Altheria's POV
The shadow bowed low, its crimson edges shimmering faintly before it vanished in a streak of light. Within a heartbeat, it was gone, leaving behind only the heavy tension that hung in the room.
The air felt charged and oppressive mirroring the storm brewing within Nyx.
She sat motionless, her head bowed with her long inky hair obscuring her face like a dark veil. But even without seeing her eyes, I could feel the turmoil radiating from her.
"Nyx… Nyx," I called softly and gently which broke the oppressive silence. She didn't respond. If anything, her stillness deepened as though she had retreated even further into herself.
My patience snapped. "Nyx!" The command in my voice broke through her haze, and she finally raised her head.
Her eyes which had blazed with rage only moments ago now carried a startling calmness. It wasn't peace but was the eerie quiet of a tempest gathering strength. I studied her, trying to decipher her thoughts but her expression was unreadable.
"What happened in the Astral Realm?" I asked, keeping my tone steady but firm. "Care to explain why you're in this state?"
She hesitated and the silence stretched between us like a chasm. When she finally spoke, her voice was low and detached.
"An unknown power enveloped his soul," she began. "It prevented me from reaching the crystal soul sphere and all my attempts were thwarted. Its strength was… unfathomable. It detected my Veil of Invisibility with ease and destroyed my dark soul spear afterward."
Her words hung in the air, heavy with implication. For something to overpower Nyx so thoroughly was unthinkable to me.
"I observed earlier that his soul was connected to some obscure point in the Astral Realm," she continued. "But any of my attempts to interfere or investigate was futile."
She fell silent again, her gaze distant and lost in some inner abyss. I didn't press her. Nyx wasn't the type to share her vulnerabilities openly, not even with me.
But I could feel the emotions of worry, anger, frustration, and even sadness that she tried to suppress so much. They pulsed in the room echoing through her soul waves which were impossible to miss.
Strong beings with powerful souls like us had to make extra effort to suppress our soul waves so that other beings couldn't detect our emotions. But Nyx didn't care to suppress her soul waves now.
I sighed, moving to sit beside her on the bed. Gently, I placed a hand on her shoulder before wrapping her in a quiet embrace. She didn't resist but neither did she respond. It didn't matter.
Sometimes, words weren't necessary and all that mattered was letting someone know they weren't alone.
We stayed like that for what felt like hours with the silence between us unbroken. Eventually, a familiar glow lit up the room. A crimson shadow streaked in from the corridor and its presence cut through the stillness like a blade.
Without a word, it phased into my body and a light red parchment materialized in my hand.
The parchment shimmered faintly in the dark room. Its surface was ethereal and its content was marked with meticulous black ink. I read through it swiftly, absorbing every detail about the Blood Countess and her family.
Cassandra Blackwell. The name alone was enough to set my teeth on edge. The Blood Countess was no ordinary vampire but she was an eight-hundred-year-old relic and was a testament to the extremes one could go to in defiance of mortality.
The lifespan of a Crystal Formation being rarely exceeded five hundred years, even for vampires maybe having a hundred years or more. But Cassandra had clung to life far beyond her natural years by resorting to forbidden methods that turned my stomach.
Harvesting blood quintessence from young children of various races including humans, beastmen, demons, and even elves. Her audacity and desperation were unparalleled.
The Blackwell family itself was deeply entrenched in the slave and flesh trade of Scarlet Hollow City. While slavery was an unfortunate staple of vampire society, the flesh trade was tightly regulated under my authority. Explore more stories with My Virtual Library Empire
Only willing women were permitted to participate but the Blackwells had crossed every line.
They had colluded with the Vael Duchy which was notorious for its unregulated slave and flesh trade. Worse, they had abducted underage girls and in the process tore apart families and exploited the vulnerable.
My grip on the parchment tightened, the edges of the paper glowing faintly with the heat of my anger. These crimes deserved retribution. And if Nyx intended to deliver it, I wouldn't care a bit for the Blackwells.
I turned to Nyx, my voice steady but firm. "If possible, try to save the young girls captured for the flesh trade. They must be trapped in the dungeons of the Blackwell estate."
Nyx nodded silently, her gaze flickering to Ethan before she vanished from the bed without a sound. It was as though she had never been there.
The parchment dissolved into motes of red light as I stood, my resolve hardening. Without hesitation, I followed after her. I needed to witness this for myself, the punishment that awaited those who dared defy the laws I had painstakingly enforced.
Moving like a crimson wraith through the corridors, I passed through the shifting eerie walls of the castle. The whispers, screeches, and scratching noises that echoed in the distance ceased as I approached.
I scoffed at the cowardice of the shadows that slithered back into obscurity. They weren't worth my attention. As I pressed forward, the walls, which had resembled the writhing insides of a living creature returned to their normal dark and stony appearance.
We traversed the moonlit night and entered the underground through one of the many caves present in the mountains.
Not all noble families preferred having their castles in the center of the city. Many had their fortresses and castles on the outskirts of the city and on the fief that they owned.
The Blackwell estate was one of those castles.