Flashback – One Year Ago
The sound of turning pages echoed faintly through the forgotten library. Candle flames flickered, casting restless shadows across marble columns and chained books. The place felt suspended between time and silence — a sanctuary of secrets where light itself hesitated to enter.
Footsteps broke the quiet.
Billy emerged.
No trace of his wounds remained; his skin was pale, almost translucent, and his eyes — now glowing a faint crimson — shone with a corrupted innocence. He stopped in front of the figure standing by the table.
Nyra.
Her silver hair caught the candlelight, her presence cold and magnetic as she read from a black tome resting open before her.
" She believed it" the boy said with a small, uneasy smile. " Lucy thought I… died. And Todd died too."
Nyra didn't turn. Her voice was calm, distant, and dangerously indifferent:
" You did well, Billy."
The boy lowered his head, unsure if it was praise or dismissal.
" So… what happens to me now?"
Nyra finally looked over her shoulder. Her gaze was glacial, devoid of warmth, as if he were nothing more than another piece in a vast game.
" Now… you wait until I need you again."
She closed the book with a sharp thud and walked toward a cobweb-covered window. Moonlight filtered through the cracked glass, painting her face in silver and shadow.
From the darkness behind her, a deep voice resonated:
" So she still has the pendant."
Cletus stepped out, his dark robes trailing the ground, the scars on his face glimmering faintly under the candlelight.
"But you could have caught him already. Why didn't you? - He spoke with veiled doubt."
Nyra didn't turn to face him. Her tone was composed, almost regal:
" I have my motivations. I will convince her to accept her true heritage. The demonic seals of the castle... will be removed one by one."
Cletus gave a single nod, eyes fixed on the moonlit ruins beyond the window.
Billy stood in silence, watching without fully understanding the weight of their words. One of the candles flickered out, drowning half the room in darkness.
Cletus vanished again into the shadows, his laughter echoing faintly as it faded.
Nyra remained still, her expression unreadable. The cold wind that slipped through the cracks carried whispers of forgotten promises — and of curses yet to rise.
Days passed in eerie quiet.
Billy, obedient and distant, served as messenger between Nyra and Cletus — delivering letters, coded fragments, and mysterious trinkets. Neither spoke directly to the other. Only the boy moved between them, a phantom caught between powers beyond his grasp.
And so, beneath the hush of secrecy, their pact grew stronger.
Nyra read. Cletus waited. Billy obeyed.
And while the world slept, the first seal of the Twilight Eye Castle began to weaken — a silent omen that the true war was only just beginning.
PRESENT DAY
Atop the newly reborn demonic castle, Nyra stood motionless.
The breeze tangled her short silver hair. Her katana rested against the black stone floor as she watched the chaos below.
Lights flickered. Alarms screamed across the city.
The sky was painted in blood and ash — a false sunset of apocalypse.
Soft footsteps echoed behind her.
"Beautiful view, isn't it?"
Cletus's voice dripped with veiled malice.
Nyra didn't turn. Her tone was cold, controlled.
"Cletus…"
With a theatrical smile, Cletus spread his arms, gazing down at the burning city.
"Tell me this doesn't thrill you... The demonic fortress reborn!"
"The place where once, both humans and monsters knelt before absolute power."
He stepped beside her, eyes gleaming with near-religious reverence.
"The greatest dark minds of their time —cultists, conquerors, architects of doom —built this magnificent citadel!"
"And now, after centuries buried in the depths, it rises again... to fulfill its destiny! Isn't it glorious?"
Nyra exhaled slowly, unimpressed.
"That's not my problem."
Cletus's smile faltered.
Nyra turned her head slightly, eyes glinting.
"Does she still have the pendant?"
Silence.
Cletus adjusted his collar, theatrically.
"Of course. After all..."
"It's the only memory you two have of the mother you lost.
Nyra's gaze hardened, fury flickering beneath calm.
"She has no idea of the true power she carries..."
Before Cletus could reply, the mist around them thickened.
A creature made of shadow emerged before Nyra — clawed, twisted, whispering in guttural tones.
Nyra turned her back on it.
She took a single step forward.
In one swift, silent motion, the katana flashed from its sheath.
A clean cut. Instant death.
The creature disintegrated into ash before realizing it was dead.
Nyra slid the blade back into its scabbard without looking back.
Cletus swallowed hard, glancing at the fading mist.
Then — his eyes shifted downward, toward the castle's entrance.
Far below...
A blue motorcycle skidded to a stop on cracked earth. At the seat sat a woman — short blonde hair, piercing blue eyes. A fitted blue combat shirt, black tactical shorts, and a high-tech spear strapped to her back. Gear on her thigh hinted at military training —or something far more dangerous.
She raised a pair of binoculars, focusing directly on the top of the castle.
Her lips curved into firm determination.
" I found."
The ground behind her began to tremble as twisted creatures clawed their way up from the dirt, hissing for blood.
She didn't even look back.
The throttle roared. The bike surged forward, leaving a trail of glowing blue vapor that burned and disintegrated the monsters in a blinding flash.
Her eyes hardened; there was pain there, not just determination.
She continued toward the castle, and nothing could stop her.