Rowan Hart, known to his few friends as just Rowan never imagined his life would end on a rain-slicked street in a nowhere town.
At twenty-four, he was a nobody, scraping by as a delivery driver in a world that didn't care about the society or how the world viewed him. His beat-up motorcycle roared through the storm, the glow of his phone's GPS his only guide.
The order was late, the customer was a jerk, and the tip wouldn't cover his gas. Typical night shift, Until it wasn't.
Headlights flashed too late—a truck barreling through a red light. Rowan swerved, tires skidding, but the world spun into chaos.
Metal crunched, the pain seared through his chest, and the screams were the only thing he could hear and that too were going faint. His last thought was bitter: All this for a damn pizza? Man i don't wanna die a virgin. Then, darkness.
He expected nothingness. Instead, a cold voice echoed in the void, sharp and mechanical, like a blade cutting through his soul. "Candidate selected. Bloodline compatibility: 87%. Initiating transmigration."
Rowan's eyes snapped open, his chest heaving, "How am I alive?, I should've died. W-Where the fuck am I?" He looked around searching for some resemblance to his old city, but he found none.
He wasn't on the street anymore. He lay on a stone floor, the air thick with the scent of moss and iron. Above, a crimson sky churned, twin moons casting a bloody glow through a jagged hole in a cavern's ceiling.
His body felt… different. Stronger. His hands, once calloused from gripping handlebars, were smooth, corded with lean muscle. He looked at his reflection in the broken mirror, Dark hair fell into his eyes—silver now, not the muddy brown he'd known. He touched his face, feeling a sharper jawline, a stranger's features.
"WHAT? WHO? HOW? WHERE? WAIT.... DID I TRANSMIGRATE?" He shouted his voice filled with bewilderment and.... joy?
"Welcome, Rowan Heartz," the voice intoned cold, mechanical, now inside his skull. "The Vein has chosen you. System initializing."
A glowing interface flickered before his eyes, like a holographic game menu.
Name: Rowan Heartz.
Bloodline: Dormant.
Vein Points: 0.
Objective: Survive the Crucible.
Reward: Bloodline Awakening.
Penalty: Oblivion.
Rowan staggered to his feet, heart pounding. The cavern was vast, its walls carved with glowing runes that hummed with power. Bones littered the floor—human, or something close.
His new body wore a tattered cloak and leather boots, a dagger strapped to his thigh. He drew it, the weight unfamiliar but comforting and safe.
"Survive the Crucible?" he muttered. "Where am I? And shouldn't I be getting reborn with a system which can give me power boost after which ill have to defeat an arrogant young master or something? Did Those webnovels scam us?" Rowan felt as if his system cheated him.
"Who cares i won't waste this life, i finally got something my fellow brothers of culture would kill to have." While he was busy with his inner monologue the system voice spoke again.
"Vyrath, capital of the Shattered Realm. The Crucible tests the Bloodmarked. Pass, and claim your destiny. Fail, and join the forgotten."
A map flickered in his vision, highlighting a path through the cavern to an exit.
"Threat detected. Move."
"Vyrath? Shattered Realm? Bloodmarked? What the FU-" Before Rawen could say anything more, a low growl echoed, and Rowan's silver eyes darted to the shadows. A creature emerged—half-wolf, half-shadow, its eyes glowing like embers.
It lunged, claws gleaming with a dangerous shine. Rowans Instinct kicked in, sharper than he'd ever known. He dodged, the Vein's interface flashing,
Reflex Skill: Level 1 Unlocked.
The beast growled and charged at him again, He dodged and slashed with the dagger, catching the beast's flank. The dagger pierced the thick mane of the beast and It howled with pain, but before it could do anything rowan pierced the wolfs heart which made it howl and finally dissolve into a black mist, leaving a faint glow on the ground.
"Essence absorbed.
Vein Points: 10."
Rowan's breath hitched. This was real. He wasn't just alive, he was something more, something much better, something much powerful. The Vein's voice returned,
"Objective updated: Reach Vyrath's
Obsidian District.
Reward: 100 Vein Points.
Warning: Hostile entities detected."
"Damn, i don't know what those hostile entities are and neither i am interested in knowing them, So ill do the most manly thing possible.....RUNNNNNNNNNNN"
He sprinted toward the exit, the cavern's runes pulsing faster, as if alive, as if watching him.
The path opened to a cliff overlooking Vyrath—a city of obsidian spires and neon-lit streets, alive with magic. "Beautiful" Is the only word that he can think about that describes this place, But his awe was cut short.
A figure watched him from the shadows—a woman, her silhouette cloaked in mist, her eyes glinting with interest. "A new Bloodmarked," she murmured, her voice a sultry promise. "This will be… entertaining."
Rowan's blood heated, not just from danger but from something else, something... primal. He bit his tongue to gain control over himself and tried to focus on her but She was gone before he could even utter a word, but the Vein pinged:
"Target Identified: Unknown Female.
Influence Potential: High."
"Oh i agree she had A LOTTTT of potential" He smirked, despite himself. A city of magic, a system in his head, and now a mysterious woman? Maybe death wasn't so bad.
But the ground shook, and a roar split the air. Three shadow-wolves emerged, larger than the first, their fangs bared. The Vein's warning burned:
"Survive, Rowan Heartz. Your conquest begins now."
"I take it back, I am badly, deeply and hard core fucked"