"To awaken the blood, you must touch death with your own hands."
---
The wind in Sector 3 always carried the scent of dust and bone.
Unlike the gleaming towers of Vanguard's central districts, this sector had been long abandoned—part of the city swallowed by age and neglect. Towering walls of rusted alloy and cracked stone surrounded a long-forgotten chapel, half-collapsed and crumbling into the earth like a dying god's temple.
And beneath that chapel… the Catacombs.
Kael stood at the arched entrance, the system's message burned into his mind:
> [Path Quest: Hidden Coffin – Tier I Unlock]
Objective: Enter the ancient Catacombs.
Defeat the Guardian of the First Seal.
Reward: Bloodline Skill Tree Expansion.
Danger: Critical.
Warning: Death is permanent. Revival options disabled.
He exhaled slowly, bracing his hands against the stone wall. Even with the system keeping his hunger low, something inside him stirred like an old wound.
A whisper.
A memory that wasn't his.
Screams in a language he didn't understand.
A name spoken by hundreds of dying throats—
> "Arkhim Vanthe. Crimson King."
Kael shook the voice off and stepped into the dark.
---
The Descent
The steps spiraled downward, carved from obsidian stone veined with blood-colored crystal. Dim red glyphs lit along the walls as Kael passed, responding to his bloodline aura. The deeper he went, the colder it became. Not just temperature—emptiness. The kind that made your soul shiver.
Each step echoed like a war drum.
> This place remembers me… but I've never been here.
After what felt like a hundred steps, Kael arrived at a massive stone door engraved with two symbols:
A coffin wreathed in chains.
And a crimson crown split in half.
The system pulsed.
> [Bloodline Key Required – Sufficient Resonance Detected]
Commencing unlock...
Kael's hand reached out almost involuntarily and pressed against the seal.
The glyphs flared. The chains snapped.
And the door opened.
---
The Guardian's Chamber
The room was circular, vast, and lined with statues—warriors with faces covered, each holding shattered blades. In the center rested a black sarcophagus surrounded by glowing blood runes.
But Kael didn't step forward.
Not yet.
Something moved.
A flicker.
A twitch.
And then, a blur of motion.
Kael leapt back as a massive figure dropped from the ceiling, landing with the weight of a falling tower. Cloaked in shadow, face wrapped in rotting bandages, the thing stood at least eight feet tall. Its arms were too long, each finger ending in blades.
The system screamed.
> [Boss Encounter: Guardian of the First Seal – "Gravemind Wraith"]
Tier: Undead Variant – Elite
Weakness: Light / Piercing Essence
Strengths: Shadowmeld / Undying Flesh / Fear Aura
Status: Hostile
Objective: Defeat or Perish.
The thing screeched—an inhuman wail that cracked stone and made Kael's ears ring.
Then it charged.
---
The Fight
Kael barely dodged the first swing—a clawed hand that carved a trench into the floor. He rolled to the left, flipping backward as the Guardian followed with a spinning strike.
> [Blood Pulse – Activated]
[Combat Intuition – Lv. 1 Triggered]
Kael moved like smoke. Fast, sharp, silent.
But the Guardian didn't rely on brute force alone—it began using Shadowmeld, vanishing and reappearing behind him in flashes of cursed energy.
Kael took a glancing hit to the ribs, blood spraying the wall.
He coughed. Dropped to one knee.
> [HP: 47%]
Shadow toxins detected. Begin internal cleansing?
"Do it," Kael hissed.
> [Blood Purge – Lv. 1] – 30 BP Consumed
His veins lit up briefly in red light as the system burned out the infection.
The Guardian screeched again and charged once more.
Kael grinned, blood on his teeth.
> You're not the only monster here.
---
Kael Unleashes
Kael darted forward, this time not to dodge—but to strike.
He aimed low, sliding under the Guardian's outstretched claws, and slammed his palm into its core.
> [Blood Siphon – Critical Strike!]
Essence stolen: 14%
The Guardian recoiled, flickering.
Kael leapt onto its back, jammed his fingers into one of the rune scars carved across its spine—
And triggered his new skill:
> [Blood Chain – Lv. 1]
Generate a tether from your blood to anchor enemy movement.
Chains burst from Kael's forearm—formed of pulsing crimson light—and wrapped around the Guardian's neck and chest.
He yanked.
The Guardian fell forward, stunned.
Kael landed on its chest, drew back his fist—
> [Crimson Pulse – Overcharge Mode: ON]
And drove it straight into the Guardian's face.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Until the stone beneath them cracked.
Until the bandages fell away.
Until the thing stopped moving.
---
> [BOSS DEFEATED: GRAVEMIND WRAITH]
+400 BP
+Bloodline Progress: +10%
+New Skill Tree Branch Unlocked: [Crimson Phantom]
Passive Skill Unlocked: [Predator's Focus – Lv. 1]
You gain heightened awareness in deadly encounters. Fear resistance increased by 50%.
---
Kael stumbled off the Guardian's corpse and fell to his knees.
His arms ached. His vision blurred.
But in front of him, the sarcophagus now pulsed with light.
Slowly, it slid open with a low hiss.
Inside was no body.
Only a mirror.
And in the reflection—Kael saw himself.
Except… not quite.
The figure in the mirror was older, dressed in regal black armor laced with silver veins. His eyes burned red with timeless fury. Behind him stood a throne made of bone.
Then it spoke—his voice, yet not.
> "You've opened the first door, Heir of Ruin. The blood remembers you."
> "But you are not yet ready to sit upon the throne."
> "Feed. Grow. Bleed. And return when the hunger no longer terrifies you."
The mirror shattered.
And the coffin exploded into crimson mist that flowed into Kael's chest.
He screamed—blood surging through every vein like fire.
---
[Cursed Bloodline – Tier I Complete]
> You are now officially on the Crimson Path.
Title Unlocked: "Bloodborn Initiate"
Core Unlocked: "Phantom Vein Heart"
– Your physical heart has transformed into a hybrid vampire organ.
– HP regen increased by 15%. Shadow abilities now cost less BP.
– Future transformations possible.
---
Kael gasped as the surge ended.
Then, silence.
He stood alone in the chamber.
Alive.
But… no longer human.
He wasn't sure if he ever truly had been.
---
Back at Vanguard – Observation Chamber
Lyra stared at the essence scan from Sector 3.
Red fluctuations. Unstable readings. One signature.
"Kael," she whispered.
Beside her, Captain Mira folded her arms.
"That was a Tier I seal," Mira said. "And he broke it alone. We were right."
Lyra's voice was sharp. "Then why don't we arrest him?"
"Because monsters like him… don't die cleanly."
She turned to Lyra, eyes cold.
"We need to push him. Expose him. If we move too soon, he disappears."
"So what?" Lyra asked.
Mira smiled faintly.
"We let him grow. And then… when he's close to the edge…"
> "We cut the leash."
---
That Night – Kael's Thoughts
Kael returned to the shelter late. His hands still trembled. His skin still pulsed with the energy from the coffin.
He didn't feel powerful.
He felt… hunted. Watched. Changed.
He sat beside Lina's bed again.
Her breathing was steady now. The core had worked.
She looked peaceful.
And yet, all Kael could think about was the man in the mirror.
Was that his future?
Was that what the system wanted?
He closed his eyes.
> "I'm not your king," he whispered.
"I'll never sit on that throne."
But the system only responded with silence.
And somewhere high above, the blood moon brightened.
---
End of Chapter 7