“Please, come inside,” Vesper gestured, holding the door open for Lucius and Mikael.

Lucius and Mikael settled on the sofa in the living room.

“What would you like to drink? Tea, or perhaps some coffee? By the way, I have the chocolate truffle cookies that you like, Lucius,” Vesper said with a smile on his face.

“Fantastic! I’d love some, along with a cup of coffee,” Lucius replied.

“And I would like some tea, please,” added Mikael.

“Right away,” said Vesper as he gracefully made his way to the kitchen

‘So this is Vesper Obsidian’s house,’ Mikael thought to himself as he inspected every aspect of the living room. The house exuded a peculiar aura and magic energy embedded in its walls, detectable even to Mikael. A crackling fireplace, fueled by enchanted logs, warmed the room with ethereal flames. The chairs and the sofa, covered with red velvet, so soft and comfortable that they seemed to mold themselves to the comfort of each visitor. A polished oak table stood at the center of the room. The air surrounding them hummed with residual magic, creating an ambiance where the mundane and the mystical seamlessly intertwined. ‘What a weird, suffocating aura. I can feel the magic and sense immense mana in the air...’ Lost in his thoughts, Mikael’s reflections got interrupted as Vesper returned with a tray bearing cookies and beverages.

“Here you go, gentlemen,” Vesper said, placing the treats on the table.

“So let’s get to the point, Lucius. I know you came here because you need something,” Vesper addressed the duke as he sat on the chair beside him.

“Well, I need your help, Vesper. The pyrogeist shard in my possession is losing power after decades of use in my family, and frankly, you’re the only one skilled enough to recharge and enhance it”

“You do realize that it won’t be cheap. I’m not interested in mere gold; I seek something more valuable.” Vesper said with a sly grin on his face, resting his head on his left arm, leaning on the chair’s armrest, and crossing his legs.

“Sure, I do. That’s why I brought this with me,” Lucius said, reaching his hand to his right pocket and pulling out the black mana stone.

“Ooh, A Nyxbane. Impressive, Duke Lucius Ashbourne, I expect no less from a man of your caliber.” Vesper burst into laughter.

“Very well, then. Give me the pyrogeist shard,” Vesper added, reaching his hand toward the duke.

Lucius took off the necklace with the shard attached to it and gave it to him. Vesper took the shard, and with ancient words echoing through the air, he chanted the incantation. Each syllable carried a weight of ancient power, and as he traced mystical symbols in the air, the surrounding atmosphere shifted. The energy of the spell hummed, tangible, and potent. Holding the shard with both hands, the stone started to float and shine brightly. A chilling breeze spread through the room, and the air became heavy.

"Arghh! I can’t breathe properly... I feel like I’m about to suffocate," said Mikael to himself, panting and gasping for air, watching this rare sight unfold in front of him.

Vesper suddenly finished chanting; the heavy air became lighter, the light emitted from the shard faded away, and suddenly it fell back into Vesper’s hands.

“Here,” said Vesper, handing the shard to Lucius. “It will serve you well for three more years. After that, its powers can’t be revived, since it has been charged by a different mana source other than that of the Infernothrax,” he added.

“Three years are more than enough,” replied Lucius as he took the pyrogeist shard. “Here’s the Nyxbane, as I promised you. Mikael, give him the bag of gold that I gave you,” he added.

“Right away, my lord,” replied Mikael, pulling the bag of gold out of his pocket and handing it to Vesper.

“Thank you. It’s always a pleasure to do business with you, Duke Lucius,” said Vesper, smiling as he took the bag of gold from Mikael.

“Likewise, Vesper. Excuse us now; we need to depart before night falls upon us. You know how dangerous this forest could be.”

“Sure, still, I know it’s not a hard task for someone like you, Duke Lucius.”

“Well, yeah, that’s true,” He replied with a cocky tone.

After bidding their farewells, he and Mikael made their way to the awaiting carriage, setting a course back to the Ashbourne estate.

An entire month passed since Kalista came to the Ashbourne estate. The duke spent nearly all his nights in Kalista’s chamber, which drove Duchess Maria crazy. Feeling wronged and betrayed, she lashed out at everybody in the estate, the servants, and even her kids.

“Lara, did Ellias complete his piano lessons?” asked Duchess Maria.

“Yes, your grace. He’s now taking a bath and preparing to come down for dinner,” replied Lara.

“Excellent. What about Thorn? Has the nanny attended to him?” Inquired the duchess as she skillfully cut a steak.

“Yes, your grace. Lord Thorn has had his meal, and he’s already asleep in his bed”

“Perfect,” replied the duchess as she continued to cut the steak.

Suddenly the dining room’s ambiance took a chilly turn as Ellias, the duchess’s son, entered, holding his nanny’s hand.

“Hello, Mommy!” Ellias addressed the duchess with an excited face.

“Didn’t I tell you before to call me mother, not mommy?” Duchess Maria replied with an icy glare.

“I’m sorry, mother..”

“Hurry and take your seat.”

“Yes, mother,” Ellias replied with a downcast expression. He complied, taking his seat as instructed.

An unsettling sensation spread all over the dining room and creeped all over the servants as they stood, anxiously awaiting the duchess’ orders. Ellias started to fidget in his seat, struggling to use the fork.

“Oh lord, didn’t the etiquette tutor teach him how to use utensils already?” Maria asked the nanny.

“Y-yeah, your grace, she did...” the nanny replied in panic.

“Agh, whatever. Take him back to his room and feed him there. I can’t eat while watching him struggle to use a mere fork. What a disappointment,” replied the duchess as she shooed the nanny away with her right hand.

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“Right away, Your Grace,” the nanny rushed to get Ellias and took him to his room.

After feeding him and changing his clothes, Ellias headed to his bed.

“Nina, does Mommy hate me?” Ellias asked his nanny, clutching the blanket tightly, his eyes brimming with tears.

“No, my lord, she doesn’t! She loves you dearly. It’s just that she’s a little concerned about you; she wants you to grow into a fine gentleman,” answered Nina while she tucked Ellias into his bed.

Nina started stroking his hair to calm him down, looking at him with a sad gaze, feeling sorry that Ellias wasn’t getting the love he needed from his mother.

She put his favorite teddy bear right beside him.

“Goodnight, my lord, sweet dreams,” she kissed him on his cheeks and took the lamp with her as she left Ellias’ chamber.

Nina headed to her room, lost in her thoughts, feeling so sad for Lord Ellias. She suddenly started to feel an eerie air filling the corridor. She stopped and held her lamp higher to see clearer. A chilling feeling crawled all over her skin. She looked behind her, but there was nothing; the corridor seemed empty. She shrugged and kept on walking, the sound of her steps echoing in the big empty corridor until she got closer to Kalista’s room. The air grew thicker, and it became harder to breathe.

“What’s happening? What is this feeling?” Nina muttered in fear, holding tightly onto the lamp. Suddenly, a bright red light beamed from underneath the door of Kalista’s chamber. Nina covered her eyes from the blinding light, stepping back from the door until she hit the wall behind her, almost dropping the lamp in her hand. She gasped.

“Good gracious! I made too much noise!” she whispered to herself, covering her mouth in fear.

Suddenly, the lights started to fade slowly, and an awkward silence spread all over the place. Then, out of nowhere, she heard steps getting closer to the door.

In a panic, Nina blew on the lamp to dim the lights and ran to hide around a right turn in the corridor. Breaking into a cold sweat, she held her mouth with both hands to stifle any sound. As she heard the door’s doorknob squeak and the door creak open, her breath quickened.

Her curiosity kicked in. “There’s no harm in taking a little sneak peek, right? It’s pitch dark in here; there’s no way whoever got out of the room could see me from there.” She told herself as she leaned into the corner to take a look. Her eyes widened in surprise.

“Mikael and Duke Lucius? What are they both doing at Lady Kalista’s chamber?!” she muttered to herself.

As she watched Mikael and the duke whispering to each other, she took two steps back to leave quietly.

“What’s going on in here? What was Mikael doing with the duke in Lady Kalista’s room at this hour? This is so weird, and that weird red light... I need to know what’s going on,” she thought to herself as she headed to her room.

“Good morning, your graces,” the servants greeted Duchess Maria and Duke Lucius as they entered the dining room.

“How’s Ellias? Has he manifested his powers?” Lucius said as he pulled a chair to sit down.

“No, not yet,” Maria replied, avoiding eye contact with the duke.

“Not yet? He’s going to turn ten years old in a few months, and he still didn’t manifest his powers?! I manifested mine when I was six years old! SIX!” He yelled, punching the dining table with his left fist.

Maria looked down with nothing to say, unable to look the duke in the eyes.

“Your grace!!” a maid burst into the room. “Something’s wrong with Lady Kalista! I think she’s going into labor, but she’s bleeding heavily!” she added, gasping for breath.

“She’s going into labor?!! But the physician said there are still two weeks left!” Lucius said in panic, sprinting out of his seat.

“Lady Kalista, hang in there!” Katherine screamed in fear. “Alice! Run and bring me more towels, hurry!”

“Good gracious!! What is this!!” another maid yelled as she fell onto the ground, looking in utmost terror at Kalista’s baby bump.

A chill spread all over Katherine’s body as she saw the maid’s horrified look on her face. She turned her head to see Kalista’s baby bump; she gasped.

Black veins started to appear all over Kalista’s bump; the baby within her began to move rapidly, leaving visible footprints kicking through her skin.

“Oh, goddess Aegisia, shield us in this desperate hour, wrap us in your protective power, guardian of safety! Protect us!” Katherine started praying as she held her necklace of goddess Aegisia that hung from her neck, trembling in fear, unable to move.

Duke Lucius burst into the chamber, accompanied by the physician. They froze at the sight of the scene in front of them. A silken mist of black shadows filled the room, forming intricate patterns in the air. The physician froze in fear, unable to move to help Kalista.

“What are you doing?!! Why are you still standing here like an idiot?!! Go do your job! Deliver the baby!” Lucius screamed at the physician, grabbing his arm and squeezing it hard.

“B-but my lord, I-I can’t!” the physician stuttered in fear.

“Do you want to die?! If you don’t deliver the baby safely, I assure you, you’ll get out of here only as a corpse!” Lucius said, grabbing the physician’s collar and pulling him close to his face.

The physician gulped, looking into the determined, frightening eyes of the duke.

“U-understood, my lord. I’ll do whatever I can,” the physician replied in panic, and rushed to Kalista’s side.

He inspected her heart rate with his hand, and a panicked look took over his face.

“You there!” He pointed directly at the panicked maid; demanding her attention. “Bring me clean linens, scissors, more hot water, more clean towels, and some celestial emberroot to help induce the labor! Hurry before we lose the mother and the baby!” He screamed at her.

“And you two there, come help me deliver the baby!” The physician said to Alice and Katherine.

The maid hurried out of the room. Duke Lucius looked at the scene unfolding in front of him in total panic and fear. The fear of losing his only hope. He started to pace the room as anxiety took over him, sneaking a peek once in a while at what was happening with the delivery.

The maid came back with another servant with the equipment that the physician demanded. The physician kept wiping the excessive blood that kept oozing from Kalista. He grabbed the celestial Emberroot and started enchanting a spell. Kalista screamed at the top of her lungs. Alice and Katherine tried to hold her down. The physician kept enchanting while Kalista kept on screaming with pain until he saw the legs coming out.

“Oh, no!” He said panicking.

“It’s a breech birth! Oh! Goodness gracious!” he said as he paused for a second.

“Hold her tight! I’m going to cast a protection spell on the baby and continue on using the Emberroot to induce the baby!” the physician said to Alice and Katherine.

“What about Lady Kalista? Is she going to be okay?!” Alice said in a trembling voice.

The physician paused, hesitant to reply. He looked back at the duke.

“Prioritize the baby!! I don’t care what happens to the mother! Deliver the baby safely at all costs!” Lucius yelled in a voice filled with anger and anxiety.

Alice and Katherine looked at the duke in utter shock at his response.

The physician went back to enchanting the spells as he got confirmation from the duke.

The baby started to come out of Kalista as the physician kept on enchanting the spell, slowly revealing the face of the baby. The physician cut the umbilical cord as he held the baby. He stood up with a terrified expression on his face as he held the baby in his hands.

“I-I-It’s a girl..” the physician stuttered.

“What’s wrong? Why are you standing there like an idiot!! Give her to me!” the duke said angrily, approaching the physician to take the baby. As he reached to take her from his arms, he froze in his place. The baby had a right pitch-black eye, and a left red eye shimmering with a shadowy hue. She had short, sharp claws instead of regular fingernails and a peculiar birthmark on her umbilical area that gave off an eerie glow. The birthmark resembled an intricate, twisted knot.

Lucius cradled the baby in his arms with the utmost care, as if he were holding a precious and fragile treasure.

“You’re finally here.. My precious Ellara, yes, Ellara. That’s your name, a name befitting the next most powerful heir in the history of the Ashbourne family,” Lucius’s voice trembled with an obsessive fervor as he whispered the name “Ellara.” The words slithered from his lips with an eerie intensity, the gleam in his eyes betraying a madness that clung to every syllable. It was not the utterance of a proud father but the manifestation of an unsettling fixation, as if he believed the very name held a power that transcended the ordinary. The air itself seemed to shiver in response to the weight of his words, leaving an indelible mark on the room.

“My lord, I think we lost Lady Kalista,” Katherine said with a sad, anxious face as she looked at the duke.