Axis of the Nevri — Those who walk between truth and deception rarely remember which came first.
Deep in the forest, where trees bent as if trying to hide ancient secrets, someone was watching.He did not breathe.He did not move.But his gaze burned—blue and sharp, like the sky just before lightning splits it open.
The blue-eyed Nevri had awakened.
Hidden in the shadows, wrapped in worn leather and aged cloth, he remained still. His name was a forgotten whisper. His trust, a broken bone that never healed.He believed in nothing.Not in humans, nor in vampires.Not even in gods.
But when he saw her—when he saw Arisha, crossing the path through roots and fog, just before falling into that white veil of snow—something stirred inside him.
Not because of her face.But because of her blood.
The field that shielded her from all foreign presences ignited like a radiant, bluish light, cleansing the space around her.
"She…" he murmured in a hoarse voice, almost a growl, "she carries the legacy.The true one."
It wasn't magic that alerted him.It was memory.A memory that lived within the blood.She was daughter of the North and of fire.And that… made her dangerous.
In the Golden City, Mikhael had received news.
Baco was alive.And worse: he was close.
He crushed the goblet in his hand. The red wine spilled like blood between his golden rings.
"Then the time has come."
He summoned Morgana. She entered without knocking, with the arrogance of someone who knows she cannot be replaced.
"Did you find him?"
"Yes," Mikhael replied. "But he is not the one I worry about. It's her. Her mind is fractured, but the pieces are starting to seek each other."
"You want her broken?"
Mikhael stared at her.
"No. I want you to seduce her.Confuse her memories. Break them. Or better yet—tell her of the wedding between Arisha and me. Let her be a fine audience to it.Turn her life into a puzzle without edges."
Morgana smiled, dark and satisfied.
"And if your bride remembers?"
He stepped close and whispered in her ear:
"Then... I will do whatever it takes to make her my property. She will move, breathe, and live only when I allow it. The only memories she'll keep will be the ones I choose to write.Yes, dear Morgana—my endless rebel."
A dull noise interrupted them. From outside, the elite guard entered. Elly spoke firmly:
"The Red Baron and Lady Elizabeth demand your immediate response. Read this."
The letter was laid on a silver tray, sealed with the Elizabeth family crest. The Baron had written with disdain:
'If you betray the Crown through incompetence, Elizabeth's father will tear your wings out by the root—even if it means sacrificing your human lover.Lies and traps are not a deadly game. They're merely child's play.So take Elizabeth, and make her your lawful concubine.'
Mikhael left the letter open, then burned it with his gaze.
"Fools… The Baron has no real power. But Elizabeth's family—they do."
That night, Arisha dreamed.
A familiar place.A forest of silver birches. A cradle made of stone.A voice calling her name… but with a different echo.
"Aisha."
She woke drenched in sweat.Morgana stood beside her bed, holding a lantern in hand.
"You had a nightmare," she said sweetly, though her eyes held something else.
"I can't remember… but something hurts."
"Sometimes memory is just a wound that refuses to close."
She offered a warm cup.Tea of forgetting.
"Drink. It will help."
Arisha took it, hesitating.
"Why do I feel like I'm losing pieces of myself?"
"Because you're waking up," Morgana replied."And waking hurts more than dreaming."
At the forest's edge, the blue-eyed Nevri continued to watch.He knew time was running short.
The Golden City was in motion.And the hunter…was no longer the only one with hunger.
He adjusted his cloak. From his pouch, he pulled a ring etched with ancient runes.
"Blood does not lie," he whispered."But mirrors… mirrors can be manipulated."
The hunter walked toward the city.Not to save it.But to see if there was still any truth left in its heart.
And elsewhere, in a chamber of shadows, Mikhael wrote.Not with ink—But with false memories that he would soon plant in the mind of his wife.
"When she awakens fully," he said,"she will already belong to me."