Chapter 214: Unbelievable
The silence that had taken hold of the entire place did not break into celebration this time, nor did it turn into admiration, because what stood before them now was no longer something that could be easily accepted, and the expressions on the faces of the gathered vampires began to twist into something uneasy, something that carried disbelief so strong that it bordered on rejection.
"This... is not real."
The words slipped out from one of the Emperor level vampires, low and strained, as if even speaking them required effort.
"No... it cannot be."
Another followed, shaking his head slowly, his eyes locked onto the glowing fingers that still had not dimmed, as if he expected them to vanish if he simply refused to accept what he was seeing.
Around them, murmurs began to spread, not loud, not chaotic, but heavy, filled with a kind of resistance that came from beings who had lived long enough to understand how rare such things were.
"This is wrong."
"There is no way..."
"Five... in a row...?"
"Impossible..."
And yet, despite all of that, despite the disbelief that spread like a wave through the gathered vampires, there was one group that reacted completely differently.
The Moonshade Family.
They were cheering.
Their voices rose with excitement, their earlier fear now completely gone as they looked at their ancestors with pride that could no longer be contained, their eyes shining with a confidence that had replaced all doubt.
"We have five!"
"Five of them!"
"Our bloodline... it is not weak!"
"No... it is strong!"
Their voices echoed loudly, clashing against the quiet disbelief of the others, creating a strange contrast that made the atmosphere feel even more tense.
Cain watched everything in silence, his gaze calm, but inside, his thoughts were moving quickly, calculating, observing, understanding far more than anyone else present.
They are starting to reject it.
He could see it clearly in their eyes.
Not fear.
Not awe.
Rejection.
Because this goes against everything they believe.
His fingers tapped lightly against his arm, his mind already running through the consequences of what was unfolding.
If they accept it...
The Moonshade Family becomes valuable.
If they reject it...
Then they will search for a reason.
And if they search too deeply...
His eyes flickered for a brief moment.
That will become troublesome.
"Again," Lord Vord suddenly said, his voice cutting through the murmurs like a blade.
The entire place fell silent once more.
"We test again."
His tone carried no hesitation, but there was something beneath it now, something that hinted at his own doubt, his own unwillingness to fully accept what had just happened.
Elder Achilor did not stop him.
Instead, he watched.
Carefully.
Closely.
Because even he, who had seen countless things in his long life, could not immediately accept this result.
Another ancestor stepped forward.
The sixth.
The moment he began to walk, all eyes turned to him, not with curiosity, but with a kind of pressure that seemed to weigh down on his very existence, as if the entire world was watching him to confirm something that they desperately wanted to deny.
The old vampire swallowed, his throat dry, his body tense, but he did not stop.
He could feel their gazes.
Their doubt.
Their disbelief.
And yet, he kept walking.
Because he had no choice.
Because this was no longer just about him.
This was about all of them.
He reached the palm.
Sat down.
And for a moment, his hand hovered above the blade, his fingers trembling slightly before he forced himself to act.
A cut.
Blood fell.
One finger lit up.
No reaction.
Two.
Still nothing.
Three.
The tension began to rise again.
Four.
A few of the watching vampires clenched their fists, their expressions tightening as if they were bracing themselves.
And then—
Five.
The fifth finger lit up.
The result was the same.
Again.
Again.
Again.
A sharp intake of breath echoed across the area, followed by a wave of horrified silence that felt far heavier than anything before.
"No..."
Someone whispered it.
Soft.
Broken.
"This... cannot..."
The sixth ancestor sat there, staring at the glowing fingers beneath him, his eyes wide, his breathing uneven, as if even he could not understand what had just been revealed.
Around him, the gathered vampires were no longer simply in disbelief.
They were horrified.
Because this level of talent...
This was no longer just rare.
This was enough to shape power.
Enough to create generals.
Enough to form the backbone of an entire Emperor territory.
Five of them?
That was already absurd.
But six?
Six individuals who could reach the Nascent Blood Soul realm meant something entirely different.
It meant strength that could not be ignored.
It meant potential that could threaten balance.
It meant a future where this family could rise far beyond what anyone had expected.
Lord Vord’s expression stiffened, his earlier excitement now replaced by something far more serious as he stared at the sixth ancestor.
"This..."
His voice trailed off, unable to complete the thought.
Elder Achilor’s eyes narrowed.
"This is no longer coincidence," he said quietly. "This is a pattern."
A dangerous one.
The words were not spoken, but everyone could feel them.
Within the Moonshade Family, the cheers continued, louder than before, their confidence now overflowing as they looked at one another with growing excitement.
"Six!"
"Six of them!"
"We are not weak!"
"We are powerful!"
Their voices echoed with pride, completely unaware of how their joy sounded to the others, how it only deepened the unease that had begun to spread.
Cain remained silent.
But inside, his thoughts were far from calm.
This is getting worse.
He could feel it.
The atmosphere was changing.
Not toward admiration.
But toward something darker.
If this continues...
They will not celebrate.
They will fear.
And fear...
Leads to dangerous decisions.
"Again," Lord Vord said, his voice lower this time, but still firm.
The seventh ancestor stepped forward.
At this point, the reactions had changed completely.
No one spoke.
No one whispered.
They simply watched.
As if they were witnessing something that should not exist.
The seventh ancestor reached the palm.
Sat down.
Cut his hand.
The blood fell.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
And once again—
The fifth finger lit up.
The same result.
Exactly the same.
No variation.
No difference.
As if the world itself had decided that this was the only answer it would give.
The silence that followed was suffocating.
Even the Moonshade Family, who had been cheering before, began to slow down, their voices fading as they noticed the expressions around them, as they realized that something was wrong.
"Why... are they not reacting...?"
"Shouldn’t they be happy...?"
"This is good... right...?"
Their voices carried confusion now, their earlier confidence wavering as they looked at the faces of the other vampires, only to find cold gazes staring back at them.
Disbelief had turned into something else.
Something heavier.
Something that did not welcome what was happening.
"They are rejecting it," Cain thought quietly, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"They do not want this to be real."
Because if it is real...
Then everything changes.
"Last one," Lord Vord said, his voice almost strained now, as if he needed this final test to prove something, to break the pattern, to return things to what they should be.
"The eighth."
The final ancestor stepped forward.
His steps were slow.
Measured.
Each one echoing in the heavy silence that filled the space, as if the very ground was listening, waiting, holding its breath for what was about to happen.
The Moonshade Family watched him.
The gathered vampires watched him.
Even Cain watched him, though his expression remained calm.
The old ancestor reached the palm.
Sat down.
Closed his eyes for a brief moment.
Then opened them again.
A cut.
Blood fell.
One finger.
Two.
Three.
Four.
And then—
The fifth.
It lit up.
The same.
Again.
The same.
Always the same.
No one spoke.
No one moved.
Because now, there was nothing left to deny.
Nothing left to question.
Eight.
Eight ancestors.
All with the same level of talent.
And in that moment, something inside the gathered vampires cracked, because what they had been trying to reject had now become undeniable, standing before them like a truth that could not be erased, no matter how much they wished it otherwise.
And the silence that followed was no longer disbelief.
It was fear.