Kite didn't sleep that night.
Even after the anomaly disappeared, even after the system calmed and the rooftop went still, he couldn't shut his eyes. The symbol he'd seen—the blood gate with eight fangs and an eye made of bone—was burned into his mind.
The system hadn't answered his questions.
But his blood had.
It whispered. Hungered. Called.
He didn't understand it.
But he knew where it wanted him to go.
Back underground.
Back to the crypt.
He moved through the academy like a ghost.
After midnight, the patrol wards were weakest. Even the guardians—towering humanoid constructs etched with banishment runes—slowed their patrol pace. Kite followed the same path from his first night.
Back to the stairs no one else seemed to notice.
Back to the sealed chamber beneath the orientation hall.
It was colder this time. The air felt wet. Thicker.
The coffin still sat at the center, lid sealed, its mural glowing faintly red. Kite stepped closer, heart pounding—not in fear. In recognition.
[Bloodline Signature Detected]
[Resonance: 0.9% → 1.0%]
[Initiating Echo Interface…]
The mural pulsed.
A whisper filled the chamber—neither voice nor thought, but something in between.
"Kite… Nocturne…"
His knees almost buckled.
He wasn't alone.
Then—
A figure emerged.
Not in the flesh, but in crimson outline. A transparent echo of a tall man in ceremonial armor, draped in a mantle of black feathers. His eyes were crimson pits. His face was Kite's… older. Sharper. Regal.
[Bloodline Memory Fragment – Shade of Nocturne the First]
"My blood has reached across centuries to find you," the echo said. "Fledgling child of war. Do you seek power… or freedom?"
Kite didn't speak.
He couldn't.
The echo tilted its head. "No answer? Then listen."
The chamber darkened.
Visions rushed through his mind—wars in ancient cities, beasts tearing skies apart, vampires with wings of flame and blades that bled lightning. A world ruled not by man, but by monsters… and blood-bonded kings.
Then the voice again.
"Your evolution will come. But only those who devour their fate can ascend."
[Crimson Ascension System – Trait Expansion Available]
[New Path Option: Sovereign Seed Initiation – Locked until 5% Bloodline]
[Veilbreaker detected – bypassing minor seals…]
[Legacy Warning: Exposure to blood echoes may cause unpredictable progression.]
[+1 Bloodlust | +1 Intellect | +1 Strength]
[Bloodline Progression: 1.0% → 1.2%]
Kite's body trembled.
The echo faded.
And behind him—
A presence.
"I knew you were hiding something."
He spun.
Lilith stood at the stairs, cloaked in black, eyes glowing softly in the red light. She didn't look surprised.
Just… conflicted.
"You've awakened something," she said quietly.
"You followed me?"
"I felt your blood from across the courtyard. You burned like a flare in my veins."
Kite stepped back from the coffin. "What did you feel?"
Lilith's eyes narrowed. "An ancient resonance. One that shouldn't exist anymore."
He didn't answer.
She walked closer. Slowly. Carefully.
"When I was born," she said, "the elders told me there were three forbidden bloodlines. Ones that defied the natural order. Ones sealed before the Crimson War."
She stopped in front of him.
"You just woke one up."
[Lilith Affinity Shift: 31% → 43%]
[Shared Resonance Detected – Primordial Trace Identified]
[Warning: Emotional proximity may accelerate Veilbound Link.]
Kite tried to look away.
But she caught his chin. Gently.
"Are you going to hide this from me, Kite?" she asked, voice low.
"I… don't know what this is."
"Good," she whispered. "Because when it breaks you, I want to be there to see who crawls back."
Then she pulled away.
And vanished into the dark.
[System Note: The deeper your bond, the closer your doom… or salvation.]
[Bloodline Path: Crimson Sovereign – Stage 1 Initiated]