A crimson comet tore across the heavens a burning slash of red against the black velvet night. It streaked with such fury it seemed the gods themselves had ripped open the fabric of the sky, spilling their wrath across the continent of Serith.
In towns and cities far and wide, people looked up and froze.
Mothers clutched their children tighter.
Soldiers halted mid-step.
Old priests fell to their knees, whispering frantic prayers to gods who might no longer care.
Monarchs behind iron gates stared from their high towers, their knuckles whitening on scepters and swords.
In the shadowed halls of the Sovereign Council, ancient doors creaked open.
Advisors leaned close, their voices brittle.
"A bad omen," one whispered.
"The comet of the Bloodcrown… Nothing good comes with it."
Then the world ended in white light.
And Erevan fell.
His body landed hard like crashing through glass.
No breath.
No sound.
No pain until all of it came at once.
His eyes flew open with a ragged gasp. Twilight sky greeted him. But it wasn't his sky.
What is this place?
Constellations twisted above in unnatural shapes, stars flickering like dying embers. The air smelled wrong dry, hot, and thick with dust.
The ground beneath him cracked like sunbaked parchment. He tried to move and winced, agony sparking in his spine.
He coughed.
Something wet hit his tongue.
Blood.
His blood.
He blinked. His vision swam.
Where am I?
Then
A voice. Inside his head. Icy and absolute.
[System Activation…]
[Soul Signature Identified: Erevan Valen]
[Welcome, Host.]
[You have been chosen by the Bloodcrown Codex.]
[Warning: System classified as Forbidden.]
[Proceed with caution.]
"Wh-what?!" Erevan clutched his head, panic rising like bile. "Who's there? What system?! I....I don't"
A flash of heat surged through his chest, sharp and brutal.
He screamed.
[Vital Signs Critical. Initiating Emergency Regeneration.]
[Blood Essence Level: 5%]
[Host revival in progress…]
His body jerked. Blood boiled beneath his skin, glowing faintly crimson in his veins. His fingers clawed at the dirt.
"This isn't real. This can't be real!"
His hands trembled. His heart thundered. He could feel it something ancient was inside him now, awake and hungry.
He rolled over and vomited.
"I...I was home… the comet… I" He stared at his hands. "Did I die?"
A sob choked out of him, quickly smothered. The desert wind answered with silence.
Then came the growl.
A deep, earth rattling hiss behind him.
He whipped around.
From beneath the sand, something moved. A ripple. Then a shadow. Then
The beast burst forth.
A Sand Fiend long and serpent-like, its translucent scales glinting with red shimmer. Its eyes were nothing but black holes of hunger.
Erevan scrambled backward, palms scraping the sand.
"No no, no, no, no!"
His hand hit something cold, sharp. A broken sword, buried half in the dirt. He grabbed it without thinking.
The fiend lunged.
He rolled, barely avoiding the snapping jaws. The sand exploded where he'd been.
He swung the blade. Missed. Again. Missed again.
The beast struck his arm with a rake of its claw searing pain lanced down to the bone.
"AHH!" he screamed.
Adrenaline surged then the warmth. The blood inside him responded.
A presence whispered in his mind.
[Emergency Combat Protocol Enabled.]
[Unbound Ability: Bloodweave - Initiating Test.]
He didn't understand, but instinct roared louder than reason.
He raised his palm.
From his skin, crimson threads of blood lashed out, snaring the creature's neck mid-lunge. The Sand Fiend shrieked, twisting, struggling.
Erevan staggered to his feet, clutching the blade in both hands. He pulled.
With one final roar, he plunged the broken sword into the creature's skull.
Hot blood sprayed over his face.
It twitched… then stilled.
Sand settled. Silence returned.
Erevan collapsed to his knees, panting like a beast.
[Experience Gained: +20]
[Current Level: 1 | XP: 20/100]
[Stat Points: 2]
[New Skill Acquired: Bloodsense (Lv. 1)]
[Objective Updated: Hunt 4 more Sand Fiends.]
He stared, dazed.
"What is this? Some kind of… game? Am I dead? Dreaming?"
He wiped blood from his brow. His hands trembled, not from weakness, but from something deeper shock.
"…This isn't my world," he whispered. "I don't know the rules. I don't even know me anymore."
But the pain was real. The blood was real.
He breathed. Slowly. One breath at a time.
Then night fell like a curtain.
He managed to build a fire shaky hands, dry wood, a stolen spark. It flickered against the vast emptiness beyond.
The Codex floated before him now, glowing faintly like a ghostly parchment.
[Level 1]
[XP: 20 / 100]
[Stat Points: 2]
[Skills: Bloodsense (Lv. 1)]
A new notification pulsed softly.
[New Skill Available: Veinbind.]
[Requirement: Allocate 1 Skill Point.]
His finger hovered.
Then
Pain.
A sudden stab in his side. He looked. Blood again. The earlier wound still leaking.
He sucked in a breath and clenched his jaw.
"This is not a dream."
A bitter laugh escaped him.
"I'm alive," he said, half-crazed. "I'm actually alive."
The wind howled. Something called from the dunes—low and distant.
Then a crunch of footsteps.
He shot up, grabbing the broken sword.
From the dark came a figure, wrapped in desert leathers and rags, eyes glinting with amusement.
"You look like you've been reborn through hell," the stranger said, stopping just beyond the fire's edge. "New here, friend?"
Erevan raised his blade. "Who are you?"
The man raised both hands.
"Easy. Name's Kael. Just a traveler. You look… lost."
Erevan's lips parted, his voice rough. "I don't even know what this place is."
Kael stepped closer and offered a water skin.
"Then welcome to your first night in Serith. Trust me you'll never forget it."
Erevan took the skin. The water burned down his throat like fire.
"Erevan," he said. "I think... I'm not supposed to be here."
Kael smiled faintly.
"No one ever is."
They stared into the fire.
Above them, the stars spun in eerie silence.
Below, the desert whispered secrets in the dark.
And Erevan knew…
This was only the beginning.