~LaurentThe world was soundless except for the pulse in my ears.Each beat hurt.I tried to move. My body didn’t agree. My arms twitched; that was all. The stone beneath me was cold enough to sting through my clothes. I could taste iron, thick in my throat.Get up, I told myself. The thought barely made sense. My vision kept shaking, tilting between black and red. Get up. You’re alone. You can’t die here.Blood Recovery worked furiously under my skin — I could feel the heat of it knitting flesh, sealing ruptured veins — but it was too slow. If I waited for it to finish, I’d already be dead.Across the room, the creature began walking toward me. Not rushing, not cautious. Just certain. His bare feet left smudges of darkness with each step.He looked almost… content. “It’s been a long time since I felt pain,” he said, his tone too calm for the ruin around us. “You were a refreshing opponent, little vampire.” His gaze dimmed, faraway. “But I need to end this now. Rest calls me. I only w

~LaurentThe air bit at my skin as Denzel carried me through the sky. The wind whipped past us in uneven bursts, pulling at my torn cloak, the cold sneaking through every wound that hurt but none of my injuries hurt as much as my pride. I didn’t have the strength to speak as we moved back to his house. I just let my head hang against his shoulder and watched as the lights of the city grew nearer.Blood recovery worked overtime. Veins burned with mana as the blood in me stirred to rebuild bone, seal tissue, and mend what the creature had broken. Each pulse hurt less than the last, each breath steadier than the one before it.By the time the rooftop came into view, I could feel my strength crawling back into my limbs.“Put me down,” I muttered.Denzel glanced at me mid-flight. “You sure?”“Yes.” I said simply.He sighed, descending until his boots hit the empty street. I slipped off his shoulder, stretched my arms once, and straightened. The ache was still there, deep and heavy—but mana

~LaurentThe hand on my shoulder came loose with a practiced twist. I rolled the surprised weight of it over my palm, the motion small and economical, and brought the person down to the stone with a single, quiet movement. She hit the floor and lay there for a second like a fallen statue, breath fanning the air, then her lashes lifted.She was beautiful in the kind of way that made the room hold its breath: bone-white skin that seemed to drink the skylight, hair the colour of old wheat poured and braided into a loose crown, eyes the slate-blue of stormwater, rimmed with lashes long enough to cast shadows on her cheek. Her cheekbones were high and sharp; her mouth was small and very nearly cruel in its composure.She pushed herself up slowly, smoothing one hand across her skirt with an indolent, annoyed gentleness.“You came into my castle unauthorized, and the first thing you do is attack me?” Her voice was cool, and the music of it hinted at a life spent issuing and taking orders. “I

~LaurentDawn didn’t take long to arrive. I stood near the armory steps, checking the straps of my gauntlets, letting the cold air wake me up. The council had given me free rein to pick my own team. That part amused me more than it should’ve.They’d expected me to pick the elite. Instead, I went for the ones no one noticed — the quiet guards with chipped armor and average skill. The ones stationed in halls no one invaded.A handful of them stood in front of me now, shifting awkwardly under my stare.“You… want us?” one asked finally. “Sir?”“Yes.”He blinked. “But we’re—”“Weak. Untrained. Low on confidence,” I finished for him. “Exactly why I want you.”They traded confused looks but didn’t argue. Smart men.I crouched and dragged a stick across the dirt, drawing the valley layout I’d studied all night — ridges, watchtowers, Drogath supply lines. “We’re not going in loud. Our job is simple. We strike the outer camp — the food stores, the weapon racks, and the forges. If you see somet

~OmniscientThe monster should have been dead.Its flesh had melted, its armor had split like stone under fire, yet the ground still trembled as the black remains began to stir again. The liquid clumped together, quivering with purpose. Steam hissed through the cracks where its bones began to re-form, one piece after another. Tendons stitched across glowing ribs, veins filled with molten blood. The forge light caught its half-made face—half skull, half sneer—and the sound that came from it was not a roar but a laugh dragged through lava.Laurent stood a few paces away, body still, eyes dark with disbelief. Nothing he’d ever fought had come back like this. He exhaled once, quiet, resigned.Then his hand lifted. He didn’t have the energy to face this monster for a second time so why not let another do so?[Skill activated: Blood Clone.]The ground beneath him rippled like liquid. From his shadow, shapes began to rise—first one, then five, then dozens. Each form pulled itself up from the