The Veil of Obsidian Eclipse

-Night; Corridor in Fortress of Ossa-

In the depths of the Fortress of Ossa, where shadows danced on ancient stone walls and the air hung heavy with the weight of secrets, a scene of chaos unfolded. The corridor, once a symbol of Azone power and discipline, now lay in disarray. Unconscious bodies of elite guards were scattered like broken dolls, a testament to the devastating force that had swept through moments before.

At the center of this maelstrom stood Roxana, her bright orange hair now a tangled mess, her zircon blue eyes wide with shock and brimming with tears. She had collapsed to the ground, her body wracked with sobs that echoed off the cold stone walls. The proud, cunning woman who had orchestrated so many plans was now reduced to a trembling figure, overwhelmed by the sudden turn of events.

Looming over her was her aunt, the Leader of the Azones. Her face was a mask of frustration and barely contained anger, her voice sharp as she commanded, "Get up, Roxana!"

But Roxana remained unresponsive, lost in a world of her own making. The terrifying display of Helios's dark magic replayed in her mind, over and over, a nightmarish loop she couldn't escape. The man she had once loved, once betrayed, had returned with a vengeance she never anticipated. The carefully constructed walls of her plans were crumbling around her, and she was powerless to stop it.

The air in the corridor was thick with tension, the whispers of the few conscious onlookers adding to the surreal atmosphere. They spoke in hushed tones, their words a mixture of fear, confusion, and morbid fascination.

"Did you see what he did?"

"How could anyone have that much power?"

"Is that really the King's brother?"

"What's going to happen now?"

Their words swirled around Roxana, adding to the cacophony in her mind. She was drowning in a sea of consequences, the weight of her choices pressing down on her with crushing force.

Suddenly, a new voice cut through the chaos like a knife through butter. "Roxana, didn't you hear your aunt? Get up, this instant."

The command, spoken in a deep, authoritative tone, seemed to pierce through Roxana's mental fog. Slowly, as if awakening from a trance, she raised her head. Her tear-stained face turned towards the source of the voice, and as recognition dawned in her eyes, a flicker of fear passed across her face.

Standing there, his presence commanding attention even in the midst of chaos, was a man known to few but feared by many. This was Roxana's partner, the one who had helped her set in motion events that would change the fate of Elmir forever. His sharp features seemed carved from stone, his dark eyes holding secrets that could topple kingdoms.

As Roxana struggled to her feet, her gaze never left the man's face. There was a history there, written in the tension between them, in the way Roxana's body seemed to both lean towards him and recoil at the same time.

"We have a situation to handle," he said, his voice low but carrying easily in the hushed corridor. "Your... husband's return complicates things."

Roxana flinched at the word 'husband', but straightened her spine, trying to regain her composure. The tears on her cheeks were already drying, replaced by a mask of determination. She took a deep breath, steadying herself before speaking.

"What do you suggest?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

The man's lips curled into a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "We adapt, my dear. We always adapt."

His words hung in the air, heavy with implication. This was a dance they had performed before, a delicate balance of power and secrets. But now, with Helios's unexpected return, the stakes had never been higher.

Roxana's aunt, who had been watching this exchange with narrowed eyes, stepped forward. "What are you two talking about?" she demanded, her voice sharp with suspicion. "Roxana, explain yourself. Now."

Roxana turned to her aunt, her face a carefully composed mask of innocence. "It's nothing, Aunt. Just... strategies for dealing with this unexpected situation."

But her aunt wasn't buying it. "Strategies? What strategies could you possibly have that I don't know about? I am the Leader of the Azones, and you will tell me everything. Now."

The tension in the corridor ratcheted up another notch. Roxana's partner stepped forward, placing himself slightly in front of Roxana in a subtle but clear gesture of protection.

"With all due respect, Madam Leader," he said, his voice smooth as silk but with an underlying edge of steel, "Rhere are some matters that are best discussed in private. The safety of Elmir may depend on discretion."

Roxana's aunt's eyes narrowed further. "You dare to speak to me of the safety of Elmir? Who are you to make such judgments?"

-3 days later. Night; Amoria Palace, Guest Room-

In the shadowed depths of the unfinished Amoria Palace, a solitary figure sat motionless in the dusty guest room. Helios Limonizer Vernoke Domino, once a man of grandeur, now appeared as broken as the half-constructed building around him. The pale moonlight filtering through the balcony cast long, ghostly shadows across the room, painting everything in shades of silver and ash.

Helios reclined on a newly brought sofa, an island of luxury in the sea of construction debris. His head rested heavily on his palm, leaning to the right as if the weight of his thoughts was physically pulling him down. His eyes, once bright with ambition, now stared vacantly into the darkness, seeing nothing and everything all at once.

The silence was oppressive, broken only by the occasional creak of settling wood or the whisper of wind through unfinished corridors. Then, a new sound emerged - light footsteps echoing down the hallway, growing closer with each passing moment.

Helios lifted his head slowly, his movements as weary as if he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. He waited, tension building in the air like an approaching storm.

*Knock Knock*

Two sharp knocks cut through the silence.

"Enter," Helios replied, his voice devoid of emotion, as hollow as the unfinished rooms surrounding him.

The door creaked open, revealing Kyle Brunte, Helios' loyal subordinate. Kyle's face was a study in conflicting emotions - seriousness etched into the lines of his brow, but with a glimmer of something softer in his eyes. Concern, perhaps, or a deep-seated worry for the man before him.

"Your Majesty..." Kyle began, his voice hesitant, as if testing the waters of Helios' mood.

Helios looked up, his gaze piercing. Without words, his eyes demanded justification for this interruption of his solitude.

Kyle straightened, gathering his resolve. "Princess Roxana Von Olar Mera Eana Kior. I believe I have information about her that will be of use to you."

At the mention of Roxana's name, a flicker of something - rage? pain? - passed across Helios' face, gone so quickly it might have been a trick of the moonlight. His expression settled back into a mask of indifference, pale and lifeless as a corpse.

"The Little Duke of Valentine. Cillian De Valentine Eriko Elmir," Kyle continued, his words hanging heavy in the air.

Helios turned away, his gaze drawn to the balcony and the night beyond. His voice, when he spoke, was muffled, his fist partially covering his mouth. "And what of that child?" The words dripped with disinterest, a stark contrast to the tension visible in the set of his shoulders.

Kyle hesitated, his eyes darting away as if unable to meet Helios' gaze. "Princess Roxana, has made him a holder of the Key of Minsan. And your daughter...the lock."

A scoff escaped Helios' lips, a sound devoid of humor. "I couldn't expect less from her."

Silence fell between them, heavy and oppressive. Helios' mind raced, piecing together the implications of this news. His daughter, his flesh and blood, now a pawn in Roxana's grand schemes. The Valentinian child, burdened with an empire's weight and now this mystical key. It was a tangled web of politics and ancient magic, with lives hanging in the balance.

"Having Elmirian and Kiorian blood, must suck," Helios remarked, a ghost of a smile tugging at his lips. The words were casual, almost flippant, but there was an undercurrent of bitterness that spoke volumes.

"Indeed," Kyle agreed, his confidence seemingly restored. He opened his mouth to continue his report, but Helios cut him off.

"So, let me guess. She's killing two birds with one stone. Using Cillian, as a catalyst to speed up her route to victory. Even if Cillian has connections to the two most High ranking empires, it just doesn't mean-"

"It means it all, Your Majesty," Kyle interrupted, his expression grave. "Elmir and Romania have the longest connections than any Empires and Kingdoms in history."

Helios slumped back against the sofa, his head tilted up, eyes fixed on the unfinished ceiling above. "Aha...so she's not shooting just 2 birds, 3 to be precise. I see."

"Exactly..." Kyle's voice held a note of satisfaction, pleased that Helios was following the thread of his report.

"Meaning, that my sweet little Roxana is completely unaware of the fact that our beloved child bears what she yearned for years," Helios mused, his voice taking on a dangerous edge.

"The Power of Dragon Flames," Kyle added, his words hanging in the air like smoke.

Helios continued, his voice growing stronger with each word. "Indicating, that striking 2 empires with one child and tying her own child to make it easier, means....she doesn't know, that her plan is on the verge of being backfired."

"Exactly..." Kyle's lips curled into a smirk, a mirror of the growing satisfaction in Helios' voice.

"Too bad...she's still as dumb as-" Helios began, but his words were cut short by a sudden sound.

Click

The balcony door lock turned, the sound impossibly loud in the tense silence of the room. Helios' head snapped towards the sound, his body tensing like a coiled spring.

There, framed by the moonlight, stood a figure that made both men's hearts stop. Luxana, Helios' daughter, her dress a deep reddish-black that seemed to absorb the moonlight. But it wasn't the dress that drew their attention - it was the thick, glistening coat of blood that covered her from head to toe.

"Greetings, Father," Luxana's voice dripped with sarcasm as she bowed low, a mockery of respect.

As she straightened, her eyes met Helios', a smug smile playing across her blood-spattered face. The sight was so incongruous, so terrifying, that for a moment, neither Helios nor Kyle could process what they were seeing.

Then, with a casual grace that belied the horror of her appearance, Luxana raised her left arm. Her index finger pointed at Kyle, who stood frozen at the far end of the room.

SKEACH

A bolt of fire, as bright and terrible as lightning, erupted from Luxana's fingertip. It streaked across the room, aimed unerringly at Kyle's heart. The man's eyes widened in terror, his body paralyzed by fear and disbelief.

In that frozen moment, Helios moved. With inhuman speed, he threw himself in front of Kyle, his body a shield against his daughter's attack. The fire struck him instead, dissipating harmlessly against some unseen barrier.

"Ene, ene. Aitak beti bezain indartsu jarraitzen du." Luxana hissed, her smile growing impossibly wider. "Niri komeni zait, halako gizona nire aita izatea." The words were laced with displeasure, a child's pout twisted into something monstrous.

(Translation: "My, my. Father is still as strong as ever." Luxana hissed, her smile growing impossibly wider."It behooves me, that such a man is my father." The words were laced with displeasure, a child's pout twisted into something monstrous.)

Helios stood motionless, confusion evident in every line of his body. This blood-soaked creature wearing his daughter's face - what had happened? What had turned his child into this terrifying being?

"A ze etsipena," Luxana said, her voice suddenly childlike, incongruous with her bloody appearance. The sound of it made Helios' heart race, a primal fear taking root in his chest.

(Translation: "What a disappointment," Luxana said, her voice suddenly childlike, incongruous with her bloody appearance. The sound of it made Helios' heart race, a primal fear taking root in his chest.)

And then, as suddenly as she had appeared, Luxana was gone. She faded diagonally, her form dissolving into the shadows. The last thing to disappear was her frown, hanging in the air like the grin of the Cheshire Cat before it too vanished into nothingness.

In the aftermath of her departure, the room felt colder, the shadows deeper. Helios and Kyle stood frozen, their minds reeling from what they had witnessed. The night that had begun with political machinations and old grudges had taken a turn into something far darker, far more terrifying.

-3 days ago, Night on the Cruise- 

The sharp, searing pain of Cillian's bite ripped through the residual haze in my mind, instantly clarifying my thoughts. Forget answers, forget insults, forget everything except the primal need to survive. This wasn't a game anymore; this was an attack.

I roared, a sound ripped from my very core, fueled by adrenaline and pure, unadulterated fury. My hands, still pinned beneath Cillian's weight, balled into fists, nails digging into my palms. He was straddling me, a predatory glint in his now-widened aquamarine eyes, his teeth still buried in my neck. The blood continued to flow, warm and sticky against my skin.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" I screamed, the words a guttural snarl. I thrashed against him, bucking my hips, trying to dislodge him, but his grip was surprisingly strong, his weight pinning me effectively. This boy, this manipulative monster, was stronger than he looked.

"Protecting you," he whispered, his voice a chillingly calm counterpoint to the violence he was inflicting. The words were spoken against my skin, sending a fresh wave of revulsion washing over me.

Protecting me?! By biting me? Are you out of your goddamn mind?! I mused. My struggles intensified, fuelled by a surge of panic. I couldn't breathe properly, his weight crushing my chest, the metallic tang of blood filling my mouth. Was this some kind of twisted vampire fantasy he was acting out?

I angled my head, trying to get leverage, and slammed my forehead against his nose as hard as I could.

He gasped, a sharp intake of breath that momentarily loosened his grip. It was enough. I seized the opportunity, twisting my body violently to the side and using his surprise to finally throw him off me.

He landed hard on the floor, his hand flying to his nose, which was now rapidly swelling. Blood dripped between his fingers, painting his pale skin an even more grotesque shade. Good. He deserved that and worse.

To be Continued...