Soren had accepted Thorne's deal by receiving his essence but what did that mean. Soren had no time to ponder on the matter at the time due to the circumstances he was in that diverted his attention elsewhere, however after regaining his consciousness again he finally began to understand. By receiving Thorne's essence he had began to understand the magical principles and phenomena regarding blood magic. Whilst it may take mages a numerous amount of years to practice and effectively apply and understand their spells from learning from another at this point for Soren it was as if it was muscle memory. It was as if a spiritual hand guided Soren's body to allow him to carry out the spells that he wished to do. All of the information that caused him to pass out finally began rearranging itself it his mind. An incomparable sequence now laid out in set patterns and figures which now where making sense
Soren's mind now moved without his input. ''Rank 1 blood magic spell regeneration.'' He started blurting out the thoughts from his mind as if they were common sense, his eyes unfocused
''By using one's own blood as a conduit one can supply themselves with mana without the need of external stimulus, allowing for various uses one of which being self regeneration''
The words left his mouth before he could even process them. Soren's breath hitched, his brows furrowing as if he had just overheard someone else speaking through him. His lips parted slightly, but no sound followed this time. A cold unease crept up his spine
'What… was that?'
He hadn't thought that. Not properly. It hadn't formed like a normal idea, no hesitation, no uncertainty. It was complete. Refined. Certain. As if it had always been there, buried deep within him, waiting to surface. His fingers twitched weakly against the restraints, his body feeling strangely distant, like it no longer fully belonged to him. For a brief moment, he wondered if this was still him at all, or if something else had begun to take root inside him, quietly guiding him without permission
Then it happened again
His jaw moved
''Rank 2 blood magic Detonation.''
A sharp breath escaped him as his eyes widened slightly, panic flickering beneath the surface
''By compressing one's blood and saturating it with mana, forcing it into a singular focal point instability is achieved. Upon release, it results in an explosive discharge''
Silence followed
Soren's chest rose and fell unevenly as he stared ahead into nothing, his thoughts finally catching up to what his body had already said. The knowledge settled into him like something invasive, something foreign yet undeniably his
'Explode…?'
His gaze slowly drifted toward his own arms, still bound, still useless. The faintest tremor ran through him not from fear alone, but from understanding
Soren's hesitated, he understood what he had to do, but oh god he couldn't imagine how much it would hurt. By using his blood as a supply for mana he could efficiently supply his mana cores allowing him to use magic instead of taking it from the surrounding air rendering the magic restrains shackled around his hands useless, but that meant blowing up his hands....
His throat tightened. For a moment, everything in him recoiled at the idea. Pain like that-it wasn't something you just endured. It was something that broke people. His fingers curled weakly, the cold bite of the chains digging into his skin as if mocking his hesitation. A faint tremor ran through his arms. He could already feel it, just imagining it, the pressure, the rupture, the tearing of flesh
If he stayed here, he would die. Not quickly. Not mercifully. He'd seen what happened to people like Thorne. The memory clawed its way to the surface fire, screams, a crowd chanting for death and his breath hitched sharply
''I'm not ending up like that. I refuse!''
Then it snapped
Soren face shifted the corners of his mouth raising up manically, his eyes widening, his pupils frantic. He bit down on his tongue hard
''I will gamble everything, what's a hand or two in the face of death!'' He now started laughing uncontrollably. ''I can just regenerate it later anyway!''
''Rank 2 blood magic Detonation"
Soren's hands trembled violently as the first surge of blood magic crawled through his veins. The chains dug deeper into his wrists, biting like iron fangs, but he didn't flinch, his focus was elsewhere, on the pressure building within. Every pulse of his heart felt magnified, echoing like a drumbeat of inevitability He gritted his teeth as he concentrated, forcing the mana to concentrate in the very blood in his palms. A dull, searing heat spread through his arms, crawling from his fingertips up to his elbows. It wasn't just pain, it was fire in his veins, tearing, stretching, wracking every nerve. His fingers twitched, bones straining, skin stretching over muscles as if it might split apart
A scream caught in his throat as the pressure became unbearable. The pain was immediate, almost blinding, white-hot agony radiating from every nerve ending in his hands. Beads of sweat stung his eyes as his vision blurred. He felt the bones in his palms splintering under the force, sinews snapping, tendons screaming with every pulse and yet, he didn't stop. He couldn't
Then, with a final, impossible crescendo, his hands exploded. Not in a fiery flash, but in a violent, sickening rupture. Muscle and tissue tore outward, blood spraying across the chains and the floor. The force sent a shockwave through his arms, jarring him violently in the shackles. Pain clawed through every fibre of his body, and for a moment, he blacked out
His mind reeled with the sensation a pain unlike anything else, the raw destruction of his own body made manifest. Yet beneath it all, beneath the nausea and the searing agony, there was a single, terrible clarity: he could move. He could breathe. He could act the chains, once unyielding, were useless now and though his hands were ruined, he was free, it he had to act quick
Soren slumped against the chains, his chest heaving as sweat and blood dripped from his ruined hands. Pain radiated from every nerve ending, sharp and unrelenting. The flesh of his palms had been torn open, the bones shattered, but the blood coursing through him was alive with mana. He forced himself upright, ignoring the searing agony, relying on the knowledge Thorne's essence had given him. He didn't need to think. He knew the layout of the castle. Every corridor, every patrol route, every hidden passage returned to him like memory etched in muscle. He had stayed trapped in this castle for two whole years of course he knew everything there was about it
Even with no hands to grasp, he could manipulate his blood directly. He let it pool along his wrists and forearms, infusing it with raw mana until it formed a volatile, compact sphere. A guard's boots echoed down the corridor. Soren acted instinctively. He flung the sphere forward, and it struck the man's chest. The explosion tore through flesh and bone, hurling the guard backward. Blood sprayed across the stone floor and walls, painting a streak of crimson that made Soren flinch, but he forced himself to move
He shifted his weight, crawling and hopping where necessary, using his memory of the castle's hidden corridors, stairwells, and drainage tunnels to avoid the main paths. Every sense was sharp, the sound of approaching footsteps, the flicker of torches, the coppery scent in the air
He had escaped the castle overcoming all odds
King Rael Stormguard sat in a small space somewhere beneath the castle in a lotus position, his golden eyes glistening in the darkness. He began to stand up his towering frame coming into view
'I have finished todays session. Now it is time to judge that boy'
The King had lived for a very long time now, but till this day what he had learnt what happened to his subordinates students still left him with an uncomfortable feeling. He felt disgusted knowing what Soren had done as well, the knowledge of his vile and cruel actions beginning to stir anger in his head. It had reminded him of someone familiar
'This wasn't suppose to happen only four of the prophesied ones are left. The deterioration is happening to fast'
The King after returning to his throne room began to make his way towards the prison. In this castle his senses reached every edge and if he focused that would extend to his whole kingdom. He now walked inside of the prison. Every cell he passed was empty and when he came to Soren's his gaze sharpened, piercing the shadows and the dim torchlight. The chains and restraints that should have bound Soren were torn and twisted, remnants of shredded metal and scorched stone littering the floors, whilst a guard laid there battered and bruised on the floor. The King's eyes narrowed
'How did he escape from here with the mana restricting shackles on? No matter he may have left this castle but he could not have gone far'
The kings eyes lit up and his mana spread throughout the air causing his consciousness to expand over the whole kingdom every person under observation
'Odd. I cannot sense him'
He knelt slightly, letting his senses sweep the entire prison at once. He inspected the broken shackles and the fallen guard especially until he left something familiar. Something forbidden. Something that should have been dead
A low, cold sigh escaped him, almost a growl. The King straightened, anger and calculation hardening his features
''Blood. No wonder I can't sense him''
He now gritted his teeth his jaw tensing, ''So you did manage to leave your mark on this world Thorne''. His mind flashed back to Thorne's deranged provocations, whilst being burned alive. The king had lived too long to believe in mere coincidences. His voice sounded out
''Alaric are you there?''
''Yes my liege''
He reached out through the mental link with Alaric, sending the command and the warning in a single, sharp thought, ''Connect me with the neighbouring Kingdom I must contain this knowledge, Thorne's disciple has appeared''
Queen Seraphine sat down on her throne, if King Stormguard was said to be imposing then he paled in comparison to Queen Seraphine. She was a woman of massive stature. She had wild long red hair and dazzling crystal blue eyes
''What is it Rael''
King Stormguard's voice now sounded more on edge, ''We both govern the same region, so instead of hiding this from you I will propose a deal''
The queen now leaned forward in her chair becoming more interested, ''A deal?''
''Ill keep this short, Thorne has passed his blood magic onto another. He has taken a prophesied one as his disciple. Don't let this information spill out to the other regions we can't let them know about this, especially because that boy might possess 'That' ''
The Queen chuckled as if amused, ''How stupid can you be Rael, we gave you the opportunity to raise the children of fate due to your help of accelerating their arrival and now you let one of them become tainted by blood magic''
King Stormguard now more agitated barked, ''If the child does possess 'that' we can share the gain equally and be at an advantage when that time arrives''
The queen once amused face now lost all expression becoming more serious, ''I'll hold your secret Rael. I accept your deal''
With that the transmission ended and a new headache arose for King Stormguard
'I don't need to worry about him being snatched by another unless he escapes this region or enters another kingdom. How lucky he is that I cannot act personally. Something more important will soon be among us'
''Alaric announce this to the whole region and put out a bounty for Soren Reed for him to be taken and given to King Stormguard alive. Don't disclose his usage of blood magic, we cannot let this information leak out to other regions and set out a high bounty for him just enough to attract enough attention towards him''
The King furrowed his brow
'A child of prophecy already obtaining Rank 2 after two years of learning magic and he has obtain that crazed bastard's blood magic and possibly has a fragment. He cannot be allowed to advance further'
"He may have escaped today, but nowhere will be safe"