Tiny, delicate flakes of pristine whiteness descended upon the city, waltzing to the tune of the wind’s frigid breath. Winter had finally arrived, covering all of Alcara under it’s solemn veil of frost.

A month has passed since the twins have moved into their new home— the one bought by Steinar, their soon-to-be-husband. It’s a really big house, not quite a mansion, but still luxurious enough that even the two pampered noble girls felt satisfied with it’s accommodations. Four bedrooms, a spacious kitchen, a large living room and a more-than-adequate dinning room. There’s a small garden, right by the entrance gate, and an ample backyard for them to use freely. It also has an attic and a basement, though the basement is currently being used as a wine-cellar of sorts. But the best thing, by far, was the fact that the house came with it’s own imperial-style bath. A large, steamy room with a pool at it’s center, decorated by many stone statues in the shapes of lions and gryphons. Absolutely marvelous, or so Iris thought after she tried it for the first time. It was obvious to her that more money had been spent building the bath than any other part of the house— maybe even the house itself.

Although, if she had to complain about anything, it would be the fact that she didn’t have much time to enjoy her baths— nor anything else, for that matter. During this month, her time and her sister’s had been consumed with nonstop training. Magic training from Bruna, to help them awaken their brand, and physical training from Steinar— for whatever reason that he didn’t bother to explain. Bruna’s training regimen consisted mostly of meditation and circulating their mana through their bodies, she said it would help accelerate the awakening of their brand. Whereas Steinar’s training was… Just running around the backyard, then doing many sets of push-ups, pull-ups and sit-ups. Rather unbecoming of delicate noble ladies such as themselves, yet that brute still forced them to do it.

After one month of diligently undertaking their training, the twins were finally ready to awaken their brands. Bruna dragged them to the house’s basement-cum-wine-cellar and made them strip out of their clothes, forcing them to sit naked— in a lotus-posture— on the cold floor. Steinar sat behind them, in a similarly naked state. He stretched his arms, the palm of his right hand touching Iris’ back and the palm of his left touching Alice’s. The twins could feel the comfortable warmth of his aura, flowing from his rough, callused hands into their petite bodies.

Bruna, the only one not exposing her nakedness, knelt before them while holding a small wooden basin in one hand and a paint brush in the other. She wet the brush in whatever liquid was inside the basin and started tracing some weird runes over the twins’ silky, alabaster skin. It felt both ticklish and yucky at the same time. ‘This is blood, isn’t it?’ Iris wondered, as the still warm, metallic smelling liquid was spread all over her. ‘Yup, it’s blood. Definitely blood.’

“Is this… Really necessary?” Iris asked, her face contorting in disgust as Bruna busied herself drawing a few more runes.

“It is.” Bruna answered in a monotone voice. “Now shut up and focus”

Once she was done with her drawings, Bruna took a step back and sat in that same lotus posture, right in front of them. She stretched both her arms, mirroring Steinar— though she wasn’t actually touching the girls’ skin like her brother was.

“I will begin now.” Bruna declared, closing her eyes and slightly frowning her cute, tiny eyebrows. “Brace yourselves, this is going to be a horrible experience.”

“Eh…?” Iris gasped, not really understanding the meaning behind Bruna’s words. However, before she could actually ask anything, the realization sunk in as her eyes rolled back into her head and her body became fully stiff. A foreign chill invaded her body, bringing with it a terrible feeling of dread.

##

Although the basement had been originally dark, by now she could no longer see anything. She could only feel— creaking, twisting, churning. It felt like her body was being constantly distorted, reshaped, and with it the space around her. She felt like she had been transported somewhere else, somewhere ominous. Though she didn’t exactly known what was happening to her, nor where she was, she could say with absolute certainty that she was no longer inside of their house. She was in a bad place... A very bad place. Somewhere dangerous and terrifying, where light would never be able to reach her.

Something spoke to her, it’s voice neither male nor female. You could hardly even tell it was actually a voice, for it was far too weird— far too unnatural. It sounded quiet enough to be called a whisper, yet loud enough to shake the ground beneath her. It sounded not like one, but many. And whenever it spoke, her body felt like it was being torn asunder.

“Foul peat, thee beareth the scent of the sulli'd wh're.”

She couldn’t understand the words it spoke, for they sounded unlike anything she had ever heard before. Every time they resounded in her ears, they evoked an unbearable fright— fear so deep and primal that she could feel it piercing at her very soul.

“Thee, pathethic peat, b'rne of sineth thou art. B'rne of the womb of the sulli'd wh're, of the taint'd se'd of men.”

‘Ah… Help...’ She wanted to plead, but she had no voice to so. It hurt, unlike anything she could have ever imagined. It felt like her warmth— like her ‘light’, was being forcibly sucked away from the depths of her being.

“T is of evil yond thou art madeth, th'ref're, t is evil yond thee shalt becometh. A beshrew upon this grim w'rld, a staineth yond shalt bringeth f'rth shame upon thine creat'r.”

Utter despair filled her, as she could feel her body and mind slowly breaking apart. She was crumbling, disintegrating under the sheer pressure of it’s terrifying voice.

“Is't pow'r yond thee seeketh, accurs'd peat? is't the brand of the sulli'd one thou art aft'r? v'ry well, thee shalt has't t. But in returneth, i shall taketh something from thee— something thou art und'rs'rving of having.”

She suddenly felt a terrible pain in her chest, as if an invisible hand had been stabbed into it, grabbing at something that laid dormant inside of her. Something that she never even knew was there, yet felt so important that the very notion of someone touching it unleashed true horror upon her soul.

‘No… Please…’ Her lips quivered, as her voice failed to come out. ‘Please… Don’t take it…’ She didn’t know why, but she felt like that hand held something precious— something she should never let go.

“Thee w're the one yond hath chosen this fate, peat. Thy gre'd and arrogance hath brought thee h're— and h're thee shalt leaveth yond which maketh thee human. May thee suff'r f'r et'rnity, and gaze in h'rr'r as ev'rything thee once did love shalt in timeth returneth to dusteth”

It was taken— nay, it was torn from the depths of her being. An immeasurable sense of loss assailed her, as tears poured down her face. She breathed out hard, her body trembling in sorrow. Something was missing, an important part of her— gone never to return.

##

Her eyelids opened themselves slowly, her sight being greeted by the familiar darkness of their house’s basement. Her body was extremely cold, bordering the point of hypothermia, shaking uncontrollably— the only feeling of warmth being provided by Steinar’s hand that rested against her naked back.

“It is… Over…” Bruna was panting. Blood dripping out from her eyes, ears and nose. She seemed absolutely exhausted, as if she had just fought a most gruesome battle. She waved her hand to the side, and in response a bunch of candles lit themselves— forming a circle around the four of them. Iris hadn’t noticed it before, but it seems like they were sitting at the center of a pentagram that was drawn on the ground with white chalk.

Flinching a bit because of the sudden light that pore from the candles, Iris’ eyes were drawn to her sister. Her hair had grown a lot, to the point that even if she were to stand up it would still touch the ground. Her nails had also become elongated and rather sharp-looking. Her rosy mouth, that hung open gasping for air, showed two pairs of extra pointy canines— not like a vampire’s, but still more sizable and pointy than what they were before. Upon looking at her own hands, she noticed that she was exactly the same. Even her hair had grown to the same exact proportion as her sister’s, and she could feel the same sort of change in her teeth.

“How do you feel?” Steinar asked, pulling the two trembling girls against his naked chest. His body was warm, so very warm… Both of them nestled silently against him, without offering any sort of resistance. Even though they were all naked, there was nothing sexual about their actions. Their embrace just felt soothing, comforting. Perhaps later things would change, but right now, the twins only wanted to get some of his warmth.

“Empty...” Iris muttered, tears incessantly dribbling down her face. “I feel sad and can’t stop crying… But I don’t really know why.”

“I feel like… I just lost something very important…” Alice joined in, likewise weeping.

“You did.” Bruna spoke, slowly getting up and stumbling towards them. “Though no one knows exactly what.” She then stopped in front the girls and stretched out her hands as if feeling for something— the glow of mana shinning on her palms. “Some have theorized that it could have been our soul, but this has been long since disproved by scholars. Others have said that it was our humanity that we lost, but in some way…” Bruna grimaced. “We are still humans.”

“How is it, Bruna?” Steinar asked, his arms still holding the trembling twins.

“It is simply ridiculous.” Bruna frowned as she retracted her hands. “You said that it felt like ‘fate’ had lent you a hand, right?”

“Yes.” Steinar nodded.

“Then I am really scared of this ‘fate’ you speak of.” Bruna heaved a sigh as she sat by her brother’s side. “The brand those two bear is exactly the same, as if mirrored. They are a perfect match for you— like they were made for you, or you for them. If you are a sword, then they are perfect matching sheath.”

“What of their attributes?” Steinar probed, not really showing much of a reaction to Bruna’s words.

“Darkness of the highest tier possible, as well as an enhanced regeneration trait, passive charm and some sort of mystical eyes that I cannot identify as of yet.” Bruna told him, as she closed her eyes and rested her head against his left shoulder. “They are absolute monsters.”

“I see...” Steinar muttered. He too was feeling a little tired, as he had to use a lot of his aura to protect the twins during the awakening of their brands. “It’s good that everything went according to plan.”

“Brother…” Bruna’s words turned almost as quiet as a whisper, as her little body relaxed against Steinar’s. “I meant what I said about them being a perfect match for you. Their darkness attribute might just be strong enough to mitigate the negative effects of your bloodline, provided you stay close to them.”

“Yeah… I can sort of feel it already.” Steinar also spoke in quiet voice, his hands now stroking the heads of the twins who had fallen asleep against his chest. “I can’t even remember the last time my mind felt this clear.”

“Your pets will get jealous.” Bruna taunted him, her lips curving into a playful smirk.

“Annie and Leila…” Steinar muttered, his eyes gazing into nothingness. “They are good women. I’m glad I was able to save them, but I’m afraid that they will end up dead if they stay by my side. I’m thinking of letting them go, maybe find a quiet and safe place for them to start over.”

“My… That just sounds stupid, my dear brother.” Bruna gave a little pinch to her brother’s arm. “Why even bother picking them up if you intend to let them go?”

“It’s because of their eyes.” Steinar answered, almost letting a smile show on his usually stoic face. “All I can say is that even though they laid hopeless and broken, their eyes still burned with the desire to live. That makes me want to see them succeed, or at least give them a chance to.”

“Gods… I swear, I will never understand your taste in women.” Bruna let out a yawn, covering her mouth with both her little hands. “In any case, you should forget the serfs and spend more time with the twins instead. You are marrying them, after all.”

“Hoo… Weren’t you going to take them back to the clan? To make more descendants and all that?” Steinar inquired, poking fun at his sister— which was rather uncharacteristic, due to his stoic personality. It seems the newly awakened powers of the twins were really having an effect on him.

“Not anymore.” Bruna shook her head. “I came to the conclusion that those two are far too strong to just hand them over to the clan. Besides, if their darkness attribute is really able to suppress the madness and bloodlust from your cursed bloodline…” Bruna smirked, her serrated teeth showing and her pupils morphing into slits. “Ahh… I want to see it… My big brother going all out again, slaughtering witches and inquisitors as if they were just cattle…”

“Bruna…” Steinar muttered. “You’re already thirty four, can you please stop calling me big brother? Feels kinda weird, since I’m only twenty six.”

“Shut up.” Bruna gave him another pinch, though with a lot more strength than the previous one. “If I say you are my big brother, then you are my big brother. Stop complaining and help me think of a better training regimen for your future wives. If a harbinger has really appeared, then a Holy War is inevitable. We do not have time to waste with idle chatter.”

End of Chapter 13: Awakening.