Evolution Of The Broken Heir

Chapter Five: Curse

Darius stopped walking.

A chill ran down his spine.

He didn't know why.

There was no attack. No Darkness creature. No visible threat.

Yet every instinct in his body was screaming at him to run.

His eyes slowly moved across the crowded compound until they landed on a man entering through the main gate.

The stranger looked sick.

His face was pale, his black hair hung messily around his face, and every step seemed to take everything he had.

Darius stared at him.

Then his heart sank.

He's going to die.

The thought came without warning.

Darius didn't know how he knew.

He simply did.

And the moment he had that thought, the device attached to the man's arm changed from green to red.

BEEP!

Every Blood Knight in the compound turned at once.

Another beep followed.

Then another.

The man's Lifeguard began flashing violently.

"ALERT: Subject life signs critical. Death imminent."

The robotic voice continued.

"Please clear the area. Blood Knights have been notified and are en route."

The warning repeated.

People began backing away.

Blood Knights reached for their weapons.

A powerful killing intent spread across the compound.

Darius didn't move.

He kept staring at the dying man. He had felt this before.

One hundred and eight times.

One hundred and eight deaths.

One hundred and eight moments when Darius had felt something terrible approaching before he even understood what death was.

It had started the night his parents died.

The night his mother hid him beneath the earth.

The night she never came back.

Since then, Darius had occasionally felt it.

That same cold pressure.

That same invisible warning.

Death.

But this time was different.

The sensation wasn't coming from the man.

It was coming from what would happen after he died.

Darius's chest tightened.

No...

He suddenly understood.

The Dome had protected humanity from the Darkness outside.

But it had never been able to stop the Darkness from appearing within.

And right in front of him, another victim was about to prove it.

Ironhold was one of the largest cities in the western territory.

Built for survival rather than beauty, it consisted of a massive fortified central district surrounded by smaller settlements. Wide, elevated roads connected the different areas, large enough for entire armies to travel across.

Darius had arrived there the previous evening after returning from the Black Reach.

Because flying through the night was dangerous, Captain Varek had ordered the group to stop and rest.

The wilderness after dark was not safe.

Mutated beasts hunted in the skies, while Darkness creatures sometimes wandered beyond the protected settlements.

With the crest of House Veyne displayed on their carriage and an escort of armored warriors surrounding them, their entry into Ironhold had been quick and uninterrupted.

They had soon arrived at one of House Veyne's military branches near the heart of the city.

Darius had stepped down from the carriage and stared at the massive building.

Soon.

One day, he would enter a place like this without being treated as a useless descendant.

For now, he wasn't even allowed inside.

Despite being a direct descendant of House Veyne, Darius knew the rules.

Only Blood Knights and those who had awakened enough to become apprentices were permitted into the main military bases.

At seventeen, Darius was already far behind.

Most descendants of the great bloodlines awakened between twelve and fourteen.

Darius had awakened nothing.

At least, that was what everyone believed.

It's getting late, Young Master," Nyx had said.

Her voice had pulled him from his thoughts.

Darius had then turned toward the smaller building assigned to him.

Because he couldn't enter the main base, he had to settle for temporary quarters nearby.

Varek had watched him leave with a faint smirk.

"Garbage being treated like garbage," he had muttered.

Darius had heard him.

He simply hadn't cared.

After everything that had happened in the Black Reach, insults meant little to him.

There was something far more important occupying his mind.

The voice.

The black symbol.

The strange warmth beneath his skin.

You finally returned.

You were made for this.

Darius still didn't understand what those words meant.

But he was beginning to suspect that his inability to awaken had never been normal.

Now, standing in the compound, Darius watched the dying man take another step.

His legs suddenly gave out.

He fell face-first onto the ground.

Nobody moved.

The Blood Knights waited.

Darius's breathing became slower.

The man was dying.

One second passed.

Then another.

His chest rose.

Fell.

Rose again.

Then stopped.

The man was dead.

Silence filled the compound.

Darius felt the cold sensation intensify.

It's coming.

A Blood Knight raised his hand.

A translucent blue veil instantly spread across the area, sealing the compound.

"Move, Young Master," Nyx said quietly.

Darius didn't answer.

He couldn't.

He was staring at the corpse.

Three seconds.

Nothing happened.

Four.

Five.

BOOM!

A pillar of Darkness erupted from the man's corpse.

It shot into the sky and slammed against the blue barrier.

The body began twisting violently.

Black energy crawled across the dead man's flesh.

Bones cracked.

Muscles expanded.

The corpse was swallowed by Darkness.

Then something stood where the man had been.

A hulking creature.

Its body was covered in black flesh, its hollow eyes burning with intelligence.

It slowly lifted its head.

Then it roared.

ROOOAR!

The entire compound shook.

"It's a Grade 2 Enhancer!"

A Blood Knight shouted.

In the next instant, every Blood Knight surged forward.

Weapons flashed.

Abilities erupted.

The creature swung its enormous arm.

BOOM!

A Blood Knight was thrown across the compound.

Another fighter immediately replaced him.

The battle erupted into chaos.

Darius stood behind the barrier, watching.

For a few seconds, he forgot everything else.

The monster had once been human.

A man had walked through the gate.

He had taken a few steps.

He had died.

And now a Darkness creature was standing in his place.

Darius's fingers slowly tightened.

This was not the first time he had seen someone die.

It wasn't even the first time he had seen a Darkness creature.

But something about this felt different.

Maybe it was because he had sensed the man's death before it happened.

Maybe it was because he had watched the transformation happen only a few steps away.

Or maybe it was because a question suddenly entered his mind.

How many people have died like this?

The answer was terrifying.

Too many.

The Fall had not only brought Darkness creatures from beyond the Dome.

It had changed the meaning of death itself.

Humanity had discovered that truth shortly after the golden Dome was created.

A powerful man had sacrificed himself to create the massive barrier, protecting nearly one-third of Earth from the Darkness that had swallowed the outside world.

For a brief moment, humanity believed it had finally found salvation.

Then someone inside the Dome died.

And a Darkness creature emerged from the corpse.

That was when humanity discovered the second curse.

The Darkness didn't need to enter the Dome.

It could be born inside it.

Whenever a human died, their corpse could become a vessel for a Darkness creature.

Animals were not exempt either.

The stronger the deceased had been, the stronger the resulting creature could become. Multiple deaths in the same area could also make the situation far more dangerous.

Humanity had been forced to adapt.

Lifeguards became mandatory.

Every citizen was required to carry one.

The moment someone's life signs became critical, the device would alert the nearest Blood Knight base.

It wasn't perfect.

Sometimes the Darkness manifested before the Blood Knights arrived.

Sometimes too many people died at once.

But it remained humanity's best defense against the curse.

Darius watched the battle inside the barrier.

He couldn't follow most of the Blood Knights' movements.

They were simply too fast.

Flashes of light crossed his vision as weapons and abilities collided with the Darkness creature.

Then, after several minutes, the creature suddenly began breaking apart.

Black particles scattered through the air.

The barrier slowly disappeared.

The battle was over.

Darius stared at the empty spot where the man's corpse had once been.

There was nothing left.

Not even a body to bury.

His expression darkened.

For the first time, Darius understood something about the world he lived in.

Power wasn't simply about becoming stronger.

It was about surviving long enough to remain human.

And right now, he wasn't strong enough to protect even himself.

Darius returned to his assigned room that night.

He tried to sleep.

He couldn't.

Every time he closed his eyes, he saw his mother.

The forest.

The blood.

The broken carriage.

The compartment beneath the wreckage.

Her final words.

You were never a mistake, Darius.

He opened his eyes.

His breathing was heavy.

The room was completely dark.

Then he felt it again.

That cold sensation.

Darius immediately sat upright.

His hand moved to his chest.

The warmth beneath his skin answered.

A faint pulse.

Then another.

Darius stared into the darkness.

Nothing was there.

But something inside him was awake.

Something ancient.

Something that had been waiting for him.

By morning, Nyx was waiting outside his room.

"Young Master, the carriage is ready."

Darius dressed and followed her.

Minutes later, the group was airborne again.

They were heading toward the capital of the western territory.

Vitaemora.

The City of Blood.

The capital of the West.

The stronghold of House Veyne.

Even from the sky, Vitaemora was an awe-inspiring sight.

Massive dark-stone walls surrounded the city, reinforced with enormous defensive structures.

The crest of House Veyne could be seen across the capital.

Darius had visited the city many times.

Yet this time felt different.

His stomach tightened as the carriage approached the gates.

He was returning powerless.

Again.

The carriage passed through without delay.

Once inside, Darius stepped down.

He didn't speak.

Instead, he turned east toward the forest near the main estate.

Nyx followed silently.

Varek watched him disappear between the trees.

His jaw tightened.

"Let's go make our report to the Blood Sovereign."

He pulled the reins.

But Darius never heard him.

He had stopped deep inside the forest.

His hand slowly moved toward his chest.

The warmth was back.

Stronger this time.

A faint black mark appeared beneath his skin.

Darius stared at it.

Then the familiar voice echoed inside his mind.

[Devouring Core synchronization: 1%.]

Darius's expression changed.

The curse of Darkness had been born from death.

But whatever was inside him...

It had been waiting for him long before tonight.

And for the first time, Darius wondered if the two were connected.