The sky bled fire.
Lightning carved jagged scars across the heavens as Damon Cross stalked through the industrial ruins of Old Quarter 9. His boots crunched glass and bone. Rain hissed around him like steam from a forge.
> [Bloodcore: 118% – Stabilizing…]
[Passive Ability – Sovereign's Pulse: You exude dominance. Lesser entities instinctively submit. Fear resistance increased.]
[New Skill Unlocked – Bloodforge Lv.1: Convert absorbed blood into weapons or armor. Efficiency increases with mastery.]
Damon clenched his fist, and crimson energy crackled across his skin. His body thrummed with pressure—every heartbeat sent waves of unnatural heat through his limbs. He was a conduit for something ancient now. Not merely a killer.
A warborn monarch.
He stopped in front of a scorched building, half-collapsed and strangled in vines of rebar and rust.
This would be his first Bloodhold.
A place of death, reborn in blood.
> [Quest Objective – Establish First Bloodhold. Thralls Required: 3. Territory Claimed: 0%. Defend for 1 hour.]
[Warning: Bloodhold declaration will alert nearby forces.]
"So be it," Damon muttered. "Come and see."
He raised both hands.
> [Skill Activated – Bloodpact Lv.1]
The ground beneath his feet pulsed red. The last three corpses he'd dragged here—victims of a Hound patrol ambush—twitched violently. Bones broke and reformed. Nerves sparked.
They rose.
Not mindless. Not human.
Bloodthralls.
Their eyes glowed red. Their veins shimmered with sovereign sigils.
Damon spoke, his voice deepened with power.
"This ground is mine. This death is mine. Hold it."
The Bloodthralls knelt.
> [Bloodhold Claimed – Contested Territory. First wave arriving in 00:45 seconds.]
"Let them come," Damon whispered. "Let them try."
The wind shrieked.
He activated Bloodforge.
A stream of blood curled up his arm, solidifying into a jagged crimson gauntlet covered in thorns. It pulsed with energy—alive and hungry.
Another wave formed into a twin-edged blade, serrated and humming.
He twirled it experimentally.
Good.
The ground trembled.
Shapes emerged from the mist.
Two dozen figures—cloaked, masked, armed with chains, blades, and archaic tech glowing green.
> [Enemy Faction Identified – Cult of the Bleeding Choir]
[Threat Level: Moderate]
[Objective: Purge all Sovereign Candidates before Ascension.]
So they were scared. Good.
"Glory to the Red Gospel!" one of the zealots shrieked. "He dies here!"
Damon stepped forward. The Bloodthralls flanked him.
"No," he said, voice amplified by Sovereign's Pulse. "You do."
They charged.
Damon moved like a crimson god.
The first cultist's head flew before he could finish his battle cry.
The second's spine snapped under a roundhouse cloaked in Bloodlash tendrils.
A third raised a relic shield—Damon's Bloodblade cut through it and his torso like wet silk.
The air rang with screams and steel.
> [Bloodcore: 124% – Overload Delayed by Sovereign Trait]
[New Combat Trait – Crimson Flow: Consecutive kills accelerate reflex speed and bloodcraft regeneration.]
Damon's body responded faster now—he caught a dagger mid-flight, spun, and embedded it in another zealot's neck.
One of his Bloodthralls was down—limbs torn, body crushed.
> [Revival Possible: Channel 25% Bloodcore]
[Revive? Y/N]
"Yes."
A burst of energy roared from Damon's chest. Bloodstrings wove the body back together like a tapestry of horror and power.
The thrall rose screaming.
The cultist who'd delivered the killing blow turned to flee.
Damon snapped his fingers.
A blood spear erupted from the ground, impaling him.
> [Skill Acquired – Sanguine Spire Lv.1: Create impaling pillars beneath grounded targets. Upgradeable.]
[Bloodcore: 98%]
More were coming.
Dozens now. From every alley.
But Damon stood taller.
Stronger.
The blood of enemies soaked into the ruins. Into him.
The building around him groaned. The metal walls pulsed—red veins crawling across concrete.
The territory was becoming his.
> [Bloodhold: 27% Secured.]
[Sovereign Buff Applied: Defense +15%, Power Regen +5%]
[New Passive Unlocked – Dominion Echo Lv.1: Thralls fight with enhanced aggression inside claimed territory.]
He grinned.
And then—
A shockwave tore through the city block.
Dust and blood blasted outward.
From the smoke emerged a new figure—armored head to toe in obsidian plating, bearing a two-handed cleaver bigger than most men.
The ground cracked under his step.
> [Elite Detected – Enforcer of the Choir: "Apostate Breaker"]
[Threat Level: High – Anti-Sovereign Suppression Class]
The Bloodthralls hesitated.
Damon didn't.
He lunged.
Blade met cleaver with a titanic boom.
The Enforcer didn't speak—just fought like a demon.
Their clash sent out shockwaves. Walls collapsed. Sparks flew.
Blow for blow.
Steel for steel.
Damon's blade shattered.
But he grinned.
"Try this."
> [Skill Activated – Bloodforge: Recast]
[New Form: Ripperclaws – Dual short blades, designed for speed and lethality.]
The red steel curled over his hands like talons.
He ducked under the next cleaver swipe, slashing deep into the Enforcer's hip.
No blood.
Armor.
The Enforcer grabbed him mid-spin and hurled him through a wall.
Pain exploded in Damon's chest. Ribs cracked.
But—
> [Regeneration: 12 HP/sec. Rising.]
He rose. Smiling.
"You hit like a bitch."
He charged again—this time activating Sanguine Spire mid-sprint. Spikes erupted behind the Enforcer, penning him in.
Then—
> [Skill Combo – Crimson Surge + Ripperclaws]
[Burst Mode Engaged]
Damon's arms blurred.
Slash. Slash. Slash.
Armor cracked.
The Enforcer reeled.
Then Damon went low—Bloodlash tendrils wrapping the cleaver—and yanked.
The weapon flew from the giant's hands.
Damon leapt, both blades out.
"Die!"
He plunged the claws through the Enforcer's eye slits.
Sparks.
Screams.
Silence.
> [Elite Kill Confirmed – Apostate Breaker]
[Bloodcore: 132% – Overload Stabilized by Throne Protocol]
[Skill Acquired – Iron Baptism Lv.1: Absorb enemy resistances for short durations after elite kills.]
Damon stood over the corpse, breath steaming, eyes wild.
Then he looked up.
> [Bloodhold Secured – 100% Control Achieved.]
[Sovereign Domain Established: "Crimson Hollow"]
[Reward: Throne Point +1 / Unlock: Sovereign Throneforge – Passive Skill Construction Available]
[New Objective: Construct a Blood Throne]
He exhaled.
Rain poured again.
But this time, it smelled like victory.
Lilith's voice returned, slow and sultry.
> "Well. I didn't think you'd survive the Enforcer."
"Neither did he."
> "You're accelerating too fast, Damon. They'll come harder. Stronger."
"I'll tear through them."
Lilith paused.
> "Then you're ready for your next choice."
A menu appeared before him, crimson and gold:
> [Sovereign Throneforge – Select Passive Branch] — Crimson Tyrant: Boost Thrall Capacity and Fear Aura.
— Bloodsmith: Customize weapons/armor using bloodtech blueprints.
— Sanguine Oracle: Unlock precognition and danger sense through Bloodvisions.
Damon's hand hovered.
Then he selected:
Bloodsmith.
> [Path Confirmed – Bloodsmith Initiated]
[Skill Blueprint Acquired – Veinblade Mk.II (Upgradeable)]
He turned toward the horizon.
There would be no peace.
No safety.
Only power, and the throne he would build atop the bones of every bastard who tried to cage him.
> [New Global Threat Flagged – The Crimson Heir has risen.]
[Sovereign Tier Increased. Monitoring Initiated by Elder Bloodlords.]
Damon cracked his neck.
Let them watch.
Let them come.
He was ready to paint the world red.