One month ago, Alek was seen sleeping, covered in cobwebs and dust, inside a coffin. A mark on his back had a burning sensation around it. As the sensation intensified, Alek woke up and struggled to get out of the coffin. He walked out of the building, which was in the middle of nowhere in the woods, and vanished, only to reappear at the sanctuary of witches.
Meanwhile, at the sanctuary, the full moon rites were being performed. This ritual, conducted every second month of the year when the full moon appears, aims to purify dark matter in the magical energy flowing through New Orleans. Only the seven Idars of the sanctuary, the strongest witches, are allowed to perform the ceremony. These witches are: the Stryalin Bearer (the head), the Eye, the Seeker, the Speaker, the Sword, the Scale, and the Seat.
Alek entered the shrine during the ceremony, where a statue of Stryalin stood. The statue had two faces and held a scale and sword, symbolizing the witches' worship. Annabelle stabbed the ground with a dagger, and the six other witches' eyes turned blank white as they began to speak in tongues.
Annabelle looked up, experiencing continuous seizures for about six seconds. Her eyes turned white, and she saw a black shadow emitting an immense amount of smoke aura walking towards them. After the seizures, she saw a man who looked exactly like Aleksander Rhenna. The Eye of the witches had seen a vision, saying, "Behold the dark beast."
An intense atmosphere built up as Alek held Rhenna by the neck, interrupting the flow of energy. Among the Idars, he yelled at the top of his voice, his tone suggesting a murderous intent: "Fall beneath me!" They tried to attack him, but he used Rhenna as a shield.
Annabelle pleaded, "Aleksander D'thane Count, spare us, and we will help you remove the blood purge mark on your body." Alek asked, "And how do you intend to do that?" She spoke in old tongues, and the burning sensation on his back disappeared, stopping his transformation.
Alek walked away, contrary to the witches' expectations. "I will always keep my own end of the deal," he said, before disappearing into thin air.
Present Day:
The werewolves, led by Alpha Jake Argent, approached the society's courtyard. Jake called out, "Silas Deane!" Silas mocked, "Beasts from the woods, why did you abandon your priestly church today?" Jake's eyes glowed bright red as he replied, "Silas Deane, who proclaimed himself the king of Orleans, we werewolves have given our loyalty to you and obeyed your rules."
Silas asked, "Then what?" Jake responded, "Your vampires killed one of our own. Don't forget, werewolf bites are lethal to vampires." Silas sneered, "That might be leverage. Your people should be above 20 by chance, and vampires are about thousands in New Orleans. You guys will lose."
Jake demanded, "Give me the killer." Silas revealed, "You made the wrong choice. It's actually the Count's family." Jake growled, "Those bastards are here again." Silas suggested, "Our forces combined would put them in their place. They might be invincible, but boundaries should be set."
Ethan stood in front of a mirror, his vampiric nature preventing his reflection from appearing. He wore his suit and called out, "Lisa, we're going to pay our lovely brother a nice visit." Lisa smiled, picked her coat, and exited the house.
Later, both Ethan and Lisa stood in front of Alek's house. Lydia was inside, making a knitted doll. Ethan slowly opened the door and sat down in Alek's favorite rocking chair. "Hello, young woman. Do you know a man named Aleksander D'thane Count?" Lydia replied curiously, "Strangely, we've never had a visitor. May I ask who you are?"
Ethan introduced himself and Lisa, saying they were Alek's siblings. Lydia was shocked, thinking to herself, "Alek said he didn't have a family." Lisa told Ethan to inform Alek of their presence. Lydia said, "I bet he'd be very happy to see you guys."
Lisa chuckled in disapproval. Lydia suddenly turned back and said, "I don't know where she is now." Alek appeared, holding Lydia by the neck, his eyes raging yellow. "Ethan, brother, you should keep your hands off her if you want to keep them."
Ethan accused Alek, "Aleksander D'thane Count, you don't even deserve the last name Count. Tell me, where did you wander off to centuries ago, and then came back on a killing spree in New Orleans?"
Lisa added, "The only reason humans can coexist with us is if we don't kill them like they're nothing." Alek chuckled, "Ethan, always the righteous one, and you, Clarissa, can't stop being the loyal dog you were."
Alek's mood was extremely volatile, his tone and face showing his emotions. "You think you can walk right into my abode and tell me the values of society when you forsaken the bond we had, the noble one? Ethan will, of course, say family above all; the people who carry your flesh and blood are the greatest gift in the world."
He pointed towards Ethan. "What happened to those words, to the bond when you decided, with our siblings, to make an alliance with the witches, the werewolves, and the society? You tricked me, used me, and then made a blood purge mark on me, took away my memory with the purge. You didn't even stop there; the rest of the memories you weren't able to take, you made inactive."
Alek's eyes were wet as Ethan replied, "Maybe when my eyes were open, the fact that you are the one to be put down, you evil beast of savagery." Alek retorted, "Even at the face of death, I never forget the face of my killers. So, when I come back, I would murder them. Likewise, you know I don't take betrayal as a simple issue."
Ethan transformed into a full vampire, his red aura matching Caleb's. He stabbed Alek in the abdomen, and Lisa stabbed him again. Alek watched as his blood gushed out, saying, "You..." Suddenly, his veins began to turn black, like he was absorbing the pain. His eyes turned blank white, and he started emitting a black aura. His left eye was completely black, like a void, while his other eye was yellow-golden, like other vampires.
Lydia opened the door slightly and saw the action unfolding. Alek held Lisa and Ethan by the neck, saying, "You ingrates, everything I did was to protect you." He smashed them into the windows, which broke into pieces, and they landed outside in the yard.
Both Ethan and Lisa regained their balance and prepared to attack. Alek grabbed Ethan and flung him to the end of the yard, breaking the fence into pieces. Lisa picked up a wooden branch, broke it into two stakes, and dashed towards Alek. They engaged in a fierce close combat, with neither gaining the upper hand.
Suddenly, Ethan intervened, and Alek caught Lisa's right arm mid-air, breaking it. He followed up with a fist to the stomach, sending her flying. Ethan landed a powerful fist on Alek, who returned it with a better tempo and pace. Alek smashed Ethan into mid-air with an uppercut and cut him, giving him no time to react. Alek choked Ethan as Lydia yelled from behind, "Kill him, brother, the same way you killed Father, the same way you killed Morgan, the same way you've been murdering people for centuries. The same way you killed the love we had for you."
Alek was in a trance, memories of his killings flashing through his eyes. A man appeared in his mind, saying, "Kill Ethan, son! The same way you killed us!" Alek yelled in frustration, "No!" He dropped Ethan and said, "You think you're righteous? Your selfish function never allowed you to see how much I sacrificed for you. I wish you had just killed me then, rather than experiencing the rejection of my own family."
Alek shed tears as he vanished into thin air, leaving his siblings behind.
Later, Alek sat at the top of a very tall building, saying to himself, "What made them perform the blood purge on me? Ethan must have had a good reason to do that." Suddenly, Alek heard Ethan's voice in his mind, "Brother, I am sorry." Alek replied, "You're sorry? What a sorrow."
A whooshing sound accompanied Ethan's arrival behind Alek. Alek laughed as he turned, "An apology from the mastermind behind the family betrayal?" Ethan sat down beside Alek, remorse in his eyes. Even the injuries he sustained from their fight were still bleeding and not healing quickly.
Ethan held Alek by the shoulder, "I take the grievous fault for what was done to you. I was the one; Caleb and Clarissa were just following my orders."
Alek said calmly, "Yeah, I figured that out a long time ago. Maybe that's why I only beat up Caleb and gave you the best part of the punishment." Ethan apologized again, "I am sorry for all the righteous talk. I understand you, and I know how it feels to have everything taken away from you."
Alek replied, "Then what?" Ethan explained, "I am sorry. I know you aren't the killer, but we need your help in finding the killer, brother!" Alek said calmly, "You want your brother back. If that's all you wanted to say from the beginning, you should have walked here with a proper apology, maybe a four-paged letter or a song to express your sincere apology."
Ethan vanished, and Alek called out, "Ethan," thinking he was still around him. Suddenly, Alek's mind flashed back to when Lydia asked him, "What do you desire?" In his mind, he said, "I want my respect and power back." Another Alek appeared like a mirage and asked him, "Alek, is that what we really want?"
The mirage continued, "Your family and the bond you once shared are the only things you want, Alek!" Alek said no and snapped out of the vision. He jumped down from the building, landing perfectly, and walked away. He heard some noise in an alley and decided to check it out. There, he saw a dead man hanging upside down, his wrists, neck, forehead, and ankle bleeding.
Alek said to himself, "What an art." He looked up and saw his doppelganger. His eyes turned yellow-golden as he pointed to the doppelganger, "You are the killer."