The corrosive hiss of Serena's asphalt wings scraping across permafrost was suddenly drowned out by a metallic hum vibrating up from two kilometers beneath the ice. The sound made Raine's molars ache—until the frozen crust exploded upward, revealing a rust-blooded metal dome below, and he realized this was no fucking geological event.
"Your wing stench triggered the mechanism." Ellen's mechanical fingers pried the ice裂缝, starlit scales projecting a blurred crucifix shape in the dark. "Recommend retreat. Scans show 299 life signals below... or what used to be alive."
Serena's fangs exhaled asphalt-tinged vapor into the -60°C air. Her draconic claws shredded half-meter-thick ice. "Retreat? Church rats breeding pets underground. I need fresh specimens..." Her voice caught abruptly.
Void-blue slime geysered from the fissure, coalescing into a three-meter inverted cross of bone-mechanoid hybrid. At its intersection throbbed a heart—Raine recognized its arrhythmia, perfectly synced with the resonance frequency of Garret's ice claws.
(Gills spasmed with Cycle 198's memory—)
Child Garret pinned to inverted cross by Inquisitor's mech-hand, 「III」 brand forming under skin from injected slimeMisha's specter weeping outside pod, prosthetic welded to cross baseLyria's song making cross-surface codes writhe like parasites
"Welcome home, Synced Vessel 001." The vampire elder emerged from shadows just as Raine's claws pressed against his jugular. The creature's grayish skin pulsed with a glowing chip embedded where carotid artery should be—wait, those circuit patterns...
Ellen's scanners flared violently: "Alert... 「III」-variant code detected... 98.7% match to Garret's claws..."
The elder's throat produced gear-grinding laughter. He tore open his robe—pale torso riddled with surgical scars, most prominent a Church flame-seal... with Citadel quantum-codes at its core!
"You vampires... Church lab rejects?" Serena's claws crushed his skull, asphalt wings blotting out the cavern. "My genetic patents... fucking wasted?"
The elder's eyeballs popped out on mech-optic nerves, dangling midair. "Correction... evolution." His voice glitched into Inquisitor's monotone. "Holy Crucifix activating... Vessel Retrieval Protocol Cycle 299..."
The entire crypt quantum-tremored. Ancient murals bled, depictions of vampire origins dissolving under slime to reveal underlying experiment logs—
「Cycle3: Lycan gene hybrid failed. Vampire stem cells adopted」 「Cycle17: Moonlight tolerance test. 97% dissolution」 「Cycle43: Reverse-scale scar prototype implanted. Designation Raine-01」
The crucifix lasered through Serena's right wing. Instead of blood, void-blue slime spurted from the cauterized wound—same substance eating through Ellen's mechanical ankles.
"My fucking bone marrow!" Serena's roar shook ice spikes from the ceiling. "Church stole my genetic code!"
Raine's claws jammed into the cross base to stem the slime flow. His fingertips brushed a hidden switch—Lyria's tear crystal suddenly flew from Ellen's storage slot, snapping into the crucifix apex.
A child's sob echoed through the crypt.
Misha's specter materialized above the cross, twelve-year-old body nailed to quantumized steel. Her dissolving prosthetic dripped molten metal spelling Church documents: 「Vampire Gene Modification Permit—Signatory: Elaina」.
"Brother..." The specter glitched with static. "This time... choose right..."
Submerged Currents
Deepest altar chambers rumbled. Lyria's tear crystal vibrated violently in its socket. Below the slime sea floated 299 vampire fetuses, each spine embedded with micro-「III」 brands...