Almost a century ago In the cold, sterile corridors of Facility X, where the air hummed with the quiet whirr of machinery and the faint scent of antiseptic, the pursuit of immortality had long been a silent obsession. The capture of a vampire- an ancient being whose very existence defied the natural order- had catalysed an evolution in their research that no one had foreseen. Dr Addison Carter, the Head of Genetic Engineering, sat at the helm of this clandestine project. Her sharp blue eyes were fixed on the digital readout of DNA sequences on the screen before her. Each line of code represented the unravelling of millennia-old mysteries buried within the vampire’s genetic makeup. The creature’s cells, unlike any human’s, held the secret to rapid regeneration and a kind of cellular immortality that had eluded scientists for decades. Addison’s thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of Dr Marcus Min Lee, the Chief Biochemist, whose mind was just as consumed by the potential of their

Inside the glass containment chamber, the man lay still beneath the weight of the silver bars that bound him. His body, usually pulsing with a cold, inhuman strength, was weakened by the silver. The memories of his capture flooded back, vivid and raw. He had been in the middle of a hunt, tracking a group of survivors who had crossed into his territory. They had been careless, leaving behind signs of their passage, and he had followed them with ease. But something had felt off that night. The air was thick with an unfamiliar scent, a blend of technology and something else, something dark and potent. But he did not know it was a trap- one laid out by BMA. He had ignored his instincts and continued, confident in his centuries of experience. But then they had come for him- armed soldiers, not the usual ragtag band of survivors but a well-coordinated team. They had moved with precision, their weapons loaded with silver bullets and other tools designed to subdue creatures like him. They