Dawsyn stared at the necklace resting in his palm.
The golden fang gleamed beneath the kitchen light, its ruby-red crystal pulsing faintly like a heartbeat. A strange warmth spread through his fingers the longer he held it.
Across from him, Daisy sat silently. Her eyes were red, but she refused to cry.
Mom… what do you mean my father left this for me?" Dawsyn asked.
Daisy inhaled slowly. "Because your father is dead."
The words struck him harder than he expected.
For fifteen years he had lived without a father, imagining a hundred different possibilities. Maybe the man had abandoned them. Maybe he had never known about him. Maybe he was already gone.
But hearing the truth spoken aloud made it real.
"Who was he?"
Daisy looked at the necklace. "A dangerous man."
"That doesn't answer my question."
"His name was Damien."
The moment she spoke the name, Dawsyn felt the fang grow hotter against his skin.
"He was powerful. Feared. Respected by some and hated by many. The kind of man who could walk into a room and make everyone fall silent."
Dawsyn frowned.
"Was he a criminal?"
Daisy hesitated.
That was answer enough.
"Why would you keep something like this from me?" he demanded.
"To keep you alive!"
Her voice cracked as she leaned forward.
"You think I wanted to lie to you? Your father had enemies everywhere. Men who would kill a child just to hurt him. The day I found out I was pregnant, Damien swore no one would ever know you existed."
Dawsyn's chest tightened.
"So I was hidden away?"
"Protected," Daisy corrected.
"Every birthday, every school event, every ordinary moment you had was because your father made sure his world never reached you."
Silence settled between them.
Then Dawsyn remembered the nightmare.
The fire.
The screaming.
The blood.
"He was murdered, wasn't he?"
Daisy closed her eyes.
"Yes."
The fang pulsed again.
A sharp pain shot through Dawsyn's thumb where it had pierced him earlier. He winced as a single drop of blood slid across the ruby crystal.
The kitchen lights flickered.
Daisy froze.
"Dawsyn... put it down."
Before he could respond, the ruby flashed.
A torrent of images exploded through his mind.
A man in a black suit standing atop a skyscraper.
Gunfire echoing through the night.
A city kneeling.
And Damien-tall, imposing, eyes cold as winter
wearing the same fang around his neck.
Dawsyn gasped.
The visions vanished.
"What was that?"
Daisy was pale. "It's reacting to your blood."
"You knew this would happen?"
"No... I prayed it wouldn't."
The fang suddenly vibrated.
Ping.
Blue text appeared in front of Dawsyn's eyes.
Bloodline Resonance Detected
Active
Synchronization
13.7% → 18.4%
Accessing inherited memories...
Dawsyn stumbled backward, knocking over his chair.
"Mom! Do you see this?"
"See what?"
His heart skipped.
"The blue screen!"
Daisy's confusion was genuine.
Only he could see it.
More text appeared.
New Quest!!!
Mandatory
Awaken the Heir
• Survive Bloodline Synchronization
• Reach 25% Compatibility
• Accept Damien's Legacy
Reward
Bloodline Skill Unlocked
Failure
Death
Dawsyn's mouth went dry.
"Failure means death?" he whispered.
"What are you talking about?" Daisy asked.
Another pulse surged from the necklace.
Agony ripped through his chest.
Dawsyn collapsed to his knees as black veins spread outward from the fang's tip beneath his shirt.
"Dawsyn!"
Daisy rushed toward him.
Before she could touch him, a crimson shockwave erupted from the necklace and forced her back.
The blue screen flickered wildly.
Warning
Critical
Foreign energy detected.
Sealed bloodline awakening.
Compatibility rising...
18.4%
22.1%
22.1%
24.9%
Dawsyn screamed as another flood of memories invaded his mind.
Damien standing over dozens of fallen men.
A throne carved from black stone.
A symbol of a crimson fang.
And a voice-deep, ancient, and terrifying.
"The heir has awakened."
The synchronization meter jumped again.
Synchronization 25.0%
Bloodline Skill Unlocked
Predator's Eyes (New skill)
The kitchen went dark.
For a single heartbeat, Dawsyn could see perfectly through the darkness.
He could see Daisy's fear.
He could see the faint heat radiating from the walls.
And he could see something else.
A figure standing outside the kitchen window.
A tall man dressed in black.
Watching him.
Then the man smiled.
Ping.
Emergency Alert
Host has been located.
Enemy bloodline detected.
Threat Level——Critical——S-Rank
Outside, the man raised a hand toward the glass.
Booom!!!!
And the entire window exploded inward.