Selene stood under the lantern like she belonged there, like the darkness around her was a royal cloak.
Her white dress was spotless, almost glowing against the dirty street, and her hair flowed softly in the wind. If anyone saw her from a distance, they would think she was an angel who wandered into the slums by mistake.
But I could feel it.
Her aura was wrong.
It was thick, black, and crawling, like poison mixed with blood.
Her eyes locked onto mine.
Slitted.
Cold.
Hungry.
"You really came back," Selene whispered again, taking another step forward.
The lantern above her flickered, as if it was afraid of her.
I tightened my grip on the Blood Severing Blade.
My heart was pounding so hard I could feel it in my throat.
"You should not be here," I said.
Selene laughed softly.
The sound was almost the same as before.
Almost.
But there was something deeper in it now. Something that did not sound human.
"I should not be here," she repeated, amused. "Elara, I have never belonged in places like this. I belong above everyone. I belong at the top."
She stopped a few steps away from me.
The air between us felt like it was burning.
"I heard you escaped the Blood Court," she continued. "I also heard you killed an elder."
Her smile widened.
"I am proud of you."
I stared at her, disgust twisting inside me.
"You are proud," I repeated. "After you tried to have me erased"
Selene's expression softened as if she was offended.
"Elara," she said gently, "you always misunderstand me."
The words hit me like a memory.
She said that same thing in my past life.
Every time she hurt me, she spoke softly.
Every time she betrayed me, she pretended she was doing it for my own good.
Selene lifted her hand and placed it over her chest.
"You were never supposed to awaken," she whispered. "That power inside you was dangerous. If I had not taken it, the kingdom would have suffered."
I laughed bitterly.
"The kingdom," I said. "Do you hear yourself You are not a hero, Selene. You are a thief."
Her smile faded.
For a moment, the darkness around her flared.
Then her face twisted into something ugly.
Something honest.
"You are the thief," she hissed suddenly. "You were born with everything while I had to fight for scraps. You had the bloodline. You had the potential. You had the prophecy."
Her voice rose, trembling with rage.
"And still you were useless."
The words stabbed deep.
But I did not flinch.
Because I had already heard worse.
I had heard her whisper in my ear while I burned alive.
Selene stepped closer.
Her black aura crawled across the ground like smoke.
"You should have stayed dead," she said softly.
My eyes narrowed.
"And you should have stayed powerless," I replied.
Her pupils contracted.
Then she smiled again, slow and cruel.
"Oh, Elara," she whispered. "I am not powerless anymore."
She raised her hand.
And the darkness around her moved.
Not like mist.
Like something living.
It coiled around her arm.
A black serpent made of blood.
My breath caught.
The serpent hissed.
Its eyes were red, glowing like embers.
The air smelled like rotten iron.
I took a step back instinctively.
Selene watched my reaction and laughed.
"Yes," she said, enjoying it. "You feel it, do you not My new bloodline."
My fingers tightened around the blade.
"What did they give you," I demanded.
Selene's smile widened.
"They gave me what I deserved," she said. "The Serpent Bloodline."
The serpent around her arm grew longer, thicker, its body wrapping around her like armor.
Selene lifted her chin proudly.
"It is not stolen," she whispered. "It is mine."
I could barely breathe.
The Queen's voice whispered inside my mind.
Corrupted bloodline.
They have begun their experiments.
My heart dropped.
Experiments.
The Blood Council was creating monsters.
Selene tilted her head slightly, studying me like prey.
"Do you know why I came here," she asked softly.
I did not answer.
Selene's voice became almost tender.
"I came to see you," she said. "I came to confirm it with my own eyes. That you are truly awake."
She stepped closer.
Then she smiled like she was about to give me a gift.
"And now that I have confirmed it…"
Her hand moved.
The serpent hissed louder.
"…I will take it."
I lunged forward instantly.
My blood flames erupted around my arm as I swung the Blood Severing Blade toward her throat.
Selene did not dodge.
She simply lifted her arm.
The serpent moved like lightning.
It wrapped around my blade mid strike.
The moment it touched the metal, my bloodline reacted violently.
My flames flickered.
The serpent absorbed part of my heat.
My eyes widened.
It was feeding.
Selene laughed.
"You see," she whispered. "It eats blood magic."
She yanked her arm.
The serpent pulled hard, ripping the blade from my grip and throwing it across the street.
The blade slammed into a wall with a loud clang.
My heart pounded.
I raised my hands quickly, summoning crimson flames.
Selene stepped forward calmly.
The serpent around her arm expanded, spreading into two serpents now, both hissing.
"I missed this," she whispered. "Watching you struggle."
Then she attacked.
The serpents shot forward, striking at me like whips.
I dodged the first.
The second hit my shoulder.
Pain exploded.
The serpent's fangs sank into my flesh.
It burned like acid.
I screamed and stumbled back.
The serpent did not let go.
It tightened around my arm, squeezing.
My bloodline surged, trying to burn it away.
But the serpent fed on it.
The more I struggled, the more it drank.
My breathing became uneven.
Selene's eyes glowed with satisfaction.
"That is right," she whispered. "Give me more."
I clenched my teeth.
If I continued fighting with flames, I would lose.
This bloodline was designed to counter mine.
I forced myself to stop struggling.
Forced my bloodline to calm.
The serpent hesitated slightly, confused.
Selene frowned.
"What are you doing," she asked.
I lifted my eyes slowly.
And smiled.
"Thinking," I whispered.
Then I slammed my palm into the ground.
Instead of summoning flames, I summoned pressure.
Blood pressure.
The ground beneath Selene cracked.
She gasped as the blood in her body suddenly surged upward violently, as if her veins were being pulled by invisible strings.
Selene stumbled.
Her serpent loosened its grip on my arm.
I ripped my arm free and rolled backward.
Selene steadied herself quickly, but her expression had changed.
Her smile was gone.
Now she looked irritated.
"You have learned," she said quietly.
I wiped blood from my lips.
"I have died," I replied. "That teaches more than books."
Selene's eyes narrowed.
Then she laughed.
A sharp, bitter laugh.
"Fine," she whispered. "Then let us see which of us deserves to live."
She lifted both hands.
Her black aura erupted violently.
The serpents multiplied.
One became three.
Three became five.
Five became a swarm of twisting black snakes made of blood and shadow.
They filled the air above her head, circling like a storm.
My chest tightened.
That was too much.
Even I could not fight that many.
The Queen's voice whispered inside my mind.
Do not call me yet.
I froze.
"What"
Not yet, the Queen replied.
You must win without me.
Or you will become dependent.
My jaw tightened.
She was right.
If I kept letting her take control, I would eventually disappear.
But how could I fight Selene alone
The serpents hissed in unison.
Then they attacked.
They flew toward me like arrows.
I ran.
I sprinted down the street, dodging left and right as the serpents slammed into walls and shattered stone. One snake struck the ground beside me and exploded into black smoke.
My lungs burned.
My injured shoulder throbbed.
Selene's voice echoed behind me.
"Run, Elara," she called mockingly. "That is what you do best."
I clenched my teeth.
I turned sharply into a narrow alley.
The serpents followed instantly.
The alley was too tight.
The walls closed in.
No space to dodge.
I turned around and raised my hands.
Crimson flames erupted, forming a wall.
The serpents slammed into it.
The flames flickered violently as the serpents began to feed.
My wall weakened.
I could feel my mana draining rapidly.
My vision blurred slightly.
No.
Not like this.
I searched desperately for something.
Anything.
Then my eyes landed on a broken metal pipe lying in the alley corner.
I grabbed it.
A plan formed instantly.
Bloodlines were powerful.
But bodies were still bodies.
Even corrupted ones.
I raised the pipe and slammed it hard against the stone wall.
The loud clang echoed through the alley.
The serpents paused for a fraction of a second.
Then I swung again.
Clang.
Again.
Clang.
The sound was sharp and high pitched, vibrating through the air.
Selene's serpents began to twitch.
Their movements became unstable.
I realized something.
They were sensitive to vibration.
Sensitive to sound.
Selene's eyes widened from the alley entrance.
"What are you doing," she snapped.
I did not answer.
I struck the wall again, harder.
Clang.
The serpents screamed.
Yes.
They screamed.
A horrible hissing screech filled the alley as the snakes twisted in pain.
Selene staggered back, clutching her head.
Her face contorted.
"Stop," she hissed.
I smiled through my exhaustion.
So the Serpent Bloodline had a weakness after all.
I struck again.
Clang.
The serpents dissolved into black smoke.
Selene screamed, dropping to one knee.
Her aura flickered.
Her pupils widened.
Her breath became uneven.
I stepped forward slowly, my eyes locked on her.
My blood flames gathered around my hands again.
This time I did not attack blindly.
I aimed.
Selene looked up at me, her face twisted in rage.
"You think you have won," she whispered.
I leaned closer.
"I do not think," I said softly. "I know."
Then I raised my hand.
Crimson flame formed into a blade.
A blade made of pure blood fire.
Selene's eyes widened.
For the first time, I saw real fear.
Not fake tears.
Not manipulation.
Fear.
I moved forward to strike.
But before my blade could reach her throat, Selene smiled.
A slow, twisted smile.
Then she whispered one word.
"Awaken."
The air froze.
A symbol appeared on Selene's forehead.
A black serpent coiled into a crown.
My heart stopped.
Her aura exploded outward violently.
The alley walls cracked.
The lanterns outside shattered.
A pressure slammed into my chest, forcing me backward.
I crashed into the wall hard.
Pain exploded in my ribs.
I coughed blood.
Selene rose slowly.
But she did not rise like Selene.
She rose like something ancient.
Something evil.
Her voice was no longer hers.
It echoed.
"Elara Nightborne," she said, but it sounded like multiple voices speaking at once. "You carry the Queen."
My blood ran cold.
Selene tilted her head.
Then she smiled wider.
"And now," she whispered, "I will rip her out of you."
The black serpent crown on her forehead glowed brighter.
The shadows around her gathered into one massive serpent.
A serpent taller than a building.
Its eyes opened.
Red.
Hungry.
It hissed, and the sound alone made my bones tremble.
I pushed myself up, breathing hard, my vision blurred.
My body was exhausted.
My bloodline was drained.
And Selene had just entered a new level.
The Queen's voice whispered inside my mind.
Now.
My hands trembled.
I knew what she meant.
If I did not let her take over now, I would die.
Again.
I stared at Selene.
Selene stared back.
And the massive serpent opened its mouth, ready to swallow me whole.
I closed my eyes.
Then I whispered.
"Take control."
The crimson crown above my head blazed like a blood moon.
And the alley exploded into light.