The midday sun bled over the Academy's combat terrace, showering long shadows across the polished stone floor. Students gathered in whispers and flocks, excitement buzzing in the air like static. Duel challenges were rare - Blood Rank duels, rarer still.
Only those seeking to climb the internal hierarchy of the Houses dared to participate.
And today's target?
The lowest-ranked student in House Veyr.
Kairo.
He stood at the center of the dueling platform, shoulders relaxed, eyes dull with disinterest. His Sovereign Core pulsed beneath his skin, hot and coiled like a beast waiting to be let loose.
Across from him stood Selis Dawnflare - heir of House Dawnflare, a minor noble line known for their affinity with radiant bloodlines.
Selis was elegant, poised, and wrapped in white dueling robes embroidered with sunburst patterns. Her blonde hair shimmered under the sun, and the crystal embedded in her glove glowed with holy light.
"You're Kael Drosin, aren't you?" she asked, voice lilting, tinged with disdain. "I've heard rumors. That you won your last match with blood magic so brutal the corpse had to be swept up in a bucket."
Kairo didn't flinch. "Is that what they're saying now?"
Selis narrowed her eyes. "You're a stain on the Academy's legacy. I'm here to clean it."
From the surrounding crowd, someone called out:
"Light her up, Selis!"
"She's ranked #42! He's not even on the board!"
Another snorted. "He'll be crawling back to the slums after this."
The duel instructor - a stone-faced elder with a scar that split his nose - stepped forward and raised his staff.
"Duel initiated. Blood Rank terms accepted. First to yield or incapacitation. No killing… unless the Core decides otherwise."
Kairo's lip twitched.
Unless the Core decides otherwise.
[Warning: External duel detected. Sovereign Core scanning opponent.]
[Selis Dawnflare — Lightblood Type. Threat Level: Medium.]
[Blood Authority: Intermediate.]
Selis struck first.
A spear of pure golden light shimmered into existence above her palm, and with a flick, it launched through the air like a sun-scorched arrow.
Kairo shifted to the side, barely dodging it - but the heat singed his cheek.
She was fast.
Another spear appeared. Then two more.
He ducked, rolled, then hissed as a searing cut ripped across his thigh. The crowd cheered.
"Stop dodging and fight me!" Selis barked, summoning a shower of spears that hung above her like a miniature sun.
Kairo exhaled.
Then smiled.
"You're right."
He raised his hand - and blood sprayed from his palm like a whip. It twisted in the air, hardening into a spiral that slammed into the ground, propelling him forward like a launched arrow.
In the blink of an eye, he was in front of her.
Selis's eyes widened - then her body jerked back as a crimson tendril wrapped around her leg and slammed her into the dueling floor.
The crowd gasped.
Selis gritted her teeth, raising her hand for another spear - but it was too late.
Kairo's hand hovered inches from her throat.
A blood spike gleamed at his fingertip.
One strike. That's all it would take.
She froze.
Breathless. Her pride shattered.
He could feel it - the Sovereign System urging him to finish it.
Take her blood.
Absorb her fear.
Dominate.
But something in her expression stopped him.
It wasn't hatred.
It was confusion.
And something close to… awe.
Kairo lowered his hand.
"I don't need your blood," he said quietly. "Not today."
He stood and turned his back on her.
The duel instructor raised his staff. "Winner: Kael Drosin."
Silence.
Then murmurs.
Then shock.
[Blood Core Progression: +1%]
[New Trait Acquired: Mercy in Madness – Sparing a foe may twist their loyalty.]
[Selis Dawnflare – Interest Level: 3% → 52%]
Later that night, as Kairo walked the Academy halls, he sensed it.
A heartbeat.
Following him.
He turned sharply - and found Selis leaning against the archway, arms crossed.
"You could've killed me," she said.
"I didn't."
She stepped closer. "Why?"
Kairo shrugged. "Didn't feel like it."
She stared at him for a long time.
Then smiled.
"You're not like the others."
Kairo's eyes narrowed. "That's the nicest insult I've heard all week."
Selis leaned in, voice barely above a whisper. "You scare me."
"Good."
"…I like it."
She should've hated him. But something far more dangerous had begun to take root.
——
The Midnight Feast
Night cloaked the Academy in velvet black. Lanterns burned low. The main halls were silent. But deep beneath the west wing - beyond gilded doors, through tunnels that didn't exist on any map - the true elite gathered.
And tonight, they feasted.
Kairo adjusted the black wolf-mask on his face, his robe stitched with false noble sigils he had stolen and forged. Around him stood masked aristocrats, their laughter sharp and cruel. Their faces were hidden, but their power was unmistakable. Flames hovered above palms. Ice shimmered on fingertips. One boy's eyes glowed silver.
This was no banquet.
This was a hunt.
"Welcome," said a voice - deep, theatrical, and laced with sadism. The speaker wore a mask shaped like a serpent's open jaw. "Tonight, as per tradition, the Midnight Feast shall commence. The forest awaits. And so do the Lowbloods."
Applause rippled.
Kairo's fists clenched under his robe.
They weren't talking about beasts.
They were talking about people - orphans, slum-born students, scholarship transfers, indentured workers. Dozens had already been reported missing this year.
And now he knew why.
"The rules are simple," Serpent-Jaw said. "Each of you will enter the Duskwild Grove. The Lowbloods have been given a head start. Bring back their tokens… or their heads. The noble with the most kills wins the Crimson Fang."
Torches flared.
And the gates opened.
The forest was dark. Silent. The only sound was the rustling of leaves and the trembling breaths of prey.
Kairo stalked through the trees, no longer among the nobles.
He'd broken away moments after the gates opened - slipping into the trees, discarding his mask, and replacing it with intention.
He found the first victim five minutes in.
A boy- maybe twelve - was bleeding from the leg, sobbing beneath a bush.
Kairo crouched. "Quiet."
The boy flinched.
"I'm not one of them," Kairo whispered. "Run northeast. Follow the fireflies. You'll see a cliff with a white tree. Hide under the roots."
The boy stared. "Why are you helping?"
Kairo's eyes narrowed. "Because no one helped me."
And then he vanished into the dark.
He struck like a ghost.
The first noble never saw it coming.
A ripple of blood tendrils from the shadows—snapped neck. Dragged away. Silenced.
The second one screamed, alerting three others.
Mistake.
[Ability Activated: Crimson Grasp]
Tendrils erupted. Trees groaned under the impact. Bones shattered like glass.
Three more died.
One tried to flee.
[Blood Piercer: Activated]
A red spike shot through the darkness, punching through his chest.
By dawn, ten nobles were dead.
The rest had fled.
All the Lowbloods survived.
[Sovereign System Alert]
—Trial: Midnight Feast Complete—
—Objective: Defy the Noble Rite / Protect the Markless—Complete
—Kill Count: 12
—Efficiency Rating: 93%
—Title Unlocked: Crimson Shadow
They will never see you coming. They will never know what bled them dry.
[Blood Core Progression: 7% → 12%]
[Blood Trait Awakened: Veil Instinct – Temporary invisibility when striking from cover.]
Back in the Academy courtyard, news spread fast.
The Crimson Fang was canceled.
A tragedy, they said. A tragedy of beasts in the wild. An accident. A mistake. Something went wrong.
No suspects.
No arrests.
Only fear.
Even Claine Morvan said little the next day - his usual arrogance dampened by a whisper that haunted the halls:
"The Crimson Shadow walks among us."
If they wanted a monster, he would give them one. One they couldn't see. One they couldn't stop.
•
•
•
Author's Note:
🩸 What. Just. Happened.
Kairo isn't just rising. He's rewriting the rules. The rich and powerful have a new predator - and they don't even know his name. 👀
This is the darker turn. The arc of vengeance is here, and it's wrapped in blood, shadows, and strategy.
If this chapter made your blood tingle (in the best way):
🔺 Drop a Power Stone to feed the Sovereign System.
🔺 Comment your favorite line or theory.
🔺 Add to library so you don't miss what happens when Crimson Shadow is whispered at the Academy.
Stay sharp. Stay sovereign.
—Your Bloody Narrator,
Fay