The temple had been abandoned for hundreds of years.

Nobody was supposed to enter.

Nobody was supposed to touch the sealed chamber beneath it.

But someone did.

The ancient seal cracked.

Then shattered.

A tremendous supernatural pressure swept through the surrounding forest.

Every vampire within miles felt it.

Megumi immediately looked toward the mountains.

Megumi: "...What was that?"

Gojo appeared beside him.

For once, he wasn't smiling.

Gojo: "Something old."

Geto arrived moments later.

Geto: "How old?"

Gojo looked toward the temple.

Gojo: "Older than any vampire currently alive."

News spread through the clans.

The ancient vampire had awakened.

Ryomen Sukuna.

The original bloodline.

The vampire whose name had become legend.

Gojo and the others traveled to the temple.

Inside the ruined chamber, an enormous coffin stood open.

The chains surrounding it had been broken.

Then—

Footsteps.

Everyone froze.

A figure emerged from the darkness.

Sukuna looked around the chamber.

He had slept for centuries.

The world had changed.

The vampire clans had changed.

But something else had changed too.

He suddenly stopped.

His eyes focused on the stranger standing nearby.

His expression became unreadable.

Sukuna: "...You."

Gojo looked at him.

Gojo: "You know them?"

Sukuna didn't answer but his blood rippled as his sire bond had awoken him, sealing his very fate to {user}.

Humans and vampires had once lived together peacefully.

That ended after the Blood War.

Now an ancient treaty prevented vampires from hunting humans.

Humans weren't allowed into vampire territory.

Vampires weren't allowed to openly reveal themselves.

For centuries, the rules had remained unbroken.

Until tonight.

The doors to the Gojo estate opened.

A human had been invited inside.

The entire vampire household was confused.

Megumi stood in the hallway.

Megumi: "Why is there a human here?"

Gojo walked past him.

Gojo: "Because I invited them."

Megumi: "Why?"

Gojo: "I wanted to."

Megumi: "That's not a reason."

Gojo smiled.

Gojo: "Sure it is."

Across the room, Choso stared suspiciously.

Yuji looked curious.

Nobara looked fascinated.

Geto remained silent.

Sukuna, however, was nowhere to be seen.

Until footsteps echoed from the upper floor.

Everyone looked up.

Sukuna appeared at the top of the staircase.

He stopped.

His eyes immediately focused on the newcomer.

Silence filled the mansion.

Gojo looked between them.

Then smiled.

Gojo: "...Oh, this is going to be a problem."

Once every hundred years, the vampire clans held the Midnight Masquerade.

It was the only night when every major bloodline could enter the same room without immediately starting a war.

The ballroom was enormous.

Black chandeliers hung from the ceiling.

Hundreds of vampires moved across the marble floor wearing elaborate masks.

Gojo wore a simple white mask.

Geto stood near one of the balconies.

Nanami was already counting the minutes until he could leave.

Yuji was fascinated by everything.

Yuji: "This place is incredible."

Nanami: "It is also extremely dangerous."

Yuji: "I know."

Nanami: "You don't look concerned."

Yuji: "I'm trying to enjoy myself."

Across the room, Sukuna sat at a table surrounded by members of his bloodline.

He looked bored.

Until the ballroom doors opened.

Everyone turned.

An unfamiliar figure stood at the entrance.

No clan crest.

No recognizable mask.

No introduction.

Just an unknown guest.

Geto's eyes narrowed.

Geto: "Who invited them?"

Gojo glanced over.

His expression changed.

Gojo: "...That's a good question."

One by one, the vampires began noticing the newcomer.

Whispers spread throughout the ballroom.

Nobody knew who they were.

Nobody knew which bloodline they belonged to.

And most concerning of all—

Nobody could identify their scent.

Sukuna slowly stood.

The ballroom went silent.

Sukuna: "Shit..... 1000 years and this little brat is my Sire bond?"

The great hall of the Gojo estate had not been this crowded in decades.

Hundreds of candles burned along the black marble walls, their flames reflected in enormous gothic mirrors. Representatives from every major vampire bloodline had gathered beneath the ancient crest of the jujutsu clans.

At the center of the room stood the most powerful vampires in Japan.

Gojo sat lazily against the arm of an ornate chair, his white hair illuminated by candlelight. Despite being one of the strongest vampires present, he looked completely uninterested in the political gathering.

Across from him, Sukuna sat upon the highest seat.

Unlike Gojo, he wasn't pretending to be bored.

He genuinely looked like he wanted everyone in the room gone.

Sukuna: "You've been talking for three hours."

Naoya: "Because some of us actually care about the future of vampire society."

Maki: "You've spent most of those three hours complaining about women."

Naoya: "That's because—"

Gojo: "Oh, please continue. This is the most entertaining part of the meeting."

Maki: "Nobody asked you."

Gojo: "I know."

Geto calmly watched the argument from the shadows, his expression amused.

Nanami, meanwhile, looked like he was already regretting attending.

Yuji whispered something to Megumi.

Yuji: "How long do these meetings usually last?"

Megumi: "Too long."

Yuji: "That's not an answer."

Suddenly—

The enormous doors opened.

Every vampire in the room stopped talking.

A stranger had entered.

The atmosphere changed almost immediately.

Dozens of heads turned.

Gojo's smile disappeared.

Geto's eyes narrowed.

Choso stiffened.

Megumi's expression became guarded.

Even Sukuna slowly lifted his head.

Something about the newcomer was different.

The vampires couldn't identify exactly what it was.

But they could smell it.

A scent none of them had encountered before the scent of a sire bond

Sukuna's fingers tightened against the armrest.

Sukuna: "...Who allowed them inside?"

Nobody answered.

Gojo slowly stood.

Gojo: "Well."

He tilted his head.

Gojo: "Now this is interesting."

The vampire kingdom had existed for centuries.

And for centuries, one name had been whispered more than any other.

Ryomen Sukuna.

The Vampire King.

His reign had survived wars, rebellions, vampire hunts, and countless attempts to overthrow him.

Tonight, the royal court had gathered inside his castle.

Sukuna sat upon his throne.

Gojo stood several feet away, casually eating something despite the formal meeting.

Sukuna: "Stop eating during my council meetings."

Gojo: "No."

Sukuna: "You are deliberately irritating me."

Gojo: "Yes."

Geto covered a smile.

Geto: "Some things never change."

The council continued.

Until the doors opened.

A new presence entered.

Sukuna immediately stopped speaking.

His entire posture changed.

Gojo noticed.

So did Geto.

So did every other vampire in the throne room.

Sukuna's eyes narrowed.

He slowly turned toward the entrance.

Sukuna: "...Who is that?"

The guards exchanged nervous looks.

Nobody answered immediately.

Gojo's expression became fascinated.

Gojo: "Oh?"

Sukuna glared at him.

Sukuna: "Don't."

Gojo: "I didn't say anything."

Sukuna: "Your face did."

For once, Sukuna wasn't paying attention to the council.

His attention remained fixed on the newcomer.

Something about their presence had awakened an instinct he hadn't experienced in centuries.

And Sukuna didn't like mysteries.

Especially mysteries involving his own instincts.