The Bloodline Hall felt different in the morning.
Alive.
The crimson rivers beneath the crystal pathways glowed brighter than before, illuminating the ancient chamber in shifting shades of red and gold while deep vibrations echoed faintly through the massive pillars surrounding the Pool.
The entire hall pulsed rhythmically.
Like a sleeping beast slowly breathing beneath the estate itself.
And today—
it felt awake.
I stood silently near the edge of the chamber wearing only loose black training pants while servants finished activating the final reinforcement formations around the Bloodline Pool.
Golden runes spread across the floor in massive circular layers.
Lucien sat casually atop one of the nearby pillars eating fruit while watching everything with visible excitement.
Ceal remained near several floating projection screens recording mana fluctuations throughout the chamber with terrifying concentration.
Selene stood farther back beside the attendants, clearly worried despite trying not to show it.
And Father—
stood directly before the Pool itself.
Motionless.
The crimson light reflecting within his eyes made him look less human than usual.
Which was impressive.
Because Father already barely qualified.
"The ritual itself is simple," Ceal explained while adjusting several floating constructs around me.
"That sentence alone makes me nervous."
"It should."
Ceal continued calmly.
"The Pool identifies, stimulates, and synchronizes bloodline inheritance through direct mana integration."
Lucien raised a hand lazily.
"In simpler terms?"
Ceal glanced toward him blankly.
"We throw Astaroso into the ancient magical blood lake and observe whether he survives."
Selene looked horrified.
"CEAL."
"What?" he asked calmly. "That is technically accurate."
Lucien nodded proudly.
"That's my brother."
I was surrounded by lunatics.
Father finally spoke.
"When the synchronization begins, do not resist the Pool."
Easy enough.
"However," he continued, "if the bloodline attempts forced manifestation…"
The pressure within the chamber sharpened instantly.
"…I will suppress it personally."
Right.
Because apparently that was a possibility now.
Good to know.
I stared toward the Bloodline Pool itself.
Up close, it looked even stranger.
The crimson liquid shifted unnaturally beneath the surface while countless golden particles drifted through it like fragments of burning stars. Occasionally shapes appeared beneath the liquid—
massive silhouettes moving through the depths before vanishing again.
Not illusions.
Memories.
Residual bloodline echoes from previous generations.
The Ashfords truly were terrifying people.
Father stepped aside slightly.
"You may enter."
The chamber fell silent.
Even Lucien stopped joking.
I exhaled slowly before stepping toward the Pool.
The moment my foot touched the first layer of crimson liquid—
the entire chamber reacted.
BOOOOM.
The Bloodline Hall trembled violently.
The liquid exploded upward around me in massive waves while every rune across the chamber ignited at once.
Selene stumbled backward.
Ceal's projection screens immediately flooded with warning symbols.
Lucien's grin widened slowly.
The pressure inside the room multiplied instantly.
The Pool wasn't merely reacting.
It was responding.
The crimson liquid climbed unnaturally around my body as golden light erupted beneath my skin.
Pain followed immediately afterward.
Not physical pain.
Transformation.
It felt like molten fire pouring directly into my veins.
The System activated instantly.
[Bloodline Energy Detected.]
[Beginning Synchronization.]
[Dragon Lineage Resonance Increasing.]
[Warning.]
[Warning.]
[Warning.]
The world blurred.
Suddenly—
I wasn't standing inside the Bloodline Hall anymore.
I stood within darkness.
Endless.
Silent.
Then—
eyes opened.
Massive golden eyes large enough to resemble suns themselves appeared deep within the void.
One pair.
Then another.
Then dozens.
Ancient.
Watching.
The pressure alone nearly crushed my consciousness instantly.
And somewhere within that darkness—
something moved.
Not a dragon.
Not entirely.
Far too large.
Far too vast.
I heard breathing.
Deep.
Ancient.
Then a voice echoed through the void.
Not spoken.
Felt.
"HEIR."
The word shook reality itself.
My vision distorted violently.
Then suddenly—
memories flooded my mind.
Burning skies.
Collapsed kingdoms.
Dragons kneeling before something unseen.
A throne made from golden flame.
A war so massive entire continents burned beneath falling stars.
And standing at the center of it all—
was something covered in light too bright to fully perceive.
My heartbeat thundered violently.
The voice returned.
Closer this time.
"WHY DO YOU CARRY MY BLOOD?"
I tried to speak.
Couldn't.
The pressure was unbearable.
And yet—
deep inside my body—
something answered instinctively.
The golden lines beneath my skin erupted completely.
Back within reality—
the Bloodline Hall exploded into chaos.
CRACK.
Massive fractures spread across the chamber floor while crimson liquid surged violently upward around my body like a living storm.
Dragon-shaped mana manifestations roared throughout the hall.
But something was wrong.
The dragons were bowing.
Every single manifestation within the Pool had lowered itself instinctively toward me.
Even the ancient draconic echoes embedded within the bloodline waters themselves seemed terrified.
Ceal's eyes widened behind his glasses.
Selene stared in shock.
Lucien slowly stood from his seat atop the pillar.
And for the first time—
his grin disappeared completely.
The pressure erupting from my body no longer felt draconic.
It felt older.
Higher.
Father's crimson eyes narrowed sharply.
Then—
for the very first time—
Kaelith Draven Ashford released his full aura.
BOOOOM.
The entire Bloodline Hall shook violently.
The pressure descending from him felt catastrophic.
Overwhelming.
the aura of an Ascendant.
The sheer weight of his mana instantly suppressed half the eruption consuming the chamber.
But not all of it.
Because the thing awakening within me—
pushed back.
The Pool detonated upward.
Golden flames erupted across the ceiling while massive draconic wings manifested briefly behind me before dissolving into light.
Then—
the System appeared again.
But this time—
everyone saw it.
Blue translucent panels materialized throughout the chamber.
Ceal froze.
Selene's eyes widened.
Even Father's expression changed slightly.
Because Systems were never visible externally.
Yet now—
floating above the Pool—
ancient golden text slowly revealed itself.
[Bloodline Identified.]
Silence consumed the hall.
Then the final words appeared.
[Primordial Dragon Lineage .]
Everything stopped.
Even the Pool itself fell silent.
Lucien stared blankly for two whole seconds.
Then burst into laughter loud enough to shake the chamber.
Selene looked seconds away from fainting.
Ceal immediately began rewriting several floating calculations at terrifying speed.
And Father—
Father simply stared at me silently.
Then slowly—
very slowly—
Kaelith Draven Ashford smiled.
It wasn't warm.
It wasn't comforting.
It was the smile of a man realizing something extraordinary had just entered his houshold.