Rise Of The Crimson Lord

The Night I Returned

Chapter 1 

The Night I Returned

I never thought I would set foot in Ravenport again.

Not after everything that happened.

Not after the fire, the screams, and the silence that followed.

But here I was, standing at the edge of the city, looking at the place that once held my whole life.

My name is Leon Hawke, though most people out in the wider world call me something else now.

The Crimson General.

A title I never asked for. A title I earned in blood.

The cold wind brushed against my face as I adjusted the hood of my cloak. Red cloth peeked out from the edges, the only reminder of what I had become, and what I had survived. My boots crushed the gravel under me as I took another step toward the city lights.

I could feel my heart beating faster, not from fear, but from something I didn’t want to name. Something close to anger. Something close to pain.

Ravenport looked almost peaceful from a distance—tall buildings, warm lights, cars moving like slow insects. But I knew this city better than most. I knew what lived in the shadows. I knew the people who smiled during the day and killed in the dark. I knew the secrets buried beneath the pavement.

And I knew someone here wanted the Hawke family gone.

“Two years,” I whispered to myself. “Two long years.”

I didn’t expect an answer, but I got one anyway.

“You’re finally back.”

I turned slowly. A man leaned against a rusted fence behind me. Thin, dark jacket, a simple cap pulled low over his face. But I recognized his voice.

“Jax,” I said.

He stepped forward, and the weak streetlight revealed his smirk. “Didn’t think you’d show up tonight.”

“I didn’t think so either.” My voice was calm, but my chest felt tight.

Jax used to be one of the boys from my neighborhood. We weren’t close back then, but he always had sharp eyes and quicker hands. The kind of guy who saw everything and said nothing.

Now he looked older. Harder. But still alive. Which, in Ravenport, meant he was dangerous or lucky.

“Word spread fast,” he said, looking me up and down. “Crimson General walks into town wearing a hood like he’s hiding from the moon.”

“I’m not here to show off,” I replied.

Jax chuckled. “Good. Because people here still think you’re dead.”

I stayed silent. That rumor had kept me safe for years. And it had kept whoever killed my family relaxed, thinking their job was done.

“But I always knew you’d come back,” Jax said. “You Hawke boys never stay gone.”

“Don’t call me that,” I said quietly.

His smile faded. “Right. Sorry.”

For a few seconds, neither of us spoke. The cold breeze carried the faint smell of the ocean mixed with car exhaust. Ravenport air. Dirty but familiar.

“How bad has it gotten?” I finally asked.

Jax scratched the back of his neck. “Worse than you think. The people who erased your family… they didn’t stop with you.”

My jaw tightened. “Names?”

He hesitated. That was new. Jax never hesitated.

“Leon,” he said, lowering his voice. “You need to take it slow. The Vale family… things are getting messy.”

At the mention of that name, my heart skipped.

Vale.

Seraphine Vale.

A face flashed in my memory—soft, warm eyes, gentle hands, a voice that didn’t tremble even when mine did.

Two years ago, when I was broken, bleeding, and ready to give up, she found me. She didn’t know who I was. She didn’t ask. She simply saved me.

“Seraphine,” I murmured.

Jax’s eyebrows lifted. “So you remember her.”

“How is she?” I asked immediately. My voice sounded harsher than I meant.

Jax looked away. “She’s alive. But she’s in deep trouble, Leon. Her family is involved in things you won’t like.”

I felt a chill creep into me—different from the night air.

“What kind of trouble?” I asked.

“The dangerous kind,” Jax muttered. “The kind tied to the same people who wanted your family gone.”

My hand curled into a fist before I could stop myself.

Seraphine? Connected to them? No. She wouldn’t. She couldn’t. Not the girl who helped a stranger without asking for anything.

“She doesn’t seem like the type,” I said.

“She’s not,” Jax replied quickly. “But she’s trapped. And the Vale family… they’re not as clean as they pretend.”

I took a deep breath. The city lights flickered in the distance, as if the whole place were breathing. Ravenport never slept; it waited.

“Where is she?” I asked.

Jax shook his head. “Can’t tell you yet. Not tonight. You’ve been gone too long. You need to settle your feet.”

“I don’t have time to settle anything.”

“Leon.” Jax stepped closer. “Listen to me. You march in there now, you’ll get killed before you touch the front door.”

“I’ve faced worse.”

“Yes,” he said sharply, “but not here. Not at home. Things changed.”

I stared at him, trying to read the truth behind his words. But Jax wasn’t lying. His eyes held something I didn’t expect from him—fear.

“Fine,” I said. “Then tell me where I can stay.”

He sighed with relief. “There’s an old apartment complex near the docks. Almost empty. I’ll send you the address. Stay low. Don’t let anyone see your face.”

I lifted an eyebrow. “You think someone is watching for me already?”

Jax gave a small smirk. “Oh, I don’t think. I know.”

Before I could ask more, he stepped back.

“And Leon?” he added.

“Yes?”

“You’re not the same man who left this city.” He narrowed his eyes. “But the people here… they aren’t the same either. Don’t trust anyone. Not even the ones who smile.”

With that, he walked away, disappearing down the dark road.

I stood there for a moment, thinking about his words. About the Vale family. About Seraphine.

I reached under my cloak and touched the worn leather strap of the satchel hanging across my chest. Inside was the only picture I had left of my family. My parents, my younger brother, all smiling in front of our old house.

For two years, that picture had kept me alive. And for two years, the same question haunted me.

Why us?

I took a slow breath and turned toward the city. The path ahead felt heavy, but it was a weight I had carried for a long time.

*Time to find answers. And time to repay a debt I owed.*

---

The walk to the docks took nearly an hour. Ravenport streets were familiar but different—new shops, new roads, old corners covered with fresh graffiti. People chatted on sidewalks, laughed outside bars, and hurried into restaurants to escape the cold.

But there were also shadows—men watching from alleys, groups whispering near streetlights, cars slowing down just a little too much as I passed.

Jax wasn’t lying. This city was tense.

When I finally reached the apartment complex, I felt both relieved and uneasy. The building looked abandoned from the outside—cracked walls, broken windows, a flickering light near the entrance.

“Perfect hiding place,” I muttered.

Inside, the hallway smelled faintly of dust and old wood. I walked up two flights of stairs and found Unit 204, just like Jax had said. The door creaked when I pushed it open.

The room was small—a simple bed, a rusted table, a tiny kitchen in the corner. No decorations, no personal items, no memories left behind.

Just emptiness.

I dropped my bag on the table and took off my cloak. My red tunic underneath glowed faintly in the dim light. It was a reminder of the countless battles I had survived. A reminder of the blood I had spilled.

I touched the scar on my shoulder, the one that almost killed me before Seraphine found me.

Seraphine.

Her name echoed in my head. I remembered waking up to her soft voice. I remembered the warm cloth she pressed against my wounds. I remembered how she talked to me even when I couldn’t talk back.

And I remembered the night I left her cottage without saying goodbye.

“I owe you everything,” I whispered into the empty room.

My phone buzzed. It was a message from Jax.

**Lock the door. Someone might be around tonight. I’ll come by in the morning.**

I frowned.

Someone? Who?

Before I could reply, there was a knock at the door.

Three slow knocks.

I froze.

No one should know I was here. No one except Jax.

Another knock. Louder this time.

I stepped quietly toward the door, gripping the edge of the table with one hand.

“Who is it?” I asked, my voice firm.

Silence.

Then a soft female voice answered.

“Leon? Is that you?”

My heart stopped.

I knew that voice.

I had heard it in my dreams countless times. Soft, warm, gentle.

“Seraphine?” I whispered.

I opened the door.

She stood there, wrapped in a simple white coat, her hair slightly messy from the wind. Her eyes—those calm, steady eyes—looked straight into mine. For a moment, it felt like the world stopped moving.

“You’re… alive,” she breathed.

I didn’t know what to say. I had imagined this moment for so long, but now that it was here, I felt unprepared.

“Yes,” I said quietly. “I’m alive.”

Her hands trembled slightly. “I heard rumors, but I didn’t believe them. I didn’t want to believe.”

“How did you find me?” I asked, trying to understand.

She looked away. “I followed you.”

My eyebrows lifted. “You followed me?”

“Yes.” She bit her lip. “I saw you at the city gate. I wasn’t sure it was you, but… I had to know.”

I didn’t know whether to be impressed or worried.

“You shouldn’t be here,” I said softly. “It’s dangerous.”

Seraphine stepped forward until she was only a few feet from me. “Leon… I need your help.”

Her voice cracked a little, and my heart tightened.

“What happened?” I asked.

She looked down, her hands clenching the edges of her coat.

“It’s my family,” she whispered. “The Vales. They’re… forcing me into something I don’t want. And I think… I think they’re involved with people who want you dead.”

I stared at her, feeling the weight of her words settle like stones in my stomach.

“Seraphine,” I said slowly, “tell me everything.”

She lifted her eyes to mine.

“I will,” she said. “But not here.”

“Why not?”

She hesitated. “Because… someone is watching us.”

As if on cue, footsteps echoed outside the hallway.

Seraphine’s eyes widened with fear.

I reached for her wrist gently. “Inside. Now.”

We stepped into the apartment together, and I locked the door behind us.

The footsteps grew louder, stopping directly outside the door.

Seraphine held her breath.

I stood still, listening.

Three slow knocks echoed again.

This time, it wasn’t Seraphine.

A deep voice

spoke through the door.

“We know you’re in there, Crimson General.”

Seraphine grabbed my arm, her voice a shaky whisper.

“Leon… they found you.”

And with those words, my quiet return to Ravenport shattered.

War had come knocking.

And this time, I was ready to answer.