The train clattered across frost-covered tracks, slicing through the heart of Eastern Europe like a silver bullet. It had been hours since they left Vienna. The snow-draped countryside of Romania unfolded outside the cabin window—forests heavy with silence, mountains like sleeping giants. A sky the color of old parchment hung low over the landscape, threatening snow.
Inside the compartment, Mara sat opposite Adrian, her eyes darting between the passing scenery and the ancient Codex resting in her lap. Its mechanical panels pulsed faintly, like a heart wrapped in steel. Even dormant, the relic hummed with weight and meaning.
"How far is the temple?" she asked, breaking the quiet.
Adrian leaned back in his seat, arms crossed. "Once we reach the final stop, we hike through the southern Carpathians. The temple lies beneath Mount Zagan, hidden in a ravine that doesn't appear on modern maps."
"And you're sure it's still there?"
"It has to be," he replied. "The Seal can't be moved. It's embedded in the earth—tied to the lifeblood of the mountain itself."
Mara watched him, curiosity flickering behind her fatigue. "You speak like you've been there before."
"I have," Adrian said softly. "But not in this life."
Her brow furrowed. "Come again?"
Adrian turned his gaze to the window. "Time works differently for our kind. We don't just live longer—we remember longer. Our minds… recycle. Echo. Sometimes memories aren't from this life, but the last."
Mara stared at him for a long moment, trying to decide whether that was comforting or terrifying.
"What do you remember?"
"Snow. Fire. A gate made of obsidian. And a voice that said, If you open this door, you will never be the same again."
Mara shifted. "Did you open it?"
He didn't answer.
The train jerked slightly as it began its climb toward higher altitudes. The air inside the cabin grew colder, and Mara wrapped her coat tighter around her. The Codex gave off a faint warmth—comforting in an eerie way.
"Who built the temple?" she asked after a while.
"An ancient tribe of humans who allied with the first vampires. They were scholars, alchemists, and protectors. Before the world feared us, they revered balance. Each temple housed a Seal, and each Seal was bound by blood—not just vampire, but human as well."
"Like me?"
"Exactly like you," Adrian said. "Your bloodline, Caelestis, was once the keeper of truth. You weren't warriors. You were witnesses."
Mara looked down at her hands. "Doesn't feel like that now."
Adrian studied her, his voice softer. "It's in you. I've seen it already. You just don't believe it yet."
The train whistled as it approached the station. Snow fell harder now, thickening into a storm that cloaked the mountains ahead. The town of Petru Vale loomed like a ghost—a scatter of stone houses, smoking chimneys, and empty roads nestled at the base of the peaks.
They disembarked without ceremony. No one greeted them. No one looked twice.
"Locals avoid the mountains," Adrian explained as they trudged through knee-high snow. "They whisper about disappearances. Strange lights. Creatures in the trees."
"Are they wrong?" Mara asked.
"No."
They reached the edge of the forest by late afternoon. The pines stood tall and silent, their branches drooping under the weight of centuries. The air grew sharper, as if something unseen was watching.
Adrian knelt by a stone marker half-buried in the snow. He brushed it off, revealing the same emblem from the Codex—the triangle, vine, and flame.
"This is the path," he said.
They followed the trail deeper into the woods. The trees closed in. The wind howled like a voice trying to remember its own name. The further they went, the more Mara sensed something ancient pressing against her thoughts. Not malevolent—but vast. Inhuman.
After hours of climbing and navigating narrow ridges, they arrived at a narrow pass—a natural crack in the rock, just wide enough for one person at a time. Beyond it, a hidden valley opened like a wound in the mountain.
At its center stood the Temple.
Carved into the mountainside, the structure looked less like a building and more like a fossilized memory. Pillars of black stone rose like ribs. Symbols older than language were etched into the archway. A circular door—twenty feet high—marked the entrance, covered in a spiral of metallic sigils.
Mara felt her breath catch.
"This is it," Adrian murmured.
They stepped forward, and the door responded to their presence. Runes glowed faintly as they approached. The Codex pulsed in Mara's hand.
Adrian placed his palm on the stone. A series of lights traced outward from his fingers, crawling across the metal like fire through dry grass. The door began to turn, ancient gears groaning.
When it stopped, the silence was absolute.
They entered.
The air inside was impossibly still. The temple's interior was vast, with walls of obsidian and glass that reflected their images in distorted echoes. In the center stood a dais much like the one in Vienna, though this one held no relic—only a pedestal carved with bloodline runes.
Adrian moved toward it slowly. "This is the First Seal."
Mara felt something stir inside her chest—as if a heartbeat not her own had begun again after a thousand years. Her fingers tightened around the staff. The air shimmered with potential.
Suddenly, a low growl echoed through the chamber.
Adrian spun, his blade out in an instant. "We're not alone."
Figures stepped from the shadows—three of them. Each was cloaked in deep crimson, faces obscured by veils. But the aura they carried was unmistakable.
"Revenants," Adrian hissed.
Mara raised the staff. "How did they get here?"
"They've always known the way," one of the figures said, voice like dry leaves. "We merely waited for the key to arrive."
Adrian stepped in front of her. "You won't touch her."
"You misunderstand," the lead Revenant said. "We don't want to kill her. We want her to choose."
"Choose what?"
"To open the Seal," the figure said. "To awaken the rest. To return the world to balance."
Mara's voice was steady. "You don't want balance. You want domination."
"Only the strong deserve to shape destiny," the Revenant said. "You, child of Caelestis, are strong. You just don't know it yet."
Mara's pulse quickened. She could feel the Seal humming beneath her feet. It was connected to her—not just physically, but spiritually. A memory stirred inside her—foreign, but hers: a woman in white robes, raising a staff in a burning city, shouting ancient words that echoed through time.
"No," Mara whispered. "I won't let you use me."
The Revenant's eyes burned crimson behind the veil. "Then die with the last of your kind."
The chamber erupted.
Adrian lunged, his blade meeting the Revenant's in a clash of sparks. The others moved toward Mara, who swung the staff with growing confidence. A shockwave burst from its tip, sending one of the cloaked figures flying.
The battle was unlike anything she'd ever known. The Revenants moved like smoke and shadow, their weapons coated with venom and spite. But Mara was faster now, her strikes guided by something deep and ancient.
Adrian took a blow to the shoulder but didn't fall. He fought like a creature born of war and flame—each movement efficient, brutal, exact.
Mara turned the staff toward the dais. Light spilled from the pedestal as the Codex detached from her side and floated toward the Seal.
The Revenant screamed. "No!"
It was too late.
The Codex unfolded mid-air, its pieces rotating, aligning with the symbols on the pedestal. A beam of light shot upward, striking the ceiling. The entire chamber trembled.
The Seal opened.
Not physically—but cosmically. A presence surged through the room—vast, benevolent, terrifying. It washed over Mara like a tide of voices, memories, and power. She saw glimpses of cities buried beneath oceans, winged guardians locked in stone, and stars blinking out as blood soaked forgotten altars.
The Revenants froze.
Adrian took the moment to strike. One fell, dissolving into ash. Another fled into the shadows. The leader turned to Mara, hatred burning in its voice.
"You've doomed us all."
And vanished.
Silence returned.
The Codex dimmed, then settled gently back onto the pedestal.
Adrian approached Mara slowly. "You did it."
"I didn't know I could," she whispered.
"You're awakening," he said. "The Seal chose you. And that was only the first."
She looked at him, fear and awe warring in her eyes. "How many more?"
"Six."
Mara exhaled, eyes fixed on the glowing dais.
And the world, ever so slightly, shifted again.