The white marble of the central plaza, once a symbol of pride and purity, now lay invisible beneath a layer of sticky blood, hot ashes, and twisted bodies. The air was a whirlwind of screams, burnt incense, and the stench of charred flesh. The name Morningstar dissolved alongside each extinguished life.
The Zhao, Chen, and Liu families, allied with the Northern Valois, had not sent mere disciples. The Patriarchs had unleashed their Great Elders, determined to erase the sovereign lineage of the city down to its very roots.
At the center, surrounded by devastation, Lilith roared: "Protect the girls!" Each word was a stab of fire in her shattered throat. Her dark red hair, now streaked with ash and blood, fell in disarray over her shoulders. Her golden eyes burned with promises of vengeance, even as she collapsed to her knees, one arm hanging uselessly and a still-smoldering spear of fire piercing her side.
Behind her, horror took shape: Violeta and Eris, the snow-haired twins, lay among the rubble. Violeta, with fractured legs, crawled forward, shielding her unconscious sister's body. Tears mixed with blood clouded her vision.
Alaric Valois walked among the corpses, his golden boots immaculate. "Pathetic," he sneered. "Is this the ancient blood of the Morningstar? All that's left is trash. Elder Liu, finish this!"
Liu, the Great Elder with a heavy axe, raised his weapon over Lilith's neck.
A crash interrupted them. The doors to the Tower of Reclusion exploded into a thousand fragments, and a gray shockwave swept across the plaza, throwing Liu against the wall. From the dust, a staggering figure emerged.
Samael.
His white robe in tatters, skin as pale as death, fresh blood dripping from his knuckles. He had forced his Qi beyond its limits, and something inside him had just awakened.
For an instant, he heard only the furious and aching beat of his own heart. "I won't let them die. Not again."
"Samael…?" Violeta whispered, hopeful and shattered.
Samael raised his gaze. His eyes, once blood red, now glowed neon violet, the center of the pupil pure fire.
Elder Zhao lunged, sword wrapped in wind: "Insolent boy! Die!"
Samael didn't even dodge. He raised his bare hand. The blade touched his palm and, to everyone's astonishment, the steel crumbled into gray dust, as if it had never existed.
[Void: Low Stage - Activated]
"What…?" Zhao stammered.
Samael seized the moment. His fingers glowed red.
[Blood Art: Claw of Pain]
He plunged his claws into the elder's throat; the energy of the Void eroded the flesh as the Blood Qi boiled Zhao's blood. He fell voiceless, not even granted the right of a final scream.
"Kill him!" Alaric screeched, retreating. "He's demonic! All together!"
Liu (axe) and Chen (fire spear) nodded and attacked at once, cultivators of Stage 4.
"Mountain Cut!" Liu's axe crashed down like thunder, wrapped in yellow earth Qi.
Samael, unarmed and on the verge of collapse, stepped in a pool of blood.
"Blood… obey."
The blood rose and solidified into crimson lances that blocked the axe strike. The impact made him tremble all over; he coughed up blood but endured.
"Solar Raven Fire!" Chen launched a blue fireblast at his face.
Unable to move, Samael exhaled a gray breath.
[Void Breath]
The flame vanished on touching the mist. "Impossible!" Chen whimpered.
Samael dropped the barrier and lunged at Liu. An open palm strike hit the giant's chest.
"Be gone!"
His robe, armor, and flesh turned to gray ash beneath Samael's palm until he squeezed the exposed heart and crushed it in his fist.
Chen fled, but Samael stretched out his hand. Blood floating in the air, obeying his will:
[Blood Art: Vein Prison]
Liquid needles flew and pierced Chen, paralyzing him. He collapsed at Alaric's feet.
Limping, ribs broken and one arm burned, Samael advanced.
"You touched my family," he spat.
Alaric, pale, retreated: "I am a Valois! If you kill me, my father will raze this valley!"
Samael growled and attacked, his hand a claw of blood and void.
PANG!
The air turned dense, frigid. A shadow rose from the ground; a hand clad in black metal seized Samael's wrist, crushing both bone and will. A hooded figure materialized; their mere presence made the world tremble.
"Enough," said the Protector, a voice from beyond the grave. "Corrosion Qi and hematic manipulation… interesting. But you are weak, child."
With a palm strike, they hurled Samael through walls and stone, burying him in rubble.
The Protector seized Alaric: "We're leaving, young master."
"Kill him! Now!"
"No. He has harmed me. He is already dead."
A sphere of smoke, and the plaza fell silent. Only Violeta's sobs filled the night.
Beneath the rubble, Samael opened his eyes. He couldn't move. He felt life slipping away, but he crawled inch by inch to his sisters.
"Brother…" Violeta muttered.
He embraced them, blood and tears mixing. His vision darkened.
In the gloom, a cold blue light cut through the darkness:
[Primordial Patriarch System: Initiated] [Condition detected: Unknown Lineage active.] [Awakened Affinities:] Blood (Beginner) Void (Lowest Stage) [Welcome, user Samael Morningstar. The destiny of your clan has been rewritten.]
And among ruins, a new era opened its eyes.