Elias wondered how his master kael ,the mysterious man cloaked in an aura of ancient power, had been able to recognize him so easily. The moment their eyes locked, Master Kael's chanting ceased, and the binding force pinning Elias to the cold stone ground vanished. Slowly, painfully, Elias got to his feet.His voice broke through the silence like a thunderclap. “How did you recognize me? And why… Why did you plot to end me? I served faithfully here, I bled, I fought, I survived. Is it so terrible that I chose to walk away? Why?!”Anger surged in his chest like fire licking the walls of his ribs, and it spilled from his voice with unrestrained fury.Master Kael looked at him, not with pity, not with regret, but with a knowing calm that only added fuel to Elias’s rage. The flames from the torches around them cast flickering shadows on his ancient features.“I recognized you because I was the one who put you in that body,” Master Kael said, his voice rich with conviction and secrets. "Yo

The battlefield was painted in shadow and fire. For almost an hour, steel and fang clashed against claws and the air was thick with smoke, the cries of the wounded, and the iron scent of blood.The werewolves were furred warriors with eyes like molten amberThey moved as one, a wall of muscle and moonlight. Every step shook the ground. Within minutes, the vampires’ feral confidence began to crumble. Outnumbered and suddenly on the defensive, they slipped back into the darkness, vanishing as though swallowed by the night itself.When the last of their red eyes disappeared, Elias lowered his sword, chest heaving. He turned to see who had just talked to him.Helen.She stood just a few paces away, her hair longer than he remembered, moonlight dancing across her white cloak. Her smile was warm, yet her eyes carried a story untold.“Long time,” she said softly.For a heartbeat, Elias could only stare. Then joy flooded him, breaking through every wall he had built around his heart. He strod