CHAPTER 24: THE AWAKENING OF THE SHADOWSHAPER-FORM

Is this... the unique ability that only a handful of vampires possess—the Innatus Ayra told me about while we were in the shower together?

It’s terrifying, and not because of her appearance—her beauty remains untouched, maybe even amplified—but because of the glacial darkness she radiates.

That chills me far more than the enemies themselves.

Fear grips me—a raw, visceral fear deeper than anything I’ve ever felt.

I feel paralyzed, my muscles no longer obey my will.

My body trembles, seized by a cold grip that sinks into my very marrow.

Ayra is my mistress, and the storm of darkness swirling around her is her doing, just like the mantle of shadow covering the battlefield.

But then... why does it terrify me so much?

And it’s not only me—Kajetan, who stayed calm even in front of Vespera, now stares at her with inhuman terror and disbelief, as if he were facing some monstrous entity straight out of a Lovecraftian nightmare.

His mouth hangs slightly open, his lips trembling, cold sweat sliding down his forehead and temples.

Daphne, sensing the terror of her familiar, clutches him tighter, forcing him to look away from Ayra.

Kajetan’s body is as rigid as mine.

She presses his face against her full, soft chest, as if shielding him from a horror too great for the human mind to endure.

In truth, even the four remaining members of Nova Aetas, along with Vespera herself, seem gripped by that same inexplicable fear.

They retreat step by step, weapons raised at Ayra, while the darkness radiating from my mistress feels almost tangible—dense and suffocating, like shapeless tentacles rising from the ground’s shadows like a black shroud.

«N-No... I never imagined you were already capable of awakening your Innatus and assuming the Shadowshaper-form...» Vespera mutters nervously, baring her teeth as she tightens her grip on the halberd.

Not a single sound leaves Ayra’s lips.

Her expression is no longer anger or fear but a cold, merciless detachment.

She stretches her arm forward, and the shadows in her hand harden into metal, shaping her signature sword.

Yet it is no longer blood-colored.

It’s a black so deep my eyes can’t make out its details, as if it swallows every trace of light.

«Don’t let her intimidate you, it’s all an act!» Vespera shouts, trying to rally her shaken soldiers. «Four years ago, when I left the castle, she didn’t even know she had an Innatus. There’s no way she mastered it enough to wield the Shadowshaper-form in such a short time! We must attack her together, now!»

At her command, the four hooded figures and Vespera herself charge at Ayra, faster and stronger than before.

Two from the left, two from the right, while Vespera launches a frontal assault with devastating force.

Her halberd, infused with Sanguis energy, tears a deep gash in the ground just by passing over it without even touching.

But Ayra doesn’t step back, not even once. With eerie calm, she swings a horizontal slash into empty space.

It doesn’t just cut the air—it rips it apart, leaving a dark scar across the ether.

Then comes an explosion of power unlike anything I’ve ever seen.

From the rift Ayra carved in midair bursts a blast of black wind, crashing down like a hurricane on all five attackers at once, tossing them away like leaves in a storm.

In that instant, the shadow tentacles—still until now, like predators waiting for the perfect moment—lunge at the suspended bodies of the Nova Aetas members, coiling around wrists and ankles with the crushing grip of a colossal octopus.

Only Vespera, with a mighty strike of her halberd, manages to cut through the dark appendages before they seize her.

What follows is the most grotesque, terrifying spectacle I’ve ever witnessed.

With a violent pull, the tentacles rip the limbs of the four victims in opposite directions, tearing them clean off their bodies.

Their desperate struggle is useless; every ounce of strength they muster means nothing against the overwhelming power of those dark appendages.

Blood, entrails, and severed limbs rain from the sky, painting the ground crimson as chunks of flesh and organs stick to me, dripping down in nauseating streams.

And still—I stand frozen under this scarlet downpour, my paralyzing terror only growing stronger with each passing second.

«Vespera, you were right about Ayra’s Innatus,» Daphne murmurs, barely managing to stand—healing Kajetan’s grave wound must have drained her, on top of the energy she’d already spent. «In only four years, it’s impossible for her to have mastered the ultimate power of her Innatus—the Shadowshaper-form—and in fact she hasn’t. To be precise, she can’t even use it willingly; it manifests only through uncontrollable rage. Isn’t it ironic... it was thanks to you she discovered her Innatus in the first place. When she saw Karol’s mutilated body, our beloved sister, she lost all control and awakened this power. And now, that very power you unleashed will be your death!»

«Don’t talk bullshit!» Vespera snaps. «After Clotilde, I’ve always been the strongest among Viktor’s daughters, and for years I’ve trained without pause so I could fulfill my ideals!»

Her muscles tense, her face twisted into a furious snarl, scarlet energy swirling around her so dense it looks opaque.

«I refuse to believe that a spoiled, useless brat like Ayra became this powerful out of nowhere! I won’t accept it!»

She crouches low, then hurls herself at Ayra with such force the ground beneath her collapses into a crater.

Her halberd rises, ready to crash down on Ayra—still standing motionless in the same spot since the start of the fight.

The weapon comes down with absurd speed and power.

An attack so devastating it looks like it could split the world in two...

—BOOOM!!!

...but Ayra blocks it effortlessly, raising her black sword with humiliating ease.

The shockwave exploding from the clash between Ayra’s blade and Vespera’s halberd is almost worse than a nuclear blast.

Only Daphne’s quick reflexes—erecting a barrier of energy around us a split second before impact—save us from being pulverized, a fate that instead befalls the surrounding buildings for dozens, even hundreds of meters.

The splendid Primus Rex Square is now nothing but a pile of ruins.

Daphne collapses to her knees, sobbing helplessly before the rubble that, until moments ago, had been the historic heart of Noxscura.

Not even Vespera withstands the catastrophic blast—she crashes to the ground after flying dozens of meters, her halberd reduced to shards that dissolve into a trail of red smoke.

Victory seems within reach—another strike from Ayra, and Vespera’s death would be certain—when suddenly the shadows around Ayra dissolve into thick black smoke.

Her sword and clothes vanish with them, leaving her completely naked, exhausted, unconscious.

I rush forward and catch her in my arms before she can hit the ground.

I bring my face close to hers, and from her soft, parted lips escapes a faint breath that brushes my nose.

She’s still breathing, but barely.

I can’t even imagine what her body—so far from that of a trained warrior—had to endure to contain such overwhelming power.

My worry for Ayra twists into terror when Vespera crawls out from a heap of rubble.

Her clothes hang in tatters, her body shredded and bleeding profusely—her regeneration so badly compromised it no longer works—yet she drags herself toward us with stubborn effort.

Her face is a strange mix of anxiety and satisfaction, probably at the sight of Ayra and Daphne in just as dire condition.

She staggers again and again, stumbling, getting back up with greater difficulty each time.

Yet her advance—slow but steady—never stops.

Kajetan and I exchange a quick glance of understanding.

Purple Visanguis energy bursts from my body, while his is once again wrapped in the blue veil of Vis, though weaker and less stable than before.

We are two against one: I still have my full strength, and he is partially revitalized by his mistress’s healing.

Vespera, instead, can barely stand.

I’m certain that in her current state, we actually stand a chance of defeating her!

We’re about to charge her when...

A figure wrapped in a long red cloak—the attire of Nova Aetas—suddenly rushes toward Vespera, seizes her, and vanishes in an instant, taking her away.

I barely have time to realize what’s happened before dozens of soldiers from the Scarlet Army begin materializing one after another among the ruins of Primus Rex Square, heralded by the crimson glow of teleportation magic.