The first change was subtle.
A single violet tendril crawling up Echo's carotid artery met a sudden, invisible resistance. It darkened, shriveled, and dissolved into harmless ash within his bloodstream.
Dr. Aris noticed it on the biomonitor. "What was that? A localized immune response?"
Then another tendril died. And another.
Echo's heart rate, which had been erratic, steadied into a strong, rhythmic pulse. His pallor lessened. Beneath his skin, a faint crimson glow began to emanate from his veins, pushing back the violet corruption like dawn scattering night.
[ System Alert: Latent Bloodline Detected ]
[ Bloodline: Sanguis Imperator – Blood Sovereign (Dormant Stage 0.1) ]
[ Awakening triggered by existential threat and high-tier corruption. ]
[ Blood Manipulation (Basic) unlocked: Can sense and exert minor control over own bloodstream. ]
Echo's eyes snapped open. They were not their usual color. The irises swirled with deep crimson and flecks of gold.
He saw the medical bay through a new sense—a vascular map. He could feel the blood of Dr. Aris, of the guards outside, of Leyla and Mira beyond the viewport—each a unique rhythm, a song of life.
His own blood was singing a war chant.
He focused on the corruption within him. In his mind's eye, it was a foreign, oily stain in a river of red. He willed the river to rise, to scour.
His blood heated. The remaining violet tendrils screamed silently as they were boiled, broken down, and expelled through his pores as black steam that hissed against the stasis field.
Dr. Aris stumbled back. "By the Ordered Stars… he's purging it himself!"
The stasis bubble crackled with conflicting energies—violet corruption dying, crimson bloodline awakening. Alarms blared.
Outside, Leyla saw Echo's eyes open. "He's awake!"
Mira pressed her hands to the viewport. "His energy… it's changing."
Echo sat up. The stasis bubble shattered. He was shirtless, covered in a sheen of sweat and residue, but the violet veins were gone. In their place, faint, intricate crimson tracery glowed briefly on his skin before fading.
He looked at his hands, flexing his fingers. He could feel every capillary, every heartbeat. He could feel the slow bleed of a cut on Leyla's arm from their earlier fight. He could feel the pulse of Mira's anxiety.
He had control.