Greetings! For those who guessed it was Walter Bernhard, congratulations! You are half right! I had a crazy idea for this chapter and I decided to write it down. I am sure you didn't predicted this. Let's see what you think of it. Also, if you would like to listen Dark Night Toccata - Walter's theme from Lament of Innocence Ost after Soma's first answer, is optional, but nice; it surely has given me a lot of inspiration to write this down. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 13 – Walter

The sky was black and filled with voluminous clouds that spread and covered the vast remote region. The air began to cross the landscape, cold and steadily stronger, in premonition of the intense storm that was approaching. The abandoned castle amid the inhospitable, ancient, ruined forest was a perfect setting for that malignant attempt.

The vampire entered the place without any hesitation or fear, he knew exactly what and who he would find there, since his opponent was already waiting impatiently. He was no longer wearing the illusion that had concealed his true appearance; he strode along the deserted corridors with broad, firm steps, his silver hair disheveled, gold eyes glimmering with a superhuman glow, fangs on his mouth, light beard and a face that showed an austere expression.

Dressed completely in black, Soma came forward haughtily and decidedly, feeling great concern mixed in anger in his heart. It had taken him a long time to understand the movement of his mortal enemy on the great board, and he had moved his piece wisely, now forcing him to reveal himself, and even dared to attempt against the lives of those close to him, taking them by force.

An intense rage grew within him, spreading through his body making his blood boil, but he hid that feeling inside himself, displaying a cold and impassive face.

The hallway ended and the vampire left the inner corridors to step on a vast outer courtyard located in one of the highest parts of the castle, and walking to the center of the place, he saw them at the same time he was also seen by them.

"I see you're finally here... Mathias." The other man greeted him with a cynical smile on his face. "And better... Completely awake."

Soma looked at him indifferently, just as he had done at Castlevania five years ago.

For a long time he, like his friends, had believed that he were dead for his body had disappeared in Castlevania with the passage of the Eclipse, but after the battle in the Throne Room, apparently, the other somehow managed to survive and escape the castle.

Graham Jones had hardly aged in appearance. He stood as the same middle-aged tall man with long silvery hair, aristocratic face, wearing an elegant white suit made of fine, noble fabric. What were different were his eyes; instead of the blue sky it had changed to a deep glowing red. His physiognomy had become darker and a strong magical aura surrounded him, carrying great wickedness and hatred.

But Soma knew well...

It was not just Graham seeking the power of darkness for himself as it had been a few years ago. Watching him now he saw far beyond, a matter that had begun many centuries ago and that now returned with great force, for the vampire before him, as himself, had also awakened completely.

"So... don't you recognize me, Mathias?" The other man slowly descended a stone staircase to the same level where the other stood, stopping about twenty feet away. "Don't tell me the centuries have made you forget me."

"No... Walter..." Soma answered coldly.

The cynical smile widened on the other's lips.

"Great... It seems our humble reunion is finally complete. Look!"

Graham showed him the opposite side of the courtyard, where on the upper floor, trapped by a great accumulation of black magic and completely exposed, were Julius, Mina, Yoko, Hammer and Alucard, watching them as they listened to the whole conversation with several mixed emotions in their faces.

Soma looked at them one by one for a moment; saw the great surprise present in the faces of Yoko and Hammer, great concern in the delicate features of Mina, Julius looked at both vampires with a rigid expression, but his eyes sketched fear and apprehension.

But perhaps what affected him most was the dhampir's black eyes, looking directly at him accusingly with great shock and perplexity as slowly understanding began to fill his countenance.

At last he realized... Soma thought guiltily. Not the way I wished it had happened...

"Release my friends and my son, Walter..." The golden-eyed vampire said coldly, now staring hard at his opponent. "I'm already here, it's no longer necessary to keep them prisoners."

"You know how I love games, Mathias. To release them now would only cause them to flee or try to attack me to defend you, there wouldn't be any amusement with accepting your request."

Graham began to walk through the courtyard around the other vampire as he talked naturally; Soma never took his eyes off him.

"On the contrary, I find it interesting that they know who I truly am and why we are all here, after all I have spared them of the details until now."

"Walter..." Julius stammered, drawing the attention of said vampire. "Walter Bernhard? The first vampire that was faced by the Belmont Clan..."

"Interesting to see that I was not completely forgotten in the history of your family, Belmont."

Graham smirked at him.

"We may say that for a long time I ruled the Eternal Night by using the Ebony Stone, one of the two sacred jewels of the vampires that gave me supreme powers... Leon Belmont was a well-orchestrated pastime that unfortunately ended up turning against me by his interference..."

The blood-eyed vampire pointed at Soma who stared at him impassively.

"For many centuries I looked for the second sacred jewel, the Crimson Stone, so that with both stones my power would be invincible, but I didn't succeed. On the very night that I faced Leon Belmont, I learned that Mathias had somehow managed to get the Crimson Stone, and thus he became a vampire, imprisoned me as one of the souls under his control and took upon himself the Throne of Night."

Graham stood still, far from his adversary, his voice growing louder as he spoke, his tone growing darker.

"Many centuries passed and I remained imprisoned in this despicable form... Until in the year of 1999 you..." The vampire glanced at his prisoners. "...defeated Dracula definitely, freeing the souls that were under the influence of his power, preventing him from resurrecting and sealing Castlevania inside the Eclipse."

Looking directly at Soma, the silver-haired man continued.

"I was released from your control that night... As Graham Jones I was born a few minutes after your defeat, and for a long time I truly believed that I was Dracula's reincarnation. I did everything I could to get into Castlevania, which happened that night of 2035. When I realized that you, who had been born a long time later, had the power to Rule, I couldn't accept it because I was sure, deep inside, that I had reigned once over those creatures, over that castle, over the Eternal Night! When we faced each other in the Throne Room and you had the confirmation that you were Dracula's true reincarnation, and just as the souls and the power of chaos began to flow back into your body, something awakened inside me at that moment, and I started to remember..."

Graham's voice filled with contempt.

"Everything came to me over time... I had ruled the darkness in the distant past, not as Dracula, but as Walter Bernhard, until you and your Belmont friend crossed my path!"

"It was your arrogance and malice allied with your ignorance that caused your own defeat not only that night, but also five years ago, Walter." Soma told him austerely.

"Mathias..." The red-eyed vampire said dangerously. "You don't know how long I've waited for this moment... These past years have passed and I had already recovered all my memories, and what wasn't my surprise in discovering that you, instead of throwing yourself in the arms of chaos like you had done a long time ago, preferred to cut off any connection with your past self to live this pathetic life you have now?!"

Graham shook his head with a wild look.

"No... To execute my revenge, I couldn't accept you remaining ignorant of your own past!"

Soma then stared at him, finally understanding what had happened.

"You..."

"Yes... I planned your kidnapping... I commanded my servants to expose your body to the energy of chaos in sufficient quantity for your soul to awaken, force your true memories to slowly begin to surface and your body to transform."

There was a grave silence among all, a strong flash of lightning swept across the sky in the clouds, and soon a lightning bolt flew upward, tearing the dark immensity abruptly and violently.

"Walter..." Soma said in a threatening voice and the other vampire smirked at him cynically.

"Let's play a little, Mathias, you and I... I'm sure you remember my favorite game?" Graham mentioned to him with eyes that glowed with malice. "Every time I challenge a warrior to face me, I take someone who is precious to him... Now I have in my power the lives of all those you consider most important...Your friends… And your son…"

Graham pointed them out.

"Look at them."

And Soma did.

"The magic that is upon them at this very moment is called The Spectrum. Now it not only imprisons them but also has the same effect as an ancient lethal poison that usually acts fast on the victims. If you don't stop the flow of magic that is now being absorbed by their bodies, in thirty-five minutes the five of them will die."

The golden-eyed vampire stared at his friends and son in astonishment, only at that moment he observed the black mass of energy closely and saw that what the other had said was true. The group under the influence of magic, now fully aware of what was happening with them, visibly paled.

"What do you want...?" Soma asked slowly.

A new lightning struck the heavens with an immense crash.

"I want to amuse myself, Mathias... I would ask you to go to that nearby village around here and destroy every one of its inhabitants as you used to do in the past in exchange for the lives of your friends, but I believe you would decline."

The golden-eyed vampire narrowed his eyes at Graham in an icy glare.

"I will never again lay my hands on mankind; it is an oath I made to myself upon awakening completely." Soma took a few steps forward and said dryly. "I do not have time to waste on your mediocre games, Walter. I'll make you a counter-offer."

Graham looked at him with mild interest.

"I'm listening."

"Death..." Soma called out loud and clear, and the creature suddenly appeared at his side attracting everyone's gaze as Graham stared at it with enormous contempt; its treason still fresh in his memory.

Death knelt before his master and greeted him.

"Lord Mathias..."

The vampire looked at his servant, and without saying anything else he held out his hand, and Death, knowing exactly what the man wanted, handed him a small wooden chest and a silver sword.

"Stay with them, slow as much as you can the poison effects." Soma ordered and after nodding his skeletal head, the creature disappeared, resurfacing alongside the five prisoners to obey his master's command. He placed a continuous spell over the group that slowly began to reduce the pressure caused by Graham's power, causing them a little temporary relief.

In the center of the outer courtyard Soma opened the chest, and removed from inside a beautiful jewel of blood that glowed strongly before the eyes of all; Graham took an involuntary step forward, his full attention was on the object the other vampire held.

"The Crimson Stone..." He muttered mesmerizingly.

"I know you have with you now the Ebony Stone, because I feel its energy here in this place." Soma said, tossing the chest away, hanging the jewel in a chain, fastening it around his own neck. "Both united give to its bearer the absolute right to rule the Eternal Night... You have my family in your hands and I have the power that you long for. Kill me and you will have the Crimson Stone and the throne of darkness, but if I win, I will destroy your soul so that you will never dare to lay a hand again against those under my protection."

"Touching..." Graham mocked, but his eyes never diverted from the sacred jewel in the possession of the other man.

The red-eyed vampire withdrew the Ebony Stone from his white suit and imitating the other's gesture he put it in a chain and hanged it around his own neck, and looking directly at Soma, answered him.

"Very well, I accept your counter-offer... But my rules still prevail..."

Graham summoned with his power a silver sword that glittered in the face of a new lightening that crossed through the black clouds.

"If you stop fighting at any moment, they die... If you run away, they die... If you die, they will die too..." The vampire smirked then, red eyes glowing with malice. "And of course… you only have half an hour to defeat me, or else they will die from poisoning... Have I made myself clear, Mathias?"

"Yes..." The silver-haired man answered coldly. "But they will remain alive and you will die."

At that moment when the two opponents completely focused their attention on each other, the storm had reached that region and the rain began to fall voluminously and forcefully, completely wetting their garments and bodies, but none of them moved or gave it any importance.

The seconds passed slowly and tense to those standing on the upper floor, watching the vampires who were about to begin the battle that would decide to who belonged the throne of the Eternal Night.