Chapter 1

It was a quiet autumn night in Tokyo, Japan.

Soma Cruz rubbed his gray eyes and ran his fingers through his snowy white hair. The 19-year-old was sitting alone on a bench near the lake in Hibiya Park. He stared up at the moonlit sky. The stars were so pretty, shimmering and twinkling in the velvety blackness of heavens above. They were one of the few things in life that brought him peace.

His thoughts were a dark, confusing swirl.

It had been over a year now since he was magically transported to Castlevania when he went to the Shrine of the White Horse down in Hakuba with his friend Mina Hakuba, a Miko and the daughter of the shrine's caretaker, to watch the astronomical event. It was here that a missionary named Graham Jones told Soma of Dracula's demise in 1999 and that there was a prophecy foretelling the count's rebirth.

Graham was later found out to be a psychotic cult leader who believed himself to be Dracula reincarnated and yet when Soma defeated Graham in battle, it turned out that the missionary was not Dracula reborn. It was revealed shortly after that it was Soma himself who was the rebirth of the count and the boy learned from federal agent Genya Arikado that he was destined to become the new ruler of Castlevania. Fortunately, Soma was able to defy that fate by severing his connection to the castle's essence—the Chaos, which had tried to turn him into a new Dracula.

But he didn't do it alone. Not only did he have the support of Mina and Arikado, he made a few other allies as well.

Yoko Belnades, the witch from the Church who was a descendant of the great Sypha Belnades.

Julius Belmont, the vampire hunter who killed Dracula for good in 1999.

And finally Hammer, a member of the United States military who went on to become a shopkeeper.

Then, just a few months ago, a dark priestess named Celia Fortner and her religious cult With Light learned of Soma's existence. They had planned to resurrect Dracula by killing him and extracting the vampire's soul from his body, but Soma single-handedly took them down and once again saved the world from utter destruction.

Things had been rather peaceful since then. Wanting to get away from the horrible memories of Castlevania, Soma convinced Mina to move into a condominium with him here in Tokyo and he got a job at Arikado's agency as his assistant. Looking back at it now, he still wasn't sure if he should accept what he was as well as his Power of Dominance, which allowed him to steal the souls of the monsters he killed and use their powers as his own.

Soma looked up at the sky again. The moon was nearly at its peak, its silvery light making the calm water of the lake look as though it were white fire. Tilting his head, the young man eyed the heavenly body, noting that it was nearly full. Tomorrow night, the moon would once again be a white sphere in the heavens.

"Soma!" a familiar voice called out.

He turned to see Mina walking over to him.

"Hey, Mina," he said.

Mina stopped next to the bench as she fixed one of the pink ribbons in her red hair. "You left without telling me again."

Soma lowered his eyelids, suddenly ashamed. "Sorry..." he muttered. "I just really needed to clear my head."

Mina sighed. "Are you still thinking about it?"

"Thinking about what?"

"Castlevania."

Soma cringed when she said that. "It's kind of hard not to..."

Mina sighed again as she sat down beside him. "I understand, but...this is the third time this week you've left without letting me know. I almost called Arikado to ask him to look for you."

Soma closed his eyes, then opened them again slowly and looked at her, his expression pained. "You wouldn't understand, Mina. Castlevania was like a living nightmare. You didn't see all the horrific things in that place, but I did. I mean, I literally went to Hell and back."

"Just promise me one thing, Soma."

"What's that?"

"Don't go running off like this again. Not without telling someone, all right? If you're upset, you can always talk to me, Arikado, Yoko, Julius, or Hammer. Remember that we care about you and we're always here for you just like we were in Castlevania."

Soma knew Mina was right and he managed to smile. "Okay. I promise." He looked up at the stars yet again. "You always know how to cheer me up, Mina."

He waited for her to respond to him.

And waited.

Finally, he looked back over at her when he heard her gasping as if she was having a hard time catching her breath. Her hand caught his arm and her nails dug in so deep that he nearly yelped in pain. He pried her fingers loose from his arm and held her hand.

"Mina? What's wrong? Are you having some kind of attack—"

Mina's chocolate brown eyes were wide and her mouth was opening and closing, but no sounds were coming out.

"Mina, what's going on? What are..."

But before Soma could finish his sentence, she cut him off.

"...There's something here..." she whispered.

As soon as she said that, Soma became aware of the eerie stillness that had fallen over the park. There was absolutely no doubt in his mind that something was here with them and he had to get rid of it before it could hurt him, Mina, or anyone else.

Soma got up from the bench and listened carefully.

He didn't hear anything. Not the people in the park, the sigh of the wind, the rustling of the trees, or the chirping of the crickets. Just dead air and his own breathing.

He started walking away from the bench, very slowly and cautiously. He looked around, eyes darting in every direction.

He halted suddenly.

Had he finally heard something?

With an effort, the young man stilled all movement, standing as motionless as the stones in the silent park. His muscles were trembling now, urging him to grab Mina and haul ass out of there while he still had time. He could understand her terror now. Whatever had caused her panic attack, it was making him feel the same way. He wanted to flee himself, but doggedly he held himself still, determined to get his first look at whatever was stalking them. Soma shut his eyes and listened harder, focusing his whole being into his ears...

Suddenly he heard footsteps approaching. His eyes flew open and he whipped around in the direction they were coming from.

The sound slowly got louder and louder.

Whatever or whoever it was, they were coming closer.

Soma called out into the darkness. "Who's there?"

There was no response. He tried again.

"I said who's there?"

Again he got no response.

Then, a cloaked figure that towered over him was illuminated by a street lamp as it emerged from the shadow of a tree. Under the hood of the black cloak, Soma could see the scarred face of an old man with a hooked nose and sallow skin.

"Who are you?" Soma asked.

"I am Arawn," the man answered. "And I have come for you, Soma Cruz. I suggest you flee while you can."

Soma wasn't at all surprised that the old man knew his name. The heroic deeds of the white-haired youth were well known, even in distant lands. In fact, shortly after the solar eclipse incident last year, invitations began coming from all over—to appear on daytime talk shows for interviews, to demonstrate his Power of Dominance, even to meet the president of the United States! However, Soma never really liked all the attention he got from his fame. For him, the best pleasures were to be found in honest work and spending time with his friends. Being out in the city with Mina like he was right now was something he liked to do much more than talking to news reporters and smiling for cameras.

"I'm not going anywhere!" Soma said firmly to Arawn, sounding as fierce as he could. "What do you want?"

Arawn simply chuckled, his lips curling over his rotten yellow teeth, and walked right up to him. He leaned his disfigured face in close to look Soma in the eyes.

"I'm here for your heart," the old man said. "You see...It is the vessel for Dracula's soul. Once I have removed it from your body, I will harvest the power of that soul and it will make me truly powerful. I will become the Dark Lord and this world will be under my sway."

"Y-you're insane," Soma said, struggling to get the words out, his eyes round with terror.

"Perhaps," Arawn whispered, smiling terribly. "But tell me, boy—who is the more insane? I gave you a chance to run. You didn't take it. Now I...will take you."

In one swift motion, the old man wrapped a strong, clammy hand around Soma's throat and then he picked the boy up off the ground. It happened so fast that it caught Soma completely off guard. The young man instinctively gripped Arawn's hand and tried to pry it loose from his neck as he flailed his legs about, gagging and gulping helplessly, trying to get oxygen into his lungs.

Arawn let out a sinister laugh. "Struggle all you want...Count Dracula. You can't escape."

Soma's eyes stretched open wide with fear. There were only a few people who knew he was Dracula reincarnated and nobody on God's green earth, not even his friends, would dare call him by that name.

Soma decided not to respond as panic gripped his heart. Despite his helpless state, he still fought to free himself. Unfortunately with every thrash of his legs, Arawn's grip tightened.

Soma's body grew weaker. His grip on Arawn's hand loosened and the white-haired boy's arms fell limpy at his sides. The muscles, deprived of oxygen, could no longer move. His eyes rolled back as his eyelids sank down over them.

Just as he was about to lose consciousness, he felt himself fall and hit the ground. He lay there for a few minutes, coughing and gasping for air.

Arawn must have released him!

Keeping his eyes closed, Soma took a few deep breaths, heavy wheezes that made his body feel painfully tight as he tried to recover from the attack. When he regained his composure, he opened his eyes and sat up. A shadow cast over him and he looked up to see none other than Genya Arikado looking down at him. The federal agent offered his hand to Soma, who grabbed onto it and was helped to his feet.

"Are you all right?" Arikado asked.

"Yeah..." Soma answered wearily, rubbing his aching neck.

"Soma!" Mina suddenly came running over and threw her arms around him.

Soma returned the embrace. "Thank God you're okay, Mina."

Arikado let out a polite cough. "If you'll excuse me for interrupting this tender moment, the both of you are in terrible danger. I need you two to go somewhere safe as soon as possible. Do you have a place where you can stay while I report this to my colleagues?"

"That's if there is a safe place," Soma said flatly as he and Mina separated. "That Arawn guy will probably just track us down no matter where we go."

Arikado thought about this for a moment. "How about this? I will stay at your condominium with you and Mina until I'm certain you two are no longer in danger," he said. "Arawn will come nowhere near you so long as I'm around."

Soma looked up at him in surprise. "You know him?"

"Yes. I will explain everything once we get there."

Soma smiled. "Thanks, Aluca...um, I mean, Arikado."

Arikado closed his eyes in mild annoyance, shaking his head at the boy's little slip-up. "Soma..." he said with a flustered sigh.

Soma's face flushed red like the leaves of the Japanese maples. He knew he shouldn't have done something like that, especially in a public place. He was one of the few people who knew Arikado was really Dracula's dhampir son Adrian Farenheits Tepes, better known as Alucard.

Without another word, Soma took Mina's hand and the trio left the park.