Mark was dangerous long before he ever knew it.
They thought it was coincidence at first. A child found crying beside the bodies of other orphans—lifeless, untouched by any weapon. A caretaker who vanished after a simple hug. Birds that died mid-flight when they passed overhead. No wounds. No marks. Just... stillness.
But the Council knew better. The child was cursed. Or chosen. It didn’t matter. His blood bore the mark of the Veilspawn—a sealed, ancient power that couldn’t awaken until the host turned twenty-one. Until then, the power would sleep... but lash out unconsciously, like a dreaming beast.
Only one solution existed: Kill him on his 21st birthday. Not before. Not after.
They chose Lucien—the Vampire Heir. Cold. Perfect. Merciless.
Lucien was sent to the orphanage as a guardian in secret. He posed as a volunteer. No one questioned the quiet, pale man who never aged.
Mark was thirteen when they met. A boy with bruises on his soul, laughter like broken glass. Wild. Too clever for his own good.
He called Lucien “Statue” at first. Later, “Shade.” And eventually, “Friend.”
Lucien kept his distance at first. But Mark always found a way in—showing up with a bloody nose and a grin, sneaking into Lucien’s quiet hours, asking things like, “Why do I always feel like something’s watching me from inside my own skin?”
Lucien would lie gently. “You're just different.”
And Mark would smile.
But the deaths never stopped.
Small animals. Stray kids. People who got too close. Mark never remembered doing it. He'd cry, scream, blame himself—but he didn’t know how to stop it.
Lucien stopped it as much as he could..
And then one day, Mark was seventeen. Then eighteen. Then twenty.
Lucien stopped pretending he didn’t care. They spent cold nights in the woods outside the city, under shattered stars. Mark would lean against Lucien’s shoulder and say, “It’s strange. When I’m with you, the noise in my head gets quiet.”
And in that moment—he realized it wasn’t duty anymore.
He was falling.
Lucien didn’t answer. Couldn’t. Because inside, he was screaming.
The night before Mark’s birthday, it rained.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Q7c4zWPyP
Lucien races through the storm toward the ancient ruins, the Veilfire dagger strapped to his back. Around him, the air trembles. The Veil is close now—pressing, pushing, bleeding through the cracks in reality.
He finds Mark standing in the center of the temple ruins.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡauhghMEnf8
Barefoot. Rain-slicked. Still.
Veins glow faintly black beneath his skin, like ink beneath glass. A quiet, unnatural pulse thrums in the air around him.
Mark turns before Lucien can speak.
“I was waiting for you,” he says softly.
Lucien slows. He looks at the boy—the man—he’s protected, raised, loved. His mouth opens to speak, but Mark shakes his head.
“No more lies,” he says. “No more pretending.”
Lucien’s voice cracks.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡILg7AhcMSh
“You ...You..?”
Mark looks away, toward the sky.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5dAO2ZgKx5
“I never remembered how it happened. Not really. But I knew every time someone died near me… it was because of me.”15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKQ4uZfhRBG
His eyes glisten. “I just didn’t want you to see it.”
Lucien steps forward. “it's not your fault,you're not a monster”
Mark laughs gently. “Then what am I? Lucien, I killed kids I loved like brothers. I killed without knowing. I was a weapon that couldn’t feel its trigger.”
Lightning flickers through the clouds—silent, frozen in the sky.
“You tried to save me,” Mark says. “All these years. But you always knew how this would end.”
Lucien whispers, “No..Don't.”
Mark walks to him. Takes his hand. Presses it over his own heart.
“You don’t have to chase me. I came here for this.”
Lucien’s knees nearly buckle.
“I can’t.”15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ09jfsqAuGR
“You have to.”
The Veil stirs around them. The symbols in the temple begin to glow. Mark’s body trembles. His hands twitch. His skin pulses with black light. The thing inside him is waking.
“I feel it,” Mark gasps. “Clawing at my ribs. Whispers in my head… telling me to open the door.”
Lucien holds his face, desperate.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSjoNzDkb1v
“You’re still you. You’re right here. Stay with me.”
Mark touches his cheek.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLXZje4cDhh
“I want to. God, I want to. But if I do… they all die.”
He leans close. Forehead to forehead.
“I’ve always been afraid of dying,” he whispers. “But I’m not afraid now. Not if it’s you. Not if it means I don’t hurt anyone else.”
Lucien starts to cry—truly cry. “Please…”
Mark wraps his arms around him. Holds him like it’s the last safe place in the world.
Then pulls back.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJH9yTjttbV
Smiles—tired, peaceful, final.
“Do it, Lucien. I’m ready.”
Lucien draws the Veilfire blade. His hand trembles.
“Tell me you hate me,” he begs. “Make it easier.”
Mark steps forward, places his hands over Lucien’s.
“I could never hate you.”
Lucien moves close. Kisses his lips.
“I love you,” he says, “more than anything I’ve ever known.”
he lower the dagger,shaking his head,tears threatening to spill."I can't .....i can't kill you".Suddenly Mark's body convulsed violently--the darkness inside breaking free if its bounds .Lucian's eyes widened in terror.
Unaware, Lucien’s hand brushed against Mark’s chest, and in that instant, the Veilfire blade concealed beneath his coat—drawn by instinct, by the power pulsing through Mark—sliced silently through his heart.
Mark’s eyes snapped open, wide and filled with shock, then softening into a serene farewell.
Lucien froze, horror blooming in his chest as Mark’s body went limp in his arms.
A faint,tender smile graced Mark's lips against Lucian's before his eyelids gently closed.
And then—
Silence.
Mark collapses into his arms. Lifeless. Peaceful.
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