Rain poured over Darkheart Castle.
Lightning tore through the heavens.
Thunder rolled across the mountains surrounding the vampire capital.
The world felt restless.
As if nature itself knew something was coming.
Something terrible.
Something inevitable.
Inside the royal chamber.
Nobody moved.
The revelation about the Forgotten still lingered heavily in the air.
Three hundred ancient monsters.
Followers of the First King.
Released.
Somewhere beneath the kingdom.
Free.
Damian sat silently near the shattered window.
The storm illuminated his face every few seconds.
His mind was racing.
The prophecy.
The First King.
The goddess.
The Forgotten.
And now...
a truth everyone seemed terrified to tell him.
The prince hated it.
He hated ignorance.
More than pain.
More than enemies.
More than death.
Because ignorance made him powerless.
And Damian Rake hated feeling powerless.
Especially when everyone around him already knew the answers.
The prince finally broke the silence.
"What aren't you telling me?"
Fenrir looked at him.
Scarlett looked away.
That alone confirmed it.
There was still more.
Much more.
Damian stood up.
Slowly.
His crimson eyes burned.
"No more half-truths."
"No more secrets."
His voice echoed throughout the room.
The storm outside seemed to grow louder.
The prince stared directly at Fenrir.
"Tell me everything."
The king remained silent.
Then sighed.
A tired sigh.
The sigh of a man who had carried a burden for too long.
Finally he spoke.
"There is a reason the First King calls you prince."
Damian froze.
The room became silent.
Even Scarlett closed her eyes.
Almost as if she dreaded what came next.
Fenrir continued.
"A reason the Blood Eater recognized you."
"A reason ancient monsters react to your presence."
"A reason the prophecy revolves around you."
Damian felt his heartbeat accelerating.
The king looked directly into his eyes.
Then said:
"Because your blood doesn't belong entirely to us."
The prince frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Fenrir slowly walked toward him.
For a brief moment.
The Vampire King looked unsure.
Almost regretful.
Then he finally revealed the truth.
"The royal bloodline wasn't created naturally."
Silence.
Damian stared.
Fenrir continued.
"Thousands of years ago."
"Before kingdoms."
"Before modern races."
"The First King had children."
The prince felt his heart skip a beat.
Children?
The First King had descendants?
That changed everything.
The king nodded.
"As his empire grew."
"So did his bloodline."
"His descendants spread throughout the world."
The room became quiet.
Then Fenrir's voice grew darker.
"The gods slaughtered almost all of them."
Damian clenched his fists.
Of course they did.
The gods feared the First King.
Naturally they would destroy his family.
His legacy.
His future.
Fenrir continued.
"But not all."
"Some survived."
The prince's eyes widened.
Suddenly.
A horrifying possibility appeared in his mind.
Fenrir saw it.
And nodded.
"Yes."
The king's voice became almost a whisper.
"Our bloodline descends from him."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Damian couldn't speak.
For several seconds.
His mind simply stopped.
The First King.
The monster beneath Darkheart.
The being capable of shaking the world.
The creature imprisoned by gods.
Was his ancestor.
His blood.
His family.
The realization hit harder than any weapon.
Everything suddenly made sense.
The Blood Eater.
The voice.
The connection.
The prison.
Everything.
The First King wasn't calling him prince as a title.
He was calling him family.
The prince slowly stepped backward.
His mind struggled to process it.
"No..."
Fenrir nodded.
"It's true."
Damian laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because it was insane.
Absolutely insane.
The prince looked toward Scarlett.
She didn't deny it.
That hurt more than anything.
Because now he knew.
Everyone had known.
Everyone.
Except him.
The prince turned away.
Trying to calm himself.
Trying to think.
Trying to breathe.
Yet another question appeared.
A terrifying question.
"If that's true..."
He slowly turned.
Looking at Fenrir.
"Then why am I different?"
The room became silent again.
Because that was the real question.
The question everyone feared.
The question nobody wanted to answer.
Damian wasn't simply a vampire.
Or a werewolf.
Or a descendant.
He was something else.
Something new.
Something unprecedented.
The king closed his eyes.
Then finally answered.
"Because we changed fate."
The prince froze.
Scarlett lowered her head.
Fenrir continued.
"When your mother became pregnant."
"The prophecy had already spread."
"The gods knew."
"The witches knew."
"The ancient races knew."
The king's fists tightened.
"They all wanted you dead."
Damian remained silent.
Listening.
Fenrir's voice grew colder.
"We knew a normal child wouldn't survive."
The prince frowned.
"What do you mean?"
The king looked directly at him.
"You were dying before you were born."
The room froze.
Scarlett looked away.
Pain flashed across her face.
Old pain.
The kind that never fully disappears.
Damian felt a chill.
The king continued.
"The power inside you was unstable."
"Your body couldn't handle it."
"You would've died before birth."
The prince couldn't believe what he was hearing.
His mother slowly spoke.
"The prophecy was killing you."
Her voice trembled.
A rare sight.
A terrifying sight.
Because Scarlett Moonfang Rake was not weak.
Yet this memory still hurt her.
Even after eighteen years.
The queen continued.
"We tried everything."
"Witches."
"Healers."
"Ancient magic."
"Nothing worked."
Damian listened silently.
His chest felt tight.
Scarlett's eyes became distant.
Lost in memories.
Then she whispered:
"Until she appeared."
The goddess.
Damian immediately knew.
Scarlett nodded.
"She came to us."
"No guards saw her."
"No barriers stopped her."
"One moment she wasn't there."
"The next she stood beside us."
The room became quiet.
Even Fenrir remained silent.
Respect filled his eyes.
Respect for someone powerful enough to ignore every defense Darkheart possessed.
Scarlett smiled faintly.
"The first thing she said was..."
The queen paused.
Then repeated the memory.
"'This child cannot die.'"
Damian felt something stir inside him.
Something ancient.
Something familiar.
The queen continued.
"She saved you."
"She gave part of her divine power."
"Part of her essence."
The prince froze.
The room became silent.
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
The implications were enormous.
A goddess had placed part of her power inside him.
Not around him.
Inside him.
Scarlett slowly nodded.
"That is why you're different."
"That is why you survived."
"That is why gods fear you."
Damian's heartbeat thundered.
His blood felt hot.
Too hot.
Suddenly.
Everything made sense.
The strange dreams.
The silver light.
The unnatural connection he felt when hearing about the goddess.
The feeling of loss.
Of longing.
Of familiarity.
The prince's hands trembled.
Not from fear.
From realization.
Something inside him recognized her.
Not as a stranger.
But as someone important.
Very important.
Then—
BOOOOOOOOM!!!
The strongest tremor yet struck Darkheart Castle.
The floor exploded.
Walls cracked.
Windows shattered.
A terrifying roar echoed from beneath the earth.
This time everyone heard it.
Not only Damian.
Everyone.
The roar was ancient.
Monstrous.
Powerful enough to freeze souls.
Far below.
The First King had risen from his throne.
And for the first time in thousands of years...
One of his chains had completely broken.
SNAP.
The sound echoed through every level of the prison.
The giant smiled.
Then he looked upward.
Toward Darkheart.
Toward Damian.
And he whispered:
"You're finally learning."
Above.
Damian suddenly grabbed his chest.
A violent pain erupted inside him.
His eyes widened.
Silver light exploded from his body.
Crimson energy followed.
Wolf.
Vampire.
Divine.
Three different powers.
Colliding.
Merging.
Awakening.
Fenrir's face changed instantly.
For the first time.
The Vampire King looked afraid.
Because he recognized what was happening.
And if he was right...
Then Damian's true awakening had only just begun.