CHAPTER ONE
Thunder roars in the skies above a castle with rain pounding every inch of the stone walls. The wind blows harshly through the trees in its courtyards. Inside, the faint orange glow of many candlesticks give an ominous tint to the gothic décor making the shadows seemingly come to life. The sound of an organ can be heard echoing through every room and pitch-black corridor as well as chanting. Despite the lifelessness of the rest of the foreboding structure, the basement is anything but. Hundreds of people stand before a large altar sing a song with an otherworldly tongue to a statue nearly nine feet high. This statue depicts a tall man with flowing hair and fierce disposition. Its unmoving stone eyes peer over the crowd seemingly ready to cast an infernal judgement. A single figure however stands as the foot of the unholy idol with arms raised towards the heavens. The singing stops, and the crowd sits in the pews awaiting the message from their leader. The single figure turns around revealing a terrifying man. Hair as red as the fires of hell and skin as white as snow. His ears are pointed just like the canines from within his smiling expression. His sickly green eyes would even make the devil's skin crawl. He wears an ornate black cloak with gold and red highlights as the white draconic flare turns him into an optical illusion to the eye. The crowd is silenced awaiting the words of their leader.
"Thank you all for coming to this ceremony.". His voice is soothing and charismatic. The kind of voice to hypnotize unsuspecting victims and lure them to damnation and ruin.
"Fifty-four years ago, our master…Count Vlad Dracula Tepes was vanquished by the loathsome Julius Belmont and the Vampire Killer. A further insult to his glorious legacy; he was regrettably reincarnated as Soma Cruz. Now, he refuses to return to his rightful place as dark lord and master of the night!"
The crowd boos and raises their fists in anger. The atmosphere it tense and filled with hatred towards Soma and Julius. An outstretched arm waves over the riotous mass and calms them down enough that they return to their seats.
"Yes…most irritating and infuriating the situation has become. This cannot be accepted and will not be! His faithful followers from across the world have come together to form the Order of the Dragon! With our skill and prowess, we have constructed this magnificent abode; a true place fit for a dark lord, but no one to fill its throne. That is why we must play our cards and cast our hand to see our dream become reality…the revival and return of Lord Dracula! We must all work together as one to bring him back and after that, we shall take our place at his side and within his ranks. No one…not even a Belmont shall be able to stand in our way. The time has come! Let us bring back the master…LORD DRACULA!"
The crowd erupts into thunderous cheers and applause as the figure laughs with glee and a hint of lunacy as the wining and worshiping continue. Despite the good feelings in the room, one cloaked figure stands at the back remaining idle watching. He whispers into an earpiece. "Yoko, the order is making their move. Go find Soma and Mine; keep them safe. I'll find Julius. We will need all the help we can get.". The lone figure turns around exits quickly, but not before catching the eye of the man on the altar.
Meanwhile, halfway across the world in Texas; a different kind of ceremony is taking place. A humble assortment of chairs divided by a simple strip of red carpet leading up to a stage. People of all kinds sit awaiting the main event as an elderly man takes to the platform. He is Julius Belmont. He has aged quite a bit since his adventures with Soma during the Celia incident. His brown hair having turned ashy grey and noticeable wrinkles cover his face. Julius speaks.
"My friends, it means so much to me that you've all come to celebrate a momentous occasion. Since the days of Leon Belmont, children born to the Belmont Clan have been sworn to an oath and taken up the role as vampire hunters. For nearly one-thousand years, the Belmont Clan has battled the forces of the night in the quest to destroy the dark lord Dracula. And now, that time has come again. A new vampire hunter is ready to take the whip and protect humanity from the forces of evil and carry on the legacy of our great family. My own son, Ezra Belmont!"
The crowd claps and whistles and looks behind them hoping to catch a look on the newest vampire hunter and holder of the family legacy. The cheers soon stop as a confused murmur washes over them. To their shock and surprise, no one is there. No one is walking up the aisle to climb the platform. No one is there to accept the task given to them and honored by the ancestors. Julius is equally confused by this and looks to his left. Sitting is a small wooden chair is a girl no more that sixteen years old. Her short blonde hair hangs just above her shoulders. Clad in a short sleeve white shirt with red jacket open, black capris and gladiator sandals. Her blue eyes glisten in the high sun as a perplexed looks crawls onto her. This is Alice Belmont; Julius's daughter.
"Alice?" Julius asks. "Where is your brother? He is supposed to be here."
"Your guess is as good as mine father. I'm not sure why he would skip out on the ceremony." Alice says back.
With a defeated sigh, Julius returns to the podium. "I'm sorry everyone, it appears my son isn't showing up today. I apologize for taking your time. You are all free to go.". As everyone leaves, he motions to Alice to follow him. "Alice come on, we're going to find Ezra. And when we do, he'll be very sorry for doing this.".
Sitting on the edge of a pier by a still lake, a single boy sits alone staring out at the vivid sunset. A pair of red and black sneakers and socks sit by his side as his feet just barely penetrate the water's surface. His blonde hair shines like a star as a fringe covers the left side of his face. Blue eyes sit behind his glasses as he frowns. He has a black short sleeve jacket on his shoulders atop his smoky grey tank top. A black shorts and black Capri leggings cover his lower half. On his face, a look of equal parts sadness and frustration is seen. A thousand thoughts race through his mind knowing what has just transpired and fully expecting the worse show up behind him. This is Ezra Belmont, the seventeen-year old son of Julius and Alice's older brother. Julius and Alice appear behind him. One furious and the other concerned.
"Ezra, stand up and turn around. You have some explaining to do.". When Ezra doesn't do what he asks, he resorts to something else. He walks up and pushes his son into the water.
"What the hell was that for dad?!". Ezra barely managing to get the words out between spitting up water that had rushed into his mouth. Swimming ashore, the cold water can only delay the fiery anger boiling up as the two Belmont's begin to exchange some harsh words.
"You skipped the coming of age ceremony! You know how important that was and you blew it! Everybody that supported you was there. All your friends were there to see you become a man. It was an embarrassment to us and frankly, you should be ashamed of yourself! What do you have to say?!" Julius angrily shouts.
With as much fury as his father, Ezra responds "I do have something say. I don't care! I don't care about the family's stupid and outdated legacy!"
Bewildered by the response, Julius asks "Stupid?! Outdated?! Our family was the only one keeping the darkness at bay and protecting the world. And you call that stupid and outdated?! Don't be a fool son!"
"It's not foolish, it's the truth! Dracula has been dead for more than half a century, and the last of his followers are gone. Trust me, this world has no need for vampire hunters anymore." Ezra says.
"That's not true at all. Dracula may be gone, but something else is waiting to take his place. And when that time does happen, who will be the one to stop it? Why can't you just accept your history and be proud of it?!" Julius says.
Having reached his breaking point, Ezra lets it all out. "I never wanted to be a vampire hunter! I was never given a choice to have my own life, and instead was forced to have the life of the family by you! I don't want the life of Leon, Christopher, Simon, or Richter; I want my own life for myself!".
Silence falls over the three as the atmosphere remains tense. Julius is shocked as Ezra stares at him with utter hatred. Alice's eyes are wide at witnessing the harshest of exchanges between her brother and father. Before anyone can say anything else. A red car pulls up behind them to take the attention away from the argument. Out steps a pale faced man with black hair and black suit. Julius is for a moment happy to see such a familiar face. Ezra however is put on edge as he knows who this is.
"I hope I'm not interrupting the chat you all were having. It's nice to see you again Julius." Says the black clad man.
"Genya Arikado, what are you doing here? It's not like you to drop in unannounced… and at such a late hour. It must be something really bad." Julius says.
"Bad would be a horrible understatement. This regards Soma. Is there anywhere more private that we may retreat to." Genya asks.
"Of course, we'll go to my house. Alice, Ezra, come on. We're heading home for the night." Julius says while looking back at Ezra.
"No thanks, I'll stay here." Ezra says only to be met by the gaze of Genya. A look that fills him with an unnatural chill. Immediately, he put his socks and shoes back on and hurries to the car and gets in with everyone else and they speed away.
Just before nightfall, they arrive at a large home and park in the driveway. They exit the vehicle and walk inside. It's a rather nice place with expensive looking furniture that contrasts with some of the more gothic elements like candles and strange relics adorning the walls. The four sit down on the two couches surrounding a coffee table. Alice and Julius on one, and Ezra with Genya on the other. Ezra looks down as to not catch Genya's eye.
"Alright Genya, what is this thing about Soma? Is he alright?" Julius asks with noticeable concern.
"He's alright, but I fear not for much longer. My organization has been monitoring a suspicious group in the Hokkaido region of Japan called the Order of the Dragon for some time now. I snuck into one of their meetings a few days ago. They talked about reviving Dracula. I fear they may be trying to go after Soma and make him the dark lord like Celia did all those years ago.". Genya says.
"The Order of the Dragon eh? Can't say I've heard of them, but why come to me with this information?" Julius says.
"You see, I told Yoko to find Soma and Mina and protect them. I doubt she could hold them off forever if they attacked. I came to you to see if you would join us to stop them before they try anything too drastic. Your help would be greatly appreciated." Genya says.
"I appreciate the offer, I really do. But I can't. Look at me; I'm not the man I used to be. I can't keep being the Belmont to save the world every time there is something wrong. Trust me, I really want to help, but I can't at this point." Julius says.
"I understand Julius. But what about your children? Specifically your son. Surely he is up to the task." Genya asks.
Alice interjects herself into the conversation. "Mr. Arikado, I'm sorry, but Ezra isn't really up to it. You see, he's not the fighting type of person. Why don't I go with you?"
"Absolutely not." Julius says. "You're not done with your training yet, and you're far to young to be experiencing something like this."
"But father!" Alice pleads. "Alright, I see."
"Although I do see your point.", Julius says and turns back to Genya. "Ezra and I are having issues right now. He skipped the coming of age ceremony and he told me that he has no desire to continue the Belmont legacy."
The room falls silent as everyone looks to Ezra and waits for a response. Nothing is spoken as Genya looks to be concerned. If a Belmont wouldn't help, who would?
"Ezra, is this true?" Genya asks.
"It is." Ezra responds quietly. "I just wanted my own life and to make my own choices. I felt as if I never had the opportunity due to being shackled by my ancestors' deeds.".
Julius sees the sadness in his son's eyes. It looked to be the same sadness that he saw in the eyes of those affected by Dracula during the Demon Castle War. The empty feeling of hopelessness. He slowly got up from his seat and moved over to his son and knelt next to him. He placed his hand on Ezra's shoulder as the young Belmont looked up to meet the tired eyes of his father.
"Father, why can't you understand. Just let me live my own life. I don't want to live in the past. I still love you, but this can't continue." Ezra says softly.
"I know. I just wanted what I thought was best for you. I know I can't force you to change your mind, but I want to ask you this. Just this once, won't you do this for me. I won't ask you to do this again." Julius says.
Ezra remains silent as he thinks about this. Genya waits in anticipation. After several minutes of uneasy silence, Ezra stands up and looks at everyone. He sees his father on the verge of tears, his sister in disbelief, and Genya waiting patiently.
"Alright, I'll do it. I will lend you my strength. And at the end of all of this, I want to hear no more of me becoming a vampire hunter." Ezra declares.
"Thank you Ezra, you have no idea what this means to me. Now, pack your bags. We leave in the morning for Hakuba City where we will rendezvous with Yoko." Genya exclaims with a suppressed excitement.
"Okay. See you tomorrow then." Ezra goes upstairs to get some shut eye before the next day.
Julius watches him go upstairs. In his mind, he feels defeated in knowing that his son will not follow in his footsteps. Alice can only hope that once this is done, hopefully the fractures can heal, and the family can be strong once more. Genya walks out the door and leaves in his car to an unknown location. As he drives down the moonlit road, he feels a sort of uneasiness that one can only feel when something terrible is about to occur. What horrors are about to be revealed? Only time can tell.