The air inside the abandoned estate was thick with the scent of burning incense and decay. Dim torches lined the cracked stone walls, their flickering flames casting shifting shadows across the ancient carvings that had been etched deep into the foundation of this forsaken place. It was a ruin of secrets, a tomb of forgotten sins—and Kol and Elizabeth had walked straight into it.
Kol stood at the center of a massive chamber, his golden eyes scanning the ritual circle, proof that the witches had already gotten what they needed from her—the bloodline of divinity.
Elizabeth remained tense beside him, her fingers twitching, ready to strike at the first sign of a threat. But there were no immediate attacks. Instead, the witches stood at the edge of the ritual, their faces shrouded by heavy hoods. They weren't warriors—they were orchestrators.
A slow clap echoed through the chamber.
"You truly are magnificent, Kol," a voice purred from the shadows.
Kol's body tensed as a tall figure stepped forward, the leader of the witches. His face was hidden by a mask of polished bone, his robes woven with symbols of a forgotten age.
"I must say," the witch continued, "it's almost a shame. You really believed it, didn't you? That you were destined for something great. That all of this was fate."
Kol's fingers twitched, his instincts screaming at him to attack, but something in the way the witch spoke made him pause.
"What are you talking about?" Elizabeth demanded, her voice sharp.
A low chuckle. "I'm talking about the truth. About why you exist at all."
The torches in the room flared, casting an eerie glow. The walls came alive with spectral images—visions of Kol's past.
His father beating him, trying to burn the mark on his chest.
The witches finding him, whispering promises of power.
The mission to kill the Demon King.
His brother's accidental death—the first crack in his soul.
The slow unraveling of everything he had ever loved.
All of it guided. All of it controlled.
Kol's breath hitched. "No..."
"Yes," the witch said, stepping closer. "Every loss, every betrayal, every bit of suffering—it was all by design. We shaped your pain, Kol. We needed you broken, because only through despair could you awaken."
Elizabeth's eyes widened in horror. "You're lying."
The witches laughed. "Are we?"
The images shifted—this time, to a grand council of witches from over a thousand years ago. They sat in a darkened hall, speaking in hushed, urgent voices.
"The vessel must be prepared. His suffering must be absolute. Only then will the power of the Demon King be ready for our master."
Kol's stomach twisted. His entire life—his rage, his power, his purpose—had been nothing but a carefully manipulated tragedy.
"You needed me to suffer?" Kol's voice was eerily calm, but the shadows around him trembled.
The witch nodded. "To make you strong. To break you enough to contain him."
Elizabeth turned to Kol, but his gaze was distant. Hollow.
The witches stepped closer, their voices turning almost reverent. "You were never meant to rule, Kol. You were never meant to be a king. You are a vessel. And now, your purpose is nearly complete."
A sharp, cold laugh rang through the chamber.
It took Kol a moment to realize it was his own.
He lifted his gaze to the witches, his golden eyes gleaming with something dark—something terrifying.
"Then you've made a mistake," he said, his voice laced with venom. "Because if you built me to be your vessel..."
The shadows around him surged, black lightning flickering at his fingertips.
"Then you should have built something that could be controlled."
The chamber shook. The witches' confidence wavered for the first time.
But before Kol could strike—the first seal broke.
The entire building trembled as an ancient power erupted from the depths beneath them. The air ignited with blistering heat. The ground split apart, and from the abyss below, a monstrous form crawled into existence—a demon wreathed in molten flame, its eyes glowing with an unnatural hunger.
Kol's instincts screamed at him. This wasn't just an enemy.
This was something that should have never been unleashed.
Outside, Dain and the twins felt the surge of power and knew immediately—they had to go in.
And so, as the first monster of the broken seal let out a deafening roar, Kol's brothers finally stepped into the truth.