Chapter 79: The Crown's Price

The scream from below didn't fade—it changed.

What began as a sound of agony twisted into something deeper, darker, reverberating through the fortress stones like the groan of a dying god. The blue flames guttered violently, shadows stretching unnaturally long across the walls.

Kael's corrupted arm burned, the black veins writhing beneath his skin as if trying to escape. He clutched his wrist, gritting his teeth against the pain. "We have to go after him."

Aurelia's fingers dug into his shoulder. "Not yet."

The hooded figure chuckled, his golden eyes gleaming in the flickering light. "Oh, she's right, vessel. You wouldn't survive the descent now." He tilted his head toward the staircase, where the darkness had thickened into something almost liquid. "The crown is waking."

Another impact shook the fortress—closer this time. The shadow-barrier over the entrance rippled, thin cracks spreading like spiderwebs.

Kael turned to Aurelia. "If we don't go now, Lucian—"

"Will either come back changed," she interrupted, her black eyes unreadable, "or not at all." Her grip tightened. "And if it's the latter, you're the only one who can stop what happens next."

The shard in Kael's chest pulsed, whispering dark promises. Power. Control. Victory.

The figure sighed, examining his elongated fingers. "Such drama. The prince knew the risks." His grin returned, sharp as a blade. "Though I do wonder... did he tell you what happened the last time someone took the crown?"

Aurelia went rigid.

Before she could respond, the screaming from below ceased.

The silence was worse.

Then—

Footsteps.

Slow. Deliberate. The cadence was Lucian's, but the weight behind it was all wrong. Each step sent tremors through the stone, the air itself growing heavier, thicker, until Kael's ears popped with the pressure.

A shape emerged from the stairwell.

Lucian stood framed in the archway, his sword still in hand—but his crimson eyes now burned with an eerie silver light. Above his brow hover a circlet of pure darkness, its jagged points shifting like living smoke. Where it touched his skin, thin black veins spread outward, mirroring the corruption on Kael's arm.

But the worst part was his smile.

It wasn't Lucian's smirk, all sharp edges and reluctant amusement. This was something colder. Older. The smile of a man who had seen empires crumble and hadn't blinked.

"Vladimir," the hooded figure purred, bowing deeply. "How does it feel to remember?"

Lucian—no, not just Lucian anymore—lifted his free hand, examining the way the blue firelight played across his skin. "Like waking from a long dream," he murmured, his voice layered with something deeper. Something other.

Aurelia stepped forward, her daggers lowered but ready. "Lucian. Look at me."

He did. The silver in his eyes flickered, the shadow-crown pulsing in response. For a heartbeat, Kael saw the friend he knew—then it was gone, swallowed by the void.

"The name is a chain," Lucian said softly. "One I've worn too long." He flexed his fingers, and the shadows in the room bent toward him. "She's coming. And this time, I won't run."

The fortress shook again, harder this time. The barrier at the entrance shattered, shadows dissolving into mist as the first of the Original's creatures lunged inside—

—only to freeze mid-step, its limbs locking as if caught in invisible chains.

Lucian didn't even glance at it. He simply raised his sword, and the creature unraveled, its form dissolving into nothingness.

The hooded figure clapped slowly. "Magnificent."

Kael's breath caught. The power radiating from Lucian now was unlike anything he'd felt before—not the controlled fury of the vampire, nor the ancient hunger of Aurelia. This was something more. Something that made the shard in his chest recoil in something like fear.

Aurelia's voice was barely audible over the rising chaos outside. "What did the crown do to you?"

Lucian turned toward the shattered entrance, where more shapes moved in the darkness. When he spoke, his words sent a chill down Kael's spine:

"It showed me what I really am."

Then he stepped into the night—and the shadows followed.