Celia Fortner was a shadow priestess that exercised great magical power. Most famously, she was the founder of a mysterious cult (whose formal name was "With Light") that would stop at nothing to orchestrate the second coming of the feared Dark Lord. Because of the absence of Count Dracula, whose spirit had been sealed away for good thanks to the heroic efforts of Julius Belmont, Celia sensed that the magical world was slowly weakening. In turn, she felt that her own powers, too, would in time dissipate.

Celia knew that Soma Cruz had inherited all of Dracula's powers, and she plotted to accost the young hero and through a series of encounters plunge his mind into darkness, in an attempt to extract and seize the powers of the Evil Lord. Though, as one would suspect, her intention wasn't to attain world domination--what she sought was the balance of nature and more so the very retention of her magical ability. Soma was the key to this desired result.

But for Celia, Soma Cruz wasn't a satisfactory host, for his heart was "good," and for God to be perfect, evil, too, must be absolute. With this precept in mind, Celia courted into her cult potential Dark Lord candidates in Dario Bossi and Dmitrii Binov, two powerful men who were both born on the same day Dracula was sealed away in 1999. The two contrasting allies were more than happy to assist in Celia's game-playing.

Celia's plan went into effect in 2036, one year after Soma Cruz' noted exploits. On the streets of Soma's home town in Europe, where he was quietly conversing with trusted friend Mina Hakuba, Celia appeared in a violent blaze and unleashed on the pair some minor demons, which Soma was able to defeat thanks to his suddenly rediscovered absorbing ability and the intervention of Genya Arikado. Satisfied with the reintroduction of Soma's "power of dominance," Celia quickly departed knowing that it was only a matter of time before the boy would make the foolish decision to trace her whereabouts.

When Soma did arrive at their castle, which was well-hidden within the snowy mountain regions, the trio of Celia, Dario and Dmitrii greeted him in the Wizardry Lab, where they revealed at least part of their plot--that he was to be eliminated. Beforehand, they would play upon his fears, that he was a threat to others, and over time test the limits of his patience, hoping for the boy's anger to boil over.

They surely underestimated his resolve, and it was Celia who watched as her two candidates were eventually removed from the equation. But the threat wasn't over--there were other ways to awaken the Dark Lord, Celia knew. Another plan was put into effect: Celia led Soma to the castle's garden area, where she executed the abducted "Mina" (in actuality a doppelganger). Thinking his friend to be dead, Soma was pushed over the edge and almost succumbed. Through only the potency of a special talisman, which was entrusted to him by the real Mina, Soma was upon learning the truth able to fight off the chaotic forces--but not before learning of the presence of the thought-banished Dmitrii, who had occupied his soul after copying his "power of dominance." It was Dmitrii, then, who was ready to become the Dark Lord! Though this event was unexpected, Celia was happy with the result.

Celia's last mistake was trusting the power-hungry Dmitrii--she soon found herself as his human sacrifice meant to counter and reverse the flow of Genya Arikado's dark power, which was a considerable obstacle in his ultimate goal to become the new Dark Lord. Her efforts were for naught.