It was deep in the night, and Chloe's room was cloaked in darkness save for the pale, eerie glow emanating from the soul stone. I remained wide awake while Chloe slept soundly, breathing softly against my chest. The intense lovemaking we had shared earlier had thoroughly exhausted her, and the lingering warmth of my blood pumping through her veins made her deeply drowsy.
I lay there observing the soul stone. When I focused my hearing, I could distinctively catch numerous faint, agonized voices screaming desperately for release from within its confines. My pupils constricted sharply at the sheer viciousness of the mastermind behind such cruelty.
Tomorrow, I'll test whether I can use my Willpower to free them, I resolved mentally.
Softly shifting Chloe off my chest, I covered her flawless figure with a blanket, slid out of bed, and headed straight for the bathroom. Stepping into the shower, I let the cool water wash over me, rinsing away the sweat and the intimate traces of our night together.
A few minutes later, Chloe joined me. We didn't speak, simply washing each other in companionable silence. A profound sense of peace washed over me—something I had rarely ever felt in my life before. With her, I felt entirely at ease. I could easily picture spending every single day of my infinite life by her side without ever growing bored.
After a while, we stepped out. I pulled on a simple black shirt and blue jeans, while Chloe donned a sleek black dress that hugged her magnificent curves.
When we went downstairs into the main living room, we found five individuals waiting. They sat in impeccably elegant postures, dressed to the nines, exuding the dark, aristocratic sophistication characteristic of high-born vampires. The moment they noticed our arrival, they abruptly halted their conversation.
The man leading the group gave a subtle hand gesture, prompting the others to stand and bow in unison. Their display momentarily startled me, but I quickly composed myself; they were bowing out of deep deference to Chloe, who commanded a tremendously high status within the vampire community.
"Milady, we have learned that you managed to pick up the trail of those vile creatures," the leader spoke first.
"Yes, they are quite a troublesome bunch. I will require significantly more vampires placed at your disposal moving forward, Sebas," she replied, her brow furrowing slightly.
"Of course, Milady," Sebas answered in an obedient, measured tone, though I caught a dark, calculating flash of light dart through his eyes before his expression instantly smoothed back to normal.
As he glanced back toward his companions, a palpable chill settled over them. Among them sat a man in his twenties with short black hair and sharp features—Sebas's eldest son and chief heir to this local vampire clan. Beside him sat two young women who looked strikingly alike. Sebas's son glared at his father with venomous intensity, though he quickly schooled his features under the collective gaze.
"Your Highness, who might this gentleman be by your side?" the young man asked warmly, though I could distinctly feel his animosity. The way he stared at us, dripping with thinly veiled hostility, made it impossible to miss.
"That is none of your business. All you need to know is that he is deeply important to me, and you will treat him with the exact same respect you afford me," Chloe replied coldly, refusing to give him an ounce of face.
"How goes the search for those criminals? Have you uncovered any reliable clues regarding their lair?" Chloe asked, turning her attention back to Sebas.
"No new breakthroughs regarding their whereabouts, Milady. We've combed the area, but they are exceptionally thorough, never leaving a trace behind. Even the elite mage we retained has been completely unable to track their energetic signatures."
"I see. Keep up the search, and alert me the moment you secure a solid lead."
With that, Chloe led me away toward the dining room. We took our seats at a polished table, and Chloe gently rang a small silver bell to summon a human servant for breakfast. While we waited, I leaned in slightly.
"I honestly didn't realize your status in the vampire community was so elevated. I understood from Stella that you carried a strong reputation, but I didn't think you could casually command an entire clan like this."
"Ah, right. I suppose I haven't really explained the mechanics of vampire hierarchy to you yet," Chloe explained, resting her chin on her hand. "It operates on blood purity and age; vampires possessing the purest lineage or ancient origins naturally command higher power and absolute social rank in our community."
"My father happens to be both an ancient vampire and the holder of one of the purest bloodlines in existence. Consequently, the individuals across this entire continent who possess the clout to disregard his direct instructions can easily be counted on one hand—actually, no more than three."
"So my father's influence blankets the vast majority of the continent. Because vampires are fiercely dogmatic about hierarchy and bloodline purity, the local clans sit considerably lower than me on the social ladder, which is why I can walk in here and mobilize their entire infrastructure on a whim."
"Plus, I've known this particular clan since I was a little girl. I used to retreat out here whenever my father was overwhelmingly busy or when political tensions flared up in Nebula City."
"That explains why that guy was looking at me like he wanted to put a dagger between my ribs," I muttered, thinking back to Sebas's glaring son.
"Pay him no mind," she said, frowning slightly. "He has never made a secret of his persistent attraction to me. But once my formal engagement to Luke was publicly announced, he was forced by clan protocol to back off. I honestly thought he had finally moved past it, but apparently not."
"Well, to be fair, I can't entirely blame him. You are stunning."
At that, she locked her gaze with mine and offered a soft, genuine smile—a rare, breathtaking expression from a beauty who almost never smiled. It utterly stole my breath away.
Our conversation was interrupted by a gentle knock at the door. A gorgeous young woman dressed in a classic Victorian maid's uniform entered, carrying a covered silver platter of food. Though neither Chloe nor I required mortal sustenance to survive, keeping up the ritual of eating was something I refused to abandon; it anchored me to a sense of normalcy amidst all the supernatural madness.
She served our plates efficiently and excused herself, leaving us alone once more.
Watching her retreat, I couldn't help asking, "I didn't realize humans lived inside this Fae-and-vampire-infested mansion."
"Not many do. Most are directly employed by the clan. Furthermore, the ones who remain with us generation after generation are typically the direct descendants of old, trusted servants. They thoroughly understand the unique peculiarities of our kind and excel at absolute discretion."
"I see." The deeper I plunged into the supernatural underworld, the more I wondered how ordinary humanity managed to remain entirely oblivious to its existence. Now it seemed a select few had always been privy to the truth.
Shaking those thoughts aside, I dove into the meal. True to the refined palates of ancient vampires, the food easily rivaled the menu of any Michelin-star restaurant. Once we had eaten our fill, we strolled out into the meticulously manicured gardens to enjoy our tea. The sprawling layout, filled with exotic, blooming flowers, painted an enchanting, peaceful picture.
"You were walking me through a history lesson yesterday before we got thoroughly sidetracked," I noted after taking a sip.
"Sidetracked, huh?" she teased playfully, a corner of her mouth lifting.
I cleared my throat, feeling a slight flush of embarrassment.
"Right... where was I? Ah, yes. The ancient gods eventually departed this plane, leaving behind their divine progeny. The Human God's children possessed familiar humanoid appearances, looking much like you and me. There were three of them."
"The eldest, Lutter, possessed a profound, terrifying mastery over fundamental cosmic laws and innate magic; he eventually became revered as the Mage God."
"The second, Klaus, was the Vampire God. The third was Elis, the Lycan God. Elis was Klaus's twin, but the two of them despised each other, perpetually locked in bitter disputes that frequently triggered massive calamities for mortal humans."
"As the eldest, Lutter was constantly forced to intervene to stop them from tearing apart their father's legacy. As you can easily guess, those warring twins served as the literal progenitors of the vampire and lycan races. The very first vampire came into existence because Klaus desperately wanted to imitate his father, passing his divine blood to a mortal and turning him into the original primogenitor."
"His twin Elis, driven by relentless sibling rivalry, mirrored the act by infecting a human to birth the first Lycan. That is how these two immortal factions were born. The lingering tension between the two brothers is precisely why our respective races have maintained a violently conflictual relationship since the dawn of history."
"Meanwhile, the Goddess of Faerie left behind a daughter, Leyla—the Goddess of Fate—and a son named Nik, who possessed a rare, unmatched affinity for temporal manipulation. He became known throughout the cosmos as the God of Time."
"Wait," I interrupted, my eyes widening in sheer shock. "This Nik... is he the biological father of Clarice??"
"Exactly. That precisely explains why her hidden status and authority in the mortal world are so untouchable. Now, that covers the divine pantheons of two realms. For the final two worlds..."
"The Angelic realm and the Demonic realm are, in reality, two opposing faces of the exact same divine coin. They originated from the Duality Ancient God, an entity wielding dual bodies—one male, one female. Because of this, they were frequently mistaken for separate individuals despite belonging to a singular, unified consciousness."
"From themselves, they bore two divine children: Gabri, the Angel God, and Sol, the Demon God. Now that we've come full circle with the divine lineages, it brings us straight to the legendary era."
"It was an epoch defined by cataclysmic magic and boundless, terrifying power, driven primarily by the rapid evolution of the immortal races. Naturally, they soon plunged into total war, viciously vying for absolute supremacy. As is historically standard, humans served as the primary victims—weak, puny, and caught in the crossfire."
"Of course, vampires or lycans would occasionally step in to protect human settlements, but their motivations were purely cold and utilitarian. Vampires protected their food supply from running dry and guarded against the loss of potential mortal candidates for conversion."
"Lycans operated under a similar logic since a bite could expand their packs. Because these immortal races struggled immensely with natural reproduction and remained few in numbers, humanity's primary raison d'être to them was solving that demographic crisis. Meanwhile, the Fae sought to reduce humans to chattel slaves, while the demons and angels pursued their own hidden agendas."
"That brutal war dragged on for so long it felt eternal. Most gods refused to intervene, blindly confident in the supremacy of their respective creations."
"That is, with one notable exception: the Mage God Lutter. Deeply moved when a human youth's family was savagely slaughtered by Fae marauders, Lutter blessed that boy with the raw gift of magic—in truth, unlocking that latent potential across the entire human race. However, only that specific youth possessed the staggering talent required to ascend and become the First Mage."
She paused abruptly, a remarkably complicated expression settling over her features.
"What is it?" I asked, suddenly gripped by an uneasy premonition that I wasn't going to like the answer.
"The First Mage," Chloe answered somberly, "was a man by the name of Atticus White."
"What?? Atticus is the First Mage?!" My shock was absolute. I never, in a million years, would have pieced that together. I knew he was an apex predator, but discovering his true identity blew my mind wide open.
"Yes, it appears so. Though it remains a heavily contested historical fact since he hasn't openly flexed his full divinity in living memory. That underlying reality is precisely why, despite my father's immense ancient lineage, he still yields priority deference to Atticus in council."
"If that's true, why on earth did Atticus bother politely negotiating a marriage alliance between his son and you? Couldn't he have simply imposed his absolute will on your father and forced the issue?"
"This... ties directly back to me. The vampire council represents the most powerful bloodlines to ever exist. Stella likely mentioned it, and you've probably noticed it yourself: my father actively fears me, and a vast majority of vampires share that terror. It all stems from a Blood Prophet sitting on the council who foresaw my birth a thousand years ago and pronounced a terrifying prophecy:"
"'There will come an infant girl born from a father of pure bloodline. This child's bloodline will be atavistic, regaining the unadulterated purity of the very first Vampire, the primogenitor. Her power will strike absolute fear into ghosts and gods alike, and she will usher in numerous eons of prosperity for the vampire race.'"
"Because of that prophecy, I am essentially treated as the sacred treasure of the vampire council—a living anchor to absolute supremacy. Atticus cannot simply bully his way through it, or he risks bringing down the unified wrath of an entire immortal race upon his head. Even for the First Mage, an act of that magnitude could easily amount to a death sentence."
"Oh... so that's how it is," I murmured, stunned by the sheer gravity of the revelation, though part of me had already suspected Chloe carried an immense burden.
A wave of profound sympathy washed over me. I hated the thought of her having to carry the future of an entire supernatural species on her shoulders simply because of some ancient, rigid prophecy.
I stood up, crossed the short distance between us, and wrapped my arms around her in a steady, protective embrace. She stiffened in surprise for a fraction of a second before melting into the hug, returning it with quiet intensity.
"I'm right here," I said simply.
"Okay..."
I leaned down and pressed a soft, lingering kiss to her lips.