The Cauldron

[Meanwhile in The Cauldron's H.Q., The Citadel]

Click, click, click, click, click…

"Count Solstice, there's a call waiting for you from an Ascended named 'Asher.' He said he called your cell 3 times—'"

"Oh, yes. Thank you for letting me know, Brigette." The Vampiress, a Cauldron Member and Academy "Shadow Mastery" Professor Seraphina Solstice, nodded to the front desk lady as she entered the Citadel building. She had short, black, wavy hair, bright blue eyes, and a petite frame with a cute, tiny nose. She was clad in a sharp charcoal gray pantsuit, a white blouse, silver accessories, and sleek black heels. Her jet-black hair was elegantly pulled back into a bun. The faint scent of a luxurious floral perfume trailed behind her.

Seraphina entered the ground floor elevator and pressed for the 55th floor, eyes fixed on the doors. Retrieving her phone from her purse, she dialed Asher.

After two rings, he answered, complaining about the numerous calls.

Ignoring his tone, Seraphina got straight to the point. "You failed to bring the criminals to justice, Asher. Now, I'm taking matters into my own hands."

Amused laughter erupted from Asher, prompting a scowl from Seraphina.

"I didn't fail. Nah…" Asher replied. "I had them arrested. It was that kid — froze time, you believe that? Nuts, lemme tell ya…"

Exasperated, Seraphina thought, I hate that talking to this low-life ghetto trash is actually part of my job.

"I'll get them next time, I haven't given up!" Asher growled. "Just give me more time!"

"No, Asher," she replied sternly. "Your current performance isn't sufficient. Contract abolished. Just let it go — I'll send one of my own people."

She hung up, uninterested in his response.

"I cannot wait until this shit is over," she muttered, placing her phone in her purse and retrieving a pack of unique Elephas brand cigarettes, "Oasis." Lighting one, she exhaled as the elevator door opened, revealing The Cauldron-Only floor. Here, a meeting room, gym, training room, and small cafeteria were the only amenities.

Seraphina headed to the Meeting Room, crossing paths with Leon, donned in his black, Cauldron suit, the familiar cauldron emblem on his chest. Teasingly, she said, "I'm glad I'm not the only one late."

Leon shrugged, smirking bashfully. "I guess I do get it from somewhere. Buuut, you might be the only one out of uniform."

"Oh, Aster can deal with it; I can wear whatever I want. I'm the Gate Keeper. Besides, this is what I wore to the Academy today."

Leon chuckled, opened the door for her, and gestured for Seraphina to enter. In the meeting room, all the Cauldron members occupied their designated seats around a circular table.

Queen Hundred, crimson-eyed and examining her nails.

Lucas Vain, the historian, blonde head buried, deep in slumber.

Cassandra Nighthaven, the telepath, reading a tome, her bright blue eyes peeking from blonde bangs.

Torn Drakon, the earth magician, fiery red hair and braided beard, arms crossed.

Evelyn Ecrist, silently praying with closed eyes. Her chestnut brown hair gracefully framed her face. Evelyn was the eldest of them all, and she had the gift of being able to connect to Daemons and Spirits from the Chaos Realm. Urban legends of her knowledge said that she was omniscient.

Empty seats remained for King Aster and the long-gone Ignatius Emberforge, former alchemist and combat coach at the Academy.

"Where's the King?" Torn asked calmly, his wise eyes on Seraphina.

"He said he'd be here shortly," Seraphina replied. Leon sat beside her, swiping on his phone.

"Hello, Leon."

Leon looked up from his phone at Torn, his crimson eyes meeting Torn's gaze. "Hey there, Torn. Been a while since our last meeting, hasn't it?"

Torn nodded, stroking his braided beard. "Indeed it has. How is your Blood Ice ability coming along? It intrigues me."

Leon gave a humble smile. "I'm stronger than I've ever been, Torn. Feels great to know I can crush anyone I want to, haha."

"A good Vampire, you are," Torn said, chuckling. "I remember feeling that way in the prime of my youth — I could create a crater in the Earth with a single punch at 26 years old. Good times."

"Leon…" Lucas Vain groaned, waking up. His red eyes peered at Leon. "H-how is my son, have you seen him?"

Leon shrugged. "Haven't seen him recently."

"Oh, that boy…" Lucas sighed, resting his forehead on the table. "Did you all hear?"

"Hear what?" Seraphina asked.

"That Princess Lysandra has returned."

There was a moment of silence. Leon was conveniently back on his phone, acting like he didn't hear the question. Cassandra Nighthaven continued reading her large book, oblivious.

"It is of no importance to the Queen as of this moment," Seraphina said. The Queen continued examining her nails, as if she couldn't hear. "She is currently tending to the matter of the stolen Best Blood. The perpetrators are still at large."

"I mean, steal it if you want to, but—" Torn started but stopped, looking at Cassandra from across the room. She had stopped reading her book, staring intensely at Torn. Torn looked at Leon, who was still looking down at his phone, and scoffed.

"What was that about?" Seraphina asked, looking from Cassandra to Torn. "What did you say to him, Cassandra?"

Cassandra's voice echoed in Seraphina's mind.

"I told him to shut up and that I'm trying to read. I also told him that Leon doesn't like him."

Seraphina laughed and shook her head. Suddenly, the door whirred open and shut again. Slow footsteps echoed through the room as King Aster himself entered, his striking white hair and crimson eyes catching everyone's attention as he sat down next to Queen Hundred.

"Good morning, everyone, as the Humans like to say," Aster said, his words as smooth as honey. "The little monsters are tucked in their beds, asleep — I love how much quieter the city gets during the day. Anyway, I have important news."

Leon turned off his phone and readied himself.

"Currently, the Best Blood corporation as a whole is losing immense amounts of money, significantly due to the sheer amount of Runners' deaths and equipment damage in the last nine months, for Alessia has become more proactive in dispatching their units. It'll take hundreds of thousands of Bluds to restock all the equipment, supplies, and Extractors that were lost in the most recent Run… not only that, but now we must request even more Humans from Ouroboros, at least 15,000; Best Blood Corp. will have to draft them all to be Runners. And as of today, Necessaries will not be the only ones being drafted — Ascended Vampires will be joining the Runner force. With the sudden boom of the Ascended Vampire population during the recent years, we have more than enough to spare."

"What is this Best Blood for, Your Highness?" Seraphina asked. "It is obviously very expensive to acquire the raw materials needed to make it."

King Aster addressed Seraphina, saying, "Best Blood is a concoction created by Ignatius Emberforge, our former alchemist, using Alessia's blood and the essence of the Chaos Core. Ignatius left his method and all scientific work with us to complete, resulting in Best Blood. Its purpose is to spark an evolution in Vampire DNA, creating Vampires with natural abilities in all magic types. Then, no man or Daemon can challenge the Vampires."

Torn smirked, saying, "Now, I like the sound of that."

King Aster continued, "The Ascended Vampires were meant to achieve this, but our experiments failed, creating weak Vampires, with even less magic. I decided to distribute the blood to everyone and let the evolution happen naturally."

"W-wait… I'm kind of confused, sorry," I said, stammering. "Your Highness, you said 'No man or Daemon.'"

King Aster didn't pause. "I did not make this information known to you before because I did not want to alarm anyone: The evolution is in preparation for the incoming invasion and attack from The Chaos Realm."

A collective gasp went through the room. Leon was now sitting on the edge of his seat, absorbing every detail. Seraphina blinked in disbelief, a flashback of her time in The Chaos Realm coming back; She recalled the never-ending winter, an empty wasteland of ice and snow in her mind's eye.

"The Chaos Realm?" Seraphina asked. "We haven't been there since before this kingdom was even built. They're attacking us? Wait… is it because…?" Seraphina's eyes widened in fear.

King Aster nodded. "Yes. Heed my words carefully. The Chaos Order are at each other's throats, fighting for one thing and one thing only."

King Aster materialized a black, spherical orb in his hand. "The Chaos Core — the source of all magic. It has been in our possession for thousands of years — it is the reason why we have been able to build such an empire. And it's the reason for our unique abilities."

Leon leaned forward. "What is that?"

King Aster looked at Leon. "Leon, dear boy, this is merely an illusion… the real Chaos Core is safely secured. As you know, long ago, there were only eight Vampires in the Cauldron — Queen Hundred, and the 7 original Noble Vampires, Humans turned by her magic. They are who you see before you now. By instruction of our divine guider, the Daemon of Blood and Shadow, Vampire Goddess Noctisha, we traveled to an alternate dimension: The Chaos Realm, where all Daemons and Spirits dwell. There, we slayed the leader of the Chaos Order, Chaos Lord Jiiba, and stole his Magic Core; The Chaos Core, that which controls all magic types, and controls the Chaos Gate, the thin veil that separates the world of Spirits from ours."

The black orb in King Aster's hand dematerialized. King Aster looked at all of his loyal subjects. "As per the nature of cause and effect, the Chaos Order, the legion of Daemons born from the Chaos Core, declared a war to see who could retrieve the Chaos Core back. They formed two teams, Light and Darkness, and each of them sent forth a Champion to Earth to carry out their mission. As of now, the identity of only one of these Champions has been revealed — Ryder the Wolf, The Champion of Darkness. He received a vision from Noctisha, and spoke with her, and it is him that brought my attention to the Chaos War when our peace was made. It is his organization, the Ouroboros, who has given us the resources and technology we need to not only continue manufacturing and distributing Best Blood, but also create the Ascended Vampires. We must keep Ryder on our side, for he will be an invaluable asset in the coming times. His job is to help us keep the Chaos Core in our possession and defeat The Champion of Light."

Evelyn spoke up, "Goddess Noctisha herself has instructed us that when the Champion of Light is revealed, full authority over The Cauldron must go to The Champion of Darkness, but only temporarily."

Asher continued with a serious expression. "Yes. Ryder and I are close, and I trust him to lead us from there. And speaking of the Champion of Light, Evelyn believes they have already been born. Kaizer Anderson is a suspect — we believe he may be our Champion."

"That punk? Champion of Light?" Leon said, slightly grinning.

Aster replied, "Our only option for now, based on the information we have, is to assume Kaizer is the Champion sent to take back the Chaos Core. That means our top priority is to keep Kaizer Anderson from ever getting close to The Underworld, where the Chaos Core is stored. As we all know, he inherited Alessia's temporal powers, and he has the ability to travel between Sanguine and the Upper World easily. Ryder, however, has assured that as long as Kaizer never sees Achiron for himself, he can never go there."

"Take note that Kaizer also inherited Grant Anderson's ability: Fire Magic, from the Spirit of Cratos — take note that I said Spirit, not Daemon. Surprisingly enough, well, Kaizer also has the blood of the Serpentine god, the Daemon Bahkruthu. I don't mean to alarm any of you, but Bahkruthu's power rivals that of our Goddess Noctisha's. If we assume Kaizer is the Champion of Light, then he is our biggest threat. If Kaizer steals the Chaos Core and returns it to the Chaos Order, then Noctisha won't become the Chaos Lord, this evolution won't occur properly, and our efforts will be wasted."

"Well… are there any ways for him to get to Achiron besides Mount Mortem?" Seraphina inquired.

King Aster shook his head, explaining, "No. The only other way is through The Barrier. Ryder keeps Kaizer on a short leash, allowing him to travel between worlds, but the Underworld remains off-limits. The only way is through Mount Mortem, closed for several thousand years, unless Kaizer knows someone else capable of Black Magic or Necromancy."

"I highly doubt it," Seraphina stated, knowing both were too extreme. "Even I nearly die using them."

Queen Hundred spoke, "Then as of now, our plans are in no immediate danger. With Ouroboros allying with us, I'd say we're five steps ahead of that Champion of Light. However, our immediate concern should be the thieves who robbed the Best Blood building. They have yet to be executed, as I ordered."

"No," King Aster replied, shaking his head. "Don't execute them. They're Lysandra's friends, right?"

Queen Hundred sneered at the notion that Aster would have sympathy for them. "Yes, and so what?"

King Aster commanded, "Simply arrest them. When our darling daughter comes to your tower, offer to set them free, but on one condition: she accepts her responsibility as heir, comes back to the tower, and begins courtship. It is high time that my daughter find a husband."

"A husband!?" The Queen exclaimed, taken aback.

"Indeed," Aster replied. "A new age for the Vampire kingdom is upon us; we will usher it in with a full house. There are only three Noble Houses I will consider allowing to marry into the royal family — Ecrist, Drakon, and Solstice. Evelyn, Torn, Seraphina — I need you three to scout sufficient suitors to be the royal Prince of Sanguine. Each of you bring me three of your best Nobles."

"Yes, King," Torn said, nodding.

"Surely, Your Highness," Evelyn said in her monotone voice.

Seraphina nodded as well. "As you wish, Your Majesty."

King Aster stood up from his chair, and so did everyone else. He raised his voice, "In the name of Noctisha, go forth, and live for her. Carry out her will with joy, for she gave us all eternal life; therefore, forever will we aim to bring her glory. Dismissed."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Everyone bowed in unison, leaving The Meeting Room. Leon followed Seraphina out, and they stopped outside the door.

"Til next time, Leon," Torn said, giving Leon a handshake as he left. Queen Hundred smiled at Leon as she passed, and King Aster gave him a nod. Leon nodded back.

"Seems the King likes you," Seraphina whispered.

"Eh, I don't know. Wouldn't really mean anything to me if he did, to be honest," Leon replied, shrugging. "Hey, uh… can I ask you something?"

Seraphina raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

Leon rubbed the back of his neck. "This whole… Best Blood thing. You don't feel like anything… sketchy is going on?"

Seraphina paused. "Why do you say that?"

Leon fixed his hair. "Well, I don't know, just… I don't know. Just a feeling. I mean, why do all Vampires have to take the supplements but us? Only the Cauldron and royalty don't have to take them? So, I guess that means we're not evolving?"

Seraphina placed a hand on Leon's shoulder. "We own the Chaos Core. We don't need to evolve. It's crazy that I have to tell this to the guy who literally freezes his blood, but you need to chill out, Leon. There is no reason for us to distrust our King — he is doing what is best for all of Vampirekind, all in the name of Noctisha, as he has always done. It was Noctisha that led us to the Chaos Core in the first place."

Seraphina continued. "You already know that as the Gate Keeper and protector of the Chaos Core, I possess all magic types. You've seen what my powers are like — now imagine that all Vampires could do that. We'd be unstoppable!"

"But the Chaos Core… it's stolen…" Leon looked down, worry etched in his features. "We'd have no need to be "unstoppable" if we didn't have a target on our backs. I mean, seriously, Seraphina? Gods that want to kill us and take our powers? Why am I just now learning about this, after all this time?"

Seraphina paused, looking down. "Look, Leon, this is the first time I'm hearing about it too. I never knew about this Chaos Tournament… but it's happening. We have to fulfill our duty and protect the empire King Aster and Queen Hundred have built."

Leon didn't seem to be buying Seraphina's enthusiasm. "Sure, alright."

"Come on, Leonnn," Seraphina teased, sliding an arm around him. "I didn't turn you into a Mix-blood just so you could turn on the rest of us."

"I'm not turning on you, jeez," Leon said, shaking his head. "It's not that I don't trust King Aster… it's that other guy. The Champion of Darkness."