The Awakening

🔥 BLOOD MOON DAY 🔥

A chilling darkness slithered across the land, swallowing the last traces of moonlight. The howls of wolves shattered the silence, their eerie cries echoing through the barren woods. Bats flapped their wings in frantic bursts, colliding against the cold stone walls of the ancient castle, as if the air itself had become restless.

At the highest chamber of the castle, Abraham Macklin stood stiffly by the massive arched window, his fingers coiled around a smoldering cigarette. Smoke curled in ghostly tendrils around his sharp features, failing to mask the tightness of his jaw.

A door burst open behind him. His son, Peter, stumbled in, his breath ragged, his eyes wide with fear.

"Papa, what's happening? The sky-it's bleeding."

Abraham exhaled slowly, his gaze never wavering from the monstrous, blood-red moon looming above them. The very air trembled, thick with an ancient force awakening from its slumber.

"She is coming, Peter. The one who will rule all three realms. The universe itself is waiting for her."

The silence deepened, dense and expectant.

Then-a scream.

A newborn's cry split the night like a blade through flesh.

She had arrived.

⚡⚡⚡

Far away...

A young man jolted awake, his body convulsing violently, his breath coming in ragged gasps. His eyes, once a warm shade of brown, ignited with an unearthly glow-an abyss of swirling gold and infernal fire. A force unlike anything before surged through him, making the very air around him tremble.

His mother shrieked in terror as her son's body lifted off the bed, defying gravity, his limbs rigid as if held by an unseen power. The entire room quaked, the walls groaning under an invisible pressure, as though something immense and otherworldly were pressing in, trying to break through.

His father, frozen with fear, could barely muster the strength to turn to his eldest son standing beside him. His voice, barely above a whisper, trembled as he asked, "Alfie... what's happening to him?"

But Alfie did not share their fear. Instead, his lips curled into a knowing smile, a strange calm settling over him as he watched his younger brother ascend. His voice, smooth and deliberate, carried an eerie certainty as he whispered back, "It has begun. The queen is born. And he... has awakened."

His gaze remained locked on Aaron, the younger brother now caught in the grip of something far beyond human understanding.

____________________

30 Years Later...

The roar of a black Ferrari shattered the morning calm, tires screeching as the car sliced through the city streets before halting in front of Elite Hospital.

The door swung open, and she stepped out.

A woman of striking elegance, wrapped in an air of untouchable power. Her emerald-green eyes gleamed like polished gemstones under the morning sun, framed by the sharp angles of her flawless face. A Rado watch glinted on her wrist, a quiet testament to the legacy she carried.

As she strode through the hospital's pristine halls, heads turned. Nurses stilled. Interns gawked in whispered awe.

"Who is she?" one of them murmured.

His friend smirked, shaking his head. "That's Dr. Evangeline Anderson. Heiress of the Macklin family. The Key to Life and Death."

_______________

The rhythmic beeping of a heart monitor echoed through the dim hospital room, its steady pulse threading a fragile line between life and the abyss.

Evangeline stood at the bedside of a small, unconscious boy. His breath was barely there, his frail body hanging by a whisper of existence.

And she could feel it-the pull of the underworld creeping into the room, its shadowy fingers reaching for him.

No soul leaves without my will.

But something was wrong. The air shifted, thickening into a suffocating weight. Shadows stretched unnaturally, curling along the walls like living things.

Eva's fingers twitched.

Hades.

"You're early," she murmured, her grip tightening around the boy's wrist. Her touch glowed faintly, a tether anchoring him to the world of the living.

A deep, amused chuckle slid through the room, dark as silk and just as lethal.

"Oh, come now, darling. You make it sound like I don't belong here."

Eva's expression darkened before she even turned.

David lounged against the far wall, watching her with infuriating amusement. He was dressed in an immaculately tailored suit, his golden cufflinks gleaming. Hands in his pockets, he radiated effortless arrogance-the kind only the King of the Underworld could wield.

She scowled. "You don't. This soul isn't yours yet."

David's gaze flickered lazily to the boy before returning to her. "He's at death's door, Diana. I'm simply holding it open."

Eva's emerald eyes burned, shadows flickering around her. "And I'm the one with the key. He stays."

David sighed dramatically, tilting his head as he studied her. "Ah, but think of the suffering you're prolonging. I'm doing you a favor."

"Don't patronize me, Hades."

Her voice cut like a blade. "You know the rules. If I haven't opened the passage, you can't take him."

David took a slow step forward, his voice turning lazy, teasing. "Ah, but you see... he's already halfway through. Maybe he wants to come with me."

Eva's fingers curled into a fist, her nails biting into her palm. The air around her pulsed, and the emerald of her eyes darkened-ink spilling over a jewel, bleeding into the abyss.

A thin, silvery mist coiled around the boy's body, the tether of his soul weakening. The underworld beckoned.

But Eva was not one to yield.

Her power surged. The room trembled. Lights flickered wildly.

David watched, intrigued. "You're serious about this one, aren't you?"

"He has time left."

A long pause. Then-David smirked, stepping back, hands raised in a mock surrender. "Very well, my lady. I'll leave this one to you."

The mist receded. The air lightened. The beeping of the monitors steadied.

Eva exhaled, her hand resting gently on the boy's forehead. "Good."

David chuckled, stepping into the shadows. But before disappearing completely, he murmured, "One day, Hecate... you'll let one slip. And I'll be there when you do."

He vanished before she could respond.

Eva clenched her fists.

He was playing a dangerous game.

And something told her it was only just beginning.

to be continued

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