THE BLOODLINE WAR

There was blood in the hallway.

Not a trail.Not a smear.But a message.

A symbol burned into the marble floor outside Seren's chamber. One that hadn't been seen in decades. An ancient crest — fangs wrapped in circuitry — the mark of the Forgotten Royals.

Ares stared at it, chest heaving, as the surveillance feeds played on loop.

Seren's room — untouched.No signs of struggle.One moment she was there.

The next… she was gone.

Like a ghost.

Like someone had simply whispered her name and taken her.

Six Hours Earlier

She had stared at the photo for hours.

Her mother, dressed in black.Rael beside her, grinning.Ares telling her she wasn't his. But something in her blood begged to differ.

And the whispers…

They'd begun again.

Soft voices that slithered through the air vents at night.That echoed through water.That hummed beneath her skin when she touched glass.

Voices that said things like:

You are not theirs.You are the root. The key. The final link.

She didn't pack a bag.She didn't write a note.

She just left.

Like she'd always meant to.

Now – In the War Room

Xiao slammed his fist into the steel table. "There's no breach! No code override. No teleport jump. How the hell did she vanish?!"

Ares didn't speak.

He couldn't.

Because deep down, he knew exactly how.

Rael.

He didn't need weapons.

He just needed her name whispered in the right tone… and Seren would come running.

Ares turned to the display wall.

"Trace her pulse signature. She still has my mark."

The AI blinked.

"Unable to locate. Bio-signal has… fragmented."

Xiao cursed under his breath.

"She's off-grid," Ares muttered. "He's hiding her in the Shadow Zone."

Meanwhile – Somewhere Underground

Seren blinked.

The walls were velvet.The light was low.Her wrists… unchained.

She stood in a room too beautiful to be a prison, but too silent to be free.

The door creaked.

Rael stepped in, dressed in all white. The color of peace. The color of death.

"Where am I?" she asked.

He smiled softly. "Where you belong."

"I didn't say yes."

"You didn't have to. Your blood did."

She stepped back.

He moved closer.

"You're not a pawn, Seren," he said gently. "You're the board. The game. The legacy we all kill for. Don't you feel it? Don't you hear them?"

Her voice trembled. "I do."

He smiled wider.

"Then it's begun."

H City Blackout

Across the city, all power vanished.

No lights.No heat.No signal.

The tech district fell first — then the syndicate towers.

Hospitals blinked into darkness.

And in the shadows… Rael's forces moved like ghosts.

But he wasn't conquering.

Not yet.

He was sending a message.

"You let her walk away. I claimed what you couldn't protect."

And Ares?

He snapped.

In the Training Pit

He stood shirtless in the rain, fists dripping with blood, bodies of hologram enemies shattered around him. Dozens. Hundreds.

Xiao didn't dare interrupt.

Ares moved like a man possessed.

Every strike screamed her name.

Every breath was a prayer disguised as rage.

He'd trained every day to kill.

But now?

He was training to save.

And deep down, beneath all the fury, he was afraid.

Because if Rael got to her mind before he got to her heart… he'd lose her.

Forever.

Back Underground

Rael's voice was soft.

He sat beside her on the edge of the crystal pool, legs folded like a monk, eyes kind.

"You think Ares sees you?" he asked. "He sees your face. Your body. Your defiance. But he doesn't see your lineage."

He handed her an old pendant.

Carved with the sigil of the Veinborn Dynasty.

"It was your mother's," he whispered. "She gave it to me before she died. She knew you were never meant for Ares. Or anyone."

She clutched it, tears in her eyes.

"I'm not a weapon."

"You're more," he said. "You're the trigger."

Then the Explosion

It hit just after midnight.

One of Rael's underground towers collapsed under a hail of digital missiles.

Not from the army.

Not from drones.

But from Ares.

He came alone.

No guards.No warning.Just a blackout suit, two pistols, and fury so loud it burned.

The Confrontation

In the mirror corridor, Seren stood between them.

Rael behind her.

Ares ahead.

"Come here," Ares said quietly.

She hesitated.

Rael whispered, "He'll cage you again."

Ares' eyes gleamed. "I'll bleed before I cage you again."

Tears spilled down her cheeks.

"I'm tired," she said.

Ares walked forward, slow, letting his guns drop to the floor.

"I know."

"I don't know who to trust."

"Then trust yourself."

She stepped forward.

Rael's voice cracked. "If you walk away, I'll burn this city down."

Ares didn't blink. "If you touch her again, I'll burn you."

And then—

She ran.

Into Ares' arms.