The world was silent.
No wind.No movement.No sound—except for the rhythmic pounding of Kairos' heart.
He stood in the heart of the Trial of Origins, blood seeping from cuts on his arms, robes scorched and torn. But his eyes—his eyes burned with something ancient, something alive.
The ancestral altar pulsed beneath his feet, sending waves of raw mana through the chamber. The carvings on the stone walls surrounding him shimmered with the light of runes that hadn't been activated in centuries. The trial had demanded sacrifice—not just of strength, but of identity. And Kairos had given it willingly.
He had come seeking answers. Instead, he had found a mirror.
His own essence, laid bare.
And now, something was… unlocking.
"Your lineage was never ordinary," the spectral voice of Elder Rahn echoed in his mind. "You carry the blood of the First Ascended—the ones who touched the Sky Thread and walked among stars."
Kairos could barely process it.
Not just the revelation—but the sensation.
His veins burned, not with pain, but power. Every cell in his body screamed with sudden transformation. The very fibers of his being twisted, expanded, evolved.
Golden veins glowed under his skin like lightning bolts frozen beneath the surface.
His bones cracked—not from breaking, but from reshaping. His heart thundered, not from fear, but from the pressure of the force now surging through him. Symbols began to etch themselves onto his arms and chest—glowing sigils, written in a forgotten tongue, older than the oldest language known.
Kairos collapsed to one knee.
"Endure," the System whispered."Bloodline Awakening: Initiated."
A burst of information downloaded into his mind. Visions of ancient warriors—his ancestors—wielding primordial elements, commanding reality itself. These weren't ordinary cultivators. They were architects of realms. Ascended beings who transcended even the System.
And now…
That blood flowed in him.
His vision blurred, but he didn't close his eyes. He watched—through flickers of golden light—as the walls of the chamber shimmered, turning translucent. The past played out before him.
His mother.Not just a healer.But a Seer of the Outer Planes.
His father?A silent guardian of a forbidden realm beyond the Ascended Peaks.
"This was never about strength," Kairos muttered, voice ragged. "It was about inheritance."
Suddenly, a pulse of dark energy rippled from the far end of the chamber.
Kairos turned sharply. He wasn't alone anymore.
A figure emerged from the shadows—tall, regal, cloaked in black-and-gold armor that crackled with void energy. His face was shrouded, but his presence was unmistakable.
"You shouldn't have unlocked it," the man said. His voice was calm. Cold. Familiar.
Kairos staggered to his feet. "Who are you?"
"I am what you would become," the figure replied. "If you lose yourself to it."
He raised his hand. The air cracked. Black chains erupted from the floor, spiraling toward Kairos like serpents.
But Kairos didn't move.
Instead, his blood pulsed—and the chains stopped.
Shattered into mist.
The ancestral altar beneath him lit up once more.
"Bloodline Authority recognized," the System chimed."Initiating bloodline skill: Starbreaker Pulse."
Kairos raised his hand instinctively.
A spiral of light formed in his palm—tiny at first, like a spark. Then it grew. A miniature sun, made of energy denser than anything he'd ever felt, spun violently, compressing inward. When he thrust his hand forward, the pulse exploded from his palm, tearing through the air like a silent scream.
It didn't just hit the shadowy figure—it erased the space around him.
But when the light faded, the figure still stood.
Grinning.
"Good," he said. "You'll need that… when he comes."
Kairos blinked. "He?"
The figure stepped back into the shadows, dissolving into mist. "The one who ended the First Era. The one whose blood even your ancestors feared. He has returned."
And just like that, the Trial ended.
The runes faded.
The room went dark.
Kairos collapsed, gasping for air. The pain hit him all at once—a crushing tidal wave of exhaustion, fear, and power. He had passed. But he had also been marked.
His bloodline was now active.
And with it came responsibility.
He could feel it—like invisible threads tying him to the fabric of reality. He wasn't just a cultivator anymore. He was a node—a beacon. Others like him would sense his awakening. Some would come to ally.
But others…
They would come to kill.
As he lay on the cold floor of the chamber, the System spoke again.
"New Title Unlocked: Starborn Scion.""Unique Skill Gained: Ancestral Resonance.""New Path Unlocked: Bloodline Ascension – Tier 1 Initiated."
Kairos barely had the energy to smile.
"Bring it on," he whispered, eyes fluttering closed. "Whatever comes next… I'm ready."
Outside, in the realm of the living, the sky cracked.
Far across the continent, ancient cultivators felt the tremor in the flow of fate. The Grand Oracle dropped her chalice, trembling.
"A Starborn has awakened…" she whispered. "The game has changed."