I had always heard whispers about the Blackthorn rituals. They were the stuff of legend—dark, forbidden, and dangerous. People talked about them in hushed voices, and it was clear they didn't just practice magic; they lived and breathed it. But I never thought I'd actually witness one. Until tonight.
The Blackthorns had gathered in the old family estate, a mansion that looked more like a gothic fortress than a home. The air inside was thick with the scent of incense and something... metallic. There was a tension in the air, like the walls themselves were holding their breath, waiting for something to happen.
I wasn't supposed to be here, but I knew I couldn't stay away. I had to see it for myself—the ritual that could change everything.
At the center of the room, Hexa Blackthorn, the eldest son and heir to the family, stood with his head bowed, his black hair falling across his eyes like a shadow. He was surrounded by ancient symbols painted on the floor, the blood-red markings flickering in the candlelight. There was something terrifyingly serene about him, like he'd done this before, like the idea of power coursing through his veins didn't faze him at all.
Next to him stood Vex. And that's where it got even stranger. Vex wasn't just a servant or an outsider. He was a mystery, tied to both the Blackthorns and the Vortexes, but always lingering in the background, his true role shrouded in secrecy. Some said he was a mercenary. Others said he was a pawn. But the truth? No one knew. He had the same cold intensity as the Blackthorns, and yet, there was something almost otherworldly about him—like he wasn't entirely human.
"Are you ready, Hexa?" Empress Blackthorn's voice cut through the room, smooth and cold. She stood in the shadows, her presence undeniable. The family matriarch. The one who made sure that everything, even the darkest rituals, went according to plan.
Hexa nodded, his voice steady but strained. "Ready, mother."
I could feel my pulse quicken. This wasn't just some show. This wasn't some meaningless family tradition. They were about to do something that could alter the very balance of power in Noxford Heights.
A circle of the Blackthorn family's most trusted members stood around them, chanting in a language that sounded more like a curse than a prayer. I couldn't understand the words, but I could feel the air crackle with dark energy, like a storm was building on the horizon.
The ritual was about to begin.
Vex raised his arms, his eyes flickering with something far darker than I'd ever seen before. "The blood must flow," he muttered under his breath. "For the power to awaken."
And then it happened.
A blade appeared in his hands, smooth and gleaming. Without hesitation, he pressed it against Hexa's palm, drawing a thin line of blood. Hexa winced, but didn't pull away. The blood dripped into the center of the circle, mixing with the red symbols on the ground. The room seemed to hum with a low, vibrating energy, as if the ritual was awakening something long buried deep beneath the earth.
I couldn't breathe. My skin felt hot and cold at the same time, the energy swirling around me like a vortex. This wasn't just magic. This was something far more primal, far more ancient.
As Hexa's blood soaked into the ritual's markings, Vex began chanting. His voice was soft at first, almost inaudible, but with every word, the temperature in the room seemed to drop. The candles flickered violently, their flames bending and twisting as if caught in an invisible wind.
And then... it changed.
There was a sudden surge of power. The air thickened, crackling with energy that felt like it could burn you alive. The walls of the room began to tremble, and I could hear the faintest sound of something... screaming. But it wasn't a human scream. It was deeper than that, like the very earth was crying out in pain.
I watched in horror as the markings on the floor began to glow brighter, the blood now a dark, pulsing red. The ritual was working. Power was surging into the Blackthorns, giving them something beyond what they already had. It was like they were becoming gods.
But as the ritual reached its peak, something else happened.
The door to the room slammed open, and in walked Malefic Vortex. He moved with the same cold, controlled grace as his twin, Vex, but there was an unmistakable fury in his eyes.
"Stop," Malefic's voice was sharp, like the crack of a whip. He wasn't here to ask questions. He was here to end this.
Vex didn't flinch. "You're too late," he said, his eyes still locked on the ritual. "The power is already in motion."
Malefic's lips curled into a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "I don't think so. Not while I'm here."
With a wave of his hand, the air around him seemed to distort, like gravity itself was bending. I could feel the shift in the energy. Blood magic. Malefic had come to counteract the Blackthorn ritual with his own. And this wasn't some simple spell. No, Malefic's magic was built on destruction, on corrupting the very essence of life itself.
He snapped his fingers.
And the candles went out.
The room was plunged into darkness.
For a brief moment, I couldn't see anything. My heart pounded in my chest, the air thick with tension. The only sound was the steady hum of the blood magic clashing against each other, like two forces struggling to outmatch the other.
Then the lights flickered back on. But something was wrong.
Vex was standing frozen, his arms still raised, his face twisted in pain. The ritual had been disrupted, the balance thrown off. And I could feel it. The Blackthorns had been dealt a blow, but Malefic had pushed them too far.
Something was going to break tonight.
And it wasn't just power that was at stake anymore.
It was control.
And nobody was safe.