The black sands were cold as death.The only light came from Lumiel's bleeding wrist — faint, pulsing red like a dying star.Daniel lay motionless beside him, his breath thin, his lips pale. Luminous watched from a few steps away, trembling, her crimson eyes glowing softly through the gloom.
The city loomed behind them — tall spires of bone and obsidian whispering with the laughter of ancient vampires. Every sound felt wrong, hollow, as if reality itself were decaying.
They had escaped Leviathane's storm… only to be swallowed by hunger.
The Last Choice
Lumiel pressed two fingers to Daniel's neck — weak pulse, fading.He felt the Nihility within himself stir, dark fire curling under his skin. His own veins burned with need.
"He's dying," Luminous said quietly."I know.""If you give him mortal blood—""It won't save him.""If you give him vampire blood—""He'll lose himself."
Lumiel's fangs ached.He looked at Daniel's face — the one person who had never envied him, never hated him for what he was. His brother. His reflection.
"He'll die human," Lumiel whispered. "Unless I make him something… else."
He raised his wrist to his lips and bit deep.The blood that poured out wasn't crimson anymore — it shimmered black and gold, laced with flickering red script. The Code itself was bleeding.
"This isn't a feeding," he said to Luminous. "This is rebirth."
The Turning
He lifted Daniel gently, letting his brother's lips brush the wound.
The effect was immediate — the blood sizzled against his tongue, glowing brighter than flame.Daniel convulsed, gasping, as the Red Code stormed through his body like molten steel through glass.
"Breathe, damn you," Lumiel whispered. "Breathe!"
Daniel screamed — but it wasn't pain. It was power. His skin shimmered gold, then crimson, then translucent as streams of energy spiraled from his veins into the air.His heart stopped… then restarted with a thunderclap that cracked the ground.
Luminous shielded her face, watching in awe.
"Lumiel… what did you do?"
"I rewrote him."
The Birth of the Blood Elf
When Daniel opened his eyes, they were no longer mortal brown — they burned gold-red, like sunlight seen through blood.His breath came out in steam. He looked down at his trembling hands; veins of living light pulsed beneath his skin.
"What… what am I?""Alive," Lumiel said softly. "And something more."
Daniel touched the sand, and where his blood dripped, flowers of crimson glass bloomed and vanished in the wind.He could feel the pulse of the city around them, the hum of life and death — and for the first time, neither felt stronger.
"You've given me your curse.""No," Lumiel said. "I gave you a choice."
The New Hunger
The transformation came with a price.Daniel's body burned with hunger — not for blood, but for vitality itself.He could sense the life in every creature, the flow of magic in the air.He looked at Lumiel, who was pale now, drained from what he'd given.
"Drink," Lumiel ordered."No.""If you don't, I'll die for nothing."
Daniel hesitated, then leaned forward — not to bite, but to press his forehead against Lumiel's.For a moment, the two auras merged — Red Code and Sanguine Light intertwining like twin flames.Energy flowed both ways, equal and balanced.
When they pulled apart, both were trembling — but alive.
Luminous exhaled.
"You two are insane.""You're welcome," Lumiel said hoarsely. "Now help me stand before I collapse heroically."
The Bond
That night, they found shelter in a ruined temple on the city's outskirts.The moon here never rose; instead, the horizon bled faintly with crimson fog.
Daniel leaned against the wall, watching his hands glow faintly with every heartbeat.
"I can feel you," he said."I know," Lumiel replied. "You're bound to my blood now.""And you to mine."
They sat in silence. Somewhere outside, the sound of wings echoed through the ruins.Predators hunting.
"We'll have to feed soon," Luminous said."No," Lumiel said. "Not yet.""Then what?""We steal. We learn. We survive."
Closing Scene
Before sleep took them, Lumiel traced a faint rune in the dirt — a spiral of red lines that glowed once, then dimmed.A pulse of energy rippled through the air — subtle, almost imperceptible.
And far below the city, deep within the endless dark sea, something stirred.Lines of crimson light flickered across Leviathane's scales as it whispered:
[Reflection Accepted. Bloodline: Initiated.]
Lumiel's eyes snapped open, his pulse syncing with the whisper.For the first time since the storm, he smiled — thin, sharp, and full of fire.
"We're not dead yet."