The next morning, Eclipse Ascension Academy's corridors were unusually quiet. Whispers from yesterday's events still lingered, but students dared not speak too loudly. Even among Silver-ranked students, there was unease—a subtle tension Cael could feel in the air.
He walked toward the secluded training chamber with Selene at his side. Her movements were deliberate, her expression sharpened with resolve.
"Today," Cael said, his voice calm yet commanding, "you will learn control under real pressure. Not observation, not theory, but resistance. I will show you how blood can act even when the world attempts to suppress it."
Selene's eyes widened slightly. "Even… the academy wards?"
"Yes," Cael replied. "The suppression exists to limit ordinary blood and aura. But the blood of the immortal… obeys differently. It remembers."
Inside the chamber, Cael activated a small array of suppression wards, normally strong enough to prevent any mana-based technique from manifesting beyond a faint shimmer. Selene could feel the pressure immediately—like invisible hands pressing against her skin, tightening her chest.
"Focus," Cael murmured. "Do not fight it. Do not resist. Flow with it. Let the blood respond to your intent, not the world's restrictions."
He produced a single drop of his own blood, letting it hover between his fingers. Selene mimicked his motion, letting her own small blood sample respond to her will.
The first attempt failed. The suppression wards pushed against her command, dissolving the droplet before it could form.
"Again," Cael said, calm as ever. "This time, feel the feedback. The wards resist because they are afraid of control, not force. Blood answers patience, not aggression."
This time, Selene closed her eyes. She exhaled slowly, letting her heartbeat sync with the tiny droplet. Slowly, imperceptibly at first, the droplet elongated into a thin ribbon, resisting the wards' dissolution. The ribbon pulsed faintly, moving as if alive.
Cael nodded. "Better. Now—bind the intent to your own circulation. Flow through your veins. Do not act externally. Let it emerge from within."
Selene obeyed, and the ribbon stabilized, twisting gracefully between her palms despite the wards' suppression.
"You feel it?" Cael asked softly. "That is your first blood-based technique—beyond suppression. Not external mana. Not aura. Life itself obeys when mastered."
Selene's eyes shimmered. "I… I feel it. I can control it without breaking the wards!"
"Exactly," Cael said, a rare smile touching his lips. "Most students will never understand. Few even attempt it. Remember this feeling. This… awakening."
The training was interrupted abruptly by a faint disturbance in the academy's outer perimeter. Cael sensed it immediately—a subtle yet precise movement, like a shadow slipping past the edges of perception.
Top Ten Families' scouts had arrived. Disguised as ordinary students and staff, they sought to observe, report, and, if possible, sabotage.
One scout, a nimble figure cloaked in darkness, approached the chamber undetected by conventional senses. But Cael's instincts, honed over centuries, reacted to the faint pulse of their circulation—the rhythm of blood under suppression.
He raised a hand. A thin, invisible ribbon of blood leapt from his veins, twisting silently in the air. It wrapped around the intruder's ankle, lifting them slightly, guiding them off balance without touching them.
The scout stumbled and fell, startled, and retreated instantly.
Selene watched in awe. "You can feel them… just by their blood?"
Cael nodded. "A faint pulse, a rhythm out of sync with the world. It betrays their presence. Most would never notice, even if they were trained in mana or aura."
Later that day, Selene was tested under pressure. Cael instructed her to summon a blood ribbon while evading attacks from moving mana constructs—a combination of speed, redirection, and finesse. The suppression wards in the chamber amplified the challenge.
At first, her ribbons dissolved instantly. Each attempt triggered intense backlash, making her knees tremble and forcing her to steady herself. Cael guided her subtly, teaching her how to flow with the constraints rather than resist them.
After dozens of attempts, Selene's ribbon maintained shape long enough to strike a moving construct precisely. She gasped, realizing she had succeeded.
Cael observed her silently. "Good. One step closer to mastery. You must remember: the stronger the restriction, the stronger the discipline it teaches. Control comes before strength."
Selene bowed her head. "I understand, teacher. Thank you."
Meanwhile, Lyra Noctis, observing openly from the gallery above the chamber, finally descended. Her steps were silent, deliberate, and her shadow stretched long across the polished floor.
"You are teaching her too quickly," Lyra said softly, though her gaze was locked on Cael. "If she learns the forbidden techniques too soon, it could draw attention from the wrong parties."
Cael tilted his head. "Attention is already drawn. The world is watching. The question is whether we survive it… or succumb to it."
Lyra's eyes narrowed. "And you—will you be able to survive the families that now consider you a threat?"
Cael smiled faintly, crimson pulse flashing just under the surface of his skin. "They do not yet understand. But they will. All in due time."
That night, the faint resonance of blood techniques traveled through the academy's wards like an uninvited guest. Top Ten Families recalibrated their spies, sensing something unnatural but unable to trace its origin.
And far below, in the abyss, the Demon King's crimson eyes flared with anticipation.
"Yes," he whispered. "The Blood Immortal awakens. A thousand years forgotten, and yet the first steps of his plan are already in motion. The world will bleed… and remember."
Cael pressed his palm to his chest, feeling the faint shimmer of life, circulation, and memory.
Blood remembers. And so do I.
The first true awakening of his blood technique was complete.