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Chapter 1: The Crimson Rebirth
Rain poured relentlessly over the city, drowning the streets in silver light reflected from the neon signs above.
Under one of those flickering lights, Kael Azelion hurried home — drenched, exhausted, and cursing the fact that he'd forgotten his umbrella again. His part-time shift had run late, and now the storm was only getting worse.
He tugged the hood of his jacket lower over his head,his breath misting in the cold night air.
A flash of lightning cut through the sky, illuminating the puddles beneath his boots — and for a heartbeat, his reflection stared back.
A tired but handsome nineteen-year-old boy with messy black hair and dark, weary eyes.
His mother had warned him not to take the alleyway at night.
But tonight, Kael was too tired to care.
"Just this once," he muttered, stepping into the narrow path between buildings. "Mom worries too much." Nothing will happen he thought his mom was just being herself worried over him.
He had no idea what awaited him in the shadows.
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He walks through the dark alley way fast, his footsteps sounding in the dark and quiet alley.
Halfway through the alley, something caught his attention — a man crouched against the wall, clutching his stomach.
Blood mixed with rainwater, forming crimson trails that snaked toward the drain.
Kael froze. His instincts screamed to run, but another part of him whispered to help.
"Sir, are you okay?" he asked, stepping closer.
A foolish question — he could see the blood pouring freely from the man's wound but still he asked.
The stranger lifted his head slowly.
Eyes glowing crimson. Fangs glinting beneath pale lips.
He was surprised no shocked by the scene presenting itself to him, he instinctively tried to step back but before Kael could even breathe, the man lunged. A powerful hand seized his throat, slamming him hard against the wall. Pain exploded in his skull as cold fingers tightened like iron.
Then came the bite.
Fangs tore into his neck.
Agony flared —it was very hot, suffocating and draining. His blood was being pulled out in a flood, his limbs growing heavy with the world fading to black.
He struggled, punching and kicking, but his strength was slipping away with every heartbeat.
Is this how I die?
What about Mom…? She'll be devastated… I can't—
Before the thought could finish, a blur of crimson and black flashed through the rain.
A sharp sound then folloed with a wet crunch and the pressure on his throat vanished. Kael collapsed to the ground, gasping and coughing weakly, his vision swimming.
Even as he tried to focus, he knew — he had lost too much blood. He wasn't going to make it.
Then he saw her, the person who saved him.
A pair of black heels stepped into his blurred vision, followed by long, flawless legs leading up to a crimson dress that clung sinfully to every curve of her body.
The slit at her thigh revealed a sculpted, feminine form that moved with hypnotic grace.
Her figure was S-shaped perfection — a narrow waist, generous bust, and hips that swayed like temptation itself.
Even in the rain, her every motion was deliberate — the kind of elegance that could drive men mad.
And magically no drop of arin was actually touching her body.
When Kael looked up, his breath caught.
Her face was breathtaking — pale skin like moonlight her cheekbones sharp, with full lips, and eyes glowing with a faint, bloody hue.
Crimson hair cascaded down to her lower back as if drawing attention to her sinfully wide hips,her hair framing an oblong face that seemed carved by divine hands.
She was beauty incarnate… or perhaps something far more dangerous.
If this was the last thing he ever saw, he thought faintly — then he could die content.
The woman — Selene — knelt gracefully beside him, her expression unreadable.
Her crimson gaze lingered on the puncture marks at his neck before she spoke, her voice soft and cool, yet carrying a power that demanded attention.
"Do you want to live?"
Kael's throat burned. His body trembled. He could barely nod — but he did with all the energy he can muster.
A faint movement, desperate and weak.
Selene's expression didn't change. She leaned closer — close enough for her scent to envelop him.
A fragrance like wild roses — natural, rich, intoxicating.
Her fangs slid out, not monstrous or grotesque, but elegant — sharp, noble, almost regal.
Then she bit him.
At first it was pain — then, warmth and
Then… pleasure.
His mind spun in confusion as a strange euphoria spread through his veins, drowning him in waves of heat and desire. His heart pounded violently; the sensation was maddening.
Selene felt it too — his blood.
Rich, powerful, indescribably delicious. It burned through her like fire and ecstasy all at once.
His blood… it's divine.
She pulled back, panting lightly, her eyes dilated.
No… she couldn't lose control. Not now.
"Just a little more," she whispered, cutting her wrist with a single nail. Dark red blood flowed freely — Sanguis Vitae, the Blood of Life.
She pressed it to his lips. "Drink."
Weak and fading, Kael obeyed.
He drank.
And drank.
And didn't stop.
Selene's eyes widened as his lips pulled more of her blood than she intended to give.
Impossible… no human should be able to take this much!
Then, suddenly — something awakened.
A surge of energy burst from Kael's body, throwing Selene backward.
His veins glowed with crimson light, but beneath it flickered hints of gold, purple, white, and black.
A cocoon of blood formed around him, pulsing with life, power, and something ancient.
Selene shielded her face, feeling the aura wash over her — vast, primal, terrifying.
"What… what is this boy…?" she whispered.
Inside the cocoon, Kael's body was remaking itself — his blood, his bones, his very cells evolving beyond humanity, beyond vampirism.
When the crimson shell shattered, silence followed.
He lay there motionless — pale, beautiful, transformed.
The residual energy of the red cocoon digging back into his body completing the transformation.
Selene stared, disbelief in her eyes.
She had only wanted to save him.
Instead, she had awakened something… far beyond her understanding.
A being not quite human.
Not quite vampire.
But something far greater.
The beginning… of a creature that would one day shake the universe.