Chapter 9: Astra Research Institute

The sky over Valenfort tonight was thick as ash. No stars. No moon. Only black smoke rising from the southern district, where the Crimson Pact had lured the Hunters away with a staged explosion.

Evelyn adjusted her electric rifle, her voice cold and focused.

“Seven minutes to infiltrate, twelve to extract. Astra’s system uses blood recognition no one bleeds in there, understood?”

Kael nodded.

Behind them, Selene checked her reflective armor, while two human agents installed signal-jamming devices.

Lucien stood a few steps away, his black cloak fluttering, his face half-lit by the crimson glow of the city.

“When we’re inside, I’ll take the main lab floor,” he said. “You, Cross, focus on retrieving the Genesis Blood data.”

Evelyn met his gaze steady, but with a storm burning beneath.

“Are you sure you don’t want to destroy it?”

“No. I want to see what the Order created… before it kills both our worlds.”

---

The Astra facility was white as bone and silent as a morgue. The air smelled sterile, too clean to feel human.

The steel doors slid open, releasing a sharp sting of chemicals.

Evelyn slid through the hallway, scanning the biometric reader she’d stolen from old archives.

Access granted. Cross-112 authorized.

Lucien smirked. “They kept your record? Seems they still need bait.”

“No,” Evelyn replied flatly. “They kept it to keep track of me.”

---

The lowest level of Astra was called Sector Epsilon .

Rows of glass chambers filled the room, each containing bodies, human and vampire alike, floating in thick crimson fluid, tubes connecting their veins to massive conduits.

Selene gasped. “God… they’re hybridizing them.”

Kael stepped closer, his voice hoarse. “This isn’t research… it’s a breeding forge.”

Evelyn halted before a much larger tank.

The label read: GENESIS BLOOD – SUBJECT X

On the monitor, data streamed in rapid lines:

Regeneration rate: 900%.

Dark-blood fusion ratio: 100%.

Status: Deep stasis.

Lucien’s eyes locked on the being inside the tank pale as snow, a sigil of twin blood wings carved into its chest.

“They’ve replicated the Origin energy…” he murmured. “And they used your blood, Evelyn.”

Evelyn spun toward him. “What?”

Lucien pointed to the file on the screen.

Stem Cell Source: Cross, Evelyn Hybrid Bloodline.

The air froze. Evelyn’s pulse thundered in her ears.

“When did they take my blood?”

Kael hissed, “During the ‘Sanctuary’ operation last year. The Order collected samples while you were wounded. They’ve been preparing for this all along.”

Lucien clenched his fists, veins dark beneath his skin.

“They want a new king, an artificial being to replace both you and me. Genesis Blood isn’t just an experiment… it’s Valenfort’s new Blood God.”

---

Suddenly, the alarm lights flashed red.

A mechanical voice echoed:

“Intrusion detected. Activating Omega Security Protocol.”

Kael cursed. “We’re blown! East exit move!”

Selene slashed her dagger into the control hub, scrambling the system.

Too late.

Dozens of Hunters in silver armor stormed the corridor, plasma rifles blazing.

Lucien’s eyes turned deep crimson. Energy rippled from him like a tidal wave.

“Stand back.”

With a flick of his hand, blood burst from the ceiling, forming spears that impaled the first wave of soldiers. The air filled with the scent of iron and burning plasma.

Evelyn fired and shouted, “Lucien! Don’t kill them all, we need time to escape!”

“There is no time!” Kael roared. “They’re sealing Epsilon!”

Lucien looked at Evelyn, then raised his hand again. The dark blood inside Subject X’s tank began to churn.

“If we can’t retrieve the data, we’ll take the proof instead.”

Evelyn understood immediately. She keyed in the commands, downloading everything onto a data core.

The last line flashed

PROJECT GENESIS – Lead Scientist: Dr. Alaric Graves.

---

A violent explosion tore through the lab as Lucien shattered the tank.

The liquid gushed out, and Subject X collapsed to the floor still alive. Its eyes opened black, bottomless.

“Welcome… mother. Father.”

Lucien froze. Evelyn’s body went rigid.

“What the hell ”

“I am Genesis,” it said, voice layered with whispers. “The offspring of your sins.”

Lucien lunged forward, but Genesis vanished in a blur so fast it seemed to dissolve. Blood slashed across his shoulder.

Selene hurled a blade into its neck, but the creature merely tilted its head, smiling faintly.

“You cannot destroy the Superior Blood.”

Evelyn fired, plasma bolts sinking into its chest useless.

“Run!” she screamed, pulling Lucien and Kael back as the ceiling began to collapse.

---

They burst out through an air duct and onto the rooftop under a torrent of rain.

Below them, Astra burned an inferno devouring the skyline, the city of Valenfort swallowed by crimson fire.

Lucien dropped to his knees, blood pouring from his wound. Evelyn knelt beside him, trembling.

“You’re hurt ”

“It’s nothing…” he rasped. “What terrifies me isn’t the wound… it’s what we just saw.”

Kael slammed a fist to the ground. “Genesis Blood has awakened. The Order will use it as their divine weapon to erase us all.”

Evelyn clutched the data core. Its blue light glimmered in her eyes the light of truth… and damnation.

“No. We’ll stop them. Whatever it takes.”

Lucien lifted his gaze, voice low and fierce.

“Then prepare yourself, Evelyn Cross. From this moment on… Valenfort will drown in real blood.”

Lightning split the heavens.

From the ruins of Astra, a colossal shadow rose a being of blood and darkness, wings unfurled, screaming into the storm:

“THE AGE OF BLOOD BEGINS.”