Vampire Progenitor System

"You know I hate you. And that red-haired bastard, Lucifer," Daniel said flatly, tossing the half-empty glass aside. It shattered on the black marble floor, forgotten.

Ruka sat across from him, legs crossed, fingers wrapped around a drink he still hadn't identified. Bitter. Probably demonic. He sipped anyway.

"White hair now," Ruka muttered without looking up.

Daniel's eyes narrowed. "What?"

"He evolved after our last fight. The red's gone. It's white now." He took another sip, letting the silence hang for a second.

Daniel leaned forward slowly. "You telling me he dyed his hair like a human?"

Ruka gave a dry chuckle. "No. It changed after the evolution. Same way your eyes flare when you're about to lose control."

Daniel's brow twitched. "He can evolve too?" His tone was part surprise, part irritation. "What the hell did mother breed?"

Ruka finally looked up. "That's a question for her."

Daniel didn't respond right away. Just leaned back and stared at the dim ceiling, as if trying to see beyond it.

Ruka tilted his glass, watching the strange liquid swirl. "Why am I here, Daniel?"

Daniel smirked, but it didn't reach his eyes. "What, you don't like my company?"

"I don't like being summoned for nothing," Ruka replied. "And I know Mother wouldn't call me herself. She's bedridden. Which means it was you."

Daniel tapped the edge of his chair, nails making soft clicks. "You think I've got a plan."

"You always do," Ruka said simply.

Daniel gave a long, amused exhale. "Fair enough."

"You're not trying to kill me, either," Ruka added. "Not yet, anyway. You're talking too calmly for that."

There was a pause.

Then Daniel grinned. "You're not wrong."

Ruka's fingers tightened slightly around his cup.

Daniel stood up, slowly. Stretched. Walked over to the window. The Demon Realm outside pulsed with heat and dark mist, like a living wound that never healed.

"I want your help," Daniel said.

Ruka blinked. "Now I know you're dying."

Daniel ignored the jab. "I want your help… in meeting Lucifer."

That made Ruka set his drink down.

Daniel kept looking outside. "Mother showed up for him. Risked herself. She used everything she had just to fight Adam. And now she's stuck—half-fused to her own throne, her realm fraying at the seams."

He turned back to Ruka.

"She needs him. To stabilize it. I tried. But alone, I'm not enough."

Ruka raised a brow. "You're admitting that?"

"I'm not stupid. Just prideful."

"That's new."

Daniel grinned again. "Look, I heard he humbled the entire vampire race. Took the capital. Took the throne. Not by accident either—he made them kneel."

"He didn't ask for it," Ruka said.

"Doesn't matter. They followed. That makes him something."

Daniel walked back toward the table, hands in his coat pockets. His voice lowered, just a bit.

"I'm not a leader. Not the way he is. Not yet. And demons—" He paused. "We're a different kind of animal. As long as I'm not the Progenitor, I don't hold the crown of this realm. I'm just a king. One of seven."

"And not the king," Ruka finished.

Daniel nodded.

"The real ruler would be the Progenitor. But she's on her deathbed. And the throne's starting to crack. I can't hold this realm together with blood and fear forever."

Ruka leaned back, arms crossed. "And so, you called your bastard brother for help."

Daniel's smirk returned. "What better allies than my own mother's mistakes?"

Ruka sighed deeply. "Lucifer's not going to like this."

"I don't need him to like it. I need him to hear me out."

"And you thought I'd be your envoy?"

"You're the only one he doesn't completely hate."

Ruka gave him a flat look. "You tried to kill us both."

Daniel shrugged. "Didn't work. So maybe now we try something else."

There was a long pause.

The torches lining the chamber burned low, casting warped shadows across the stone floor.

"Why now?" Ruka finally asked. "You could've made this request months ago."

"Because now… he's strong enough to matter."

Daniel sat back down.

"And because now, I can't do this without him."

Ruka closed his eyes. "You're admitting a lot today."

Daniel's expression softened. Not much. Just enough to be noticed.

"Look, I didn't call you here to manipulate you. Not this time. I could've tried force. Could've sent threats. You know I'm good at that."

"But instead, you offered honesty," Ruka said quietly.

Daniel chuckled. "Don't get used to it."

Another pause. Ruka looked down at his drink. Then up at his half-brother.

"You sure this isn't just about proving something?"

Daniel's grin vanished.

"No," he said simply. "It's about survival. Ours. Mother's. The realm's."

Silence again.

Ruka stood up. The drink remained untouched.

"I'll go," he said.

Daniel raised a brow. "Just like that?"

"I didn't say I'd convince him. Just said I'd go."

Daniel smiled faintly. "Fair."

Ruka turned, his coat swaying behind him as he walked toward the exit.

Just before he reached the door, Daniel called out.

"Hey."

Ruka stopped.

"I don't hate you, you know," Daniel said. "Not really."

Ruka looked back over his shoulder.

"You're a terrible liar."

Daniel smirked again. "True. But I'm a good bastard."

Ruka didn't respond. He just kept walking.

The door shut behind him.

Far above the throne halls, the Demon Realm's sky pulsed like the inside of a dying star.

And somewhere beyond that—

A vampire king stood watching.

Waiting.

And maybe—

Just maybe—

A reunion was coming that would shake the blood in every realm's veins.

Not from love.

Not from hate.

But from the fact that even monsters…

Needed family.

Elsewhere

"Good, he is almost done with the gateways, soon, we will return to the universe and return it to the glorious age of the void where all things were peaceful and quiet."

"But it would be so boring and you know I don't like boring."

A sweet feminine voice of a woman said contrasting the rough and masculine voice of the first.

"You won't be there to see it as we would be a part of the void."

"That is boring."