Ashes and Hunger

The ruins were silent.

Not the peaceful kind of silence, but the suffocating, oppressive stillness of an unfinished battle.

Viole's breath was slow, controlled—but his hands were clenched into fists so tight his nails bit into his palms. The Guardian was gone. Sacrificed. Devoured.

And they had run.

The others sat in the clearing, catching their breath, but Viole couldn't sit still. The weight of failure pressed against his chest, suffocating him more than the Vendigo's darkness ever had.

His katana felt heavier than usual, and Noctis was… unsettled. He could feel the power inside him, restless, shifting. The Vendigo's words echoed in his mind:

"You believe yourself beyond the Hunger."

"Let us see how long that lasts."

He hated that it had gotten to him.

But he hated even more that some part of him agreed.

"Viole," Ha-eun's voice pulled him from his thoughts. "You're doing it again."

He looked down. His fingers had tightened around the hilt of his katana without realizing it. Noctis was responding to his emotions, tendrils of darkness curling at his fingertips, faint but visible.

He exhaled sharply, forcing them back.

Kairos watched him with a lazy tilt of his head, but his eyes were sharp. "You know, I was gonna make a joke about all of us almost dying, but the way you're brooding right now? Kinda killing the mood."

Viole didn't respond.

Kairos sighed. "Alright, listen. We just got our asses handed to us, yeah. But sulking about it isn't gonna bring the Guardian back, and it sure as hell won't make us strong enough to fight that thing next time."

Azael finally spoke, voice calm but firm. "He is right. We need a plan. And that begins with understanding what we are truly up against."

Viole's jaw tightened. "We know what we're up against. The Vendigo is stronger than us. It's stronger than everything."

Azael turned their gaze to him. "Then you must become something stronger."

The words sent a shiver down Viole's spine.

Something stronger.

What did that even mean?

His grip tightened around his sword. He had always relied on skill, on discipline, on training. Even his control over Noctis was something he saw as a weapon to wield, not something part of him.

But it hadn't been enough.

And now the Guardian was dead.

"I was made to protect."

And Viole?

What had he been made for?

"Fine," he said finally. His voice was quiet, but firm. "Then let's start. If I need to be stronger, then I'll become stronger."

Ha-eun crossed her arms. "You say that, but how?"

Azael turned, their cloak shifting like liquid moonlight. "There is someone who can help."

Kairos groaned. "Please don't say it's some ancient hermit on a mountain. My legs just stopped hurting."

Azael ignored him. "Not a hermit. A Blood Seer."

The air around them seemed to shift.

Ha-eun frowned. "A Blood Seer?"

Kairos blinked. "Oh, that sounds fun and not ominous at all."

Viole narrowed his eyes. "What are they?"

Azael hesitated for a fraction of a second—barely noticeable, but Viole caught it. "They are those who see the flow of blood. They do not just read fate. They shape it."

Viole felt a chill creep up his spine.

"Where do we find them?"

Azael's gaze darkened. "In the city of Crimson Hollow."

Silence fell.

Even Ha-eun looked uneasy.

Kairos let out a low whistle. "Yeah, so, that's a terrible idea. You do know what Crimson Hollow is, right?"

Viole looked between them. "Clearly, I don't. So explain."

Kairos ran a hand through his hair. "It's a vampire city, Viole. One of the oldest. And not just any vampires—Purebloods."

Viole's pulse quickened.

A city of Purebloods.

The same creatures that had nearly killed him.

The ones that had broken his katana like it was nothing.

Azael met his gaze. "This is the only way. If you wish to master your Hunger, you must go to where it was born."

Viole's body tensed. Noctis stirred inside him, a whisper at the edge of his thoughts.

A city of Purebloods.

A city of monsters.

And the only place that might have the answers he needed.

Viole exhaled, steadying himself.

"Then let's go."