[COUNTDOWN: 00:10]
Leo stood before Laura and Susan, a stark contrast to the boy he had been four days ago. The transformation was not just in his eyes or his hair, but in the very way he held himself.
He wore a black, flexible tactical jacket rigged with reinforced pockets that Laura had specially ordered, charcoal cargo pants that allowed for a full range of motion, and heavy-duty combat boots designed for rocky terrain. He was prepared as best a mortal could be, though he knew his greatest tools- the starter packs hidden in the sigil's inventory- were locked until he crossed the threshold. The air in the room seemed to hum, vibrating in sync with the countdown ticking away in his vision.
"We'll wait for you here, Leo," Laura said. The smile couldn't hide her trembling fingers.
Susan remained silent, but the way her hands gripped her own arms betrayed her tension.
Leo exhaled softly, the sound loud in the tense silence of the mansion. Four days ago, their lives were completely separate, drifting in different oceans of misery. Fate was unpredictable, pulling him from the river and placing him in this golden cage, only to throw him into a cosmic arena.
'At least I'm fed. Twelve hours before starvation. If there are beasts in there, I'll manage,' he thought, feeling the simmering heat of the blood he had taken from Laura. It was his fuel, his only anchor to sanity.
[COUNTDOWN: 00:00]
The world didn't fade; it fractured. A blue holographic screen- distinct from his blood-red interface- shattered the air in front of him.
[YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN AS A LORD CANDIDATE]
[Enter the World of Origin to claim unimaginable power and legacy.]
''Here goes nothing,'' Leo thought.
A violent spatial warp erupted above him, a sapphire vortex that hooked into his navel and yanked. In a blink, he was gone.
"Can he survive?" Laura whispered into the empty room.
"That kid was never simple, Laura," Susan replied, her voice grim. "Don't worry. A monster like him was built for a place like that."
Across the world, thousands vanished mid-step, mid-breath, mid-dream. Some screamed in terror as the blue portals claimed them, some prayed to gods that no longer answered, and some entered with chilling calm, their eyes fixed on the promise of power. Who would survive and return to tell the tale?
Only Origin decided.
Origin: The Temple of the Sanguine Seraph
Leo slammed onto rough stone, breath knocked from his lungs. Metallic air filled his nose- blood, ozone, wet earth. The ground beneath him pulsed faintly, as though alive.
He rose to his feet, scanning his surroundings.
A circular temple stretched around him, pillars glistening like veins of living crimson. At the center towered a statue that froze the breath in Leo's lungs.
It was an angel, devilishly beautiful, but it wasn't carved from stone or gold. It was made of living, pulsating blood, suspended in a crystalline form that radiated a terrifying light.
'How beautiful,' Leo thought, mesmerized.
The blue system screen flickered to life.
[WELCOME TO ORIGIN, LORD OF BLOOD: LEO MORDRAK]
Leo's pulse stilled as he read the name. 'My surname really changed, huh. Vane is gone. Mordrak remains.'
[Total Lords summoned this cycle: 100,000]
[You have received: Territory Guardian]
[Guardians are the core of lord authority]
[If the Guardian Core is destroyed]
[Lord status revoked]
[A grace period of 7 days begins now]
[Use this time to fortify your territory]
[Upon grace expiration]
[First Trial commences]
[Lords who survive become Prime Lords]
[Prime Lords may traverse Origin and Home Plane freely]
[AWAKENING INITIATED... BRACE YOURSELF]
Leo clenched his fists, feeling the energy in the air beginning to condense. Susan's warning echoed in his mind like a bell: If you get a low-grade talent, kill yourself before the monsters do. It was the only mercy available in the Origin. ''At least give me an A-rank,'' Leo prayed.
[Awakening sequence initializing]
[Evaluating Fate Resonance]
[Detected Progenitor bloodline anomaly]
[Detected blood karma equivalent to millions]
[Detected sealed Title: Progenitor]
[TALENT AWAKENED: BLOOD SANGUINARY ARCHIVE (SSS-RANK)]
''Wo..'' Before Leo could even process the shock of an SSS-rank, the highest grade known to the Association, the screen began to glitch. Static hissed across his vision like white noise.
''What? An error? No, no, no!''
[ERROR... ERROR...]
[PRIMORDIAL FRAGMENT DETECTED.]
The red burning orb he had touched in the river- the one he thought had dissolved- suddenly flared with heat inside his chest. It hovered, radiating heat that scorched the air.
[Talent mutation triggered]
[Upgrading…]
[Upgrading…]
[TALENT AWAKENED: PRIMORDIAL SANGUINARY ARCHIVE (EX-RANK)]
[ACHIEVEMENT: FIRST LORD TO AWAKEN AN EX-RANK TALENT.] Do you wish to announce your achievement to all Lords? [ YES | NO ]
''Hell no!'' Leo slammed the [NO] button. ''Susan said SSS-ranks were basically gods among men. If people find out I have something higher, I'll have a target on my back before I set foot.''
[Achievement recorded]
[Reward Issued: Unique Rank Chest (EX)]
Leo slumped to his knees, his hands trembling as he stared at the ground. He started laughing- a jagged, manic sound that echoed off the vein-like pillars.
''AHAHAHA! A grade beyond SSS...''
As tears of relief fell from his eyes, he didn't notice the blood statue of the angel. For a split second, its frozen, crystalline face shifted into a faint, mischievous grin.
The Ancient Reach
Across the cosmic void, on a planet woven from silver energy and ancient roots, a world-tree as tall as a solar system stirred. Two eyes, revolving voids of darkness, opened in the center of its bark.
A voice like grinding tectonic plates vibrated through the atmosphere.
"What have you done, Seraphine?"
The voice sighed with a heavy, defeated weight.
''He hasn't even awakened his bloodline properly, yet he possesses a talent that only the Ancient Terrors once held. So... this was the reason you sacrificed your life and your entire race to the Origin? To plant this seed in the dark?''
The entity paused, the voids of its eyes spinning faster.
''I really hope you know what you are doing, Seraphine Noctyra. If allowed to grow, he will not just rule... he will devour the cosmos itself.''
**
Across Origin, temples echoed with activation sequences. Guardians stirred. Angels, beasts, mechanical titans, ancient liches- each carved from the lineage of the one summoned.
Some candidates wept at their luck. Others knelt in terror as their guardians looked down at them with cold, predatory eyes. Humans were usually blessed with celestial guardians. But humans were not the only race chosen as lords.
In the shadows of the Origin, other candidates- things with scales, multiple eyes, and wings of ash- were also receiving their talents.
The Frost Altar
In another temple, surrounded by jagged ice and silver mist, Hye-na stared at her own screen. She stood alone, her midnight hair fluttering in a wind that shouldn't exist.
[Awakening Complete]
[Talent Identified]
Name: Sovereign Echo
Grade: S
Rank: F (lord's path)
Description: Abilities used within perception imprint temporarily onto the user's blood resonance.
Effects:
• copy visible active abilities
• weakens original potency
• may retain imprint fragments
Restrictions:
• cannot copy bloodline or awakening talents
• overuse risks resonance backlash
Her eyes turned cold as she looked at her reflection in the ice.
'Steven... get ready,' she thought, her voice a deadly whisper. 'You'll pay for messing with the person I care about.'