To them, you are not a student. You are a loaded weapon walking among children."
---
The halls of Vanguard Academy always hummed with movement—students rushing between training cycles, drones gliding silently, instructors barking orders—but for the first time, Kael felt it differently.
He wasn't just watched.
He was measured.
Every eye that landed on him lingered a second too long. Whispers followed him like shadows. Even the walls seemed colder.
Something had changed after the Catacombs.
And not just inside him.
---
[Bloodline Status Update]
Cursed Tier I Complete
Title: Bloodborn Initiate
Core Mutation: Phantom Vein Heart – Integrated
Passive Regeneration: +15%
Shadow Cost Reduction: 20%
Detection Resistance: +30%
Active Tracking Risk: HIGH
> System Note: Hunter-class entities have begun essence scanning in your proximity. Cloak presence during high-stress combat.
Kael moved through the corridor with his hood drawn low. His Zeta-class uniform barely covered the faint red glow of his hand—the bloodline mark refused to fade completely now, no matter how much he wrapped it.
Inside, his new heart pulsed with slow, silent power.
It was stronger.
Sharper.
But it came with a cost.
Kael could feel it: the temptation to lash out, to feed, to rise.
---
Zeta Dormitory – Training Chamber
Griff and Nero avoided him now.
Even Karra Vinn—the unstable blade-mutant—nodded to him with respect when he entered. A silent acknowledgement.
Not of friendship.
Of dominance.
Kael had finished the quest. The system no longer nudged him to fight his peers. But it did something stranger now—something colder.
> [Path Divergence Approaching]
Morality Alignment will soon shift based on behavior.
Maintain emotional control to avoid forced evolution.
Next Choice May Be Permanent.
> What the hell does that mean? Kael thought.
He didn't have time to figure it out.
Because the door slid open.
And Lyra Voss walked in.
---
She wore the black-and-gold combat uniform of a top-tier Vanguard enforcer, silver sword strapped to her back, hair tied in a sharp braid. Her presence was calm, commanding, and cold.
Everyone else left the room.
Kael remained seated on the bench, wrapping his hands in training cloth.
She didn't speak immediately.
She watched.
Then: "You've been busy."
Kael met her gaze. "You've been following me."
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
> She knows something. But not everything.
"Red Mist," she said, tossing a crystal across the room. It hovered, projecting the duel where Kael shattered Tyran Solborn's core.
"You fought like a predator."
Kael said nothing.
She stepped closer.
"You could've killed him. You didn't. That's the only reason I haven't reported you. But make no mistake, Kael—if you are what I think you are, I'll be the one who brings you down."
Kael stood slowly, eyes hardening.
"Then stop talking," he said. "Test me."
---
Training Arena – Isolated Simulation Room
The system classified the duel as a non-lethal spar, but everyone present knew what this was:
A trap.
A test.
A warning.
Kael versus Lyra Voss.
He knew her reputation: a prodigy from the northern spire academies. Specialized in light-based essence and counter-assassin tactics. Ranked within the top 50 students of Vanguard globally.
She was the kind of opponent the old Kael would have no chance against.
But he wasn't that boy anymore.
---
The moment the simulation activated, Lyra struck.
A flicker of white light exploded from her body—[Flashgate – Lv. 2]—teleporting her across the arena, blade already drawn.
Kael dodged just in time, her strike slicing air inches from his neck.
He countered with a feint-kick followed by a palm thrust, but Lyra weaved around it, responding with three rapid jabs and a backflip that created distance.
> [Blood Pulse – Activated]
Enhancing reflexes…
Kael surged forward, this time landing two clean hits to her midsection. She grunted, but rolled, pressing two fingers to her chest.
[Aurora Shell – Lv. 1]
A halo of white essence burst around her, blocking his next blow and knocking him back.
She wasn't trying to kill him.
But she was trying to see what he would do.
The system sensed it too.
> [Notice: Opponent using restraint. Emotional pressure rising.]
Kael exhaled slowly.
> Don't give them the monster.
He slid to a stop, fists raised. His bloodline flared under the surface—but he held it back.
Then Lyra did something unexpected.
She stopped fighting.
Lowered her blade.
"You're not losing control," she said softly. "Not even when provoked."
Kael blinked.
Was that... relief in her voice?
Then he realized—this wasn't just a test.
This was her looking for hope. A way to believe he could be saved.
She stepped closer, blade still lowered.
"But that voice I heard when you vanished... that wasn't human," she whispered. "Tell me the truth, Kael. Before they come for you."
His jaw clenched.
"I didn't choose this," he said.
"But I'll use it. Because I have no other way to protect the one thing that matters to me."
Lyra's expression darkened. "And how long before that reason becomes an excuse?"
Before he could answer, the system triggered a global alert.
---
[System Alert: Emergency Event – Hunter Strike in Progress]
Location: East Tower – Medical Bay
Status: Civilian in danger
Threat: Level B-Class Vampire Hunter Engaged
Target: Lina Draven
Time Remaining: 180 seconds
Kael's blood froze.
He turned, already sprinting for the exit.
Lyra followed. "Who's Lina?!"
Kael didn't answer.
He was already gone.
---
Medical Bay – East Tower
The corridor was splashed with crimson light and panic.
Nurses ran. Alarms blared.
Kael tore through the emergency door just as a figure in black leathers raised a silvered crossblade above a hospital bed.
A girl lay in it—Kael's sister—eyes wide, frozen in terror.
Kael moved before he thought.
> [Shadow Veil – Activated]
BP Cost: 40
He blinked behind the assassin, grabbed his arm, and broke it backward with a bone-splintering snap.
The man screamed, dropping the blade.
Kael didn't stop.
He grabbed his throat, slammed him into the wall, then drove a knee into his ribs with enough force to crack the paneling.
> [Blood Siphon – Activated]
Drain: 8% (Suppressed)
Kael didn't feed fully—he only drained enough to weaken the man. Then he dropped him, eyes glowing red.
"Tell me who sent you."
The man coughed blood, eyes wide with disbelief.
"You're supposed to be dormant. The seal shouldn't be broken yet—"
Kael slammed his fist into the wall next to his head.
"Who?"
The man grinned, broken teeth glinting.
"They know. The Inquisition knows. And you… you're just the beginning."
Then he bit down on something in his mouth.
Poison.
He died instantly.
---
System Message
> Threat Neutralized – Unauthorized Hunter Activity Detected
Public Record: Deleted
Hidden Faction Activity Logged
New Quest Unlocked: [Blood and Ashes]
Objective: Identify the hunter's handler. Infiltrate or eliminate.
Reward: Bloodline Artifact or Moral Alignment Bonus (player choice)
---
Kael turned back to the bed.
Lina was safe.
Shaken. Confused. But safe.
She looked up at him, eyes wide.
"Kael… what was that man?"
Kael sank to one knee beside her.
"No one," he whispered, brushing her hair back. "He's no one now."
---
Hours Later – Hidden Chamber Beneath Sector Nine
Kael sat cross-legged, breathing slow, hands covered in blood.
Not from the assassin.
From himself.
His nails had sharpened during the fight. His veins still glowed.
And worst of all—he didn't feel guilty.
He felt calm.
The system pulsed softly.
> [Morality Divergence: 46% – Path of Dusk]
Warning: At 50%, you will begin to lose empathy and emotional connection.
Cursed Evolution becomes more likely.
Kael exhaled slowly.
"I'm not giving in," he whispered. "I'm not becoming what you want."
But the voice from the broken mirror echoed in his mind.
> "You already are."
And above the city, for the first time in centuries, a second blood moon began to rise.
---
End of Chapter 8