The ritual chamber beneath the Blood Council tower trembled again.
Dust fell slowly from the ceiling as the ancient vault door groaned under the pressure building behind it.
The crack in the stone had widened enough now that darkness spilled through it like smoke.
But it was not smoke.
It moved.
It breathed.
Seven elders stood around the ritual platform, their faces pale beneath the red glow of the runes carved into the floor. The blood they had offered still flowed slowly through the stone channels.
The runes pulsed with a steady crimson light.
Every pulse made the crack in the vault widen slightly.
Selene watched the movement inside the darkness carefully.
Her corrupted bloodline reacted again.
This time the sensation was clearer.
The presence behind the door was not only powerful.
It was aware.
Selene turned slowly toward Morcant.
"You did not awaken a weapon," she said quietly.
"You awakened something alive."
Morcant did not take his eyes off the vault.
