Celestial_entity_

As humans, animals, and even the Earth itself begin to mutate and gain consciousness, a hidden conspiracy unravels, revealing Aurelia’s true origins and the dark forces manipulating the New Age. Alongside Lucian, a vampire with a mysterious lineage, and a cast of allies and enemies, Aurelia must navigate a world where nothing is as it seems. But as the planet awakens, so do the true villains—those who hide behind masks of virtue, their intentions far more sinister than anyone could imagine.

P.S The cover is not mine :)

The Vampire's Obsession

Kael's breath fogged in the frigid air as he stumbled toward the chained figure. "Aurelia?"

The woman before him lifted her head slowly, matted strands of dark hair sticking to her hollow cheeks. When her eyes—once so sharp and alive—focused on him, they widened in something between recognition and horror.

"You're not supposed to be here." Her voice was a ruin of what it should be, cracked and raw.

The shadow at Kael's back chuckled, a sound like dry bones rattling. "He was always going to come for you. That's the tragedy of it."

Kael reached for the chains binding Aurelia's wrists, but his hands passed straight through the metal as if it were smoke. "What is this?"

"The truth," Aurelia whispered. "The one I never told you."

The prison around them shuddered, the walls bleeding darkness that pooled across the floor like spilled ink. From it rose shapes—figures frozen in moments of agony, their mouths open in silent screams.

The cultists from the mountain temple. The Veil operatives they'd fought in the dead city. Every life they'd taken since this began.

Aurelia's chains rattled as she trembled. "They're mine. All of them."

The shadow circled them, its form shifting like storm clouds. "Did you never wonder why death clings to her so fondly? Why the earth itself obeys her whims?"

Kael's stomach turned as understanding dawned. "You're not just connected to the earth. You are death."

Aurelia's laugh was a broken thing. "Not death. Something older. The space between breaths. The hush before the scream." She yanked against her bonds, the chains glowing red-hot where they touched her skin. "And I've been its prisoner for a very long time."

The shadow loomed closer, its eyeless gaze boring into Kael. "The Shard wasn't just a weapon. It was a lock. And you broke it."

Outside the vision, in some distant reality, Kael felt Lucian shaking him, heard shouts muffled as if through thick glass. But here, in this nightmare, there was only the truth unfolding like a poisoned flower.

Aurelia met Kael's eyes, her own brimming with something terrifyingly close to pity. "Now you understand why we can't win."

The shadow's laughter followed Kael as the world dissolved into screaming dark.

Chapter 62: The Prison of Shadows