The alleys of the Eternal Night hadn't known laughter in centuries—until the Red Vein began to flow.
Now every gutter, every abandoned crypt, every tavern shadow glowed faintly crimson from bottles passed hand to hand.The potion had spread faster than disease, and for once, it didn't kill.
It made the dead feel alive.And that terrified the living.
A New Scent in the City
For the first time, the Crimson Rats had regular customers.Lowborn vampires traded scraps of blood coin and favors just to buy one more bottle.They'd drink it and dance in the street, humming songs they didn't remember writing.
Luminous stood in the alley, arms crossed, watching the crowd.
"We did it," she whispered. "We gave them something real.""Real's a strong word," Lumiel said, counting coins. "But it pays."
Daniel smiled faintly. "We're finally respected."
"No," Lumiel said. "We just smell better than failure."
Cartethyia's voice pulsed like static warmth in his mind.
[Observation: street-level influence rising. Customer satisfaction at 92%.][However, city nobles are responding with hostility.]"Good," Lumiel murmured. "If they're angry, it means we matter."
The Rich Don't Like Hope
By the end of the week, the Citadel sent tax collectors.They didn't come for money—they came to intimidate.
Four pale nobles stood before the stall, sneering down at the trio like gods observing ants.
"Your concoction pollutes our feeding stock," said one, his voice like silk dipped in poison."Our feeding stock seems happier," Lumiel replied."Happiness is a disease.""Then I'm a doctor."
The nobles hissed.One raised a gloved hand, blood magic crackling at his fingertips—but Cartethyia's red light shimmered over Lumiel's skin, deflecting the attack.
[Defensive protocol: active.]"Try harder," Lumiel said with a smirk.
The nobles retreated, shaken, but their message was clear: stop or vanish.
Luminous exhaled slowly. "They'll come back stronger."
"So will we," Lumiel replied.
The Warmth Spreads
The potion became legend.The poor called it The Blood of Dawn.Street poets whispered that a single sip could make a vampire remember sunlight.
They began painting the Rats' symbol—three red drops in a circle—on doors and walls.Everywhere that mark appeared, the guards hesitated to enter.
Daniel laughed when he saw it the first time.
"We're becoming a cult.""No," Lumiel said. "We're becoming an idea."
Cartethyia's tone flickered, uncertain.
[You realize what you're doing. You're turning hunger into faith.]"Faith sells," he said simply.
Growing Shadows
But the price of success was heavier than coin.They couldn't leave their alley anymore—too many eyes watched.Vampires knelt when Lumiel passed, whispering blessings he'd never written.Luminous barely slept, brewing day and night.
Daniel worried. "We started this to survive, not to rule."
"Rule?" Lumiel smiled faintly. "I just sell potions."
Cartethyia's tone was quieter than usual, but sharper.
[You enjoy this power.]"Wouldn't you?"[No. Power means decay.]"Then maybe I'll decay beautifully."
The Whispering Fire
One night, they tested a new refinement—an enhanced Red Vein with a trace of noble blood.When Lumiel tasted it, the world changed.
He saw lines of light running through the city — streams of emotion, thought, memory.Every heart beating below glowed in his mind.
[Analysis: you're seeing emotional resonance.]"I'm seeing truth," Lumiel whispered.
He smiled, and for a moment, even Cartethyia went silent.
The Warning
At dawn (or what passed for dawn), an old woman appeared at their stall.Her eyes were milky white, her voice steady.
"I've tasted your warmth, boy," she said. "It's good. Too good.""You're welcome," Lumiel replied."You gave us feelings back. But feelings turn to memories… and memories to pain. They'll come for you soon. Not nobles. Older things."
Then she vanished.
Cartethyia's hum filled the silence.
[Unknown entity detected. Energy signature… ancient. Beyond vampire classification.]"Then let them come," Lumiel said softly. "We'll serve them a drink too."
Closing Scene
That night, Lumiel watched the alley from their rooftop.The streets below shimmered with faint red veins, connecting bottle to bottle, heart to heart.
"Look at them," he whispered. "The city's alive again."[Alive or addicted?]"Same thing, in moderation."
Cartethyia hesitated.
[I fear you're not curing hunger, Lumiel. You're teaching it new tricks.]
He smiled at her reflection in the window — faint, flickering, almost human.
"Then maybe that's the point."
The wind carried laughter from below, mixed with screams somewhere deeper in the city.Hope and horror, hand in hand.And for the first time, the Crimson Rats smelled like respect.