Chapter 5 The Crimson Moon Rises

The moment Kael feared had finally come. And it didn't arrive with warning.

It arrived with blood.

They emerged from the treeline like whispers of war.

Dark figures cloaked in red and black, their bodies moving as one-silent, synchronized, and terrifying. No growls. No war cries. Just the whisper of steel brushing against leather and the soft, deliberate crunch of boots on damp forest floor.

Kael and his warriors stood ready, backs straight and weapons gleaming under the sickle-shaped moon. The scent of moss and danger lingered in the air.

This wasn't a raid.

This was an incursion. A warning.

Kael took a step forward, scanning the darkness. Then he saw her.

A figure moved toward the front, cloak flowing like a river of crimson flame. Her gait was graceful, confident-commanding.

Then moonlight touched her face.

His stomach turned to stone.

"Kael," she said calmly.

Time slowed.

His voice, when it came, was barely more than a whisper. "Mother."

Gasps rippled through the ranks behind him. Selene's cold eyes blinked-just once. Aria froze completely, one hand reaching for an arrow but not drawing it.

Kael's mother-once thought lost, perhaps dead, perhaps worse-stood before them, unchanged in posture but different in presence. Her hair, once a vibrant auburn, was now streaked with silver like lightning bolts across night. Her skin held the same regal edge, but the warmth was gone. Replaced with something far colder. Ancient. Ruthless.

"You're alive," he said.

Her lips curled. "Surprised?"

"You left us," Kael said. "At Redfang. You led the slaughter."

"I led the rebellion," she corrected. "You survived. As I knew you would."

"You think this is survival?" His tone sharpened, fury rising in his chest. "You turned your back on the Crescent Line. On Father. On me."

She stepped forward slowly, each move deliberate. The Bloodborne around her remained still-like shadows waiting for a storm's call.

"I turned toward destiny," she said. "You'll understand... soon."

Her hand rose.

Kael barely had time to draw his blade before the first arrow flew.

Chaos detonated.

A dozen arrows screamed through the air. Kael ducked instinctively, the tip of one slicing across his cheek. Around him, warriors roared into action. Steel clashed against steel. Aria spun with practiced precision, loosing arrows into the treeline. Two figures dropped before they could scream.

Selene disappeared into the fray, silent and deadly.

The Bloodborne fought with precision. Not the madness of rogues or bandits. They moved like a trained unit-deadly, efficient, unrelenting.

Kael's blade rang against an attacker's spear. He twisted, slashed, kicked. Another came from behind, and he pivoted, driving his dagger into their chest. The man fell soundlessly.

Everywhere around them, screams and steel filled the air. Sparks flew. Bodies dropped. Blood spilled into the earth like sacrament.

Then he saw it-a man with a jagged iron mask. A familiar sigil burned into his bare chest: a crescent moon dripping blood.

Kael's stomach turned.

The Crimson Queen. His mother's crest.

He roared and charged, slashing with both blades. Their weapons met in a savage flurry, but Kael was faster. Meaner. Desperate.

The masked man fell.

Behind him, a cry of warning-Aria.

Kael turned just in time to see a wolf-like soldier leap toward her. He flung his second blade without thought. It struck the beast midair, dropping it before it touched her. Aria met his eyes and nodded once. Not thanks-acknowledgment.

And then-silence.

The Bloodborne vanished.

Retreated like vapor into the trees, leaving behind a torn battlefield and a silence loud with loss.

Kael stood in the center, chest heaving. Blood dripped from his brow, painting the edge of his mouth red.

His mother was gone.

Again.

Back at the infirmary, torchlight flickered along the stone walls. The moans of the wounded echoed through the halls. The scent of poultices, sweat, and blood filled every breath.

Aria pressed a cloth against a young warrior's leg wound while Selene stitched another in silence.

Kael stood near the wall, watching everything. Taking it in.

"I counted seventeen dead," Thorne said as he approached. His expression was stone. "Seven more may not last the night."

Kael's jaw clenched. "This wasn't a battle. It was a display."

Thorne nodded grimly. "She's not hiding anymore."

"She called it 'reclamation.'" Kael's eyes darkened. "She thinks I'll either join her... or die trying to stop her."

Thorne hesitated. Then: "She always believed in the prophecy."

Kael's head snapped toward him. "What prophecy?"

Thorne looked around and lowered his voice. "The Crescent King. The one who unites the bloodlines. The one born from betrayal and forged in exile. She used to think it was her."

"And now?"

"She believes it's you," Thorne said. "Or... that killing you will prove she's still the one."

Kael turned away, running a hand through his blood-matted hair. "What is she trying to build?"

"She's not trying," Selene said quietly from across the room. "She already has."

They all turned.

Selene straightened, wiping blood from her gloves. "The Crimson Court isn't a dream anymore. It's real. And she's not alone. She has commanders. Soldiers. Faithful clans. She's building a kingdom from ashes."

Kael's breath left him in a rush.

A kingdom of blood.

Later, under the canopy of the ancient tree behind the pack house, Kael stood shirtless, bruised and bare, staring up at the moon.

It was still red.

The Crimson Moon-a rare phenomenon. One that always came with prophecy, omens, or death.

He remembered the stories from his childhood. His mother whispering them to him, telling him he'd one day reshape the world.

Now she wanted to do it without him.

Or over his corpse.

Aria stepped behind him, laying a warm cloak over his shoulders. Her touch lingered.

"She didn't just abandon you," she said softly. "She betrayed everything we are."

Kael didn't look at her. "I wanted to hate her."

"You don't?"

He was silent for a moment.

"I don't know," he admitted.

Aria stepped beside him. "Then let her teach you how. She'll give you reason enough."

He turned finally, eyes tired but sharp.

"She'll strike again."

Aria nodded. "Soon."

Kael looked back at the moon. "And next time..."

His voice dropped into something colder than steel.

"I won't hesitate."