When the sun rose, my dad was down in the basement with all of us, including Kort and Officer K. We had all our ears and eyes on him.
"For years, I have been hiding. I have been the secret keeper. However, that ends now even though it's too late. You all should know the truth. The truth that could change your lives and break your bonds. Either way, take heed of my words, for your lives are in danger. You all need to defend yourselves. I am Vega Santino, the black blood carrier. Yes, that's true. I am the living devil carrier of pure blood. People of your generation don't know a thing about the devil, hence listen to me, my children, and learn what I am and what you'll be.
In the lost centuries back, there lived a family of kings-the family of Lordsta. King Lordsta was a great king in the Kingdom of Kings, but his enemies killed him along with his heir son, Luke. The King's mage saw the Kingdom of Kings falling without a king, and they demanded for a new king. No one of different lineage had a right to the throne. So the King's mage stole Luke's body and ran north across the deserts until he reached a land which they called Paradise. It was a land of the wizards. There, the King's mage asked for help to bring back the life of the young king, Luke. The price for what the mage requested was worth his life. That was right by him, dying to serve the kingdom of Kings, so a silver blade felt the warmth of his heart as it went through, slicing it into two within his chest. 'Let the throne of the Kings to live forever' were his last dying words. They took his warm blood and his gallbladder, clutched his liver from his chest, and began the ritual to bring back Luke.
They enchanted and sang while dipping Luke's body into a pool of red water. After that, what rose from the pool was not a man but a god. Those who grew up with Luke said when he came back from the deserts, his voice was godly, and his body shiny, masculine. He came possessing powers that would stop even the angry roaring storm. They say the power of a mage was nothing to what he possessed. Everyone bowed down and gave him respect. The kingdom of Kings, once in the blink of vanishing, grew larger, and they avenged the death of King Lordsta.
King Luke married, and the gods blessed him with two sons, Gulp, the youngest, who was his favorite, and Rooah, the eldest, who envied his father's love to his younger brother. Jealous drove Rooah to kill everyone of his blood, including his mother, who pleaded for her life. When King Luke breathed his last, they say he cried. Blood was his tears. The red pool that resurrected him turned black. Even the blood in Rooah's veins changed to black. It was a curse, which affected even his children and generations.
Rooah's rein was chaos until he breathed his last. His son, who took after him, was his father's character. The curse made Rooah's lineage to develop the powers of wish. They became monsters as they killed and raped the innocent. Thus, they were called the devils. Because of impure cross breeding, the population of people with black blood waged. They wished to create a world of their own kind with powers. Wars broke. People fled to different places, asking for help until they met a man, Wilk Santino. He was a worrier known to be the greatest evil fighter. He didn't dodge to fight the devils.
It was when Wilk realised the devils never wished to die, so they were immortal. Magicians, witches, and some kings helped to fight the devils. Nothing worked until Wilk went into his holy palace with his blade. He speared it down. The floor cracked, and with one word from his mouth, the devils burnt down into ashes. Everyone with a black blood died. However, Wilk Santino instantly became a statue in the palace. Thereafter, there was a long night, which they said lasted almost seven months.
People thought the era of the devils passed, but science proved them wrong. The black blood genes were with the DNA of some people. Elders began a process of physical checking the color of the blood of every child and testing for signature. If the blood was black or had no signature, it was likely the child was of the black blood, and they killed the child. It continued for generations until I, Vega Santino, and Vine Santino were born. We were happy brothers, but things changed when our father believed Vine had the black blood. Father's love to Vine didn't allow him to kill Vine. Instead, he sent him away while trying to find means of healing him.
In those days, the elders had improved the means of preventing women from becoming conceiving for black blood. Every girl child was forced to drink a sour liquid called a vesicle. If not drank and the women would become pregnant, the black blood child that lived like a parasite, eating from the carrier's blood and clotting it. Eventually, it led to the death of the mother.
Before the devil hunter killed my father, he told me I was the devil. My blood was neither black nor red. I realised my children were going to be devils. So my twin children are the devils. Oliver and Triana, you're my twins. I am sorry I never made you realise your relationship on purpose. Our blood has been becoming stronger in each generation, and when both of you are closer together, your powers amplify. So, I agreed with your mom to protect both of you by separating you.
Orionos Serpentine, Mariana's father, has been the devil's killer for ages. Each kill made him strong on top of him, possessing mage's powers. He is the devil hunter who killed my father. I was in the same room with my father, and I remember hearing my father's screamed which was followed by the sound of his blood droplets to the floor. I was helplessly back then because I ran away.
Chris, my bother Vine Santino, found you in the bushes. We don't know your parents, but we know you are one of us because of your blood. Thus, again, separating you from Oliver, but you have always been my son. I took you to Kort's mom, and she adored you. You became her son forever. Kort is your sister, always. So you Chris, Oliver and Triana, you're not the carriers but you all have the black blood, you're the devils. It's time to defend yourselves. The time of hiding has passed. No one can defeat Orionos except three of you. You should work together to kill him and help Leticia. It's likely that she will die because she didn't drink a vesicle. There's a book you need to find from Splendor. It had all secrets of the devils," my dad breathed and sat down.
We looked at each other and failed to react. There was too much to take in. The devils were real, and I was the devil. Triana was my twin sister. Kort and Chris also were family. Everything was confusing. We were friends and family.