51

There was a sound.

Distant. Metallic. Humming.

I wasn't in the City of Blood anymore. The red skies, the whispering towers, the bone bridges—they'd all fallen away like ash in the wind.

I was… home?

If you could call it that.

My eyes blinked open to a dim, sterile ceiling. Soft lights hummed overhead. The scent of old iron, disinfectant, and burnt rice filled the air. My limbs felt heavy—like my bones had been replaced with lead.

"You owe me two ribs and an entire operating table," a voice muttered nearby. "Also, who the hell grows a third heart mid-surgery? What kind of parasite-possessed mutant does that?"

I turned my head slowly.

And there he was.

Doctor Jiji.

Bald, hunched, and wearing goggles three sizes too big for his face, with a greasy apron stained with blood, oil, and what looked suspiciously like soy sauce. He was sitting on a cracked stool next to me, holding a noodle cup in one hand and a bio-scanner in the other.

"...Kiro," he said, looking up with tired eyes. "If you're awake and not trying to kill me, blink twice."

I blinked twice.

He grunted. "Damn. I owe Pablo ten crowns."

I tried to sit up, but pain stabbed through my spine. No—not pain. Heat. Power. Surge. It wasn't weakness I felt—it was pressure. My body had changed. No, not just changed—rewritten.

The Blood God System thrummed inside me like a living engine, each beat of my heart syncing with something ancient and divine.

[BLOOD SYSTEM INTERFACE: ONLINE]Omega Vein: ActiveCore Level: Prime InitiateBlood Arsenal: Calibrating…Dominance Threads: Unlocking…

I gasped, the data flooding in like a second mind overlapping my own.

Jiji watched, half-impressed, half-annoyed. "Yeah, that started happening about five hours ago. Your skin started glowing, your teeth sharpened, your hair grew like a weed, and then you flatlined for exactly thirteen seconds before your blood spelled out the word 'rebirth' in cursive across the walls. I've seen things, man."

I coughed a laugh. "Where's Pablo?"

Jiji snorted. "Back at the estate. The Black Star Legion came sniffing, so he threw a noble tantrum and waved a bunch of family seals around until they left us alone. Said he'd keep them distracted while I 'babysat the godling.'"

I reached down and touched my chest.

No wounds.

No stitches.

Just a faint red rune glowing beneath the skin.

"…How long was I out?"

"Three days," Jiji said, slurping his noodles. "Long enough for half the capital to declare martial law, a new Empress to make a power play, and at least one mysterious 'horned figure' to be spotted wandering the ruins of the spire again."

I froze.

"Horns?"

Jiji nodded, wiping his mouth. "Tall. Black coat. Scared the hell out of a patrol squad. You know, the usual end-of-days stuff."

Adim had warned me.

The Void hadn't finished its work.

And neither had I.

I swung my legs off the table. My bare feet hit the floor with a heavy thud—too heavy. The metal beneath groaned as if my weight had doubled.

Jiji blinked. "Huh. That's new."

I stood, power rippling through me like coiled lightning.

I wasn't fully myself anymore.

But I wasn't broken either.

I was becoming.

[New Trait Unlocked: Blood Sovereign]Passive: Aura of Command – Nearby low-tier lifeforms will instinctively submit unless resisted by will.Active: Pulse of Dominion – Erupt a shockwave of blood energy that forces enemies to reveal their true nature.

My hands flexed. My eyes adjusted. My thoughts came quicker. Sharper.

"Where's my gear?" I asked.

Jiji pointed to a chest in the corner. "In there. Also—small detail—you might want to avoid mirrors for a while."

I raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

He pointed to his own face, mimicking horns. "You've… changed. Just a little. Not in a bad way. But let's just say if I saw you in an alley at night, I'd shoot first and cry later."

I walked to the chest, opened it, and found my old armor—patched, reinforced, slightly scorched—but familiar.

As I pulled it on, I caught my reflection in a cracked metal panel.

My eyes weren't the same.

They glowed.

Not just with light—but with memory. With hunger. With the same stare I saw in Adim's eyes, just before I ended him.

But mine were steadier.

Controlled.

Alive.

"I'm going back," I said, voice low.

Jiji didn't ask where. He just handed me a wrapped cloth bundle.

"Take this. Pablo left it for you. Said if you ever woke up with that 'I'm-going-to-burn-the-sky' look in your eye, you'd need it."

I unwrapped it.

Inside: a red pendant, a note, and a key shaped like the sigil of House El'Vertigo.

The note simply read:

"When the sky cracks again… don't face it alone."