The mont the word news echoed through the vast Blood Tower chamber, the atmosphere that had just been filled with pride and celebration shifted into restless curiosity.
The vampires of the Moonshade family began murmuring among themselves, their voices overlapping like waves crashing softly against stone.
"What could it be?"
"From the Crimson Blood Kingdom?"
"Or from the Chira Ant Empire?"
"Has war begun?"
So leaned toward each other, whispering theories in low tones. Others narrowed their eyes thoughtfully, calculating what kind of information would be important enough to be delivered directly into the ancestral hall.
Yet beneath all that speculation was a shared confidence.
It cannot be bigger than this, many of them thought.
A descendant awakening a refined bloodline was a once in generations miracle. Even if there was political news, even if there were skirmishes or alliances shifting in the outer territories, surely nothing could overshadow the fact that Moonshade had just produced a bloodline breakthrough.
Even the Blood Ancestors, suspended in mid air, observed the kneeling ssenger with asured calm.
One of them spoke quietly to the others.
"Whatever it is, let him speak."
Cain stood still, his eyes resting lazily on the ssenger, but inside his mind sothing stirred.
Could it be?
He had a rough guess.
Did the news about what I did travel fast?
A faint smirk almost ford on his lips before he suppressed it.
hmmm, he told himself. Let them hear it first.
Cornelia stood beside him, silent.
She did not look at the ssenger.
She looked at Cain.
Ever since the events outside, ever since she had sensed sothing strange while unconscious, ever since she got those mories, she had begun paying attention to the subtle shifts in his expression. She could not hear his thoughts, but she had learned to read his small reactions.
Right now, there was sothing in his stillness.
He knows sothing. Be talked about when she was unconscious.
Her fingers tightened slightly around his sleeve.
This has sothing to do with him.
The bat ssenger lifted his head, eyes burning with urgency.
"It is huge news!" he declared loudly, his voice echoing through the chamber. "Especially for vampires!"
The murmuring grew louder.
"Good news?" soone asked eagerly.
"Yes!" the ssenger nodded. "This favors the entire vampire race!"
The Blood Ancestors leaned forward slightly.
"Speak clearly," one of them commanded.
The ssenger swallowed and continued.
"It concerns the Chira Ant Emperor."
At the ntion of the Chira Ant Emperor, several vampires stiffened.
They knew the Chira Ant Emperor was targeting the Lycannis Family.
The mortal enemies of vampires.
The lycan race.
One of the younger nobles whispered, "What now? Have they attacked?"
An older vampire shook his head. "The pact still stands. Neither side can wage open war."
Another vampire from the crowd spoke thoughtfully, "Recently, we have sensed instability beyond our borders. The Chira Ant Emperor has been antagonizing the Lycannis family indirectly."
"Yes!" the ssenger nodded eagerly. "But he cannot move openly because of the ancient pact between their races... But the news was not about the Lycannis family and their dealings with the Chira Ant Emperor."
The crowd grew more focused.
"Then what happened?"
The ssenger inhaled sharply.
"A secondary Emperor has appeared!"
The words dropped into the chamber like a stone into deep water.
Silence followed.
Then chaos.
"What did you say?"
"Another Emperor class?"
"Which race?"
"Where?"
Voices rose in disbelief.
An Emperor class being was not sothing that appeared casually. It represented a peak existence within a race, soone capable of influencing kingdoms, reshaping borders, and rewriting power balances.
Even the ancestors’ expressions shifted.
"What race?" one of them asked slowly.
The vampires looked at each other with wide eyes, their faces pale, mouths slightly open.
So felt saliva gathering unconsciously at the corners of their lips as their thoughts raced wildly.
Another Emperor ant upheaval.
Another Emperor ant war potential.
Another Emperor ant danger.
And in that instant, many of them realized sothing with quiet shock.
Cornelia’s lineage breakthrough, though miraculous, might not be the biggest event unfolding.
The ssenger raised his voice again.
"A Human Emperor!"
The chamber erupted again, but this ti not in joy.
"A human?"
"Impossible!"
"Humans are weak!"
"Humans cannot reach Emperor class without contracting nightmare creatures!"
The ssenger shook his head violently.
"Not from our plane!"
That made the uproar intensify.
"He is from another plane of existence," the ssenger declared. "And unlike the humans of our realm, who must form contracts with nightmare creatures to wield mana, these humans can use mana on their own!"
The words felt heavier than the previous announcent.
The vampires froze.
Use mana on their own?
Without contracts?
Without borrowed power?
A noble whispered hoarsely, "That ans... their foundation is natural."
"They would not be limited by external beings," another said.
"They could grow continuously."
"And if one reached Emperor class..."
"That ans their entire race may not be as weak as ours once believed."
The murmurs grew darker.
"If a whole plane of such humans exists..."
"Then this is not a single Emperor problem."
"This is a plane war."
The phrase sent a chill through the hall.
Plane war.
The idea of two planes colliding, of foreign races stepping into their world, of unknown magic systems clashing with blood mana and nightmare contracts, made even seasoned vampires uneasy.
Cornelia felt her heartbeat quicken slightly.
A Human Emperor from another plane.
Her gaze shifted to Cain again.
Could it be true? He drank their blood to heal ?
Cain, anwhile, sneered inwardly.
Fools.
They are more tasty and beneficial, especially for us vampires.
What are you all being scared about?
If those humans truly possessed natural mana, then their blood would be richer. Purer. Stronger.
From a predator’s perspective, this was an opportunity.
But he kept his expression blank.
The ssenger continued quickly.
"But the Chira Ant Emperor appeared and faced him!"
That statent shifted the mood again.
A collective breath escaped from many vampires.
"So the Ant Emperor intervened."
"That is good."
"If the ants and the human clash, we observe."
"Yes. Let them weaken each other."
Even so of the ancestors nodded faintly.
The Chira Ant Emperor was a monstrous existence. If he personally confronted the foreign Human Emperor, then at least the imdiate threat would not reach vampire territories first.
Yet caution remained.
"It is still dangerous," a noble said slowly. "If two Emperors clash, the aftermath alone could tear apart regions."
"And if the foreign Emperor survives..."
"He may target other races."
"Plane war is unpredictable."
The hall did not calm completely.
There was relief, yes, but also calculation.
Cain watched their shifting emotions with detached amusent.
Cornelia felt a strange tension building in her chest.
The ssenger had not finished.
She could see it in his trembling shoulders.
There was more.
The bat ssenger raised his head again, his expression turning intense.
"But that is not the most shocking part."
The hall quieted imdiately.
Every vampire present fixed their gaze on him.
Even the Blood Ancestors seed to sharpen their attention.
The ssenger’s voice dropped for a mont, forcing everyone to lean forward slightly.
"Listen carefully, all vampires present."
The silence beca suffocating.
Cornelia felt her fingers tighten around Cain’s sleeve again.
Cain’s eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly.
The ssenger’s voice suddenly rose, filled with disbelief and fear.
"While the two Emperors of both races were facing each other..."
He swallowed hard.
"An unknown Vampire ambushed them!"
The bat didn’t pause.
"Leaving them both heavily drained and injured from his attack!"
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