Prologue

The Cardinals are the menace of our society.

It all began with Lord Severo's grief over a failed attempt to achieve his one greatest dream— to become one of The Cloaks.

He was supposed to be one of us, not until we found out his real intention. He didn't just want to be one of us. He wanted to get rid of us, so he could rule everyone solely.

Following the failure of his plan, he established the Nightfall Clan. Since then, he has had only one objective in mind— to attain a reputation that could go on par with us, The Cloaks.

Lord Severo found great power in grief. He believed that someone's suffering was neither a weakness nor a sign of loss. It could serve as a catalyst to awaken something.

He had three children, but only one stood out for him— Brixton. He invested a lot of time and effort into getting to know him and figuring out his capabilities.

He carefully honed his son over time to become his ultimate weapon. It took him quite some time to realize that Brixton had more potential than he thought. And that his son would be able to compete on the same level as us.

Although Brixton was still grieving over the loss of his best friend, Lord Severo had thought that his grief was not sufficient to unleash his strength to its full extent. Thus, he came up with a new strategy.

He urged his son to get a slave that would serve him. He was well aware that his son was longing for attention and affection, just as he made him feel on purpose. He knew as well that Brixton was not as tough as everyone thought.

Lord Severo had perfected the art of manipulation. He had everything meticulously planned from the very beginning, including his own death. But even before he perished, he managed to fulfill his final plan— to make two of his sons establish a name for themselves.

He was long gone, but his influence, through the help of his three children, was still lingering around. They were traversing their own chosen journey.

One became the greatest, and was later put in his rightful place. He is now one of us.

The other one chose freedom.

There's only one Cardinal left in this generation.

I've been watching Oscar since he was crowned as the new leader of the Nightfall Clan. It was unfortunate that he was taking the same path his father had once taken.

Lord Severo had discovered the power of grief, but failed to realize that power could also lead to someone's greatest downfall. Or he didn't really care at all.

"Lord Oscar has such a tragic story, but I hope he can redeem himself this time," The Second said as he chuckled. "What can you say, Fifth?"

The Fifth just shrugged.

I have been watching the Cardinals from the very beginning. Even though they caused a great deal of chaos in the vampire world, they will still be remembered as one of the greatest dynasties in the vampire world.

The first of the Cardinals will end here.