Shadows of the Past, Echoes of the Hunt

CHAPTER 20

The door creaked open with a heavy groan. The man who stepped inside instantly changed the atmosphere of the room. From the shadows emerged Gidion, once known as a "hunter," but now a man carrying the curse of his past on his shoulders.

His long, dark coat was worn and frayed; his hair had grown out slightly, and his face bore both exhaustion and hardness. There were dark, faintly purple circles under his eyes shadows gathered from years that refused to let him rest but his gaze was still sharp enough to pierce straight through anyone.

He looked around briefly. At the head of the table stood Vlad. That familiar stare… his face carried the same unchanging expression of a leader. On the right side was Edric, still standing with that same cold, sharp composure he had always had.

Gidion gave a faint smirk, tilting his head slightly, and in a mocking tone let the words slip from his lips:

— "Oh, yes… I came the moment I got your message. Vlad, Edric… it's so lovely to see you again, I can't even begin to explain. Hah, if I remember correctly… the last time we met, you bit me and turned me into some half-breed monster, didn't you?"

His words fell heavy, leaving a sharp silence in their wake. For a fleeting moment, the room turned ice cold.

A faint trace of discomfort crossed Vlad's face, but his tone remained as calm as ever.

— "Look, Gidion… back then, we had no other plan. There was nothing else we could do. Our time was running out. We did it to you unwillingly. And the reason we called you here is the same: he has returned."

Edric stepped in immediately, his gaze locked on Gidion.

— "But this time… it's not exactly him."

Gidion's smirk vanished. His brows furrowed, and in his eyes there was suddenly a flicker of both rage and fear. He took a few steps back, his breathing growing heavy.

— "No… no, no, no! Not again! Not now! You can't drag me into this curse one more time!"

Edric took a deep breath, trying to remain composed as he stepped forward.

— "Look, Gidion… it's a difficult situation, we know. But"

Gidion's voice suddenly rose, his anger bursting out as he spread his arms wide and shouted:

— "A difficult situation?! Hah! You call this a difficult situation?! My life ended that night! I had to abandon the hunt! I had to leave my family behind! I couldn't get close to anyone! Just when I thought, 'maybe I'm learning to control it,' just when I thought I was finally gaining some ground… I found out I had already lost everything! Everything was gone!"

The air in the room grew heavier. Vlad's gaze hardened, and for a brief moment there was a glimmer of regret in his eyes, but he didn't speak.

Gidion continued, his voice trembling but still forcing itself through the anger:

— "How many centuries have passed, Vlad? How many centuries?! How many times has day turned into night while I was still alive… forced to live? And you remind me of the reason every single day. That night… what you did… I will never forget."

Edric lowered his gaze, his voice softening to a low murmur.

— "Remembering that night… isn't a luxury we have either. We're living under the same shadow, Gidion. And the reason we called you is exactly that… because this time it's stronger. Stronger than the one we killed… and more feral."

Gidion's stare froze for a moment, his breath held. Then he slowly shook his head from side to side.

— "No… it's not stronger. Not more feral. Not yet, at least. As long as it hasn't grown… as long as it hasn't reached its full potential… it's not at that level yet."

Silence settled over the room. Vlad frowned and took a step forward.

— "What do you mean?"

Gidion drew a deep breath, then began to speak slowly.

— "Listen… before that night, before we lured it into the trap before you both bit me and turned me I was already seeing certain signs. I was hearing things. Strange echoes that dug deep into my mind, that wouldn't let me rest. Maybe you didn't notice, but those were the signs of its arrival."

He fixed his eyes on both of them, his voice heavier now.

— "After we stopped it… after I finally learned to control my hybrid form, I went back to those places. To the cursed spots where those echoes came from, where the signs were strongest… and there I realized something was wrong."

Vlad's breathing grew heavier. Edric listened intently, silent.

— "From that moment until now… I've been investigating. Maybe I left the hunt behind, maybe I tried to build myself a 'normal' life… but I never stopped chasing those signs. Because I knew it would return one day. And now… that day has come."

Gidion slowly stepped further into the room, moving toward the table. He placed his hand on its surface. His face carried both fury and a deep exhaustion that words couldn't fully capture.

— "Sit down. And listen carefully. I'm going to tell you what I've truly found… what I've learned."

Vlad and Edric exchanged a brief glance. A look weighed down by years of enmity, regret, and the gravity of the moment. Then, silently, they sat down.

The room filled with the echo of an approaching storm.

And Gidion began to speak…