Chapter 131: Moonless Night

"Do you intend to leave just like that?" I did not look up, but stared at the dust scattered over my body, speaking in a cold, icy tone.

"Oh? Does Her Highness Liliana have further instructions?" The Patriarch of the Brujah clan stopped in his tracks, speaking with a faint, dismissive air. "Does Your Highness still intend to raise a hand against me for the sake of a lowly fallen one?"

"Though I loathe to admit it, it is true that he saved my life." I scooped up a handful of dust and squeezed it tightly in my palm. "I will not thank him, nor will I feel any less hatred toward him. However," I paused, lifting my head to fix the Brujah patriarch with an icy glare, "this is an absolute humiliation to me! The prey I marked for myself died at the hands of another, and worse, he threw his life away to save me. How could I possibly accept this? Now that he is dead, to whom shall I direct my fury? Who shall bear the weight of my hatred? Who shall pay for this disgrace?"

"That is a matter for Your Highness Liliana herself; how would I know?" The Brujah patriarch ignored my anger, speaking with indifferent composure. "For now, at least that little creature who defiled the bloodline of the Dracula family has been preserved. You should be satisfied with that, Your Highness."

I ignored the provocation in his words, instead looking up at the sky, which had turned pitch black as dawn approached. "Is this the darkest hour before the dawn? It is truly comforting, is it not, Lord Patriarch of the Brujah?"

Hearing my words, the Brujah patriarch replied, "Indeed, the darkness before the dawn is something to be enjoyed, but the light of the dawn is detestable. If Your Highness does not wish to be burned to ash by the sun, you had best leave soon. Even if you are but a half-breed, you will still turn to ash in the sunlight; you would only linger a little longer than we pure-blooded Kindred."

"Yes, the sunlight is truly detestable," I said calmly, my voice devoid of any tremor. "No Kindred enjoys the feeling of being touched by the sun, and I am no exception. Then, let the sunlight be erased from this world entirely."

"Erase the sunlight entirely?" The Brujah patriarch let out a loud, mocking laugh. "If the sunlight could be erased, this world would have long since become our plaything." He continued with disdain, "Those trashy vampire hunters have no qualification to block us. The only thing preventing us from stepping into this world is this wretched sunlight. Making the sun vanish from this world is the age-old prayer of our kind, but no one has ever achieved it. Your words are quite bold, Your Highness."

"Lord Patriarch of the Brujah," I said, ignoring his retort, "do you not feel that this darkest hour before the dawn is still not dark enough? Then, let this darkness become even heavier. Let this world fall into an eternal slumber within the shadows."

As I spoke, the night sky above us shifted instantly. The already ink-black sky turned as dark as pitch, devoid of even a glimmer of light, as if every ray of brilliance in the heavens had been swallowed whole. It was not just the sky; the surroundings followed suit, to the point where even the night vision that the Kindred prided themselves on could no longer distinguish anything.

"What is happening?" An elder of the Thirteen Clans near the Brujah patriarch looked around in panic, while Ang, Xuelan, Xingyu, and the few clan leaders who supported me cautiously circled around me to provide protection.

At this sight, the Brujah patriarch seemed to recall something. His eyes widened in horror, and he trembled as he whispered, "This is... the Night Without a Moon!"

Darkness surged outward like a rising tide. Everywhere it touched, all light was devoured, and everything was plunged into shadow; even the distant city lights vanished.

"The Night Without a Moon? What is that?" one of the Thirteen Clans' leaders asked in astonishment, for even they had never heard of it.

"It is an age-old legend of the Dracula family," the Brujah patriarch said, his eyes flickering uncertainly as he watched the transformation. "Legend has it that when our progenitor, Lord Cain, was born, the day was replaced by night, and the world was shrouded in darkness, with even the moonlight vanishing entirely. It was only when the gods grew enraged and joined forces to banish Lord Cain that the world was saved from eternal darkness. But that was merely a legend."

"Merely a legend?" One of the clan leaders looked at the surroundings and asked indignantly, "Then what is this?"

"If this is the Night Without a Moon, which only appeared when Lord Cain was born," another leader exclaimed, "does this mean... another True Ancestor is about to be born?"

"How is that possible? The one with the purest bloodline is Lilith. How could there be one even purer? It is impossible! Even though Her Highness Liliana's bloodline approaches that of the progenitor, her status as a half-breed makes it impossible for her to become a True Ancestor. Absolutely impossible!"

"The Night Without a Moon, is it?" My voice drifted calmly from the darkness. "I like that name. This is what true darkness should be; this is the world the Kindred were meant to inhabit, is it not, Lord Patriarch of the Brujah?" In the next instant, my voice echoed from directly behind him.

"Your Highness Liliana, what is going on?" The Brujah patriarch asked, watching me warily as I appeared suddenly at his back.

"As you can see, I have simply erased that detestable sunlight," I replied calmly. "My fury has not yet subsided; how could I allow mere sunlight to disturb my mood? Lord Patriarch, would it not be a pity to leave just like this? Our battle is not yet over, is it? This time, there is no need for compromise—only for one of us to be left standing at the end."

"Are you joking? Your Highness, do you truly think you have the means to defeat me now?" The Brujah patriarch said with disdain. "With the threat of the sun gone, what other cards do you have?"

"Who knows? Perhaps I possess the power to kill you, Lord Patriarch." I turned to the other eight leaders of the Thirteen Clans standing nearby. "What is your choice? Will you interfere in the grudge between the Patriarch of the Brujah and myself, or will you choose to watch quietly from the sidelines?"

The eight leaders glanced between me and the Brujah patriarch, exchanged looks, and seemingly reached an agreement before quietly retreating into the surrounding darkness.

"Now, only the two of us remain on this stage, Lord Patriarch," I said to him. "It is time we settle this. The Night Without a Moon is destined to herald the birth of a True Ancestor; I only wonder if it will be you, or me."

"What nonsense!" the Brujah patriarch shouted in anger. "You are nothing but a defeated opponent; what right do you have to fight me to the death? The Night Without a Moon is just a myth. This world does not need another True Ancestor."

I clashed with the Brujah patriarch once more, and blood sprayed from our bodies.

Somewhere, far away, a sigh sounded softly. "The Night Without a Moon? Lilith, did you ultimately choose this path?" The missing Kindred Prince looked at the spreading darkness, his heart filled with helplessness. "We hoped you could find happiness, yet in the end, you chose this road—a road destined for eternal loneliness. Is it truly worth it?"

The world, now smothered by darkness, began to stir the humans from their sleep, and panic began to spread among them.

The current leader of the near-extinct Vampire Hunter Guild, a man of optimistic nature, looked at the world swallowed by darkness with deep concern. "What on earth has happened? What are the Kindred planning? Xingyu, I pray you are safe."

"Your Highness Liliana, you cannot win," the Brujah patriarch said after countless exchanges. "Why do you not use your domain? It is the only chance you have to win."

"There is no need," I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth. "The constant resurrections have already cost me dearly; I do not wish to lose my memories again."

"Are you giving up then, Your Highness? Someone like you cannot do anything to me." The Brujah patriarch launched another attack.

"That is not necessarily true. Do not underestimate me," I met his charge without hesitation, ignoring the several wounds he had torn into my flesh. "The true feast has only just begun."

As I spoke, a transformation overcame me. My large, dark golden bat wings slowly retracted until they vanished from my back. My long silver hair began to stain with the color of blood, until half of it turned a deep, sanguine red. With this change, the magic power radiating from me surged violently, to the point where even the Brujah patriarch felt a jolt of terror; he halted his attack and watched me with extreme caution.

"What is this?" the Brujah patriarch asked, horrified by the shocking transformation.

"This is the Primordial Blood my father left for me," I said calmly. "I never wished to absorb this power, for this is my war, and I did not want to rely on my father's strength. But you have changed my mind. Now, we can start over."