Vault — Now
Her steps halted.
The light from the ritual slowly faded, and the Vault returned to darkness — save for the dim blue flames flickering in the corners of the chamber.
La Reyna's hand was still bleeding, but she didn't care. Her breaths were heavy, as if every ounce of strength had been siphoned from her body and stored by this ancient place.
She looked at the pedestal, now empty once again.
No dagger. No light.
Only silence that felt like a hidden snare — quiet, yet ready to consume.
She took a single step back.
And then, the wall of the Vault cracked.
Not a large fracture. Not enough to crumble.
But enough to prove that the ritual... had opened something.
Behind her, the sealed stone door creaked open.
Cold air drifted in.
She turned, and without a word, stepped out of the Vault.
Above the Ruins of the Old Madrasah — Istanbul
Autumn wind kissed her face as she emerged from the earth.
The sky was overcast. Black birds circled high above the ruins.
Emir stood a few feet from the entrance, arms crossed. His eyes were sharp, but not accusing — merely waiting. His face was carved like old marble worn down by time. Yet behind that hardened mask was a flicker of unease he failed to hide.
"You're late," he said quietly.
La Reyna didn't answer. She walked past him, heading toward the black van parked across the narrow cobbled path.
"What did you find down there?"
She paused mid-step. Turned slightly, her shoulders rising and falling with exhaustion.
"A truth too heavy for anyone to carry alone."
Emir didn't press further. He walked beside her and opened the van door.
"You look pale. Did the Vault take something from you?"
"Not something. Someone," she replied softly, without turning.
Inside the van, silence reigned. La Reyna leaned back in her seat, eyes closed. Emir studied her face — the same face he'd once seen in the archives, buried in old photographs of the lost El'Raez heir.
He had vowed never to return to the cursed world of blood and relics. But the moment she arrived in Istanbul, he knew time had run out.
Emir was once a Vault Keeper — the last of his line who remembered the entrance. Now, he was witness to the final daughter of El'Raez reopening the door.
The door to ruin.
The van drove away slowly, leaving behind the trembling ruins of a madrasah that now seemed to quake from the inside — as if the earth itself wasn't ready to accept what had been awakened.
Lyon, France — Hall of the Blood Council
Maeryss stood beneath the blood-lit ceiling of the Council chamber. Around her, seven high-backed chairs housed the members of the Blood Council. All serious. All silent. But tonight, only Maeryss appeared genuinely disturbed.
"It has begun," said a voice from the shadows — one of the faceless Council members.
"The old Vault... it has been opened."
Maeryss exhaled, gripping the ancient carvings on her throne.
"She entered. And she did not die inside. That makes her more dangerous than ever."
Another Council member spoke, quiet and sharp: "She completed the Ritual of Five Bloods alone. Unheard of."
"Because no one was foolish enough to try," Maeryss muttered bitterly.
A projection formed at the center of the hall — blood illusions shaping La Reyna's face. Her burning eyes. Her wounded hand. Her unreadable smile.
"We need to accelerate the Madrid plan. Lucien is getting too close to the truth."
"And Istanbul?" asked another, cautiously.
Maeryss turned with a glare. "She was never supposed to step foot there. That Vault should've stayed sealed until our line perished."
A whisper crept from the dark: "Or perhaps fate now demands blood from us."
Silence.
Only the sound of fire humming through the ancient hall.
Finally, Maeryss rose. Her crimson eyes burned.
"If she seeks the truth... we give her a version of it. But not the kind that saves."
She turned to the stone gate behind the chamber.
"Send Ivar to Istanbul. The old secrets must be destroyed before she unearths them."
And just like that, the Council dispersed. The cold night outside now felt like a final breath before a storm.
La Reyna was no longer a mere heir.
She was a threat.
Temporary Apartment — Night
La Reyna stood before the mirror, slowly removing her grey coat. Her hand was still bandaged, blood drying beneath.
She bathed without sound. The hot water couldn't wash off the cold clinging to her skin.
In the living room, scattered files, sketches of ancient artifacts, and an open laptop flickered with unread gallery offers. She ignored them.
She sat.
And in her palm, the old pendant of her father — rediscovered inside the Vault.
Behind its black gemstone, a tiny hidden note. She unfolded it.
His handwriting.
"If you're reading this, it means someone in our bloodline still dares to stand.
You will be tested — not by enemies, but by the truth.
And sometimes, the truth is the cruelest blade.
Fathya...
If this world falls, let the name El'Raez remain.
Not for power.
But because you never bowed."
La Reyna closed her eyes. Her chest felt tight.
She had come too far to turn back.
And now she knew—
What she found in the Vault was only the beginning.
Across the Street
Someone was watching.
A black Audi sedan sat idle in the shadows across from the apartment. Its license plate was diplomatic, forged. Its windshield fogged slightly.
Inside, a man sat in the driver's seat, wearing a dark beanie and leather jacket. A small monitor on his lap displayed a live feed from a rooftop camera across the street.
In the passenger seat, a woman checked her custom-modified Glock, silencer attached. On the dashboard, a file marked with the Blood Council sigil lay open — photographs of La Reyna, intelligence compiled over months.
The satellite phone buzzed. The man answered without looking.
"She's out."
A voice replied: "Maintain surveillance. Do not engage — not yet."
The woman nodded. The gun vanished beneath her coat.
The car rolled away, disappearing into the misty night. Its wheels barely whispered against the wet stones.
La Reyna didn't know.
That the Council's eyes... never sleep.
And tonight, they had begun to move.
Because one wrong step, and the line between legacy and betrayal would shatter forever.