I ran with all my might, reaching the command room just in time.
"What the hell is going on?" I yelled.
Immediately, one of the imperial knights spoke up. "We do not know, sir! But it seems something is interfering with the barrier that separates us from the humans, sir!"
"What?! How the hell does that happen?!"
"We don't know, sir! There is not much information about the barrier."
"Oh my god! Does anyone here know anything?!" I yelled. "First the Emris, now this!" I took a sharp breath. "Show me what's happening."
"Yes, sir!"
The knight hurried me into the command centre and pointed towards one of the main control panels. Displayed on the screen was the empire's barrier—and a deep dent pressed into its surface.
The distortion was growing. Slowly but unmistakably, the protective field was weakening.
[The reason why humans don't know the existence of vampires is because of the barrier that separates us. Without the barrier, the entire empire would be visible to humans. The vampires could then launch a bloodthirsty rampage.]
"Do you at least know what is causing this?!"
"No, sir…"
[Why is everything unknown is this empire!]
Right at that moment, His Majesty Emperor Desmond entered the room. Everyone in the room stopped and bowed respectfully.
"All rise," he spoke in a weary tone. "Xavier, what's going on?"
"Your Majesty, it seems that something is intercepting the barrier." I pointed towards one of the control panels. "As you can see, the dent is growing larger by the second."
"What?!"
"I know it's hard to believe, your majesty, but is there any record in history of this ever happening?"
"No! This has never happened before," Desmond said, bewildered.
"What are we supposed to do then, Your Majesty?"
Desmond thought for a moment, his face showing panic.
"Find the source of this and bring anyone living near the border to the capital," Desmond commanded.
"Yes, Your Majesty—"
The alarms grew louder in an unexpected burst.
The piercing sound flooded the command chamber, vibrating through the walls and drowning out the murmurs of the knights. Red warning lights began flashing across the panels, casting frantic shadows across the room.
"What's happening?!" yelled Desmond.
A knight ran up to him, holding out a portable panel. "Your Majesty! A third of our barrier has been breached!"
For a moment, no one in the room moved.
The words seemed to hang in the air, too heavy to process.
"W-what…?" Desmond's knees gave way.
Gaspes rippled across the room.
"Your Majesty!" I quickly rushed to his side to prevent him from falling. "You must stay composed!"
"How am I supposed to stay composed… we have lost everything…" Desmond mumbled.
Around them, the alarms continued to scream.
Panels flashed warnings. Knights shouted orders across the room. The once orderly command centre had dissolved into chaos.
"Citizen! Citizens are our priority!" I blurted.
"R-right, do as I ordered you." The words left Desmond's mouth, but his voice was hollow.
We all did our best and gathered the civilians at the capital of the empire. Even the emperor and the empress showed up to try to calm the crowd down.
"What is going on?"
"Why are we here?"
"Are my children going to be okay?"
The crowd murmured with such questions.
Then the emperor spoke.
"I'm sure you have questions about why you are here. The truth is, we're facing issues with some ancient relics. To keep you safe, we've brought you together." You will be provided with housing and food by us until we declare that you are able to return to your homes."
Someone spoke from the crowd.
"Is this related to the vampire incidents that have been going on?"
"Yes, that is what has happened… However, we have control over the situation, so you need not worry."
It seemed like we had somewhat gained control of the situation; that was until random, lethal blasts started blowing up the civilians.
"Protect the civilians! Do not let anyone else die—do you hear me?! Move them to safety! Oh god…" commanded Desmond, his voice filled with panic.
Marliene held his hand and spoke softly, "It will be alright, love… you're doing great." She smiled at him.
Desmond's eyes filled with tears. "Why is this happening to us…? What the hell is this, Emis?! Why is the barrier going down?! How is any of this fine…?"
"I know love; nothing is fine, but we must stay strong; it is our duty…"
"I know… that is why I am still standing here… I should have insisted—pushed for more research on the Emris…" his voice broke.
Suddenly, a terrible silence fell over the area.
And then—
BOOM.
A sharp, metallic bang shattered the calm. It echoed like thunder, louder than any weapon they'd used, rolling through the cracked sky from the direction of Cadell Palace.
The sound stopped everyone cold.
I, who was guiding the citizens to safety, snapped my head towards the direction of the palace. My blood ran ice-thin, ears ringing as that single, echoing boom reverberated again, like a knell splitting the sky in two.
"No," I whispered, already moving.
Marliene gasped sharply. "Kiara!" she shouted, sprinting towards the palace with Desmond rushing after her.
One by one, we rushed in, all arriving at the scene at nearly the same time. The room was perfectly fine; however, Kiara wasn't in her coffin.
"K-Kiara…?" My voice shook, my hands trembled. "Where are you?" I questioned as I looked around.
"Don't bother with that," a voice spoke from the shadows. "She belongs to me now…"
I clenched my fists. "Who the fuck are you?!" I said, frantically looking around.
"Doesn't matter, you guys should focus on escaping. The barriers going down the empire is going to crumble, people are going to die."
"W-what?!" mumbled Desmond.
"You know what, I'm feeling a little more evil… Hmm, what shall I do… It needs to be something fun… Hmm… Let's see… choose number one or number two?"
"What the hell are you talking about?!" I spoke
"I'm asking you, Desmond. The clock is ticking. Give me a quick answer," said the voice.
"We will not be playing your stupid games! What have you done to my daughter?!" Marliene cried out.
"Aww~ that's cute; however, we don't have time, choose! Come on, Desmond, pick a number!"
Desmond hesitated, his face tightening with worry. "If I choose… will you tell me where my daughter is?"
"Sure~!"
"Love, do not listen to this man!" exclaimed Marliene, holding Desmond's arm with a pleading look.
"But what if he does give her back…?"
"Desmond! Why are you falling in such an obvious trap!" yelled Marliene.
"I do not know… I do not know what I shall do; I have to take this opportunity."
"This is not the time for a lover's quarrel. Pick a number, Desmond, or I will kill your wife," said the voice.
Desomand's eyes filled with panic, and his hands started to shake.
"Marliene, I have to choose now, I can not lose you…"
Desmond turned to look at her for the last time.
"I choose number two…" he mumbled.
"What was that? Did you choose the number two?!" Its voice filled with joy.
"Yes..." said Desmond, his hand finding Marlienes.
"Oh my, how heartless," it mocked. "Killing your own wife rather than your poor, orphaned nephew."
I opened my mouth to speak. "What?!"
Before anyone could react, a sudden force of unnatural gravity slammed into Marliene. The air around her thickened, crushing her chest and limbs. She let out a strangled scream, which was instantly silenced by the force.
Her body distorted and then… blood. Blood covered our faces and clothes. What was once a grown, beautiful woman was now nothing but blood, pieces of flesh, and bone.
Desmond's voice trembled. "N-no…"
We both stood frozen at the sight before us.
A chilling laugh echoed through the chamber, low and cruel at first, then rising into a full, haunting cackle.
"Ha… ha… ha… ha!" The voice rang, each note dripping with malice. "Tottles~, you are not getting her back anytime soon."
Footsteps echoed. "Where are you guys-!" Kael froze at the sight before him. "A-aunt…?" The sight before him made him want to puke.
But he couldn't stay frozen for long; they needed to run. Kael needed to make sure the only relatives he had left were alive. So he quickly grabbed the shocked males and began running towards safety.
[And that is how our empire crumbled. You might think it's an exaggeration; surely the stone isn't that powerful. And maybe you're right; however, to us, the stone and how our empire came to be were unknown. If our emperor had pushed research on such a topic, if only he had analysed the ancient texts, our empire would still be here. Here's a lesson, reader, never leave the unknown to be the unknown.]