BLEED

Vincent tried to recognize the voice on the phone, but it didn't sound familiar. At that moment, he realized just how shameless Betty really was. But it wasn't his life, so he had no right to say anything about it.

"It's Stephan… He's in the hospital, and he's lost a lot of blood—which makes no sense since he only fainted. There wasn't any injury," said Betty.

Hearing that, Darius frowned. "If there wasn't any injury, then how did he lose a lot of blood? Are you trying to blackmail me?"

"No! Why would I do that?" Betty replied. "This is Stephan's life on the line!"

"Forget it," Damian sighed, rubbing his forehead. "How much do you need?"

"This isn't about the money!" Betty shouted. "Your son might die if he doesn't get a blood transfusion!"

Suddenly, a loud cry erupted from the room Stephan was in. Before anyone could process what had just happened, the door flew open, and Stephan staggered out. Blood was streaming from his eyes, nose, and mouth.

"Stephan!" Betty cried when she saw the horrifying state her son was in.

"Mom! Make it stop! Make it stop!" Stephan screamed, his voice filled with agony, attracting the attention of others in the hospital. Within seconds, a crowd had formed around the scene.

"Doctor! Do something!" Lockhart called out to Vincent.

Vincent had no idea what to do. But as the doctor, he had to do something. He hesitantly approached Stephan, who was still screaming like a maniac. "Make what stop?"

"The pain! The worms! They're eating me!" Stephan cried, his hands clawing at his own skin. "I feel them moving underneath my skin! Aaahhh!"

"What worms?" Vincent asked, confusion written all over his face. But then he looked down at the blood pooling at Stephan's feet—and what he saw made his stomach turn.

Tiny maggots, writhing and moving like living nightmares, slithered through the puddle of blood. They resembled worms, yet Vincent instinctively knew they were neither.

As he bent down to pick one up for a closer look, Stephan suddenly shouted, "Don't! It's dangerous!"

But it was already too late.

Vincent hadn't even touched the worm yet when it leaped out of the blood and landed on his arm. Before he could react, it burrowed into his skin. A horrifying sensation coursed through his body as he watched the creature crawl underneath his flesh.

Panic seized him. His breath quickened, his limbs trembled. And then—

Blood.

It poured from his eyes, nose, and mouth, just like Stephan. A piercing scream tore from his throat as unimaginable pain ripped through his body.

"What the hell is going on here?" someone in the crowd asked.

"Is this some kind of publicity stunt?" another person scoffed.

"They're turning into zombies! We have to run for our lives!" a little boy shrieked. Without hesitation, he bolted out of the hospital. Half the crowd followed in a frenzy of panic, while the rest remained, transfixed by the horror unfolding before them.

Some onlookers pulled out their phones and started live-streaming. This was their chance to go viral, and they weren't about to miss it.

Stephan suddenly collapsed, his body limp. Vincent was still screaming, his hands clawing at his skin.

A nurse rushed to help him, but the moment she touched his arm, blood began to leak from her eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. She staggered back, clutching her face in horror before she too started screaming.

The sight of the nurse collapsing was the final straw.

The hospital erupted into chaos.

Lockhart grabbed Betty's arm, trying to drag her away. "Betty, we have to go!"

But she shoved him off. "Stephan…" she whispered, her teary eyes fixed on her son.

"Betty, we have to go now!" Lockhart insisted.

"I can't just leave him here!" she sobbed.

Among the dispersing crowd, Betty spotted Ronald, frozen in shock. His eyes were glued to Stephan. The moment he saw her staring, his expression darkened. He knew.

She had lied to him.

Stephan wasn't his son.

Without another word, Ronald turned and left.

More people started screaming. Seven others now bled uncontrollably from their faces, their tortured cries filling the hospital corridors.

"I have to stay! He's my son!" Betty wept, pulling her arm from Lockhart's grasp.

Lockhart hesitated, then let out a frustrated sigh. "Fine!" Without another word, he turned and left.

Betty ran toward Stephan and embraced him tightly. The moment she did, something changed.

The maggots avoided her. They didn't touch her.

"Mom, get away… It's painful… It's really painful…" Stephan whimpered, bloody tears trickling from his eyes.

"No, it's okay now, sweetie. Mommy's here," she whispered, holding him close.

A faint smile appeared on Stephan's face. His eyes fluttered shut, his body going still. The pain had stopped—for now.

---

Hours Later…

Darius arrived at the hospital, and what he saw terrified him.

Dozens of people lay writhing in agony, blood gushing from every opening in their bodies. Reporters, paramedics, and police officers surrounded the area, trying to make sense of the outbreak.

"We're here live at Stanbridge National Hospital, where it appears a deadly disease has broken out," a reporter said, speaking into the camera. "Symptoms include uncontrollable screaming and severe bleeding from the eyes, nose, mouth, and ears."

Darius' heart pounded. His mind kept flashing back to Horris' curse. The Doombringer.

He scanned the scene and finally spotted Betty, sitting in an ambulance. Stephan lay unconscious on a stretcher beside her. He rushed forward, but the paramedics blocked his path.

"That's my wife!" he protested. "I need to see if she's okay!"

"Sir, now's not the time," a paramedic said. "There's an outbreak, and we have no idea how it spreads. For your safety—and for everyone else's—we advise you to leave immediately."

"Please, I have to see them," Darius begged.

Before the paramedic could respond, Darius noticed something crawling on the man's shoulder. "There's something on you—"

The paramedic turned his head—just as the worm leaped onto his neck.

The second it burrowed into his skin, the man's body seized up. A strangled scream tore from his lips as blood exploded from his eyes, mouth, and nose.

Darius staggered back in horror. Everywhere he looked, people were screaming.

Even the reporter who had been live was now convulsing on the ground, her camera abandoned beside her.

A single word echoed in Darius' mind.

Doombringer.