The stone doors groaned as they opened, ancient and unyielding.
A gust of cold air surged outward, thick with the scent of damp earth and something older—dust, perhaps, but layered with something more primal. Kieran Vale felt the air against his face and, instinctively, tightened his fingers around the hilt of his freshly formed blood dagger.
The weapon pulsed faintly in his hand, echoing the beat of his heart.
[Codex Sync: Active][Location: Unmarked Domain – Gate of Awakening]
[Warning: First-stage trial pending. Death is permanent.]
That last line felt needlessly cruel.
Riven stood just behind him, her breath visible in the sudden cold. "What is this place?"
Selene, ever enigmatic, stood to the side with her arms folded behind her back. Her crimson armor shimmered faintly under the light of the dual moons above.
"A remnant of a world before yours," she said quietly. "Before civilization remembered language. Before death was a concept. The Codex does not merely reward strength—it tests purpose."
Kieran's gaze didn't waver from the open threshold. "Is this where people die trying to become something more?"
"No," Selene answered, her voice soft. "This is where people die because they aren't something more."
The interior was dim.
Torches, seemingly unlit for centuries, now ignited as they stepped through the gate, as if recognizing them. Red fire clung to the walls, casting shadows that swayed like they were alive. The chamber stretched into darkness, with no sound beyond their footfalls.
Each torch they passed ignited in turn, always just ahead. Never too far. Never behind.
Kieran's every instinct screamed that this was no simple dungeon.
"This place feels wrong," Riven muttered.
Kieran nodded. "Yeah. It's watching us."
She looked at him sharply. "You feel that too?"
He didn't respond—not with words. But the sensation hadn't left him since stepping inside: as if they were intruding on something sacred, something that resented their presence. Something that remembered being worshiped.
[Blood Codex Interface – Trial Initiation Imminent]
[Soul signature: Kieran Vale – Confirmed][Awakening Tier: Initial][Adaptive Skill Growth – Compatible]
[Warning: Support entities will be separated.]
"What the—"
Before he could finish, a wave of force surged up from beneath the stone floor. It wasn't visible, but it struck like wind turned solid. Riven cried out as her body lifted from the ground—tossed backward through a swirling barrier of crimson light.
"Riven!" Kieran lunged, but it was too late.
[Companion Riven Amari has been removed from the trial zone.]
She was gone.
He turned, fists clenched, eyes scanning the shadows. "Bring her back!"
Selene's voice was calm but final. "You are the one being tested. Not her."
"I didn't ask for this," Kieran said through gritted teeth.
"No one asks to survive," Selene replied, voice distant now. "They simply choose to… or they don't."
Then she, too, was gone. Faded into the mist.
The torches flared once more, and the chamber changed.
The ground beneath Kieran's feet trembled. The stone floor cracked, revealing a massive circular sigil—engraved with glowing red lines that pulsed with an eerie rhythm.
A chime rang out.
[Trial of the Gate – Commencing]
[Objective: Overcome your reflection.][Note: The Codex reveals not what you are… but what you could become.]
And then the sigil glowed blindingly bright.
Kieran staggered back, covering his eyes—when the light faded, he saw it.
Himself.
Standing across the chamber.
But it wasn't a mirror.
This version of Kieran was taller, leaner, eyes sharper and darker. His blood weapon wasn't a dagger—it was a long, jagged glaive, and it pulsed with power far greater than anything Kieran had managed to manifest so far.
The other Kieran smiled. Not friendly. Not mocking. But with a knowing look.
"…So this is the part where I fight my future?" Kieran muttered, muscles tensing.
[Trial Entity: Bloodshade Echo – Created]
[Attributes Mirrored with +15% Enhancement][Skills: Bloodweave (Lv. 3), Blood Echo (Lv. 2), Crimson Leap (Lv. 1)]
[Note: Victory will yield Codex Evolution.]
"Great," Kieran muttered. "He's better than me in every way."
The Bloodshade Echo didn't wait.
It lunged, and in a heartbeat, the chamber became a dance of death.
Kieran barely parried the first blow. His own dagger clanged against the glaive, deflecting it just enough to keep his head attached. The strength behind the attack rattled his bones.
[-12 HP]
The Echo followed up with a sweeping arc, spinning mid-air—agile, relentless. Kieran dodged backward, rolled, and countered with a spear of blood he forged mid-motion.
But the Echo mirrored him—not just in power, but in instinct. It knew where he would aim. It knew how he moved. Every motion was a reflection honed to kill the original.
Kieran was sweating already, heart hammering in his chest.
And then, the Echo vanished.
A blur of movement—Crimson Leap.
The next strike came from above.
He barely had time to raise a shield of blood—fragile, incomplete.
The glaive tore through it like paper and slashed across his shoulder.
[-19 HP][Bleed inflicted.]
Blood poured from the wound, but instead of panic, something in Kieran snapped.
[Codex Response: Adaptive Potential Detected.]
[Passive Skill Gained: Sanguine Surge (Lv. 1)]– Upon taking critical damage, gain +2 Magic for 30 seconds.– Cooldown: 5 minutes.
Energy surged into him.
The pain dulled. His blood felt thicker, heavier, ready.
He stood straighter. Raised both hands.
"Let's try this again."
Two tendrils of blood surged upward—like whips, but coiled in jagged spirals. He swung one low, the other high, forcing the Echo to block both directions.
This time, the Echo misjudged.
One of the whips caught its thigh—blood splattered across the stone.
[Direct Hit.][+8 XP]
Kieran exhaled sharply. "You can bleed."
The Echo's face twisted—not in pain. In amusement.
And then it spoke for the first time.
"Bleed… or become the one who makes others bleed."
Kieran stilled.
It wasn't him talking. Not really.
That voice… came from within.
[Codex Note: You are not fighting a clone. You are fighting your potential.]
The Echo lunged again—but this time, Kieran was ready.
They clashed in a frenzy—blood flashing like steel, every strike ringing through the chamber. Kieran twisted his blood into new shapes mid-battle: shields, spikes, coils. Each time, he gave up pieces of himself. His HP dwindled—but his rhythm sharpened.
Then, finally—an opening.
The Echo raised its glaive too high. Kieran spun low, summoned a twin dagger, and drove it into the Echo's side.
The shade gasped—not in pain, but in realization.
[Critical Strike.][Enemy Integrity: 6% Remaining.]
Kieran didn't let it recover.
He forged one final blade—razor-thin and needle-pointed—and hurled it forward with all his remaining strength.
It pierced the Echo's heart.
The entity convulsed—then dissolved into mist.
[Trial Completed.][Codex Evolution Imminent.]
[Level Up: 6 → 7][Skill Upgrade: Bloodweave (Lv. 2 → Lv. 3)][New Skill Unlocked: Blood Bind (Lv. 1)]
[Codex Path Fragment Earned: 1/7 – Path of the Crimson Ascendant]
[Codex Title Earned: Echobreaker]
Kieran collapsed to his knees, panting, covered in sweat and blood.
The chamber slowly began to fade. The torches died. The floor cracked again.
He heard Selene's voice—near and far.
"You bled. You endured. And now… you begin."
Darkness claimed him.