Chapter 2739: Story 2740: The Blood Beneath

The hidden passage shook violently.

Ronan ran ahead with Lyra beside him.

Elias carried Aren as they followed Darian deeper into the mountain.

Behind them, the First King smashed through the stone doors.

“Keep moving!” Darian shouted.

Ronan looked back.

The First King emerged from the collapsing chamber.

His red eyes burned through the darkness.

“Darian!”

The boy smiled.

“He really hates me.”

Ronan tightened his grip on his sword.

“Why?”

Darian continued running.

“Because he knows what I am.”

“What are you?”

Darian stopped.

The others nearly crashed into him.

He pointed ahead.

A massive underground chamber stretched before them.

At its center stood a circular stone platform.

Four ancient symbols surrounded it.

Red.

Black.

Silver.

And dark violet.

Ronan stared.

“The fourth symbol.”

Darian nodded.

“This is where everything began.”

Kael entered the chamber and immediately froze.

“No...”

Lyra looked at him.

“What?”

Kael’s face was filled with fear.

“This place should not exist anymore.”

Darian walked toward the platform.

“It existed before the First Kingdom.”

Aren looked at the symbols.

“I can hear something.”

Elias stepped beside him.

“So can I.”

The floor began pulsing.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

Like a gigantic heart beneath the mountain.

Ronan placed his hand on the red symbol.

The chamber exploded with light.

A vision appeared.

Four newborn children lay inside four stone cradles.

Their mothers stood around them.

The First King watched from the shadows.

But behind him stood another figure.

A massive creature covered in ancient skin and bone.

Its eyes were completely white.

Ronan stared.

“What is that?”

Darian answered quietly.

“The Bloodfather.”

Elias’s face changed.

“The creature that created our blood?”

Darian shook his head.

“No.”

The vision changed.

The creature opened its chest.

Inside was a glowing black heart.

Darian continued.

“It did not create our blood.”

The heart began beating.

“It was created from it.”

Aren stepped backward.

“That makes no sense.”

“It will.”

The Bloodfather reached toward the four babies.

Three lights entered their bodies.

Red.

Black.

Silver.

Then the fourth child received the violet light.

The chamber suddenly went dark.

Darian looked at Ronan.

“That was me.”

Ronan stared at him.

“What does violet mean?”

Darian smiled.

“Freedom.”

The First King entered the chamber.

Everyone turned.

His armor was covered in dust and blood.

“You should have remained forgotten.”

Darian stepped forward.

“You should have died.”

The First King raised his sword.

Ronan moved beside Darian.

Elias joined him.

Aren stood on the other side.

For the first time, all four brothers stood together.

The First King stopped.

His expression became unreadable.

“Four bloods.”

Ronan raised his sword.

“Four brothers.”

Darian’s eyes glowed violet.

“And one king who is about to lose everything.”

The First King attacked.

All four brothers moved at once.

Steel struck ancient armor.

Red, black, silver, and violet energy exploded through the chamber.

The First King was pushed backward.

He looked at Darian.

“You still don’t understand your purpose.”

Darian stopped.

“What purpose?”

The First King smiled.

“You were never created to replace me.”

The mountain suddenly split beneath them.

A gigantic eye opened below the stone platform.

The First King whispered:

“You were created to replace him.”

Darian’s smile disappeared.

The eye looked directly at him.

And a voice beneath the mountain whispered:

“MY SON.”