Once Betrayed Never Forgotten

Chapter 139: a New Hybrid is Reborn. Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

Me feast for hours, wine and conversation flowing freely, until it is time for the first dance and the Blood Moon ceremony. The guests file out of the feasting hall and into the granul halloum. Aleksandr and I walk hand in hand, the anticipation building with each step

The ballroom is breathtaking. The ceiling soars high above us, a vast dome adorned with intricate patterns and constellations, Candlelight flickers, casting a war golden glow mer rything. The air is thick with traion and excitement, a palpable energy that makes my heart race.

As we reach the center of the room, everyone looks up, and a hush falls over the room. Suddenly, there’s a sort of shockwave, vibrations rippling through the very formulations of the castle, shaking my thoughts from their moorings. Fear and confusion intertwine within me, thinking it’s an earthquake, before I remember that this happened before, at my mother’s Blood Moon ceremony almost a year ago. Aleksandr holds me reassuringly, feeling me bense.

Amidst the cales around me, I notice everyone’s gazes directed upwards. A collective hush envelops the ballmom as I realize that the commation is not due to tremes but to something far more otherworldly. They’re looking up at the ceiling, and my eyes follow suit.

The wast dise of stone in the ceiling begins to shift and groan, the constellations painted upon it moving like ancient gears. It’s as if the very heavens are in motion, revealing a window into the night sky. Through the glassless opening, a cascade of eenie red moonlight bathes the room, costing an ethereal hue upon everything it touches. The moon, a crimson eli hanging in the dark expanse, feels like a sinister eye watching us from above, an onicious presence.

Attention shifts to the heart of the room, where a grand dais has been erected. It’s a creation of dark black marble veined with crimson, a fire couning through the stone like veins of molten lava. The dais draws the eyes of every guest, a focal point for the enigmatic proceedings

Aleksandr guides

es me with an air of reverence to the dais, standing side by side.

Anya, a pillar of authority, stands poised on the dais, her presence commanding the attention of all. As her voice carries through the hall, a mantle of solemnity enshrouds her words, an almost priestly cadence that commands reverence.

“Ladies and gentlemen, fellow kindred, we gather here under the watchful eye of the Blood Moon once again to witness a union forged in the bonds of blood and fate, Anya intones, her voice carrying the weight of ages. “From the ancient annals of our lineage, this ceremony has endured, a testament to the unbreakable connections that bind our kind”

Anya’s words weave a tapestry of history, a story etched in the marrow of their existence. She speaks of an era when vampires were hom not of curse or calamity, but of a profound need to safeguard their world. Her words summon visions of a time when night and day existed in harmonious balance, when humans lived unburdened by shadows

“In a time beyond time, when night and day were like the rhythmic pulse of a single heart, our kind emerged not as predators, but as guardians,” Anya explains, her gaze holding the crowd. “Long before the world knew the fracture of darkness, our ancestors forged a sacred covenant with the moon, pledging their lives to protect the fragile realm of mortals.

She unfolds a tale of a pact formed under the watchfull gaze of the moon itself, an ancient vow sworn amidst moonlit groves. “It was during the peak of a red moon, when the beavens seemed to bleed, that our forebears united with the celestial forces. In a dance of shared destiny, they pledged their loyalty to the moon, its briance a mirror to their own immortal existence.”

Anya’s voice becomes a melodie cadence, carrying the enchantment of fables and legends. “They swore to guard the realms of humanity, to ensure their survival even in the depths of night’s embrace. And in return, the moon granted them strength, unity, and dominion over the shadmus, Thus, the ceremony was born, a testament to the bond between vampire and celestial guardian,”

Her words resound, enveloping the room in an aura of history and legacy. For centuries, we have been the watchmen of both mortal and immortal–realms protectors of the balance between light and darkness. This ceremony is our testament, our eternal promise to uphold the sacred duty entrusted to us.”

Amy’s gaze pierces the veil of time, connecting the past to the present, the present to the future. “As we stand beneath the red moon, let us remember our shared ancestry, our bloodline that courses through the veins of history. Let us renew our vow to protect, to safeguard, and to stand as sentinels against the encroaching tides of chaos.”

Her speech is a tapestry woven from the threads of history, a living testament to the lineage that binds them all. The room falls silent, the air heavy with the weight of tradition, the resonance of destiny. It’s a moment that stretches beyond the confines of time, a bridge that connects them to their ancestors and to the world they ve sworn to protect.

As the final words of Anya’s speech dissipate into the air, the room’s atmosphere shifts. The energy is palpable, a charged undercurrent that stirs the very essence of their beings. In this moment, I’m acutely aware of my own humanity, my role as a witness to a ceremony that transcends even the most vivid of dreams,

As Anya’s speech reaches its crescendo, a female vampire adorned in scarlet steps forward, her face veiled by a lace as red as the roses twined through her hair. A cushioned pillow holds the gleaming dagger of Shadow and Bl

Blood, the artifact that we retrieved from the lake of blood. The air is pregnant with anticipation.

The dagger glimmers as it’s passed to Aleksandr. Another figure, draped in a deep purplish–red and crowned with red spider lilies, steps forth with a silver chalice, gleaming red in the bloody moonlight.

Aleksandr’s wrist is bared, and the dagger bites into his flesh as he tears a sharp, deep out. A crimson river flows, his blood pouring into the silver chalice. The room is hushed, every vampire present severent, somber.

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Chapter 139 a New Hybrid in Reham

In unison, they mummur incantations, a chorus that reverberates with the weight of centuries. The room becomes a sanctuary of collective energy, the air heavy with the mingling of words that transcend time itself.

Then Anya’s voice rings out through the hobed murmusing as she begins to sing.

By the moon’s pale glow and the night’s enduace,

In shadows deep where ancient powers race,

call upon the essence of the eternal right,

To weave the threads of destiny, so tightly wound and right.

Blood of life, now blood of the damned.

Blend and bind as dark forces demand.

From mortal coll to the realm unseen,

I beckon the transition, the path between

As veins intertwine, as life intertwines,

Let this gift be granted by design divine.

In darkness reborn, in immortality’s grace,

Let the chains of mortality noir unlace.

Vampiric legacy, awaken within,

Rise from the ashes where new begin

Fangs of hunger, eyes allante,

The

lest unquenchable, the immortal’s name.

Embrace the shadows, embrace the might.

From deaths sweet kiss emerges this new flight,

Awakem arise, a creature of the night,

By

by this ritual’s power, embrace the endless night.”

The final

al notes of Anya song fade away, and Aleksandr’s attention turns to me

The beer chalice, brimming with his blood, is placed within my hands. I lift it to my lips, the promise of eternal unity between us quivering in the air.

I hesitate for a moment, the terrible dream Bashing through my mind, where I killed all my loved ones, the terrible vision of what would happen if I went through with the Blood Moon ritual and combined my blood wraith power with vampire power. But the ritual was perfined with the sacred dagger, and I believe and trist that we have changed the course of the prophetic dream, and have averted disaster.

As I take a sip, the moment feels like a culmination of everything that has led to this point. The air is heavy with significance, a sense of closure mingling with the promise of a new beginning.

And then, my transformation begins.

The world seems to hold its breath as 1 10 my knees under the crimson moonlight, wails

ls of pain piercing the silence. It feels a bit like when

I became a blood wraith, but different. My body

by twists and contorts, i

a viserral agony that sends shivers down my spine.

a heart attack. My whole body shakes violently. My canines grow, elongating into sharp points, my nails extend into

I grip my chest, feeling as though I’m having a h glittering talons before retracting

I feel a new shadowy power surging through my veins, an intoxicating rush that fills me with both exhilaration and terror, The energy pulses within me, a dark, potent face that seems to come alive, threading itself through every ther of my bring. As the power intensifies, I become acutely aware of my bouts rhythnic

Chapter 139 New Hybrid is Reborn

beating, each pulse reverberating like a drum echoing through a vast chamber.

The beating grows louder in my ears, a symphony of life that thrums with urgency, I can feel the blood coursing through my veins, a river of warmth that suddenly begins to cool. The low slows, and then, with a jarring finality, it halts. My heart gives one last, powerful beat, a resounding thud that echoes in my chest, before it goes still. The silence that follows is deafening, a void where the rhythm of life once was.

In my mind’s eye, I see my heart, suspended in the darkness, frozen in time. The image is vivid and haunting, the once vibrant organ now motionless, its purpose fulfilled. As the stillness envelops me, a sense of profound peace washes over me, a quiet acceptance of the transformation taking place.

Amidst this, I can feel Aleksandr’s heart, a faint yet distinct connection that bridges the gap between us. I sense the wound on his heart, the scar that has lingered for so long, finally beginning to heal. The pain he has endured, the unhealing wound that has been a constant companion, starts to fade. The bond between us strengthens, a tether of love and sacrifice that binds our fates together.

My vision blurs, the edges of the world darkening as the transformation reaches its climax. The room around me fades, the faces of the guests, the flickering candlelight, and the crimson moonlight all dissolving into an inky blackness. I feel myself slipping away, consciousness dimming as the final moments of my mortal life slip through my fingers

I die.

In that moment, I am reborn. The darkness that has enveloped me begins to recede, a distant light piercing through the void. My senses slowly return, first as a distant whisper, then as a growing crescendo. I can hear the murmurs of the guests, the faint rustle of clothing, the soft crackle of candle flames. My vision clears, the world coming back into focus.

As I open my eyes, the first thing I see is Aleksandr’s face. He is smiling down at me, his expression one of pure, unadulterated joy. His eyes are filled with love and relief, a mirror of the emotions swelling within me. In that moment, I know that I have done it. I have embraced the darkness and the light, becoming a hybrid of blood wraith and vampire.

Together, Aleksands and I will spend the rest of our immortal lives intertwined, bound by the power of the Blood Moon and the strength of our love.