
Shadows danced along the cobblestone streets as every villager huddled in their homes, dreading the tolling of the bell that would summon them to the square.
From the distance came the faint sound of footsteps-light, deliberate, and yet filled with malice. The Nocturne siblings descended into the heart of the village like a storm of death. Lucius led the procession, his silver hair gleaming eerily in the moonlight. Behind him, his sisters walked with predatory elegance, their crimson gowns trailing like rivers of blood.
As they reached the village square, Lucius's crimson eyes surveyed the empty streets.
He raised a gloved hand, and Cassandra stepped forward, holding a bell forged from dark iron. She rang it three times, each chime reverberating with an unnatural force that sent chills through the villagers' bones.
"Come forth, scum!" Lucius's voice rang out, a chilling command that echoed across the village. "Summon your miserable selves before me, or I will rip apart every door and drag you out myself!"
One by one, the villagers emerged, trembling and pale. Mothers clutched their children; men lowered their heads, avoiding the piercing gaze of the boy-tyrant. The crowd gathered in the square, forming a mass of fear and desperation.
Lucius stood atop the village fountain, his slight frame backlit by the moon. He stretched out his arms, as if to embrace the crowd, and smirked.
"Bow," he said softly, his voice a deadly whisper that carried to every ear.
The villagers hesitated, looking at one another, their fear paralyzing them.
"Did you not hear me?" Lucius's voice rose, sharp as a blade. "BOW!"
The force of his command brought every villager to their knees. Mothers shielded their children, old men struggled to kneel on brittle bones, and the air was thick with the sound of stifled sobs.
Lucius paced slowly in front of them, his gaze cold and calculating. "You worms. You think you can hide from me? That your pathetic lives mean anything? I will rule over all of you scum!" His voice grew louder, echoing off the stone walls. "I can choose you, I can kill you, I can eat you!"
The crowd shuddered as he paused, his crimson eyes scanning them like a predator choosing its prey. Finally, his gaze settled on a young girl near the center of the crowd. She was no older than twelve, her face streaked with dirt and tears, her fragile frame trembling violently.
"You," Lucius said, pointing a pale finger at her. "Come forward."
The girl froze, her eyes wide with terror. Her parents, standing on either side of her, immediately fell to their knees, clutching at one another. "Please, Little Master," the father stammered, his voice cracking. "She is all we have. Take me instead!"
The mother sobbed, crawling toward Lucius. "Mercy, please! She's just a child-"
Lucius's lip curled in disdain. "How dare you beg before me?" he spat. "Your pitiful words bore me." He turned to his sisters. "End them."
Cassandra and Evelina stepped forward without hesitation. Evelina reached down and yanked the mother to her feet by her hair, her nails digging into the woman's scalp. Cassandra, with a predatory grin, moved toward the father.
"Little master's orders," Cassandra whispered mockingly as she drove her claws into the man's chest. His scream was short-lived as she ripped his heart free and let his lifeless body slump to the ground.
Evelina, meanwhile, tilted the mother's head back with cruel precision. "Hush, now," she murmured before sinking her fangs into the woman's neck. The mother's screams dwindled into gurgles as Evelina drained her dry, tossing the body aside like a broken doll.
The crowd gasped in horror but dared not move.
Lucius, unfazed, turned his attention back to the girl. She stood frozen in place, her small frame shaking uncontrollably. Tears streamed down her face, but she didn't dare scream.
"Come here," Lucius ordered.
The girl stumbled forward, her knees buckling beneath her. She stopped a few feet from Lucius, unable to meet his gaze.
Lucius descended from the fountain, his footsteps slow and deliberate. He reached out and grasped her chin, forcing her to look up at him. "Do you know what happens to those I choose?" he asked, his voice soft and venomous.
The girl shook her head frantically, her sobs choking her words.
"They become part of me," Lucius whispered, a cruel smile spreading across his face. "Your fear, your life-it will feed my power."
Without warning, he sank his fangs into her neck. The girl's scream pierced the night as blood gushed from the wound, warm and rich. The crowd recoiled in horror, but no one dared to move or look away.
Lucius drank deeply, his fangs tearing into her flesh with brutal precision. Her body convulsed, her small hands clawing weakly at his chest, but she was no match for his strength. As he drained her, her screams faded into whimpers, and then into silence.
When he finally pulled away, his face was smeared with blood, his eyes glowing with a savage light. The girl's lifeless body crumpled to the ground, a broken vessel devoid of life.
Lucius turned back to the crowd, licking the blood from his lips. "This," he said, his voice cold and commanding, "is what happens to those who defy me. You are mine to rule. Mine to destroy. Do not forget it."
The villagers bowed lower, their sobs filling the air. Lucius stood tall, his sisters flanking him, their faces alight with dark pride.
The villagers bowed lower, their sobs filling the air. Lucius stood tall, his sisters flanking him, their faces alight with dark pride.
As the Nocturnes departed, leaving the broken village in their wake, Lucius felt a surge of power unlike anything he had known before. He was no longer a victim of fate. He is now a ruler, a predator, a god in the eyes of these wretched mortals.