Mathias had the impression of walking for hours in these rocky tunnels forming a veritable labyrinthine network. The only sounds he could hear now were a few drops of water falling from the ceiling. Still limping a little, Mathias let himself be guided only by his instincts, not really knowing where he was going. His hands, still shackled by the chains, were really starting to annoy him, but what could he do about it now? Besides, his stomach was starting to hurt more and more ...

Great, Mathias thought ironically. It is true that he had not eaten or drunk anything for almost 24 hours. If he didn't manage to get out of these tunnels quickly, hunger and thirst would kill him eventually. To die like this, when he had managed to survive against this horde of monsters? It would really be a shame.

In order to try to occupy his mind and not think about the hunger that was wringing his stomach, Mathias concentrated his thoughts on how to get out of here, if he hoped there was a way out somewhere.

But his thoughts also turned to everything that had happened to him lately ... this lost village, and these monsters ... he now understood that the terrifying legends about this region were very real. But how ... how could it be real? How could such beings exist in this world? On the other hand, Mathias had always believed deep down that there were things in this world that were beyond comprehension. Well, he has to believe he got it right.

Suddenly, arriving at the end of yet another corridor of rock, a vision he no longer hoped to see, presented itself to him, at the top of steps carved in the black rock. Carved stone doors. Too happy to finally see an exit, Mathias rushed there, too eager to finally get out of these morbid underground tunnels.

Despite the heaviness of the doors, Mathias pressed with all his strength with his hands, succeeding in pushing them aside little by little with a dull rubbing of stone. But what awaited him on the other side plunged him again into bewilderment.

The cave he had just entered was quite wide and high in ceiling, perfectly rectangular in shape, and almost looked like a sort of chapel with a floor of stone slabs. Indeed, dozens of wax candles were arranged everywhere, in circles or in lines. But most disturbing was that all of those candles were lit, showing off their little throbbing flames and lighting up the room in a moving orange glow.

_"What is that?" the young man sighed, confused.

And in the middle of that stone chapel was the thing that caught his attention the most. A large altar had been placed, surrounded by various offerings such as food or other gifts generally made to pagan deities. On this altar, five portraits had been placed, and looking at them more closely by candlelight, Mathias recognized them immediately, his heart leaping in his chest. These were the five monsters who were with him in the great ruined church. The misshapen hunchback who smelled like fish. Lady Dimitrescu. Heisenberg. And this lady in a black dress, with her creepy doll. And in the midst of them was the portrait of that other woman, Mother Miranda, who indeed seemed to be the center of this cult.

Mathias had a shiver that ran through him, feeling around him the heavy aura that emanated from this chapel. These five beings with supernatural capacities thus made the law in this valley, and even seemed to be worshiped as deities.

It was really surreal. What had Mathias just stepped into?

_ "It's you ... yes ... finally, you've arrived ..."

Mathias jumped up in fear at the sound of that rickety voice which suddenly made itself heard in the room. Turning around, he then saw someone. She was a very old woman, with a hunched back, her face drowned in wrinkles, white hair and veiled eyes, showing that she was surely blind. She was dressed in a long worn black cloak with a hood, and in her gaunt hands, held a large wooden staff adorned with several human skulls. Who is it again, Mathias wondered more than suspiciously. Another human-looking monster? She almost looked like the evil witch poisoning Snow White, but much more realistic and terrifying.

_ "Who ... who are you? Stay away." Mathias warned, keeping his distance and without taking his eyes off her.

But the old lady showed no sign of hostility, walking with very difficult, even with the help of her staff, and just walked to the altar, where she bowed her head in respect to the five monsters.

_ "The bones told me ... I saw it in the water ... I saw it in the dust ... the young foreigner from another country ... broken heart by a cruel but irreversible fatality, he will come here in search of an answer, but not the one he thought ... Thank you, Mother Miranda ... Thank you, Four Lords ... thank you for making my vision a reality."

The old woman had completely ignored Mathias' question and still kneeling before this macabre altar, she continued to thank these monsters like an idolater.

_ "Hey! Did you hear me?" Mathias insisted, but still at a distance. "Who are you and what the hell is going on here?"

The witch-looking old woman suddenly turned to him, showing a toothless smile and a look, which although blind, let perceive a spark of madness. The young stranger with a heart broken by a cruel but irreversible tragedy ... this sentence came back to Mathias' mind ... was she talking about him, and the death of his mother? But how could she know that?

_ "All this suffering ..." she said, speaking like a completely mad mystic as she approached Mathias. "It was all written, to lead you to a destiny so much greater than anything you could have imagined. You are looking for a truth that you think is elsewhere, but in reality it is right here... "

_ "What are you talking about? I ... I don't understand anything. Listen, I just want to get out of here, and ..."

Mathias was talking, feeling his nerves about to crack and the urge to hit this crazy old woman and make her confess how to get out of this hell. But again, she completely ignored his request, taking a candle in her hand and walking to one of the walls of the chapel. With the flame of the candle, she then illuminated the surface of the stone wall, where was represented a kind of giant rock wall fresco. Mathias then gazed at her, speechless at the size and detail of this fresco which seemed really very old. It was represented by four distinct coats of arms, arranged in a square around a fifth symbol. Below the first four symbols was a name.

The first coat of arms represented a sort of black rose pierced with two crossed swords. The emblem of House Dimitrescu.

The second was a horseshoe, surmounted by a horse's head. The House Heisenberg.

The third was a mermaid-like creature. The House Moreau.

And the fourth was a sun merged with a crescent moon. The House Beneviento.

And finally, the fifth and last symbol had no name, and had the shape of an octagon with in its center the representation of a black cross, each of the branches of which was connected to one of the coats of arms.

As fascinated by this fresco, Mathias had approached it to better see these symbols similar to medieval coats of arms. Four houses. Four lords. And in the center, this unnamed symbol, undoubtedly representing this Mother Miranda who was represented as the main deity of this completely crazy cult.

Without knowing why, Mathias placed the palm of one of his hands against the cold rock that made up this fresco carved in the wall.

_ "This is the truth that you are really looking for, and it is up to you to find it." said the old woman, watching him do it, still smiling and pointing to the fresco with her hooked finger. Mathias stared at her.

_ "What? No, it's ... it's absurd. I have no idea what it is and I don't want to know it. All I want is to go from this place and go home! " asserted the young man, on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

The old woman then laughed and began to walk away in the direction of the stone doors through which Mathias had come into this room.

_ "Oh ... but you are home ... for the very first time in your life." revealed the old woman in a mystical and mischievous tone, disturbing the young man. And with that, she walked through the stone doors that closed behind her.

_ "Hey, wait, don't ..." Mathias began to say, trying to catch up with her, but too late, the two stone doors slammed in his face, leaving him alone again.

Standing sheepishly in front of those closed doors, Mathias was more and more lost. I'm already at home? But what is this mystical bullshit again, he told himself, completely overwhelmed by events.

He returned his attention to the fresco of coats of arms, but couldn't find a single answer. For him, this was only an ancient vestige of a unknown monstrous pagan cult. He didn't see how he had anything to do with it. Either way, this old lady looked completely nuts, like everyone else in this fucking place.

Regardless, Mathias decided to get out of here and rushed to another door he had seen at the back of the chapel. He hoped that this time it would lead outside.

Bingo! No sooner had he opened the door when a draft of cold air came from the top of a stone staircase and caressed his face. Recovering a little hope of seeing the light of day again, Mathias quickly climbed the stone steps, until he reached the top. On leaving, he realized that he was in fact coming out of the entrance of a sort of abandoned vault, located in a large snow-covered courtyard behind a large black iron gate, closed, and decorated with a coat of arms, which Mathias recognized immediately. The Dimitrescu emblem. And then, Mathias understood where he was, seeing, a little further, the large and intimidating medieval Gothic castle ... he was in the front yard of the estate. By the side of the dirt track, going up a slight slope and leading towards the entrance of the castle, were rows of completely frozen vines, occupied by a few crows trying in vain to peck the frozen grounds. But also, ominous scarecrows stood in the midst of the vines, hanging and appearing to gaze at Mathias with their expressionless gazes.

Mathias then noticed, at the foot of the nearest scarecrow, an abandoned agricultural tool, half covered by snow. A saw! Perfect, thought Mathias to himself, looking at the chains in his hands. After successfully positioning the saw blade in a stable position, Mathias began to rub the chains faster and faster against the blade of the tool, in the hope that she would finally cut those damn shackles. And finally, after minutes of intense effort, he was rewarded and the chains finally came undone, falling heavily on the snow. Mathias sighed in relief, his hands finally free. Now the portal, he told himself.

But as he prepared to go towards the portal to exit, he leapt in fear at the sight of a horde of enraged creatures throwing themselves violently against the portal and visibly trying to enter to reach it. These things again, lycans! Mathias then looked towards his wound in the thigh, which even treated and disinfected, was still bleeding a little. And shit, these motherfuckers can smell the blood from miles away.

Fear seized even more Mathias when he saw the first Lycans starting to climb the portal, obviously locked, to be able to pass to the other side.

_ "Oh god damn it!" gasped Mathias, who then began to run as fast as possible on the dirt road, in the only direction possible, towards the castle.

As he had ran and crossed half of the path, Mathias heard behind the sounds of heavy impact on the ground, followed by the beastly roars and run of the creatures that began to pursue him, already almost reaching to him with their supernatural speed.

Mathias climbed the steps to the entrance of the castle four by four and without asking more questions, fear dominating his actions, quickly opened the large metallic doors of the castle to take refuge inside. But, looking outside, he noticed that the lycans had stopped at the foot of the steps and dared not go any further, staying put and staring at Mathias eagerly, their jaws growling and salivating with drool. Can't they come in? But how...? Mathias asked himself the question, without finding the slightest logic. But yet, he was stuck, and the creatures didn't seem to decide to go. And with his thigh injury, if he ever tried to go outside, those things would come right back. He would never be able to leave alive in these conditions.

To his surprise, the large entrance doors of the castle suddenly closed in front of him, as if by magic, and locked. Trapped again, and still in a place he didn't know at all. Having no other alternative, Mathias walked a little further into this entrance hall, while constantly remaining on his guard and looking everywhere around him. The interior decoration of this castle was, he had to admit, very rich and rather magnificent, in a Victorian style, with antique furniture, a glass chandelier hanging from the ceiling and chandeliers beautifully crafted in gold and on which were arranged lit candles. The floor was made of smooth slabs of white and black color, like a chessboard, and in the middle stretched a long scarlet rug decorated with yellow symbols.

There was a deep silence, which did not reassure Mathias at all. At the end of the hall, on the wall, he then noticed this large painting very finely made and old, representing three beautiful young women very well dressed and wearing dresses of high nobility. The three women looked alike in every way, real triplets. Under the painting, Mathias reads the small golden plaque: "Bela, Daniela and Cassandra." Their names, without a doubt.

But as he looked at this painting, Mathias heard a slight buzzing in his ear, then before his eyes, without explanation, saw more and more black fly-like insects begin to hover all around him.

_ "Are you lost, my little one?" a sly feminine voice suddenly sneered, surprising Mathias, who spun around.

Eyes wide, he observed the giant, noisy, swarming mass of black flies that had just appeared in the middle of the hall. The giant cluster then separated into three other smaller groups, and each of them transformed, under the hallucinated gaze of the young man, into three bodies of flesh. Three young women had just appeared, giggling together. They were dressed identically, long black hooded coats with gloves and black boots. But what was most disturbing was that their faces looked alike, as if they were sisters, the same eyes, same pale skin, the same face and black lips, but their hair were different colors: blonde for one, red for another and brunette for the last one. Their faces each bore traces of dried blood on their mouth and chin and on their foreheads, the same tattoo, and each had pinned on their coat an iron brooch of the Dimitrescu coat of arms. The only real way to tell them apart was the metal necklace they wore around their necks, each of which was adorned with a colored gemstone: red, green and yellow.

Mathias stepped back in fear, his back hitting the wall behind him, as these three witch-like young ladies continued to laugh ominously, moving smoothly and slowly circling the intruder.

_ "Look at this, girls, a young man. It's Christmas before time, or what?" said the girl in the red collar with a calm but morbid teasing tone.

_ "Hmmm, no idea, but he's pretty cute I admit." the girl in the yellow collar added in a more sadistic tone, gently licking her black lips with a perverse sparkle in her eye.

_ "Finally, a new toy, it's been a long time since we had fun." finally said the third girl, the one with the green collar, and who by her tone and demeanor, seemed to be the most unstable and mad of the three.

Trembling from all these limbs, Mathias was completely cornered by these three terrifying girls and seeing him scared amused them even more.

One of them, the one with the red collar, then approached Mathias and with a simple push of her hand against his chest, made him fall violently to the ground. Mathias has felt this extraordinary strength compared to the girl's rather thin build. Then that same girl, armed with a sickle and in a rapid gesture, pierced Mathias' leg at knee level, hooking him as if he were a fish. Mathias screamed in pain, seeing the tip of the tool blade sticking out the other side of his leg. Hearing him scream made them laugh even more and enjoyed the moment. The girl with the red collar, still firmly holding her sickle in her hand, then leaned towards Mathias's face, and passionately sniffed his scent.

_ "Hmmm, man's blood ..." she sighed in macabre lust, a smile on her lips.

_ "No ... please, I ..." Mathias began to moan, suffering horribly. But the three girls didn't give him time to finish his sentence, and grabbing him all three by the legs, began to drag him like an old bag, and with great speed, through several corridors of the castle. Mathias couldn't see anything, it was all going way too fast and his leg was really torturing him.

After very long seconds, and through a new door leading into what looked like a bedroom, the three girls stopped, dropping heavily the legs of Mathias, still lying on the floor.

_ "Mother ... I bring you fresh prey." said the girl with the red collar.

_ "You are so kind to me, daughters." answered a voice of a more mature woman immediately, which Mathias recognized immediately, with terror.

Beside a large victorian four-poster bed, seated in a velvet chair in front of a carved oak desk and near a marble fireplace where a few logs were burning, was Lady Dimitrescu, sipping a glass of red liquid resembling wine, or maybe it was blood? She was still wearing her big white dress, and her wide-brimmed hat over her head.

_ "Now, let's take a look at him." she said after finishing her drink and got up from her chair to turn around. Immediately, looking at Mathias, she recognized him and little by little formed a smile on her red lips.

_ "Well, well, Mathias Derune." she said as she walked slowly towards him. "You escaped my little brother's idiot games, and succeeded to get out the maze ... Hmmm, I admit being impressed. Now, let's see how special you are."

Immediately, Lady Dimitrescu motioned for two of her daughters to pick up Mathias, which they did, taking him and holding him firmly by the arms. Mathias could feel their grip and guessed that there was no point in trying to struggle. The third girl approached in turn, and without the slightest hesitation, cut the palm of the young man's left hand, causing him a sharp pain.

Lady Dimitrescu then leaned over, seizing Mathias' wrist and placing her lips on the palm, then began to lick and suck, with a certain delight, the blood which flowed from the wound. Mathias was in pain, but dared not move, seeing this giant vampiric countess drinking his blood and feeling her lips and tongue on his skin.

Lady Dimitrescu kept the blood in her mouth, as if she was tasting and tasting a good wine, and appearing satisfied with the taste, let go of Mathias's arm.

_ "Hmmm, young and lively blood ... a beautiful face of a young man ... I was right, he will be perfect." Lady Dimitrescu commented as one of the girls brought her a small white towel to wipe her lips. Mathias, suffering from his new leg injury, could not stand and fell to his knees on the floor, staring at his bloody and aching palm, and clenching his teeth against the pain.

_ "What do we do with him, mother?" asked the girl with the yellow collar.

_ "Please, can we play with him. I have lots of fun new ideas." asked the one with the green collar, the craziest of the three.

_ "But I am the one who captured him ..." retorted the one with the red collar towards her sister.

_ "Now, now, daughters." Lady Dimitrescu added calmly, ending the debate. First of all, I must inform Mother Miranda of the presence of our "guest". I also have other business to settle with the other lords. Until I come back, take him and lock him in the dungeons."

_ "Yes mother." the three girls answered in unison, nodding their heads, without discussing the orders.

Once again, the three witches approached, their cruel smiles on their black lips and expressing small sinister chuckles, and grabbed Mathias by the arms to put him to his feet and take him away.

_ "No, I beg you ... please ... I'll do whatever you want, but let me go." Mathias moaned in pain, exhausted, coughing and his forehead sweating. Listening to him, Lady Dimitrescu leaned closer to him again, taking him by the chin with her fingertips and bringing her face closer to his. Their eyes met, separated by only a few inches.

_ "Oh, be careful of what you wish for, Mathias Derune." was her response, accompanied by a dark and teasing smile. With her gloved hand, she gently stroked the young man's cheek, as if to feel his skin again, and with a slight sneer, let her three daughters take him out of the room, towards the dungeons.