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Chapter 217 – Ravens in the Night
Chapter 217 – Ravens in the Night
The wind whispered through the towering trees surrounding the castle cave, carrying the crisp scent of damp earth and ancient stone.
A shroud of mist clung to the ground, swirling like specters waiting to be disturbed.
In the dim morning light, five figures stood silent—waiting.
Seraphis inhaled deeply, her white hair catching the faint glow of the rising sun.
The others stood beside her, their newly forged weapons strapped to their belts or resting at their sides.
Lilith, her crimson gaze sharp as ever, rolled her shoulders in anticipation.
Sena, silent and focused, adjusted the straps of her daggers.
Veylan, his usual cocky smirk replaced by something more serious, watched the treetops with careful eyes.
And Azrael, still and composed, waited without a word.
Seraphis turned to them, her expression firm.
"We fly."
A single command.
And then—
The shift began.
The Transformation
Their bodies melted into shadows, twisting and folding inward like ink spilling into water.
Bones compressed, limbs shortened, and flesh morphed with unnatural precision.
A heartbeat later, where five warriors had stood—
Five ravens took their place.
Seraphis’ vision sharpened instantly.
Colors faded into shades of deep blacks and grays, but movement—movement became everything.
Every rustling leaf.
Every shifting shadow.
Every ripple of air.
She could see it all.
She flexed her wings once, adjusting to the sensation before glancing at the others.
Each of them had taken their raven form effortlessly.
Lilith’s dark feathers gleamed like polished obsidian.
Sena, smaller but no less deadly, twitched her sharp beak.
Veylan flapped his wings impatiently.
Azrael stood perfectly still, unreadable even now.
Then—
Seraphis took flight.
And the others followed.
Above the World
The sky greeted them with open arms, the chill of the altitude biting against their feathers.
Below, the dense forest stretched endlessly, the castle cave shrinking into a distant speck.
They soared in silence, their wingbeats synchronized as they cut through the morning air.
Their target was clear:
The Vampire Territories.
They needed to gather intelligence.
On the Sleeper Experiment.
On the families involved.
On the secrets buried beneath centuries of blood and darkness.
Seraphis angled her wings, catching an updraft as she signaled to the others.
They split apart—each taking a different path toward their mission.
The hunt had begun.
Lilith’s Descent – House Nocturne
Lilith banked left, her sharp eyes locking onto a sprawling estate hidden within the valley below.
House Nocturne.
A powerful vampire family known for their experiments on blood magic.
She folded her wings and plummeted, her form a sleek shadow against the misty sky.
At the last second, she flared her wings—perching on the highest spire of the mansion.
Below, vampires moved like ghosts in the night, their crimson eyes flickering in the dim lantern light.
Lilith listened.
She had always been good at listening.
And what she heard chilled her to the bone.
"The Sleeper is stirring."
A shiver ran down her feathers.
Sena’s Trail – House Duskbane
Sena had landed deep within the ashen ruins of an old temple, where the Duskbane family once held court.
The air was thick with decay.
Something wasn’t right.
She hopped along the cracked stone, her keen gaze scanning the area.
Then—
A voice.
"They thought we were dead. They were wrong."
Sena froze.
The Duskbane family still lived.
And they were waiting for something.
Something dangerous.
Veylan’s Discovery – House Morgrave
Veylan, ever the risk-taker, had flown straight into the heart of the enemy's city.
The Morgrave Clan.
Vampires known for their mastery over shadows.
He perched on the edge of a gargoyle statue, watching below.
What he saw?
A prison.
A prison filled with humans, dhampirs, and… something else.
Experiments.
Victims.
Slaves to the Sleeper Experiment.
Veylan clenched his talons.
This was worse than they thought.
Azrael’s Path – House Valefor
Azrael landed on the worn-out balcony of a forgotten keep.
The Valefor family had not been seen in centuries.
But they were still here.
Still watching.
Still waiting.
And as he listened, he heard something that made even his cold heart falter.
"She is coming."
"The Sleeper is waking."
Azrael’s feathers ruffled.
Who was ‘she’?
And why did the name feel like a warning?
Seraphis’ Revelation – The Sleeper’s Mark
Seraphis had gone further than the others.
Beyond the vampire strongholds.
Beyond the forests of night.
To the ruins of an ancient battlefield where blood once ran like rivers.
And there—etched into the stone—
She found the mark.
The Sleeper’s Mark.
A symbol carved in pure obsidian, glowing with an energy she did not recognize.
She stared at it, something deep in her memory stirring.
Then—
A voice whispered behind her.
"You should not have come."
Seraphis turned sharply.
Nothing.
Just shadows.
Just the wind.
But something had changed.
Something had shifted.
The Sleeper was waking.
And they had just stepped into something far greater than they had ever imagined.
The Ravens Return
One by one, the ravens took flight once more, retreating into the night.
They had found their answers.
But they had also found something far more dangerous.