Lilith's blood froze as Alex stood before her, death energy oozing from his body like an endless abyss. The mere pressure of it made her body tremble, her vampiric instincts screaming in terror.

In her mind, she cried out.

'Nyx… what is this power? I've never seen anything like it before!'

The primordial's voice echoed back, sharp and shaken.

[ That power… it is not one mortals—or even gods—can wield except one. That is death energy, Lilith. A power none can command except Hades, the God of Death himself. ]

Nyx's voice wavered.

[ It does not merely destroy. It erases existence itself. ]

A shiver ran down Lilith's spine. She could not believe it. A boy her age wielding a force even she—chosen avatar of Nyx—couldn't touch.

But as her body quaked, she smirked through the fear.

'So this is the hurdle I must cross. He's the strongest… and I have to be the strongest, so no one can ever gave me the look that mother and father gave me that day … it has to be him. I have to defeat him. I don't care about the curse. I don't care about mother's clan, The upcoming danger, or anything. I only want to surpass him.'

Her blood sword materialized in her hands, her grip tightening until her knuckles turned pale. She bared her fangs.

'This submissive feeling… I'll crush it. Even if I have to tear him apart.'

---

[ **Flashback** ]

The Bloodmoon Empire.

From ancient times, vampires were cursed—unable to walk under the sun. At night, they were predators unmatched, but daylight reduced them to prey. The other races exploited this mercilessly, and vampires teetered on the edge of extinction.

Then came the Abyss. The abyssal legions struck the elves first—those who had pushed vampires closest to annihilation. The chaos forced all races to unite. But even in the alliance, vampires were deemed weak, unreliable, bound by their weakness of not a le to appear in the sun.

Desperate, they prayed. And Nyx, the Primordial Goddess of Night, answered. She blessed them with an avatar and granted them the ability to walk in sunlight.

At least—that was how history remembered it.

Lilith Noctis Bloodrose was born into that legacy. A princess with immeasurable talent, a genius who shattered every barrier before her.

Her father, Damon Noctis Bloodrose—the Blood Emperor—was whispered to be the strongest asset of the Alliance, a warrior who had defeated monarchs of every empire. Her mother, Catherine Astrea, came from the so-called "cursed clan," the Astreas—vampires who still could not walk in sunlight despite Nyx's blessing and will die before they even turn 40 years old which was nothing before the life time of a vampire who usually lived atleast 150 years.

Catherine was a woman of breathtaking beauty—ashen-gray hair that cascaded like moonlight, and eyes the deep scarlet of fresh blood. Lilith had inherited her father's midnight hair, but her mother's piercing crimson eyes.

Strength was everything in the Bloodmoon Empire. Bastard or not, noble or peasant, only the strong ruled. And Lilith was the strongest. She crushed her siblings with ease, silenced every rival, and stood unchallenged as Crown Princess.

On the day her succession was announced, her father summoned her and Catherine to his private chambers.

They sat around a table, tension as thick as smoke. Damon's presence was suffocating, his gaze as sharp as blades.

He spoke, voice cold as the void.

"Lilith. How do you feel?"

Lilith met his crimson eyes without flinching. "I'm happ—"

"Don't lie to me," Damon cut her off, his tone brooking no disobedience. "Speak your honest thoughts."

Lilith let out a sigh, shoulders relaxing.

"There's no challenge left here. Everything is too easy. I've decided—I will attend Zenith Academy."

For a long moment, silence stretched.

Catherine reached forward, her voice gentle, almost pleading.

"She's still a child, Damon. Don't press her so hard."

But Damon ignored her.

A rare smile curved across his lips as he said, "Good. As expected of my daughter.

I will approve but thays not the reason I called you here."

Then his eyes narrowed, his words deliberate.

" I know… she chose you, didn't she? The primordial Goddess of Darkness."

Lilith's crimson eyes flickered in surprise. For a moment, silence. Then she slowly nodded.

As Lilith nodded, a big smile crept onto his face as his cold aura shifted into something almost feral.

"Finally…" he said, his deep voice reverberating through the room. "Finally, after generations, someone in our family was found worthy enough."

He began laughing—low at first, then louder and louder until it filled the chamber like thunder.

"I knew it," he growled between laughs, "The Darkness… you wield is of purest form. The purest I've ever seen."

His crimson eyes glimmered with a rare kind of excitement as he leaned forward.

"So can you do it?" he asked. "Can you release the curse from your mother's bloodline?"

Lilith blinked, stunned. Her father's words dug into her like knives.

'Release the curse? From Mother's bloodline?'

Damon continued, his tone almost reverent.

"You don't know it yet, but at one time the Astrea clan ruled the vampires—not the Bloodrose clan. They were the progenitors of our kind. The first, the strongest. Their abilities were something no other clan possessed. That's why you've inherited so much power. That's why none of your siblings ever stood a chance against you."

Lilith's eyes widened. She glanced at her mother, who, with a faint but solemn nod, confirmed everything.

Damon went on, his voice lowering to a near whisper.

"Their only weakness was the sun. And for reasons unknown, they were cursed to never walk in its light, even after the rest of us were freed. God knows why."

He met Lilith's gaze as he continued.

"But you… you have Nyx by your side who freedom is from this curse. You're connected to her. You're the only one who can ask her to lift the curse. If not lift it, at least find a way."

For the first time in her life, Lilith saw her father and mother both looking at her with hope—not command, but hope.

She swallowed hard.

'They're asking me… they've never asked me for anything. This is the first time.'

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes. 'Nyx… can you hear me?'

Suddely the world tilted. The floor vanished. Darkness engulfed her.

Lilith opened her eyes and found herself standing in another realm entirely. The sky was an endless velvet expanse, swirling with constellations that flickered like dying stars. Below, the ground was not ground at all but flowing shadow, alive and whispering, every ripple echoing voices older than time. Black rivers shimmered with liquid light, serpents of night slithering across the void.

A single obsidian tower rose in the distance, impossibly tall, its spire piercing the cosmos. Yet directly in front of her was a small cottage—quaint, almost laughably mundane amid the divine chaos. Its windows glowed faintly red, and the door creaked as an unseen breeze passed.

Lilith's heart pounded. Even though this wasn't her first time here, she had never gotten used to the sensation. This realm wasn't just dangerous—it was beautiful in a way that demanded reverence.

A commanding voice cut through the darkness, sending a shiver down her spine.

"What do you want, girl?"

An ethereal woman materialized before her, stepping out of the cottage's doorframe. She was breathtaking—black hair flowing like ink, crimson eyes burning like molten rubies, curves in all the right places.

Lilith's breath caught. She looked exactly like her—only older, more refined, more dangerous.

"You look just—"

"Just like you," Nyx cut her off smoothly, her lips curling into a knowing smile. "You wouldn't remain sane if I showed you my true form. You'd die a miserable death. Only a handful can stand in the presence of a primordial's divinity. That's why I take this form for you."

Lilith nodded quickly, still awed.

"I… I understand." She steeled herself. "I know it's abrupt but I have a request can you please release the curse on my mother's family—like you did in the past five the rest of the vampires?"

Nyx tilted her head. For a moment there was only silence, then a sudden burst of unhinged laughter.

"Hahahaha…

hahahahaha!"

Lilith frowned. "What's so funny?"

Nyx's crimson eyes glinted.

"Wow. They still think it was me," she murmured.

Lilith blinked, confused. "What do you mean?"

Nyx stepped closer, her tone shifting, colder now.

"Listen carefully, girl. Whatever history of Etheron you've learned—most of it is fake. Don't ever trust it."

Lilith's stomach churned.

'Fake…?'

Nyx continued, her voice sharp as a blade.

"The curse on your mother's clan—I can't break it. I wasn't the one who placed it. And in truth, I'm not even the one who gave your race the ability to walk in the sun."

Lilith's mouth fell open, her world tilting.

"W-what do you mean? In the ancient texts, it's written you chose an avatar and granted the vampires the ability to walk under the sun!"

Nyx's lips curved into a dark smile.

"I did choose an avatar. But I was not the one who granted your race that power. That was someone else entirely."

Lilith forced herself to speak. "Then… can you tell me who it was?"

Nyx's eyes darkened, and for the first time, Lilith saw something like unease flicker across her face.

"That's the thing… even I don't know. But i do have a guess i think someone tampered with the Akashic Records themselves and erased their entire existence.

Usually That's impossible because Those who did try it in the past died a miserable death god's or not even primordials and yet, that person did it. No trace remains."

Her voice lowered.

"The only thing I remember is a face—golden hair and golden eyes. Oddly suspicious. As if someone's setting a trap, leading us all in the wrong direction."

Lilith's breath hitched.

'A face… golden hair and eyes…'

Nyx went on.

"I'm sure that boy is already born in your world. Chosen by the Goddess of Light, Aurora herself. Maybe it's him. Maybe not."

Lilith listened silently, most of Nyx's words slipping past her comprehension. But she asked the one thing that mattered.

"So you can't break the curse on my mother's clan?"

Nyx's eyes snapped back to her, irritation flickering.

"You're a very rude girl, interrupting me while I speak. If it were anyone else, they'd regret the day they dared talk to a primordial goddess like that God or not."

Lilith held her gaze, unflinching.

Nyx sighed.

"The curse on your mother's clan—whoever placed it was beyond any measure of strength. Even a primordial can't break it. That means it's beyond me."

Her tone dropped lower, heavier.

"A curse like that can only be broken by the one who cast it—or someone stronger."

----

A/N:

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