The Frozen Hour

The scarred man soon stopped chuckling, stepped out of the washroom, and headed to the counter to order a few drinks until he was visibly drunk. He got up from his seat and walked out of the pub, his steps unsteady seemingly due to the large amount of alcohol he had consumed. He soon disappeared into a narrow, dimly lit alley, vanishing into its shadows.

A hooded figure could be seen walking out of a dark alley, his eyes gleaming with excitement and triumphantly as he made his way towards an abandoned building, Its interior was damp with mud and filled with pungent air. The hooded figure walked toward an object covered with an unextraordinary cloth.

As he pulls the cover away, a sleek red and black bike is revealed beneath. Its polished surface gleams under the dim light, and for a moment, the room vibrates with a silent tension—like the machine is waiting, alive. This isn't just any bike—it's built for something far more than speed.

The hooded figure's crimson eyes gleamed as he grinned, unable to contain his excitement, He starts the bike as he takes a seat on it

*Brr* *Brr*

The hooded figure takes off his hood and as soon as he does that a scarred man with crimson eyes was now riding the bike. He donned a helmet with same colour scheme as his ride, He fires up his ride and leaves the abandoned building as a blur, Moments later, he sees light ahead as he came in view of the main streets, illuminated by the neon glow of various signs. Though it was past midnight, the city still pulsed with life, the city pulses with life. The streets remain alive, buzzing with energy, showcasing the relentless grandeur of Necron city.

After few twists and turns he stopped at an unextraordinary house which was painted in light blue, He went inside the house through the iron gate at front and parked his ride in the garage connected to the house, He walks up to the main door, enters the hall, and sits on a cream-colored couch at a cream couch after waiting for half an hour he starts walking towards the washroom and as soon as he enters the washroom he disappears..

***

The Starborne Emporium- 

Few minutes earlier..

Damien, who was sitting on his office chair suddenly stood up and started walking towards the shelf adorning his awards and other regal decor, he moved towards a statue holding a black orb. He placed his fingers on the black orb and spun it. Soon the black orb started to turn white and started replicating the moon.. As soon as the orb turned white, The wall beside the shelf shifted and opened. An elevator door which had carvings of the Moon and stars came into view.

Damien walked towards the elevator and placed his hand on the moon at the centre as soon as his palm touched the moon a periwinkle blue light flowed from the moon towards the stars and the elevator door opened, Damien walked inside and pressed a button displaying a blue crescent moon.

The elevator rumbled to life and began its slow descent. After a few moments, it came to a halt with a soft chime. The doors slid open, revealing a narrow hallway illuminated by the eerie glow of runic carvings etched into the stone walls. The air felt ancient—heavy with power—and unmistakably forbidden to mortals.

Damien stepped forward, his boots echoing faintly against the stone floor. Each step resonated like a whisper in the silence, guiding him deeper into the corridor. At the end of the hallway stood a towering door, marked by a five-pointed star with a lotus carved at its centre—silent, waiting

As soon as he came in close proximity of the door it opened by itself seemingly calling him to come inside and become part of the mysteries hidden behind it.

Damien walked through the door and after he entered the door behind him closed as he continued walking, His white hair started elongating, his eyes started rippling and soon his hair turned black and his eyes turned purple, His clothes ripped apart and in place of his old suit came a white and purple peak lapel suit adorned with silver embroidery, he took out his pocket watch and opened it, Instead of having the 12 hour clock within it showed 4 carvings— A white moon, A half white and half black moon, A quarter white moon, A black moon— Displaying the importance of the moon for the mysteries of this world.

Soon he stopped in front of an opening and set his foot at a stone pathway where multiple people could be seen going about their work, He slowly walked towards a small cabin and as soon as he did so his eyes shone.

[Instant Transversal]

The space before him rippled and a scarred guy with crimson eyes suddenly appeared before him, As soon as the scarred guy saw Damien before him he bent down on his knee and called out.

"Young master!"

"White.. How did it go?"

"I followed Amaya to an old pub named The Rusty Lantern and happened to see him"

"But?" Damien asked knowing that things won't be that easy.

"I couldn't see him properly, however i was able to use the relic you gave me on him" said White with a wide grin on his face.

"Good job, can you tell me all of the facial features of his you can remember?"

"He had short black hair with a few white strands, blue eyes and a scar on the right side of his right eye… hmm… that's all I can remember" White said while stroking his chin as in deep in thought.

"You did good, White" Damien praised.

"You may leave now" Damien said as his eyes shone again.

[Reverse Transversal]

White bowed his head as the space around him cracked like glass, Soon the cracked space started mending but White was nowhere to be seen.

"One…" Damien called out.

"Yes, My lord!" Came a voice as a hooded figure emerged from the shadows.

"Search and find any midnighter with the facial descriptions white gave" Damien ordered.

"As you command" One bowed and disappeared.

"Hah.." A heavy and long sigh escaped from Damien's lips as soon as One left.

Damien cleared his mind and waved his hand as soon as he did so the space in front of him started rippling as it started to glow with purple hue which soon turned into a portal.

[Portal Creation]

Damien stepped forward and walked through the portal and as soon as he did so a large room of big grey walls came in the view, with a wide and robust black wood table adorned with intricate carvings of mythical beasts— Dragons, Phoenix, Kraken, Etc— and stars placed in the centre, Four black leather chairs promising comfort and aesthetic could be seen placed adjacent to the corners, Large windows filled the walls as moonlight illuminated the room. A chandelier hung from the ceiling at the centre of the room.

As soon as Damien walked towards one of the chairs, A group of raven entered the room and merged together to take shape of a man with short grey hair, a nicely combed grey beard and deep green eyes, his muscular tan body spoke about the hardships he have faced in his lifetime.

"Lord Rankin" Damien said with a small smile on his face.

"Lord Kinten" Rankin nodded and replied with a small smile of his.

( Midnighters make use of aliases instead of real name thus Damien was mentioned as Kinten here )

At another corner the shadows started to wiggle and started to take shape of a woman, She had long blond hairs reaching till her waist, Silver eyes, Mature body of fair skin, Her long black gown clung tightly to her body like shadows.

"Lord Rankin, Lord Kinten" the woman greeted both of them with a wide smile on her face.

"Lady Sakhnor" Damien and Rankin nodded and replied with small smiles.

Suddenly the door of the room opened with a loud thud and a lanky figure with long raven black hair and deep black eyes which shone with cunning, He donned a simple black notch lapel suit, Entered the room each step he took echoed throughout the room as he made his way towards the last empty chair and took his seat.

"Lord Zesper" All three of them greeted him together while smiling.

"My lovely friends" Zesper replied with a wide grin and open arms. However

"Khum" Zesper cleared his throat and looked at everyone present within the room with a serious and solemn look.

"The demons are showing rapid increase in their activities"

As soon as everyone heard that their eyes stopped smiling and their face displayed a frown, Of Course everyone here already knew about it but when it was brought up at the round table. They couldn't help but feel bitter about it.

Meanwhile, at a large building towering above all those nearby it a figure stood at the edge of the roof, his ocean-blue eyes absorbing the view below, etching it into memory. A wide grin was plastered on his face which soon faded as he remembered the conversation he had with Amaya few hours ago.

Vincent left the rusty lantern as Amaya followed behind him, Soon they reached a blue car standing nearby and Vincent moved towards the door of Driver's seat.

"Get in" He said in a gentle voice as he opened the door and took a seat

Amaya moved forward and sat at the seat beside the Driver's

"Where are we going?" Amaya Asked

"Somewhere silent and safe" Vincent said as he started the car and moved towards a safer location

*Brr* *Brr*

Soon they stopped in front of a tall building and entered it, Vincent walked towards the elevator and started to move to the roof using the elevator

As soon as Vincent reached the rooftop he stopped and spoke.

"You were being followed."

"Huh? W-what do you m-mean?" Amaya said with a stutter, her eyes were wide.

"They didn't follow you here though.. Hmm.."

"I-is that so" Amaya still couldn't believe that she was being followed and spied on.

"Hoh.. then they stopped as soon as you sat foot in the pub" As soon as he said so he turned his head towards Amaya trying to know if she knew about this but when he saw her face he shook his head and cleared all thoughts of her betraying him.

"They most probably already know about midnighters then…"

The more Amaya heard Vincent the more scared she became.

"A-are we going to be fine?" Amaya said while quavering.

"Huhuhu! You don't have to worry about anything" Vincent said with a chuckle as he patted her head with a gentle, reassuring smile.

"How is it going with Anieal Starborne?" Vincent questioned his voice dripping with curiosity.

"It's going fine, i have already joined her friend circle" Amaya replied with a smile.

"Good, good" Vincent said as he moved forward and gave her a small hug.

"You should leave now." Vincent said as his eyes shone for a moment.

"Yes" Amaya replied with a monotonous voice and started walking towards the elevator.

As soon as Amaya left, The smile on Vincent's face faded.

'Should I just kill her?' Vincent thought but he soon shook his head.

'No, She still has her use'

After nodding to himself he reached his pocket and took out a black envelope, Its seal was already torn suggesting that he had already read it before, he flipped the envelope where a dark, spiked red emblem a corrupted moon-like symbol or arcane seal, featuring a blood-red core surrounded by jagged, menacing rays.

As soon as he saw the symbol he shuddered, His mind went blank as he kept staring at it for few minutes soon a single thought took hold of his mind.

'Den of Demons.. The Crimson Moon'

"Hah.." He sighed as he kept the envelope back in his pocket

'How did I get pulled into the mess of the Crimson Moon?'