Chapter 6 — Crimson Reckoning: The Dungeon Bloom

The alarm came before dawn.

A thunderous ping rang across the city-wide network of dungeon alerts, lighting up every registered explorer's wristband with a blazing red glyph: CRIMSON BLOOM DETECTED.

Guildmasters were already moving by the time most of the city awoke. In the core hall of Azure Vanguard, Aunt Seris stood with both arms crossed, her violet dungeon coat glinting faintly with embedded runes. She didn't move as the dimensional display above her flickered to life, projecting the exact coordinates of the disturbance.

Crimson Bloom — Code: High Instability

Coordinates: North-Western Fringe, Sector 12-G, Outskirts of Obra District

Classification: Deep-Red Tier (High Unstable Bloom)

Dungeon Type: Rifted Bloom — Unanchored Spontaneous Expansion

Recommended Response: Elite Force Deployment / Guild Captain Presence Mandatory

"Gods above…" muttered Kaen, stepping beside her. "A Bloom. In the middle of Obra. This close to the city's core?"

Seris narrowed her eyes. "Not just any Bloom. A Crimson-class spontaneous fracture. That dungeon isn't supposed to exist."

They both turned as footsteps pounded in from the hall—Ara and Kael, suited and geared.

The twins were already dressed in full battlewear. Ara's sleek mageweave coat shimmered with protective enchantments and her new spellcore earrings pulsed with condensed mana, while Kael's dual sabers hung across his back like coiled silver serpents. His new gauntlets were etched with runes of weapon mastery, freshly awarded after his exceptional control trials.

"We're ready," Kael said flatly. "This one feels… different."

Seris nodded once. "This isn't training. This is high alert. And yet—"

"—We're coming," Ara finished calmly, eyes glowing faintly lavender. "This feels connected to the Mythical Realm. I can feel it."

Kaen's brows furrowed. "You feel a connection?"

Ara hesitated, then slowly nodded. "I… heard the song again. In my sleep. The melody Mother used to hum."

A silence fell over the war room.

It had been months since the last time either twin reported anything from the "legacy resonance"—the unconscious mental tether to their late mother, Vaelaria, the exiled white dragon of the Moon-Spire clan.

Seris's voice grew quiet. "Then this might not be just a Bloom. It might be a Call."

System Notification

[Dimensional Core Resonance Detected]

Unique anomaly detected within the Crimson Bloom.

Signature: Draconic-Mythical Hybrid / Unknown Divine Element.

Dungeon Mechanics: Dynamic Warp Shift Enabled.

Boss Classification: ???

Access Tier: Explorer Rank A and Above.

Twins' Status Update: Level 15

Kael (Lv. 15 | Dragonblood Warrior

Core Class: Weaponbound Vanguard

Awakened Trait: Master of All Weapons (Unlocked Rank: Heroic)

Transformation: Partial Dragon Form — Time Limit: 2 hrs/day

Health: 5,600

Mana: 1,200

STR: 240

AGI: 175

INT: 90

DEX: 195

VIT: 220

Passive Skills:

Weapon Adaptation (All)

Dragon's Instinct (Heroic)

Mana Conversion (Blade Focus)

Active Skills:

Heavenly Saber Dance (Rare)

Vaulting Fang Strike (Heroic)

Dragonskin Fortitude (Rare)

Ara (Lv. 15 | Divinely-Touched Sorceress)

Core Class: Arcanist of the Celestial Veil

Awakened Trait: Master of All Magic (Unlocked Rank: Heroic)

Transformation: Partial Deity Form — Time Limit: 2 hrs/day

Health: 3,600

Mana: 8,200

STR: 60

AGI: 140

INT: 320

DEX: 90

VIT: 100

Passive Skills:

Mana Overclock (Legendary)

Spell Duplication (Rare)

Celestial Channeling (Heroic)

Active Skills:

Rain of Comets (Legendary)

Deific Chains (Hidden)

Illusory Sanctuary (Rare)

The Dungeon Bloom

The team teleported to the outer ring using guild-licensed gate anchors, arriving within moments of the alert. The sky was already dyed a bruised crimson near the breach point. Thick mist rolled from the fracture in reality — a jagged spiral of red mana, swirling like a bleeding wound in space.

There was no gate.

No visible entrance.

The Bloom hovered ten meters off the ground, a pulsing core of dungeon energy held together by raw instability. And within it… they heard music.

Not real music — but a psychic hum, like something ancient and divine was calling.

Seris turned to the group. "This is no ordinary Bloom. This might be proto-dimensional in nature. We enter on my mark, and nobody breaks formation."

Kael drew both blades. Ara clutched her spell-staff tighter.

And together — they leapt into the Crimson Bloom.

Inside the Bloom

They landed not in a cave, but a floating hall of mirrors, suspended in skyless space. Dozens of floating platforms spun in interlocking rings, riddled with silver runes and bone-like thorns.

The system's voice rang again, distorted and ancient:

System Alert

[Welcome, Half-Bloods]

Trial #1: Blood Without Origin

Survive the Whispered Guardians

Countdown: 300 Seconds

Time Dilated: 5x Normal Flow

The mirrored platforms shattered, revealing hunched figures with blazing silver halos and broken dragon wings. Each wore a mask — not of metal or bone, but memory.

Kael stepped forward, eyes narrowing. "Those look like… members of the Moon-Spire Clan."

Ara's hands trembled slightly. "This place… it's built from our mother's thoughts."

Flashback: Vaelaria of the Moon-Spire

The mirror nearest Ara pulsed, glowing like moonlight.

Suddenly — a vision struck them all.

The scene was vivid, living.

Vaelaria, her snow-white hair streaming behind her like starlight, stood defiant before a council of dragons. Towering wyrms of red, bronze, and emerald looked down at her with disgust.

"You dare carry the child of him?" one snarled.

Vaelaria's voice was calm, proud. "I do not regret it."

A golden-scaled dragon, her father, thundered. "You will be hunted. Stripped of title. Marked as traitor."

"I am already marked by love."

The memory shattered.

And the trial began.

Trial Combat Initiated

Ara's arms glowed with divine flame as she entered partial transformation — a halo of white-gold flaring behind her head, her eyes radiant.

Kael's veins lit with draconic fire, wings forming from mana as his skin hardened with scaled markings.

They fought as one — blade and spell, roar and light — twin forces forged from divine rebellion.

Minutes passed in timeless combat, until the last of the Whispered Guardians fell.

Mythical Realm Prophecy Scroll: Unlocked

As the trial ended, a platform rose from the center — upon it, a scroll bound in celestial silk.

Ara approached. Her fingers brushed the seal.

Scroll of Fate — Fragment I

"When the Moon-Spire weeps and the Chains of the Sky break, the blood of dragon and god shall wake the Sundered Realm. Two born as One — one of Flame, one of Light — shall rise to restore what was stolen from the Mythic Heart."

Kael read it silently. "The Chains of the Sky… That's Father's prison, isn't it?"

Seris stepped forward, face pale. "We need to get this to Central Command. Now."

Ara nodded, but her voice had shifted — lower, laced with something older.

"He's calling us."

End of Chapter 6