The Pact: Bruno and the Crimson Veil

"Snow. This is the Dimension of Night. So naturally, it snows and gets cold," Flávia answered, dazed.

To her, my question seemed silly.

But for me, with my basic scientific knowledge, it sounded strange.

After all, in Tenebris there is no sun, which would make snow formation nearly impossible. Without the sun, the planet should be frozen solid, making snow formation unviable.

Then she replied,

"I don't think I ever told you, but every dimension follows a set of basic laws, created by the Ten Concepts."

Before I could continue asking, she interrupted me:

"I can't tell you."

She went on without explaining much:

"Many things you know aren't quite like that. The most I can say is that Earth is in a dimension of ordinary level — the lowest."

Confused, I decided not to argue or dig deeper.

I changed the subject.

"Flávia, I've been wondering... but Primordial isn't the highest power level, is it?"

She answered seriously,

"All races, alliances, and such follow a pattern of seven levels. The name changes from power to power. For us vampires, the sixth realm is called Primordial, and we treat the Apprentice and Warrior realms as separate kingdoms."

"But for higher powers, level six is just that — level six. What really matters are those of level seven. Those powers don't divide the first realm into Apprentice and Warrior, but treat it as one."

Without going too deep, she replied.

Then I asked my last question:

"What are the strongest races?"

She continued,

"In absolute first place are the dragons. They are a race, but they're on the level of those extremely ancient, proud, and untouchable powers.

"In second place come the Gods.

"In third place, shared between angels and demons."

"But don't take these rankings simply. They're deeper than you imagine."

I thought to myself:

So the vampire regent is a level six, but since there's no level seven, he split the first realm into two, making the sixth realm a false seventh.

Thus, consolidating his position as absolute regent.

This must be common among powers; after all, it's easier to consolidate positions that way, and those ancient monsters probably don't care.

After all, the position of higher races isn't about strength, but natural abilities.

Vampires are the 27th race, but in strength they can be weaker or stronger.

Leaving my thoughts, I asked no more questions. I just lay down on the bed and rested.

It was still early, so I began thinking about what to do with the rest of the day. It was getting colder, and going out was impossible.

I was already starting to feel tired of that slice-of-life routine.

Suddenly, Ignis suddenly stood up and began roaring, hostile.

Not long after, a maid ran into the room.

"My lady! Some fire horses from Mount Sitron are attacking the west wall of the castle! They seem extremely angry!"

Flávia stood up immediately and ran off. Selena followed without hesitation.

Ignis, roaring fiercely, took off running.

And I... felt compelled to go as well.

When we reached the west wall, the scene was chaotic.

About a dozen flaming horses were attacking the structure.

Their burning bodies emitted smoke, evaporating the snow and water around.

Each impact made the castle walls tremble.

Flávia exhaled a powerful water aura and raised a fluid barrier.

Selena, beside her, channeled the wind strongly — trying to face the fire head-on.

The horses stared at us.

They neighed in unison and started pounding their hooves on the ground forcefully, threateningly.

Most were no higher than Apprentice level.

But their leader...

He exuded an aura close to Warrior level.

They resembled Percherons — large, muscular horses with thick coats, now engulfed in flames.

The leader completely covered himself in a flaming aura and charged.

His speed was absurd.

He ran in a straight line in a pure fire assault — and when he collided with Flávia's barrier, he deactivated his aura at the exact moment, passing through the magical shield without resistance.

His wild eyes scanned our group... until they fixed on me.

He sensed my weakness.

And charged straight at me.

Frightened, I took a step back...

But he was too fast.

No time to escape, I was hit.

With no choice, I grabbed onto him.

Flávia and Selena didn't react quickly enough.

They shouted my name desperately:

"Bruno!"

"Bruno!!"

Ignis began roaring fiercely and took off pursuing the horse.

Helpless, with no alternatives, I remembered the chain on my arm.

Without thinking twice, I began trying to wrap it around the creature's neck.

Noticing my resistance, he changed strategy.

He dashed toward the barrier and, crossing it, ran into the nearby forest, as if his life depended on knocking me off right there.

Maybe it did.

Mine certainly did.

As we cut between the trees, he made abrupt movements, running zigzag trying to unbalance me.

The fire on his body still burned — hot enough to hurt but, strangely, didn't burn me.

The pain came from muscle tension.

My arms trembled. My bones ached.

But I didn't let go.

Desperately, I tried to pass the chain around his neck, but every time I got close, he moved violently, struggling to shake me off.

Luckily, he seemed a bit visually impaired, perhaps due to the fire itself, which prevented him from biting me.

But if I let go... there was only one outcome:

Death.

So I persisted.

And so did he.

We passed through trees, branches, rocks.

Neither of us took a step back.

He neighed like a wild beast.

I, nearly desperate, failing to secure the chain.

No idea where we were anymore.

Then, in one last gamble, I changed tactics.

Instead of trying to strangle him directly, I threw the chain ahead of us.

He, too fast, couldn't dodge.

Quickly, I pulled the other side, and the chain closed around his neck.

He began thrashing violently, jumping from side to side.

I was thrown, spinning beside his body.

But the chain kept me close.

I didn't fall.

Leaning on the chain now firmly fixed around his neck, he tried to throw me against the trees, making me crash hard.

But he also felt the impacts.

He bled.

He was exhausted.

I tried to mount him.

He seemed to prefer death over accepting being tamed.

Then he started smashing into thicker trunks, breaking them with his body just to unbalance me.

But for me, a fall... would be fatal.

Even wounded, even bleeding... I didn't give in.

We fought as if it were the final battle.

Every centimeter given could mean defeat.

He became wilder.

And I, more instinctive.

Two completely different beings...

But in that moment, with the same thought:

"Survive!!!"

---

In another place...

Seeing Bruno being taken away, something inside me simply broke.

Rage took over. A wild heat burned inside.

I intended to kill those damn horses mercilessly.

But Selena stopped me.

Even with veins bulging in anger, she kept her mind clear.

"If you kill them indiscriminately, the Guardian of the region will come to us...

And then Bruno will die," she said firmly.

Meanwhile, Ignis — small, weak, but filled with fury — attacked the horses with all he had.

Even lost, he didn't hesitate.

I, stunned, began using more magic to contain the attacks, trying to prevent the castle from being destroyed without harming them.

Selena, by my side, as furious as me, began releasing more vitae.

The wind she conjured nearly extinguished the horses' flames.

She and I...

As baronesses, we could end all those horses with a snap of our fingers.

But we couldn't.

They were from Mount Sitron.

And their leader... a Three-Headed Lion, a level 4 creature comparable to a Count.

Extremely hostile to any neighboring baronates.

If we made the wrong move...

He could send an invasion of beasts.

Lions are territorial by nature.

And as a superior creature, he would never allow us to massacre his subordinates, even if justified.

And who could say how many level 2 and 3 beasts existed in Mount Sitron?

Maybe we — and the nearby baronates — would be completely wiped out by that lion's wrath.

After all, no vampire of Count level would enter this war without concrete benefits.

What we needed to do... was tame them.

If we achieved that, the ruler of Mount Sitron would have no grounds.

They would have surrendered.

And we would have won with honor.

With the pride of a lion, he couldn't do anything about it.

Controlling the barrier, Flávia took a deep breath, but inside...

She only thought of Bruno.

"In the meantime, I can only trust you..." she thought sadly.

"Don't disappoint me. Come back to me... please."

---

Back in the forest

Me and the fire horse were at the brink of the end.

I managed to mount him.

But then he panicked.

He threw himself against stones, trunks, thick roots.

Each collision hurt both of us.

It was a raw and visceral mixture:

Fear, pain, determination.

Heart pounding.

Mind alert.

Hands trembling.

We fought.

I — a vampire newly arrived in this world.

He — a wild, proud, untamable beast.

Two completely different beings...

But in that moment, the same:

Both fighting to the end.

It was a fight that seemed never-ending.

Tired. With no choices.

Just two beings forced to face each other to the limit.

Under insane pressure weighing on us both, we kept determined to win.

With every collision, the blood evaporated in the heat of the fire — now not just the horse's.

My body was being tempered by the flames.

His fire burned me... but something inside me started to respond.

My vitae, naturally inclined to the fire element, began reacting.

It burned under my skin, as if alive.

Forming a thin layer around me, like an igneous protection.

It was as if the horse and I were connected.

A silent, internal war, where man and beast burned together beneath the suffocating canopy of trees.

It seemed even our cells collided.

When blood splattered in the air... it never touched.

The drops collided midway, evaporating as if rejecting any mixture.

As if, even after death, our bodies refused to merge.

The vitae around us was violently expelled.

The forest burned in a long trail of flames.

Every drop of energy was used, consumed, extorted.

I began feeling my strength fading.

But I used what was left.

I pulled the chain with all my might, pressing my leg against his abdomen.

As if I would never let him go.

He noticed.

And then...

Prepared for the final confrontation.

His speed shot up.

The vitae barely flowed anymore.

The fire in our bodies diminished... until it went out.

But speed only increased.

This was the final moment.

Either he threw me off.

Or I tamed him.

There was no middle ground.

Only two paths:

Glory... or death.

Far ahead, before us, was a colossal ravine.

An abrupt fall marking the end of Flávia's territory...

And the beginning of something worse.

The domain of the Bright Moon Wolves.

There, three level 3 wolf kings reigned.

A fall would kill us.

But if we survived, we would be slowly devoured.

With no alternatives, I gathered my remaining strength.

I began forcing the chain hard, trying to change direction.

But the horse accelerated.

He sped toward death.

Without hesitation.

Without fear.

In that last moment, I violently pulled the chain to the right — like a saddle.

His robust body stumbled under the opposing force.

He fell.

We were dragged along the ground.

When I stopped, I was hanging from the edge of the ravine.

And the horse... chained to me.

I held his weight.

He somehow held mine.

Two enemies...

Now instinctively united before death.

My right arm was brutally broken.

A thirty-centimeter branch pierced my right leg.

And he wasn't better off.

The horse's left leg was broken.

One of his front paws was pierced by a seventeen-centimeter branch.

We bled.

Hanging from a sturdy tree, suspended between life and death.

And the blood...

The blood dripped down below.

Calling.

Inviting.

Bright Moon Wolves began howling, drawn by the scent.

They gathered beneath, howling excitedly, patiently waiting for us to fall.

They lay on the ground like predators relaxing before the meal.

There was no more fire.

No more strength.

Only weakness.

And silence.

My eyes slowly began to close.

Everything darkened.

The world faded.

Will I... die again?