The shattered sky stitched itself back together with threads of red lightning. Rei stood in silence, eyes glowing faintly, as his body pulsed with an unfamiliar rhythm. The trees had vanished, and in their place stood a hall of mirrors—hundreds of towering glass panes arranged in a circle.
Each mirror reflected something different.
Some showed Rei as a child.
Some showed him wielding powers he couldn't remember.
But one… one mirror showed him now—eyes lifeless, arms soaked in blood, a crown of bone resting crookedly on his head.
He stepped closer.
> "Is this… what I was?"
The reflection didn't copy his movements. Instead, it smiled.
> "You still are."
Rei froze.
> "Who are you?"
The reflection tilted its head. "The you that remembered. The blood never forgets, Rei."
The walls around him pulsed. From the mirrors, red mist began to leak—forming into shapes. Figures. Warriors with hollow eyes and blades made of bone and crystal. They kneeled before the reflection.
> "They are yours," the reflection said. "Not created by shadow… but by blood. Fallen warriors, eternally bound to your command."
Rei stepped back. "No. I don't want this."
> "You wanted peace once. That was a lie."
The mirror-Rei raised a hand, and one of the blood-formed warriors lunged at Rei. Instinct took over. Rei's palm lit up with a crimson glyph. He shouted—
> "Bloodbind!"
The warrior halted mid-air, then knelt before him. Not the reflection.
> [New Skill Acquired: Bloodbind – Control fallen beings using Sovereign's Blood.]
[Warning: Power class exceeds limit. Restraining Core activated.]
The reflection faded… smiling.
> "You will fight, Rei. The blood won't let you rest. Not until the world kneels again."
Cracks spread across the mirror, and with a final shatter, it exploded.
Rei stood alone in the hall, one blood-bound warrior beside him.
And on the floor… a tattoo burned back into his skin.
The Sovereign's Mark.
Crimson. Alive.
> "I'm starting to remember… and it terrifies me."
He turned.
> "But I won't run from it anymore."