Milan and the others finally reached the first station after walking for three long hours. Their first stopping point was the Loch Broom Interior Glen. As they arrived, the place felt unnaturally quiet. Blood was splattered all over the ground and smeared across the walls, dried and darkened by the cold. Night was almost upon them. The woods were thick with snow, and the freezing air crept into their bones, biting harder with every breath.
"Well, we are here," Nadia said, breaking the silence.
"Good. Where can we find the water?" Nutaila asked, her voice desperate, her eyes scanning the area.
"Can we at least take a small break or something? We have been walking for almost three hours," Milan said, exhausted and barely standing straight. His breath came out in visible clouds as Nutaila walked toward him.
"Rest is something you shouldn't do right now. We are almost there. I can feel the one with the pure blood. Sooner or later, you will too. And once you see him or her, then you will start losing control of the darkness. What I need is that when we get there, you are already in control of your darkness," Nutaila said firmly. Milan nodded quietly, saying nothing. Nadia showed Nutaila the direction they would follow to reach the waters. Nutaila adjusted her gear, tightened the straps, and took her swords, the metal gleaming faintly under the dim sky.
"We have to go," she told Milan.
Milan picked up his sword and walked toward Scarlet.
"I'll see you soon," Milan said.
"I want to come too. I need to see the training," Raven shouted.
Nutaila turned around slowly.
"I'm afraid it's not possible," Nutaila said.
"Why? It's just training. By the way, what kind of training are you going to give him in this snow? It's so fucking cold out here," Zero asked.
"First, he would be dangerous because the training will dig deeper into the darkness. What I will do is make him try to control it. But I have a twenty percent chance of making him control it, and an eighty percent chance that he will lose control. And believe me, right now I can sense the darkness inside him. It's furious and angry. So when it comes out, it will come with everything it has—all its powers at once. And trust me, you don't want to be there when that happens, because if he sees you, he will only see his enemies and try to kill all of you," Nutaila said.
Everyone fell silent.
"What about you? Do you think you can stop him if it comes to that?" Scarlet asked.
"I'm not sure, but I'll stand a chance. He may be a little stronger than me, but I will manage to fight him and put him down," Nutaila replied.
"I think Scarlet should be there. She's stronger," Nadia said. Everyone turned to look at her.
"No, she shouldn't be there. Scarlet's powers are different," Nutaila said.
"What are you talking about?" Zero asked.
"Her powers don't react when there's danger. They don't react when she wants to fight or when she gets beaten badly. They only react when she wants to be harmed by darkness, spirits, or rituals. Or if she wants to get killed."
"You've been studying me?" Scarlet asked.
"Your powers are unpredictable. No one can study them. Maybe we will get answers when we see the Wise. After we get the one with the pure blood, we will find the Wise, just like Milan said. We will gain knowledge there. So for now, why don't you all rest? I'm sure you're tired. We will be back as soon as possible, and we leave early at dawn. We don't want to waste time here. This place looks dangerous," Nutaila said as she turned and walked away.
Milan followed her quietly, his footsteps crunching against the snow.
Inside the camp, night had already fallen. Marcus was still inside Dr. Patel's quarters. His eyes were fixed on the patient as time passed slowly.
"I told you before, the blood sample wasn't stable yet. I was working on a formula to stabilize it," Dr. Patel said. Marcus glanced at his watch.
"Wait—"
Suddenly, Lucy's eyes snapped open. She gasped violently, coughing and vomiting large amounts of blood. Dr. Patel froze in shock.
"Oh my God," she whispered, quickly grabbing a blanket and covering Lucy as her body trembled violently from the cold. Marcus stood there, watching.
"Lucy, Lucy, look at me. Do you know who I am?" Dr. Patel asked repeatedly.
Lucy was dizzy, her eyes wandering around the room. Her vision was blurry and unfocused. Dr. Patel kept calling her name again and again until Lucy's vision slowly began to clear.
"Do—" Lucy coughed violently.
"Dr. Patel," she whispered weakly.
"Yes, it's me. Oh my God, you're back," Dr. Patel said, overwhelmed.
"Where… where am I?" Lucy asked before her eyes slowly closed again and she drifted back into unconsciousness.
Dr. Patel quickly checked her temperature and began stabilizing her condition, inserting an IV. Once she was done, Lucy lay quietly on the bed, breathing softly.
Dr. Patel cleaned the blood from the floor, her hands shaking, then walked outside to the couches near the experiment room. Marcus was waiting there. She sat down beside him.
"Well, do you have anything to say?" Dr. Patel asked.
"I tried the blood the other night. I was able to retrieve one of the vampires back to life," Marcus said. Dr. Patel stared at him in shock.
"Where is he?" she asked.
"I killed him right away. Because I needed to see if you would be honest with me. But I was wrong. I gave you what you needed, and you ended up lying to me."
"I'm sorry. I just wanted to keep it to myself until I was certain. I was studying the blood—how to make it work. I needed to see its outcomes, its consequences, everything."
"You could have just said it, and I would have understood," Marcus said as he slowly stood up.
"What else can the blood do?" he asked sharply.
"I don't know yet. Why?"
"I want to create something more than a cure. Something like a weapon to kill these vampires. Can you do that?" Marcus asked.
Dr. Patel froze.
"You want me to mix substances into the blood and turn it into a killing weapon? So that whoever you inject becomes a killing human?" she asked. Marcus smiled.
"Yes. So why don't you get to work right away?"
"I don't think I can do it," Dr. Patel said.
Two guards suddenly entered the room. Marcus gave them a signal. They walked past her, removed Lucy's IV, and lifted her unconscious body.
"Hey, where are you taking her?" Dr. Patel shouted, trying to move forward. Marcus stopped her.
"If you want to see her again, do what I want. You have until morning. Do whatever it takes. Mix whatever you can. I will prepare the testing subject," Marcus said as he walked away.
Dr. Patel collapsed to her knees and started crying.
Milan and Nutaila continued walking toward the water. The further they went, the colder it became. Snow crunched beneath their feet until they finally reached the waters. The surface was calm, dark, and deadly cold. Milan's body trembled uncontrollably.
"We are here," Milan said.
"Take your clothes off," Nutaila said.
"What? Are you crazy? I'm freezing," Milan shouted.
"It's the only way. I was drowned in ice water for hours. I'm asking for only thirty minutes of your time."
"You want me to jump into that water for thirty minutes? How am I supposed to breathe?"
"You will. Just trust me and listen to my voice."
"No. I'm going back. I don't want to do this," Milan said, turning around.
In a blink, Nutaila used her darkness, moved in front of him, and stripped his clothes and pants away with terrifying speed. Milan was left standing in nothing but his boxer.
Nutaila stood at the edge, raising his clothes as if to throw them into the water.
"Give them back! It's cold!" Milan shouted as he ran toward her.
She dodged him effortlessly and shoved him hard. Milan fell into the water. The cold was unbearable.
Nutaila descended near the surface using her darkness as Milan struggled, gasping and swimming.
"Oh God!" he screamed.
"Now listen to me. I need you to hibernate in the water. Close your eyes. Listen to the sound of the water. Let the cold brace your body. Go deep into the dimension of your darkness. Find its core. Control it."
"How can I do that?" Milan asked.
"The moment you close your eyes, you will go there."
Milan hesitated, then nodded.
"Remember, it won't be easy. You may face it inside, and you will have to fight it. It will test you. Make sure you win and come back before thirty minutes." Milan opened his eyes.
"What if I don't come back?"
"You will die in the water," Nutaila said coldly.
Milan closed his eyes and let himself sink. He descended deeper and deeper as the water grew darker, colder, and endless.
Nutaila stood alone beside the water, surrounded by darkness, waiting.