The Turning

The moon hung low over the sprawling city of Halcyon, its silver light casting jagged shadows across cobblestone streets. In this world, the night belonged to the predators. Vampires prowled in packs, their crimson eyes piercing through the darkness. But humanity had fought back.

For decades, they had wielded Arclight, a mysterious power born from ancient relics unearthed beneath the ruins of a forgotten civilization. Unlike fire or steel, Arclight burned not the flesh but the soul, unraveling the essence of a vampire with a searing brilliance. It manifested as threads of shimmering light that wrapped around the user's limbs, acting as both weapon and armor. Masters of Arclight could carve through an entire coven with a single sweep, their blades of light leaving trails of glowing destruction in their wake.

Among these hunters was Kael Veyne, an unremarkable man in his mid-twenties who had yet to awaken the power. A courier by trade, Kael had spent his life ferrying messages between Arclight guilds, always watching from the sidelines as others fought the endless war against the vampires. But deep down, a quiet yearning burned within him—a desire to break free from his mundane life and join the hunters on the frontlines.

That night, Kael's world shattered.