Blood Moon: The Dark Academy

Episode Three: The Blood Moon

Prologue Three: The Red Woman

Thirty Years Ago

Marcus

The snarling beast hurled itself toward me, teeth bared, claws glinting menacingly in the twilight. I felt utterly powerless as it crashed into me, knocking the wind from my lungs and sending me sprawling on my back. My sword clattered against the rooftop, the sound reverberating like a death knell. The creature's razor-sharp teeth sank into my neck and shoulder, delivering a sickening crunch that echoed in my ears. I opened my mouth to scream, but my voice was caught in my throat like a fish on dry land. Time seemed to stretch and slow, a thick, suffocating darkness enveloping my vision.

"Marcus," a dark, resonant voice called to me, cutting through the quiet void.

"Marcus," it repeated, an urgent plea that jolted me back to awareness. "Get up."

My eyes shot open and locked onto the beast as it still loomed over me, its teeth embedded in my flesh; yet curiously, the pain had faded into a distant memory.

"Enough," I commanded, my voice emerging with an unexpected power, echoing like a grand choir. The beast faltered, instantly loosening its grip and stumbling back, its mouth stained grotesquely with my black blood. Confusion etched itself into its eyes, wide and frantic, like a lost child searching for a parent in a chaotic crowd.

Rising to my feet, I felt a familiar strength surge through my body as I raised my arm high above the creature's head. As my black blood dripped down, swirling through the air like dark smoke, it poured into the beast's mouth and streamed from its eyes, ears, and nostrils. In that instant, I pierced the veil of its savage exterior and glimpsed the truth beneath: a terrified creature, bewildered by its own nature and the chaos it wrought. I felt its essence entwining with my own—a symphony of pain, of past and present, echoing its transformation, the agonizing cut from Volcan, and the visceral agony of my tainted blood permeating its very consciousness.

Though my heart ached for this wretched beast, my body moved of its own accord, a puppet with strings pulled by an unseen force. With a flick of my wrist, the creature rose effortlessly into the air, its legs dangling limply. A sickening snap shattered the stillness as its head fell back at an unnatural angle. I let my hand fall, and the lifeless beast crumpled to the rooftop with a heavy thud, its reign of terror extinguished.

As my blood withdrew, it slithered back up my arm like a pack of black snakes, reentering the open wound on my shoulder with a sharp, jarring sting. Miraculously, the wound closed smoothly behind it, as if I had never borne a mark. I released a deep, shuddering breath, and the tension that had held me captive began to dissipate, leaving me light yet filled with an overwhelming mixture of triumph and sorrow.

"Good." The dark voice echoed ominously in my mind, sending chills down my spine.

Victoria and Volcan rushed to my side, their expressions a mix of concern and urgency.

"Are you all right?" Volcan asked, his voice steady as he slid his arm around my shoulders to offer support.

"I'm fine," I breathed, leaning into him for a moment. "It just takes a lot out of me."

Victoria knelt down, her gaze intense as she studied the lifeless form of the beast sprawled at our feet. With a practiced hand, she plucked a tuft of its coarse hair and held it up to the silver glow of the moonlight, allowing its ethereal light to reveal its secrets.

"This one was young," she murmured, her voice tinged with curiosity and sorrow as she sprinkled the hair into the wind. Her brow furrowed, deep in thought as she contemplated the implications of what lay before us.