Milan was inside the water he had traveled through in his vision, moving forward as if the liquid itself carried him. He walked into a place so dark that even his thoughts felt swallowed by it. There were no trees, no buildings—no environment of any kind. Only a hard, cold surface beneath his feet and a thick smoke of darkness forming a wall that spiraled endlessly around him, rotating slowly like a living cage.
His breath caught. He froze.
"Where am I?" he asked himself, his voice echoing faintly into the void. Suddenly, he felt something behind him. His muscles tensed.
He turned slowly, carefully, and his eyes widened. Standing behind him… was himself.
Another version of Milan stood there, identical in form, but not in presence. His eyes were completely dark, bottomless, as if light had never existed within them. He stood still, staring straight at Milan with an unsettling calm.
"So… you finally came?" the other version spoke, his voice deeper, colder.
"You are me?" Milan asked, disbelief heavy in his tone.
"No," the figure replied calmly.
"I am the darkness that lives inside your host. Or should I say… I am the Vessel. The one and only true bound." Milan let out a short laugh, shaking his head.
"So you're Victor's dog?"
Without warning, the Vessel stepped forward and punched Milan hard in the stomach.
The impact was brutal.
Milan flew backward, collapsing onto the ground as blood spilled from his mouth. He coughed violently, his body curling in pain.
"You will speak his name with respect," the Vessel said coldly.
Milan groaned and forced himself to his feet, wiping the blood from his lips.
"What do you want inside my body?" Milan asked, breathing heavily.
"A place to hide until you wake your master and return to your original form?"
The Vessel tilted his head slightly.
"We have better plans. You and your friends will never stop Victor. He has great power… and he is coming."
"You think we're afraid of you and your master? You don't really know what we're capable of, do you?"Milan snapped.
"Three worthless humans," the Vessel replied. "One with the Herald Power. And the other sister—the one with great power."
"That's right," Milan said, his voice firm.
"And of course there's me. The stubborn man who's going to take control of you, use you for my benefit, make things right, kill Victor, and restore the world to what it was before."
The Vessel burst into laughter, the sound echoing unnaturally through the darkness.
"You?" he mocked.
"You think you can stop me? You are nothing—just a simple human. All those fighting skills, all those techniques… they exist because of me. Whatever strength you have, whatever you are it's all because I stayed inside your body long enough for you to learn through me. And now, today, you want to control me?"
"Damn right I do," Milan said, clenching his fists.
"And believe me I will."
"You shouldn't have come here," the Vessel said calmly.
"But don't worry. I'll teach you a lesson. When Victor wakes again, I'll make you bow before him."
"That's not gonna happen." Milan charged forward at full speed.
In an instant, the Vessel raised his hand—and his body split. One became fifteen.
Fifteen identical versions of Milan surrounded him, each with the same dark eyes, the same twisted grin.
Milan stopped abruptly, scanning them. Laughter echoed from every direction.
"You thought this would be easy?" the Vessel's voice came from all of them at once. Milan attacked.
Every one he touched vanished into smoke, but the effort drained him. He struggled, spinning, striking, trying to keep up Suddenly, a massive kick struck him from behind.
He crashed to the ground again, blood spilling as pain surged through his body.
Outside the water, Nutaila stood still, waiting.
"Come on, Milan," she whispered.
The night was unnaturally quiet, the sky looming high and heavy above her.
Inside the vision, Milan was beaten relentlessly. Every attempt to rise ended in failure. Blow after blow landed until his body refused to stand. The Vessel reformed into a single body and walked slowly toward him.
Milan crawled, his fingers digging into the ground as pain consumed him. The Vessel laughed.
"This is the difference between you and me," he said.
"You are nothing. I am unstoppable. And now… it's time to teach your friend Nutaila a lesson."
The Vessel vanished
Inside the water, Milan's eyes snapped open.
They were dark—unnaturally dark. The Vessel had taken control. Not fully awakened… but enough. Nutaila stood watching.
Suddenly, the water began reacting violently, swirling faster and faster.
Nutaila drew her swords instantly, sensing danger.
Before she could react Milan appeared behind her and struck her hard in the chest.
The force sent her flying into the water. Her swords slipped from her hands as she sank.
Milan plunged in after her.
He grabbed her throat, choking her beneath the surface, dragging her deeper. Nutaila struggled desperately, but Milan's strength was overwhelming.
Outside the water, her swords began to glow faint red neon light pulsing from the wolf symbols etched along their blades.
Inside the water, Nutaila's eyes turned black.
She summoned her darkness.
With a sudden burst of strength, she twisted Milan's arm, shoved him away violently, and sent him flying. They drifted apart, staring at each other through the water, both waiting.
Timing each other. Suddenly, Milan ran out of air.
He surged upward, blasting out of the water and collapsing on the ground, coughing violently. His eyes were still dark.
"The difference between us, is that I can stay underwater for two hours." A voice said behind him Milan turned Nutaila was gone. She struck from the shadows.
A massive kick slammed into his chest, sending him flying into a tree. Before he hit the ground, she emerged from another shadow, struck him again, and vanished. Milan roared in anger.
Nutaila charged again with incredible speed, her body cutting through the air like a shadowed blade. Milan reacted instantly. He caught her midair, his grip crushing as he lifted her high with brutal force.
"My turn," he growled.
He slammed her hard against a tree. The impact echoed through the forest as Nutaila fell to the ground, injured and gasping. Milan stepped forward, placed his hand on her head, and activated his power.
The world distorted Milan vanished.
Inside Nutaila's vision, she collapsed to her knees, screaming in agony. Her cries tore through the night as blood poured from her mouth, nose, and ears. Her body shook violently, her fingers clawing into the earth as she howled in pain. Inside her mind, Milan walked through a vast, dark place.
It was the Vessel.
Cold corridors stretched endlessly before him. Chains rattled faintly in the distance. He passed several dungeons, each sealed and swallowed by darkness—until one cell stopped him completely. It was darker than all the others. Inside, he saw the Herald.
Weak. Chained. Locked away. Milan stepped closer. He froze.
Suddenly, he was violently ripped out. Back in the real world, Milan reappeared, barely able to react
Nutaila stabbed him hard in the stomach.
Her sword ignited instantly, burning through him like living fire. Milan screamed as the pain surged through his body. Before he could recover, she drew her second sword and stabbed him hard in the shoulder.
His body burned violently.
Nutaila kicked him hard in the chest.
Milan was thrown backward, his head smashing against a tree branch before he crashed to the ground.
He groaned but forced himself back to his feet, clenching his fist, ready to strike again.
Nutaila was gone. She had vanished into the darkness.
Milan stood still, his eyes scanning the moving shadows around him.
"We both know you can't find me in the shadows," Nutaila's voice echoed.
"Why don't you step out of the shadows and find out who's stronger?" the Vessel spoke through Milan's mouth.
"You think you're stronger?" Nutaila replied calmly.
"Is that what you believe? That host you're using he's stronger than you imagine. One day, he will overcome you."
Milan roared and punched a shadow cast against a tree with full force.
The shadow slipped away
Nutaila had already shifted into another.
"I saw the Herald in your mind," the Vessel said.
"What did you do to him? He was weak, chained, and locked inside a cell."
"The day you awakened him inside me, he took control," Nutaila answered.
"I fought him. I won. And I locked him away. He won't get out." The Vessel laughed, a deep, hollow sound.
"You don't know a single thing," he said.
"Victor is coming soon. And when he wakes, no one and nothing will stop him from restoring our power. The darkness you use will fade. One day, it will be gone. You will be empty. Helpless. And when that time comes, I will kill you slowly very slowly. I will enjoy it."
Nutaila stood firm, her voice unshaken.
"I was born without darkness, But my legacy will never change. I am a vampire hunter. Born without darkness, carrying the blood of hunters since the day I entered this world. I don't depend on darkness to fight I use it only as balance. I know that too much darkness does. It consumes you. Turns you into a monster like you. I refuse that fate. My destiny is to stop creatures like you and end this once and for all. And this time for good."she said.
Milan laughed.
Suddenly, Nutaila appeared behind him and struck him hard in the chest.
As Milan began to fall, she recalled her darkness, vanishing into the shadows. In the next instant, she reappeared from the nearest shadow beneath him and punched him hard in the stomach. Milan slammed into the ground.
The earth cracked beneath the impact.
The force of the blow shook the battlefield as both of them crashed down violently—proof that the fight was over.