Night had finally fallen, cloaking the city in a velvet hush.
Soren and Freyja walked side by side through the winding streets of an old Mexican district, the lamps casting golden pools of light over cracked stone roads and faded murals.
The air was warm, scented with distant spices and tropical flowers.
Music played faintly from a radio in someone's window, but even that seemed to dim as they walked deeper into the night.
Despite the peace, Freyja's thoughts remained tangled in Lorelai's schemes and the dark magic swirling just out of reach.
Yet, Soren's calm presence and the city's slow rhythm began to peel back her tension, layer by layer.
"This place is… strange." She murmured.
"But beautiful."
Soren gave a light chuckle. "You've fought across the stars, and now you're charmed by a back alley in Mexico?"
Freyja smiled faintly. "I'm allowed to enjoy small things, genius doctor."
"Well, enjoy it while it lasts." Soren replied, his tone playful but edged with warning.
"Things will get messy soon. And when they do… don't interfere."
Freyja arched a brow. "Don't tell me what to do."
"You're a goddess of war. I'd never dare." He winked.
"But if you're afraid… you can hold my hand."
Freyja scoffed, but her smirk betrayed her amusement.
As they turned down a narrow alley, the atmosphere shifted. The vibrant sounds of the city faded.
The streets grew emptier… very empty. Freyja's fingers twitching near her blade.
Even she could feel it now, the presence hiding in the darkness. Shadows that didn't belong. Eyes that glowed faintly red in the gloom.
Soren stopped walking, his gaze sweeping the alley with sharp precision. "They're here."
"Not purebloods." He added quietly. "Blood ghosts. Mutated fodder."
Freyja narrowed her eyes. "Strange… their aura feels unstable."
"Exactly." He stepped forward. "Keep your sword sheathed. Our target is Lorelai, not her pets."
"I'll try." Freyja muttered, already tensing.
From the shadows, dozens of figures emerged, gaunt, pale, eyes glowing with savage hunger. They made no sound, only stalked forward like wolves circling prey.
Soren raised his voice casually. "Anyone feel like telling me where your lovely queen's hiding? No?"
The answer came as a rush of movement, fangs bared, claws outstretched, the blood ghosts surged forward in a wave.
Freyja's armor shimmered into being in a flash of divine light, the Sword appearing in her hand. "They're not listening."
"Let me do the talking." Soren said calmly. He lifted a hand.
"Spatial Lock."
Time fractured.
The charging horde froze in place mid-lunge, arms outstretched, mouths snarling, completely motionless. Even the wind seemed to stop.
Freyja blinked, stunned. "You never told me you could stop time."
Soren glanced at her with a grin. "Didn't think I needed to impress you."
He reached into his coat and pulled out a small pouch, handing Freyja several metallic objects.
"What are these?" She asked, examining the odd little devices.
"Ultraviolet flash units," Soren explained. "Modified to emit condensed UV rays. Vampires don't like them."
Freyja studied one, brow furrowing. "You just carry these around?"
"I'm the doctor." Soren said with a shrug. "I believe in preventative measures."
He flipped a switch on one of the flashlights, and a focused beam of ultraviolet light burst forth. He aimed it at the face of a frozen vampire, the skin sizzled, blistered, then blackened.
Smoke curled from its cheek as the creature writhed in place, though still paralyzed by the spatial lock.
Freyja's eyes widened. "Effective."
"Ahhh!"
The vampire caught in the beam of ultraviolet light let out a piercing shriek.
Paralyzed by Soren's spatial lock, it could do nothing but scream as its skin blackened and cracked, smoke rising in thin tendrils from its face.
The beam intensified.
Its shrieks turned to gurgles, then silence. In seconds, the creature crumbled to black ash, scattered like dust in the alley's quiet air.
Soren lowered the flashlight and glanced at the frozen vampires around them, unbothered by the fear in their glowing eyes.
"See?" He said coolly to Freyja. "Very persuasive."
Freyja watched in awe as she absently turned the ultraviolet device in her palm. "You mortals have some… clever toys. I'm impressed."
"Practical. The dead don't lie. But the terrified? They'll spill everything."
Within minutes, the vampires gave up what they knew, the location of Lorelai's lair, hidden within an abandoned church at the edge of the city.
Soren gave the remaining captives one last look, then held out his hand. A small sphere of sterling silver glinted between his fingers.
"I bought this while we were shopping."
The metal sphere broke apart in his hand, disintegrating into thousands of microscopic silver shards. With a subtle gesture, Soren released them, his fingers twitching with controlled magnetism.
The particles ignited with kinetic fury, tearing through the immobilized vampires in a storm of silver light.
Screams erupted.
Then... fire.
Bright, short-lived flames flared as each vampire combusted, their cursed flesh unable to resist the silver's holy sting.
By the time the last echo faded, silence returned to the alley. Only ashes remained.
Soren dusted off his coat and turned toward Freyja. "Messy, but effective."
Freyja studied the scorched alleyway. "There are more vampires on Midgard than I imagined."
"The Nine Realms believed they were all destroyed long ago. Their bloodlust nearly caused a multiversal war."
"Guess they've been laying low." Soren replied. "But if Lorelai gets control of them…"
"She could start something worse."
Freyja nodded, her expression firming. "Then let's end it before it begins."
Soren and Freyja arrived at the outskirts of a decrepit church, crumbling under the weight of time and shadow. The moon hung low behind drifting clouds, casting dim silver light across the crooked cross atop the bell tower.
The church was silent, too silent.
Movement.
Sounds of battle cracked through the night.
Soren and Freyja turned toward the commotion.
Under the pale moonlight, a tall figure moved like a specter among the shadows, a Black man, clad in a leather trench coat, wielding a gleaming long blade with precise, deadly rhythm.
He cut through the attacking vampires effortlessly, each strike enhanced by the silver lining on his blade.
When a group charged him, he calmly pulled twin pistols from his coat and unleashed a hail of silver bullets, dropping them in seconds.
"Who…?" Freyja asked, eyebrows raised.
"Not one of ours." Soren said, watching with interest. "But definitely not one of theirs either."
The man reloaded mid-spin, driving his blade through the heart of a snarling vampire. It burst into flame before it even hit the ground.
Freyja's eyes sparkled. "Efficient."
"Yeah." Soren agreed.
"Let's not get in his way just yet."