Beneath the Surface

The air in Umbra felt thick, saturated with the remnants of violence and something darker—something that twisted beneath the surface. Viole walked through the city's underbelly, the ancient stone streets slick with rain. His hand still ached from the grip of his broken katana, but the pain was a distant reminder of how fragile he had felt just hours before.

Ha-eun was beside him, quiet but alert, her eyes scanning every corner, every shadow. They hadn't spoken much since the encounter with Azael. There was too much unspoken between them now. Azael's warning still echoed in his mind. You are not ready yet.

Not ready? What did that even mean? Viole had spent his life preparing for this. But now, after seeing the silver light that burned through the vampires and the cold authority in Azael's voice… He didn't feel ready anymore. It wasn't just about the fight. Something deeper was at work here.

They passed through the narrow alleyways, the sounds of distant cries and the rumbling of the city above them barely reaching their ears. The further they went, the quieter the world seemed, like they were descending into a graveyard where even the earth itself held its breath.

Viole couldn't shake the feeling that the city was alive—alive in a way that didn't welcome them. Every footstep seemed to echo with foreboding.

"Do you feel that?" Ha-eun's voice cut through the silence. She didn't need to ask, though. It was clear she felt it too. A pressure in the air, thick and suffocating. It made the back of Viole's neck prickle.

He nodded, his eyes narrowing. "Something's wrong. This quiet—it's unnatural. The vampires… they were just the beginning."

Ha-eun didn't respond, but her grip tightened on her sword. She didn't need words to communicate her agreement.

They turned a corner, and suddenly, the shadows felt heavier. It wasn't the usual weight of the city's darkness; this was different—alive. Viole's heart rate quickened. Something was drawing near, something worse than anything they had faced.

Then, a flicker of movement in the distance. A figure, too tall and too still to be human.

"Stay close," Viole murmured, instinct taking over. He placed a hand on Ha-eun's arm, pulling her back into the shadows with him.

The figure moved closer, its outline blurred by the dim light, but there was something undeniably wrong about it. Viole could feel it in his bones. The way it moved, with a grace that wasn't natural, like a predator toying with its prey.

Then, the figure spoke, its voice smooth and silky, like velvet wrapping around a blade. "You walk in the dark, hoping to find answers… but the truth is far darker than you can imagine."

The voice sent a cold shiver down Viole's spine. He stepped forward, hand tightening around his broken katana. "Who are you?" he demanded.

The figure finally stepped into the light, revealing a tall, slender figure wrapped in a cloak as dark as the night itself. Its face was obscured by a hood, but the eyes—those eyes—glowed with an unnatural, crimson hue.

A vampire. But different. This one wasn't like the others. It felt ancient, primal.

"We are the ones who watch," the figure said, a grin stretching across its pale lips. "The ones who guide the hunger in the streets."

Viole's mind raced. Guide the hunger? This wasn't just a random group of vampires, then. This was something organized—controlled.

"You've seen what we are capable of," the vampire continued, its voice almost amused. "The streets of Umbra are merely the beginning. A test… for what is coming."

Ha-eun stepped forward, her eyes sharp, her sword poised. "What do you want?"

The vampire tilted its head, as if considering the question. "What we want?" It chuckled, a sound that made Viole's skin crawl. "We want you, swordsman. We want the power you so desperately cling to. The power of the old blood. The power you have yet to understand."

Viole's grip tightened, and in the next breath, his broken katana was raised, though it felt like little more than a scrap of metal in his hands.

"What do you mean, the power I cling to?" His voice was steady, though his mind raced to make sense of this twisted game they were now part of.

The vampire took a slow step closer. "You've seen the power of Azael. You think that's all? No. There are forces at play here that make even them look insignificant. You think they saved you? They didn't. They simply delayed the inevitable."

Viole's pulse quickened. This was bigger than he had imagined. The weight of the vampire's words sank into his chest like a stone.

"Who's behind this?" Ha-eun asked, her voice sharp, cutting through the tension.

The vampire's smile widened, showing sharp, predatory fangs. "Behind everything… is hunger. And hunger never stops."

With that, the vampire's figure blurred, vanishing into the shadows before Viole could even react. The only trace of its presence was the lingering scent of death that hung in the air.

The silence returned, oppressive and thick.

Viole turned to Ha-eun, his heart racing. "What the hell was that?"

Ha-eun was quiet for a long moment before answering, her voice low. "A warning."

And then it hit him. The vampires, Azael's cryptic words, the dark presence that lingered—it was all connected. They were being hunted, and the game was far from over.

But the question that gnawed at Viole's mind as they stood there, alone in the darkness, was this: Who was truly hunting them, and what would they do when the hunger finally came for them all?