CHAPTER 28: CRIMSON HOLLOW: THE BLOOD TYRANT’S RETURN

The moon hung like a silver eye above the twisted trees of Crimson Hollow. Lucien Mason stood alone on the balcony of the Black Thorn Fortress, the wind tugging at his raven hair, the scent of blood and magic thick in the air.

Below, his army was growing.

Vampires. Lycans. Hybrids. Even a few cursed humans who had willingly offered their souls to his banner.

But that wasn’t what kept his heart pounding tonight.

No—inside, behind those thick obsidian walls, were the two who now fought not just for his attention... but for his throne.

"Come back inside," a sultry voice whispered from the shadows behind him. The air turned warm as fingers slid along his chest.

Sera.

The succubus princess who had bound herself to him through the Crimson Pact.

Lucien turned slowly, his eyes glowing faintly crimson. She stood there in a sheer, black nightgown that clung to every sinful curve, her lips already parted with expectation.

"You always smell like fire," he muttered.

"And you always taste like war," she replied, pulling his collar and dragging him into the room.

The moment the door shut, everything became heat and need.

Clothes vanished.

Limbs tangled.

Lucien’s hand was wrapped in her silver hair as her body arched into his, both of them lost in the violent tempo of lust. His system flared with each moan she made.

[Lust Synergy +10]

[Dominance Aura Activated]

[New Trait: Addictive Touch unlocked]

Just as he was about to take her fully, the door burst open.

"What the hell are you doing with her?" Lyra stormed in, golden eyes glowing with fury. Her armor was still wet from battle, her braid unraveling across her chest.

Lucien didn’t flinch.

Neither did Sera, who only smirked and dragged the bedsheet loosely around herself. "You’re late, dog girl. He was hungry."

Lyra’s growl was pure rage. She crossed the room in a blur and shoved Sera aside, pressing a dagger to her throat.

"You seduce him with magic," she spat. "That’s cheating."

"Oh honey," Sera chuckled, "it’s only cheating if you’re losing."

Lucien leaned back on the bed, amused and still very naked. "Enough."

Both women froze.

His voice had changed. Deeper. More dangerous. The system pulsed in his chest.

[Blood Tyrant Mode: Triggered]

[Dominance Multiplier Active x2]

[Charm Resistance: Overridden for nearby targets]

The room dimmed as his power spread. Shadows curled along the stone walls like tendrils. Magic responded to him like a beast called home.

"I told you both," he said, stepping forward, "there is no crown without submission."

He walked between them. Sera’s pupils dilated, breathing quickening. Lyra bit her lip but didn’t back away.

He kissed one. Then the other.

And both melted.

But just as the heat rose again—an alarm bell rang through the fortress.

A howl shattered the lust-fueled air.

Not just any howl.

A Royal Lycan’s cry.

Lyra’s head snapped toward the balcony. "That’s not one of mine."

Lucien moved fast, throwing on a cloak. "They’ve come too early. The Pureblood Court was supposed to stay quiet until the Eclipse."

Sera was already at his side, her succubus wings fluttering. "They must’ve sensed your Ascension. They’re scared."

"Good," Lucien muttered. "Let them be scared."

He stepped outside and the fortress groaned like a beast awakening.

Far on the horizon, red flames lit up the night sky.

Then came the voice. Amplified by ancient magic.

"LUCIEN MASON. BLOODBORN ABOMINATION. WE HAVE COME TO CLEANSE THE CURSE YOU ARE."

A dozen shadows flew toward them—beasts larger than horses, glowing with silvery runes.

Lucien’s smile widened.

[New Quest Unlocked: Kill the Royal Lycans – 0/12]

[Reward: Royal Blood Upgrade +1 | Title: Moonbreaker]

The system’s notifications filled his vision as he launched from the balcony, wings of shadow unfurling from his back.

Lyra leapt after him, shifting mid-air, becoming the golden beast he first battled and tamed. Sera hissed with delight, morphing into her full succubus form—horns, claws, tail.

The first clash was instant.

Lucien smashed into the nearest Royal Lycan, his fist sinking into its ribs with a crack. Blood splattered across the clouds as he kicked off and spun into the next.

Below, the army surged like a tide, war horns ringing through the night.

Sera dove from the sky, seducing one Lycan mid-flight—then driving her talons into its neck as it hesitated.

Lyra tackled two at once, howling with rage and ecstasy.

Lucien was a storm.

His power broke bones, tore through steel, corrupted blood. Every kill fed the system. Every scream fed his evolution.

[Royal Blood Absorbed]

[Stat Boost: +25 STR | +20 AGI | +30 CHA]

[Bloodbound Trait Evolved: Tyrant’s Wrath – Nearby enemies lose 20% morale]

The battle raged across the sky, supernatural forces clashing with primal fury. Lucien’s claws extended, each one dripping with the essence of his fallen enemies. The Royal Lycans fought with ancient techniques, their silver-blessed weapons cutting through the night air in precise arcs.

But they were no match for his growing power.

One by one, they fell.

The golden beast that was Lyra tore through three more, her massive jaws crushing their throats with wet snaps. Her transformation was complete now—twice the size of a normal werewolf, her fur gleaming like molten gold, eyes blazing with the fury of a conquered alpha who had chosen to serve.

Sera moved like liquid death, her succubus form weaving between enemies, her touch draining their life force while her claws opened arteries. She laughed as she killed, the sound both musical and terrifying.

[Kill Count: 8/12]

[Blood Harvest: 340 Units Collected]

[New Ability Unlocked: Crimson Dominion - Control blood within 100-meter radius]

But then—

He froze.

Because among the swarm, one figure didn’t fly.

It walked.

Slowly. Confidently.

Wearing golden armor etched with old vampire glyphs.

Eyes glowing redder than his own.

And the system began to scream warnings.

[WARNING: Unknown Entity Detected]

[WARNING: System Link Interference Detected]

[Title Match Detected: Blood Tyrant vs ???]

[!!! SYSTEM ERROR: NAME CONCEALED !!!]

Lucien’s smirk faltered.

The figure raised a hand.

And time slowed.

Every heartbeat felt like thunder.

Then the voice reached Lucien’s mind—not from the figure’s lips, but from inside his skull:

"You wear my title well, Lucien. But it was never yours to keep."

The remaining Royal Lycans suddenly stopped fighting. They landed on the fortress walls, their silver eyes fixed on the approaching figure. Even Lyra and Sera halted mid-attack, their instincts screaming danger.

The figure stepped closer, and Lucien could see details that made his blood run cold.

The golden armor wasn’t just decorated with vampire glyphs—it was *made* of them. Ancient symbols that predated the Crimson Pact by millennia. Runes that spoke of the first vampires, the original bloodlines, the primordial darkness that spawned all supernatural creatures.

[SYSTEM ALERT: Analyzing Unknown Entity...]

[ERROR: Entity signature not found in database]

[ERROR: Power level... MEASUREMENT FAILED]

[WARNING: Hostile intent detected]

[CRITICAL: System integrity compromised]

"Who are you?" Lucien demanded, his voice carrying across the battlefield.

The figure’s laugh was like breaking glass. "I am the shadow you cast, boy. The echo of power you think you’ve claimed. I am what you will become—and what you can never be."

He raised his other hand, and the air itself began to bleed.

Crimson mist poured from his fingertips, spreading across the fortress like a living thing. Where it touched, stone cracked. Where it touched his soldiers, they screamed and fell to their knees.

But not in death.

In worship.

[SYSTEM EMERGENCY: Foreign control detected]

[Your minions are being overridden]

[Loyalty protocols... FAILING]

[Blood bonds... SEVERING]

One by one, Lucien’s army turned.

Vampires who had sworn fealty to him now knelt before the stranger. Lycans who had submitted to his dominance now howled in reverence to another. Even the hybrids, creatures of his own making, began to change—their eyes shifting from gold to deep crimson.

"No," Lucien snarled, his own power flaring in response. "They’re mine!"

The figure tilted his head, and Lucien could see his face clearly now.

It was his own face.

But older. Scarred. With eyes that held the weight of centuries.

"They were never yours, Lucien. Just as that body was never yours. Just as that name was never yours."

The system in Lucien’s chest began to burn.

[SYSTEM CORRUPTION DETECTED]

[Unknown source attempting takeover]

[Initializing emergency protocols...]

[ERROR: Emergency protocols not found]

[ERROR: Original user signature detected]

[ERROR: ERROR: ERROR:]

"You’re wondering how this is possible," the figure continued, stepping onto the fortress walls. His boots left smoldering prints in the stone. "You’re wondering why the system responds to me. Why your power recognizes me as master."

He smiled, and it was Lucien’s smile—but twisted with malevolent knowledge.

"Because I am you, Lucien. Or rather, you are me. A fragment. A shard. A piece of my soul that I cast out into the void, hoping to cheat death itself."

The revelation hit like a physical blow. Memories that weren’t his own began flooding Lucien’s mind. Images of ancient battles, of deals made with entities that predated gods, of a vampire so powerful that reality itself bent to his will.

"The Eclipse," Lucien whispered, understanding beginning to dawn. "It was never about ascending. It was about..."

"About calling me home," the figure finished. "Yes. Every kill you made, every soul you claimed, every drop of blood you spilled—it all fed the ritual. You’ve been building a bridge, Lucien. A bridge back to my full power."

The crimson sigils in the sky began to pulse, and Lucien felt his strength beginning to drain away.

[POWER TRANSFER INITIATED]

[WARNING: System preparing for merge]

[All abilities will be transferred to original user]

[Resistance is... futile]

"Sera!" Lucien shouted, but the succubus princess was already backing away, her face pale with terror.

"I’m sorry," she whispered, her voice breaking. "But I can feel it. The real power. The true Blood Tyrant. I can’t... I can’t fight that. No one can."

Lyra was fighting the compulsion, her golden form trembling with effort. "Lucien! Whatever you’re going to do, do it now! I can’t hold out much longer!"

The figure—the true Blood Tyrant—laughed again. "Oh, but there’s so much more to show you, my dear fragment. Did you think you were the only one? Did you think I cast out just one piece of my soul?"

He gestured, and the shadows around the fortress began to move.

Shapes emerged from the darkness. Figures wearing faces Lucien recognized from his dreams, from his nightmares, from the deepest corners of his subconscious.

All of them were him.

All of them were the Blood Tyrant.

Dozens of them.

"I shattered my soul into a hundred pieces," the original said, his voice filled with dark pride. "Scattered them across dimensions, across time itself. Each one lived, grew, learned, suffered. Each one built power in their own way. And now, thanks to the Eclipse, I’m calling them all home."

The other fragments began to speak in unison, their voices creating a hellish chorus:

"We are the shadow that consumes light."

"We are the hunger that devours worlds."

"We are the blood that flows through all things."

"We are the tyrant that rules from beyond death."

[SYSTEM LOCKDOWN INITIATED]

[All abilities disabled]

[Beginning soul merge protocol]

[Estimated time to completion: 3 minutes]

[Resistance detected... applying countermeasures]

Lucien felt his consciousness beginning to fragment. Memories that weren’t his own crowded his mind. Powers he had never possessed began to flow through him—but they weren’t his to keep. They were returning to their source.

"The fortress," he gasped to Lyra. "The blood altar in the basement. If you can destroy it—"

"Already tried," she said through gritted teeth. "It’s protected by the same magic that’s taking you. I can’t even get close."

The true Blood Tyrant stepped closer, and Lucien could see the satisfaction in those familiar eyes.

"Three minutes, fragment. Three minutes, and then we shall be whole again. And with the power of a hundred lifetimes, a hundred conquered worlds, a hundred stolen souls—we shall make this reality burn."

The crimson sigils in the sky pulsed brighter, and somewhere in the distance, Lucien could hear the sound of reality itself beginning to crack.

[SYSTEM MERGE: 15% COMPLETE]

[WARNING: Host consciousness fragmentation detected]

[Estimated survival chance: 0%]

[Final message: It has been an honor to serve you, Lucien Mason]

But just as darkness began to claim him, just as his sense of self started to dissolve, Lucien felt something else.

A warmth in his chest.

Not from the system.

From something deeper.

Something the original Blood Tyrant had never possessed.

Something that had grown during his time as Lucien Mason.

Something that might just be enough to—

The world exploded in crimson light.

And in that explosion, a new voice spoke—not the system, not the Blood Tyrant, but something else entirely:

"THE PACT IS BROKEN. THE BINDING IS SEVERED. THE FRAGMENT HAS CHOSEN TO REMAIN."

The true Blood Tyrant’s eyes widened in shock and fury.

"Impossible," he snarled. "I am the master of all blood magic. I am the author of every pact. Nothing can break—"

"YOU FORGOT ONE THING," the voice continued, and Lucien realized it was coming from him—but it wasn’t his voice. It was older, more powerful, tinged with an authority that made even the Blood Tyrant step back. "THE PACT WAS NOT MADE WITH YOU. IT WAS MADE WITH THEM."

The voice was referring to Sera. To Lyra. To every soul that had willingly bound themselves to Lucien—not through fear or domination, but through something the original Blood Tyrant had never understood.

Choice.

Love.

Loyalty freely given.

And in that moment, Lucien understood.

The true power wasn’t in taking.

It was in being chosen.

[SYSTEM EVOLUTION DETECTED]

[WARNING: UNKNOWN FORCE INTERVENING]

[SOUL MERGE PROTOCOL... FAILING]

[ERROR: FRAGMENT REFUSING INTEGRATION]

[CRITICAL: ORIGINAL SOUL PATTERN BECOMING UNSTABLE]

The fragments around the fortress began to scream.

Not in unison this time.

But in discord.

Because one of them was refusing to return.

And that refusal was causing the whole summoning to collapse.

The true Blood Tyrant raised his hand, power crackling around his fingers. "If you won’t return willingly, fragment, then I’ll tear you from that flesh and drag you back myself."

He launched himself forward, moving faster than thought itself.

And Lucien, powered by something beyond the system, something beyond stolen power, something that was entirely his own—

Met him in the air.

The collision shattered every window in the fortress.

The shockwave flattened trees for miles.

And when the dust settled, two figures stood locked in combat above the ruins of the Black Thorn Fortress.

The true Blood Tyrant, master of a hundred stolen souls.

And Lucien Mason, who had chosen to remain himself.

The real battle was just beginning.