[ after a very intense night spent with Asiva ]
On the next morning it was time for Max to be dressed in his most regal robes as he was supposed to go to Ixtal and meet with the King Regus Aurelius alongside the other lord's of the vampire council.
It was a meeting of the utmost priority for its agenda was to discuss the upcoming war against the dark faction.
Sometimes Max wondered if he were just a little bit slower in completing his training, taking a decade more, missing only 10 more days in reality, then would he have missed this meeting and created a wave of problems for Asiva and the others? Or would Angakok have made sure that the council meeting only happened after he was ready to return?
Just how much of the universe did that old shaman god control?
Was everyone a pawn in his schemes or was Max the only one he was controlling?
For now none of that mattered as Max was invited to go to Ixtal with the commander of the Bloodfall clan by his side, and while he could have taken both his clone the Max Rajput persona or DarkSorrow to the meeting, Max decided to take Sebastian with him to this meeting.
It would be a lie if Max said that he took Sebastian with him for any other reason besides wanting to spend more time with him since he missed him so much during his stay within the time chamber.
Their destination Ixtal was a funny one, if one were to go by the ancient prophecy it was the spiritual home of the vampires, the planet where the river of blood sanguine flowed, a river created by the blood of both werewolves and vampire ancestors alike.
It was rumoured to be the weapon using which Max would kill Regus Aurelius, if he was indeed the man spoken off about in the prophecy.
Usually the planet was sealed off for all outsiders and apart from the royal family, only a handful of most influential vampires had a home on the planet, yet for this meeting all vampire lords were invited there.
Thankfully there was a teleportation gate leading to Ixtal which meant that Max did not have to spend countless hours travelling to get there and could just directly reach the destination after using the gate built in Dombivli.
**********
( On Ixtal )
The dynamic duo of cowards teleported to Ixtal and were greeted by the sight of the very artistic teleportation gate of the planet that was probably ten times larger than the one used in Dombivli, despite Ixtal being a planet housing a few thousand total.
The capital planet was bathed in an otherworldly red glow that cast long, eerie shadows on the ground.
This phenomenon was a result of Ixtal's blood moon, a planet tidally locked to Ixtal which blocked the sun rays from coming to the surface of Ixtal, bathing it continuously in a red hue.
Max, who was unaccustomed to the lack of natural sunlight, found the environment unnerving yet deeply fascinating.
As the duo proceeded through the city guided by a representative of the Aurelius clan towards the palace. They were met with the respectful nods and sideways glances of awe from its inhabitants. The people recognized Ravan's power and his recent victories, and the admiration was apparent in their eyes.
As they got closer to the palace however, a strange sensation began to tingle in Max's veins. It was as if the very air around him was pulsating, alive with an ancient hunger.
He could hear the soft hum of a flowing river nearby, and after his [ Way Of The Water ] training he was very sensitive to what the currents wanted to say.
This one was especially violent, it was not smoothly brushing past the rocks that made it banks but constantly grinding against it as if wanting to tear the whole planet apart if it could.
The palace was situated in a small island in the middle of the river sanguis and was an architectural marvel.
It was grand and majestic as it should be for housing the King of all vampires, however, it was not the palace that was an issue.
As they reached the river Sanguis, Max felt an overwhelming surge of power that made him stumble. His knees hit the cold ground, his palms digging into the dirt. His senses were invaded by an overpowering, metallic scent - the scent of blood. The river seemed to call to him, whispering seductively into his ears, beckoning him closer.
Ever since he became a part dragon, he had never felt overpowering bloodlust that seemed to make him forget his sense of self, yet today he felt like he was on the verge of losing sanity. The scent of the blood river was more than he could handle as the fangs came out and Max hissed as he sucked in a breath of cold air relishing the metallic scent.
Max felt a sudden influx of emotions, not his own, but of the countless werewolves whose blood had been shed to birth the Sanguis.
The river spoke to him of betrayal, of despair, of the desire for vengeance. In the core of his being, Max felt a profound connection with the river. It recognized him for what he truly was, a Primordial Vampire, a rarity in a world now dominated by their evolved counterparts.
Images flooded his mind, of a world aflame, of the vampire society reduced to rubble and the river of blood coursing through the ruins, stronger than ever.
" Destroy them… Claim my power and destroy them all! "
The voice seemed to say as the river beckoned him to make it his tool of destruction as it seemed to promise him a power unlike any he'd known, all in exchange for one simple task: to annihilate the vampire society that stood on the graves of countless werewolves.
Max's breath hitched as he wrestled with the onslaught of visions. His eyes flickered, his veins throbbing as he fought the river's enticing whispers. It was a struggle to separate his consciousness from the river's insistent influence, to remember who he was and what he stood for.
Beside him, Sebastian was in a state of panic, his eyes wide with fear and confusion. "My Lord," he cried, "what's happening? Are you alright?"
It took a moment, but Max managed to regain control of his senses, pushing the river's voice back into the recesses of his mind. He straightened, forcing a smile onto his face as he looked at Sebastian. "I'm fine," he said, his voice carrying an edge of authority that brooked no further questions. "Let's continue."
With that, Max rose and they resumed their journey towards the palace, leaving the river behind.
It all started to make sense now, about why the ancient prophecy said that Max becoming king would bring a tragedy for everyone but himself, as Max was sure that the price of using sanguis as one's weapon was to accept its will to destroy the vampire society.
The river was no symbol of vampire pride, it was a ticking time bomb waiting to explode.
—---
/// A/N - This bonus sponsored by patron Cervantez9, please thank him in the comments for the same ///