The air was still.
Ash drifted through the shattered catacombs like slow-falling snow, settling over the broken stone and twisted remnants of the Sealed One's body. Its form had cracked apart like rotted marble—black ooze leaking from the shattered husk before dissolving into vapor.
Adexander stood in silence, his blade still buried in the stone floor where he had driven it through the beast's core.
The crimson glow around him dimmed.
His breathing slowed.
But the voice remained.
> [System Notice: Bloodforge active. Primary connection established. Passive regeneration enabled.]
> [New Trait Acquired: Echo of the Crimson Past.]
> [Skill Node Locked – Requirements Not Met.]
Adexander closed his eyes.
So this is the cost... he thought. Another chain. Another whisper in my mind.
But this one felt different. Not a curse. Not a gift. Something waiting to be understood. He filed it away silently, refusing to ask questions just yet.
He would observe. He would master it.
---
Gravehold – Upper Hall
Kaien was the first to see him return.
> "Well, well…" the chaotic rogue drawled from where he lounged upside down on a broken pillar. "Our crimson tyrant returns from the underworld. Did the skeletons kiss your feet, or try to bite them?"
Adexander didn't answer.
Kaien squinted.
> "...You're different."
Igris stepped forward immediately, noting the subtle shift in his lord's eyes—an energy that hadn't been there before.
> "What happened?" he asked, quietly.
> "It's done," Adexander said simply, walking past.
The stone beneath his feet still carried the faintest red shimmer.
Raik looked up from the half-finished battle banner. "So that's it? The Sealed One's gone?"
> "No," Velessia said from the far corner. "Something older woke up. You simply silenced the mouthpiece."
Adexander paused at her words but said nothing.
The angel-descendant stepped toward him, her silver eyes flickering faintly.
> "You've opened the gate," she whispered.
> "And closed it," Adexander replied.
> "That's not how gates work."
They locked eyes—no hostility, only recognition. Two beings shaped by fate, neither of them fully aligned with it.
Velessia stepped back, and for the first time, bowed slightly.
> "Then... we follow your path now."
---
That Night
Alone once again, Adexander sat atop the ruined throne in the war chamber, eyes half-closed, his blade resting across his knees.
The System pulsed faintly in his mind.
> [Awaiting input.]
He thought, Show me.
A red sigil bloomed behind his eyelids—unseen to others, but clear to him.
> CRIMSON SYSTEM INTERFACE
Title: Crimson King (Reawakened)
Trait: Echo of the Crimson Past – Memories of a former life return in fragments during moments of battle.
Skill: Bloodforge (Dormant Core Level 1)
— Channel past-life blood energy to empower physical strikes.
— Regen bonus: +5% stamina/sec when under 40% health.
Next Unlock: ???
Progression: 3% awakened.
He stared.
Not out of awe.
But calculation.
Adexander had seen systems before. Had crushed men who used them. But this one wasn't granted to him—it remembered him. It recognized him.
That made it dangerous.
And useful.
> "I won't become a slave to numbers," he muttered.
> [Acknowledged. Manual control granted. Passive guidance only.]
The interface dimmed.
Adexander leaned back in the throne, fingers tightening on his sword.
This wasn't power.
This was strategy.
He would use the System. Exploit its rules. Learn its secrets.
And when the time came… rewrite them.