Hmm...?
Raelis glanced around. He wasn't standing on anything, but he wasn't falling either.
It was definitely a strange sensation, but it was even weirder once he realized where he was.
The space around him was white, and in front of him stood a tall, narrow spire. It had no details, just a smooth surface that stretched straight up and disappeared into the white nothingness above.
It felt like the spire was calling to him, but no matter how he tried to move, he couldn't get any closer.
That was when a tiny door appeared out of nowhere. From it stepped a humanoid figure, completely clad in white. Yet its head resembled a scorching golden-white flame.
Almost like the one he had just absorbed.
The figure motionlessly stared at the white space. Then, as if the space were a canvas, the figure raised its lanky arm and brushed it across the air.
Instantly, the light vanished as a shadow fell from above, covering the spire completely.
Now, the only thing Raelis could see was the figure in the pitch-black void.
That was also when its face, made entirely of golden-white flame, came into view.
Just this time, it was staring directly at him.
As Raelis was about to call out, however, the figure vanished in the blink of an eye, and before he knew it, a pair of pop-ups appeared, clouding his vision.
With the last pop-up, Raelis's body seemed to relax before suddenly jolting awake.
He opened his eyes in surprise and glanced around.
He was back in his room, yet it seemed a bit different. Dust had gathered in a few corners, and the edge of his bed was neatly tucked in.
Given how much he tossed and turned in his sleep, there was no way this bed was his.
The next thing he noticed was a sharp headache, causing him to slump back down into the pillow.
It wasn't unbearable, more like an annoying sensation that slowly went away, but for good measure, he decided it was best to lay there for a few moments.
For now, he decided to check how much his attributes had increased.
Name: Raelis Varekan
Age: 12 → 15
Race: Human
—Flame Core: 1 Flame Ring
Flame: ??? Primordial Flame (☆ — Mastery: 0%)
—Bloodline: Cinder Phoenix
Purity: 9% → 10% (Ember)
Next Rank: 20% (Kindle)
—Attributes:
Vitality: 24 → 42
Perception: 14 → 25
Willpower: 25 → 50
Magic Control: 12 → 20
—Abilities:
(NEW) Basic Fire Manipulation (★☆ — Mastery: 0%)
Intermediate Heat Control (★☆ — Mastery: 0%)
(NEW) Basic Fireball (☆ — Mastery: 0%)
His attributes had undergone a drastic change, and so had his abilities. Lesser Ember Manifestation evolved into Basic Fire Manipulation, and he even got a Basic Fireball ability.
And all of that was possible because his bloodline purity had reached 10%.
But... Raelis's gaze drifted toward the very top of the interface.
It showcased his Flame Core as well as the flame he absorbed.
Yet there was one thing in particular that caught him off guard.
It's been 3 years...?
The last thing he remembered was collapsing in the room where the Ancient Flame Remnant was stored, then he found himself in that strange white space.
Before he could think more on it, his door creaked open and through it came Lydia, holding a few dry towels.
Her hair was messy, and her usually clean maid attire was riddled with holes.
But the moment her exhausted eyes met Raelis's, she froze, dropping the towel to the ground.
"Y-Young master? You're awake..."
"Where's my mother?" He got straight to the point. "Is she in the annex building? Is she in her home country? Where is she?"
"Um... young master... your mother is fine..." Lydia trailed off. "But are you fine? Do you feel any discomfort?"
Frankly, if he was really asleep for the last three years, then he was surprised by how fine he felt at the moment.
But once he glanced back at the interface, he realized that his Vitality attribute might've been responsible.
Even so, Raelis pushed himself off the bed with a groan and slowly stood, steadying himself.
"Where is she?" Raelis asked coldly, staring her straight in the eyes.
But just as Lydia was about to open her mouth, a figure skipped into his room. She was a woman with completely white hair and golden eyes that resembled his own.
She didn't even glance toward the bed where he lay. Instead, she walked over to the window and parted the drapes.
Raelis watched this sight with a mixed expression and a rapidly beating heart.
His mother, Sophia was here in the flesh, alive and well, just as she had been before his first bloodline test all those years ago.
While she was busy parting the drapes and cleaning the smudge off the window, Raelis quietly approached, stopping right behind her.
And then, almost as if there were a lump in his throat, he spoke.
"M-mother?"
The moment he finished his words, his mother halted. She turned her head around in an instant, and when her eyes met his, she rushed forward and threw her arms around him.
"Raelis!" Sophia exclaimed, practically crushing him within her embrace. "I-I thought you were..."
Tears streamed down her face, falling onto his shoulder.
He couldn't remember the last time he cried, but as he hugged her back, the tears came anyway.
Mother...
She was a concubine of the emperor, but after a certain turn of events, the emperor discarded her and sent her to live in the annex building.
That was when Raelis's father appeared. He was a prince, and last in line to the throne. Yet the two got along very well. So well, in fact, that they eventually fell in love and had Raelis.
But not even two years after Raelis's birth, his father was killed for the same reason Raelis was.
A fake letter that claimed treason. Due to the bad reputation he'd earned during the war, his father couldn't dispute the claims, and in the end, he was executed by guillotine.
Raelis's gaze sharpened as he comforted his sobbing mother.
As a courtesy to my late father... I'll get revenge for him as well...
With those thoughts, the two continued their hug, until finally, after several minutes, they separated.
His mother looked at him with a pout.
"You had me worried... you didn't send me any letters before the bloodline test, and when I finally heard about you, I thought you died!"
Raelis's brows twitched, but he had no excuse for not writing to her.
At the time... he and his mother didn't get along that well, not because of anything she did, but because of the ugly, baseless rumors that had been spreading about her.
Since he was still a child, he believed in those rumors.
But now was a different story, and because of that...
"Mother, could you tell me what happened in the last three years?"