Kael woke with his back against cold metal.
The ceiling above him was cracked glass. Moonlight poured in like silver veins through the shattered dome of the ruined observatory. Duran paced in a circle, muttering, scribbling equations in red chalk across the stone floor.
"Still alive," the old man said without looking up. "Barely."
Kael groaned. "What happened?"
"You absorbed too much blood, too fast." Duran pointed at the red burns snaking up Kael's arms. "Your body isn't built for it. Not yet."
Kael remembered the fight. The way his vision blurred, and everything moved in red pulses. The System had whispered commands—clearer than ever.
He'd obeyed.
And it had felt good.
Too good.
[Blood System Calibration Complete]
Initiating Red Ledger Interface
Target Class: Vyr Reawakening (Singular)
Bloodline Capacity: 0.74%
Current Abilities: 2
— Combat Memory: Bone Chain Grip
— Blood Pulse Dash
New Module Unlocked: RED LEDGER
The interface exploded into his vision.
A glowing grid, rows of names—most blank. Beside each, strange runes and blood-colored sigils.
Rank 1: Empty
Rank 2: Empty
Rank 3: Slaver-Class Bloodline (Absorbed)
— Strength Index: D-
— Aggression Memory: +12%
— Sin Factor: High
Status: Claimed
Kael blinked.
"What is this?" he whispered.
The Red Ledger.
Your library of devoured blood.
Your path to ascension.
Duran noticed his faraway look. "The System's talking again?"
"Yeah," Kael muttered. "It… updated something. A ledger of bloodlines I've absorbed."
Duran froze. "Red Ledger?"
"You know it?"
"I know of it," he said darkly. "It was the reason the Vyr were hunted. They could store what they took. Mix and match blood like it was alchemy."
Kael looked down at his trembling hands.
"Each kill makes you stronger," Duran said. "But not just physically. The Ledger maps it. Keeps track. And worst of all—rewards it."
Kael stood.
He felt it immediately: the tension in his muscles, the sharpness in his vision. Every sound in the observatory felt crisper. More defined. He could feel the blood rushing through his veins—like a map of rivers under skin.
Then the voice returned.
"New command available."
"Test ability: Blood Pulse Dash?"
Kael exhaled. "Yeah. Do it."
The world slowed.
Everything around him faded into outlines—veins glowing red in the walls, floor, Duran's neck.
His heart slammed once—then twice.
Kael launched forward.
One second he was at the dome's edge. The next—he was across the room, crouched on the far wall like a predator. The wind howled in the sudden vacuum of motion.
He gasped.
"Insane," he whispered.
Duran stared. "You just vanished."
Kael grinned.
He'd never felt this fast. This alive.
He turned to the Red Ledger again.
A hundred blank slots waited to be filled. Bloodlines waiting to be claimed. Powers waiting to be harvested.
The System purred: "Ascend, Kael Vyr."
"Each life brings you closer."
But behind the thrill… a whisper lingered.
Was he still Kael?
Or was he becoming something else?
He pushed the thought away.
Tomorrow, he would find another target.
And the Red Ledger would grow.