The courtyard hadn't emptied yet.
News spread fast.
Not of the duel's result, but the silence it left behind.
Nclai didn't return to the dorms. He stood at the fringe of the practice field, coat still buttoned, gaze unfocused. His fingers twitched once, then stilled.
Somewhere, the Protocol stirred.
Not yet unlocked.
Not yet awake.
......
Instructor Sor Enmarch didn't call another match. Instead, a new set of names replaced the dueling roster. Behind him, whispers buzzed among assistants.
"Should we test him again?"
"No time."
"The Inquisitors are already watching."
"Then we keep him busy. See what else cracks."
......
By dusk, another announcement rang through the inner halls.
"Mandatory Group Combat Session, Tierless Pool, Outer Quarry Grounds."
Lyra approached Nclai at the basin stair. "They're moving fast. Too fast."
He didn't reply.
She sighed. "I know that look. You're not tired, are you?"
"No."
"Then let's see how far they're willing to push."
......
The Quarry Grounds were older than most remembered.
Craters filled with dust. Carved lines of failed formations. A collapsed summoning circle near the cliff wall, scorched black from an experiment lost to time.
Half-bloods circled the ring, each watching the others. No teams. No rules.
One instructor stood at the rim.
"Same drill," he said flatly. "Don't die. And impress someone."
No list. No introductions.
Just tension.
Nclai stepped into the uneven ring of sigil-marked gravel.
His coat remained buttoned.
......
One of the others made the first move.
A brute named Tarn, taller than most, with brute-force talent and a hunger for blood.
He charged at a younger initiate.
The second moved too late.
A blur of motion. A cry. Then red in the dirt.
The instructor didn't stop the fight.
Just nodded. "Next."
......
Two more clashed. Fire against ice. Flash against roar.
Then a new voice called out.
"You."
Nclai looked up.
The girl's name echoed once. Revyn Draas. A mid-rank initiate, known for speed and blood distortion arts. Her eyes burned faint red, and a tattoo of coiling veins marked her throat to collar.
"Fight me," she said. "Let's see if the ghost bleeds."
Nclai stepped forward, coat still fastened, eyes calm.
......
[Crimson Sovereign Protocol: Stable]
[Sync Ratio: 4.8%]
[Passive Trait: Blood Sensitivity – Lv.1]
Mastery: 4.4%
Effect Radius: 5.0m
......
Revyn didn't wait.
She blurred forward, daggers drawn. One curved inward, the other straight. One for cutting muscle, one for slicing flow.
Nclai ducked the first strike.
The second grazed the edge of his collar. Not deep, but enough to draw first blood.
A cheer rose from the ring.
Revyn smirked.
"You're slower than rumor."
Nclai didn't respond.
......
The second wave came faster.
She twisted midair, dragging her blade in a wide crescent. One blade flashed upward. The other came straight down for the clavicle.
He moved with her. Sidestepped under the rising arc, then dropped low.
Blood pulsed unnaturally from her blade. She was leaking enchantment into her strikes. Fast. Aggressive.
Too aggressive.
He caught the rhythm.
One breath. One step...
Then he lunged forward. Not with fists, but his shoulder. Collided into her just as her foot lifted.
She staggered, nearly lost footing.
But she recovered fast, spinning backward and dragging blood across the dirt. Her daggers drank the blood and hissed.
She laughed. "Finally showing some fight?"
......
He could feel it now.
Her blood wasn't natural.
No, not exactly.
It was modified. Filtered. Compressed.
Too much pressure for someone her age.
He narrowed his eyes.
"Who injected you?"
She blinked.
"What?"
He stepped in again. Fast this time.
Caught her off-guard.
His hand struck the inside of her elbow. A joint lock, subtle.
He twisted.
Her dagger dropped.
He didn't stop.
Spun behind her and pressed two fingers to the middle of her spine.
Revyn froze.
"How–?" she whispered.
......
[Blood Sense: Sanguine Reflex Triggered]
Fluctuation Detected: Artificial Hemocraft Layer
Warning: Instability Risk. Pressure Spike in Subject
......
He could feel her panic rise. Her heartbeat tripled.
She exploded outward with a shout. Blood erupting in a blast from her pores, forcing distance.
He took the blow full force, skidding across the dust. His coat smoked at the seams.
Around them, the field had gone dead silent.
Even Lyra stood frozen.
Revyn panted, eyes wide, fingers trembling.
Nclai stood again.
His coat's shoulder tore. Blood on his neck. But his gaze didn't change.
......
Then something clicked.
......
[Crimson Sovereign Protocol: ACTIVE]
[Threshold Reached: Sync Ratio 5.0%]
[System Panel Access: UNLOCKED]
[New Function Unlocked – Bloodline Codex]
......
Inside, it felt like a door had been waiting for years just to creak.
His blood stilled.
Everything slowed.
His eyes opened, but this time they didn't just see.
They recognized.
He stepped once.
Twice.
Revyn slashed wildly, but the blood trails missed.
Nclai didn't dodge.
He bent around them. Tilted. Slipped.
Each motion clean. Measured.
His hand pressed to her chest.
Flat. Open.
A single push.
But blood obeyed.
Her legs failed.
She collapsed. Not from pain, but from something deeper.
Her blood no longer listened.
......
She gasped, clinging to her wrist. "What… did you do…?"
Nclai stood over her.
His voice, low.
"I didn't do anything."
"I just remembered."
......
Above, the instructor didn't speak.
But another robed figure at the far edge stepped back into the shadows.
......
Nclai turned. Walked away.
And behind his gaze, like ash burning into ember, his system awakened.
A panel began to form.
And with it, a Codex stirred.