The sky above the serene world had always been calm—a quiet blue canvas with no sign of war, blood, or gods. Yet, tonight, it cracked.
Rei stood at the edge of a cliff, his eyes fixated on the horizon. Behind him, the small village was still asleep. But inside him? A storm had awakened.
The words of the mysterious girl from another timeline echoed again:
"This world is a cage. They made you forget who you were."
He clenched his fist. The fragment of a broken crimson mask lay in his hand—sharp, old, and humming with energy. A whisper came from it, so faint that it might've been imagined:
"Rei... remember."
Flashes assaulted his mind—monsters, gods, screams, a symbol glowing red on his back, blood dripping from his hands. And above all of it... a feeling. Power.
The once-blocked system flickered again.
> [System Core Recovery: 42% Completed]
[User ID: Sovereign #08 – Rei Kisaragi]
[System Warning: Unknown Reality Detected]
He dropped the mask fragment.
"No," he whispered. "No more lies."
The peaceful world was fake. A paradise painted over the ashes of war. He could feel it now—this world's silence was not peace, it was suppression. Like a divine lullaby sung to a sleeping warrior.
And Rei? He was wide awake.
He turned back to the village. The people here had no idea what reality truly looked like. He couldn't drag them into it.
But he could do what he was always meant to.
He walked into the forest, deeper into the unknown, until the system pulsed again.
> [Reboot Complete: System Reactivated.]
[Mission Restored: Reclaim your Truth. Break the Chains.]
As he passed through the trees, the glowing red mark reemerged on his back—the Sovereign's Mark. The air shivered around him.
Rei looked up at the blood-tinted moon.
"I don't care if I have to kill gods, rewrite destiny, or destroy this world... I'm finding out who I am."
And with that, Rei Kisaragi chose the path not of peace, but of truth.
The path of Blood. A red mist blanketed the earth beneath Rei's feet as he stepped into the forgotten ruins of a temple buried in the forest. Vines curled over shattered columns, and an eerie silence smothered the place—like even time had chosen to avoid it.
But Rei wasn't here to be cautious.
He was here to remember.
> [System Core 100% Restored.]
[Power Sync Detected: Artifact — The Power Granter.]
[Unlocking Suppressed Data: Loading all Sovereign Abilities...]
Rei stumbled as a massive surge of energy hit his core. His knees hit the cracked stone floor. Symbols began glowing beneath him—ancient runes etched by beings long erased from existence.
He screamed—not in pain, but in awakening.
One by one, the powers of his past life surged through his veins:
— The Void Dash of the Fallen Speed King.
— The Reality Slash from his war with the Time Sovereign.
— The Dominion Fist, once enough to shatter a moon.
— The cursed Omniflame of the Eternal King.
They were all his again.
His breath slowed. His eyes opened—no longer confused, no longer blind. The Power Granter, a blood-red orb with black veins, floated before him.
He reached out.
The moment his fingers touched it, it vanished—absorbed into his chest.
> [Item Merged: Power Granter is now part of your Soul Core.]
[Passive: Absorb defeated enemies' unique powers.]
He exhaled.
This was it. The turning point. The cage was breaking.
But then... a sound. A shuffle. Rei turned.
From the shadows emerged a deformed, dying beast—half-human, half-divine. Its body was ripped apart by something far stronger. Yet it crawled toward him, its eyes glowing gold.
It tried to speak, but choked on its own blood.
Rei raised his hand—not in fear, but instinctively.
The blood pooled from the beast… and began to float.
He didn't command it. He felt it.
The blood responded to his will.
> [New Ability Unlocked: Blood Control – Level 1]
[Skill Evolution Possible: "Bloodbind" unlocked.]
Rei's eyes widened. His hand twitched.
"Rise," he whispered.
And from the blood... the creature did rise.
Rei stepped back, stunned.
He had just revived his first soldier.
Not shadow. Not soul.
Blood.
And the Blood Sovereign had officially taken his first step.