After catching a glimpse of the power stirring within him, Ash walked straight back home.
The Rivenhart Estate.
His father: Duke Alcazar Rivenhart.His stepmother: Marianna Rivenhart.Her children:
Varrick, the firstborn.
Marek the second.
Ash, the third—an unplanned bastard.
Gly, the youngest.
His mother? Seraphine Lightbringer.
A knight of the Crown. Decorated. Revered. Feared.Sent to the eastern marches to enforce discipline among rebellious nobles.She was forged in fire and battle, not perfume and court gossip.
And she was a problem the court didn't know how to contain.
She stood too tall.Laughed too freely.Walked like every room already belonged to her.
Her armour clung too tightly across her chest. Her hips swayed too boldly when she dismounted. Her sword was too fast. Her gaze—too direct. Men whispered. Women stared. Even priests prayed harder when she passed.
And Duke Alcazar Rivenhart?He stared.
A man like him—powerful, entitled, rotten to his core—didn't see a knight.Didn't see honour.He saw her body.
Long legs wrapped in black leather greaves. A waist cinched by steel and pride. A warrior's bust is barely contained by a plate.But beneath it all?Something even more dangerous than beauty.
Freedom.
Untouchable.Unclaimed.Above him.
And that, he could not tolerate.
It started with lingering eyes in the training yard.Then came the invitations—dinners, dances, late-night summons.She declined. Always politely. Always firmly.
Until one night—She didn't come back.
The rumours were silenced faster than they were spoken.
The staff was rotated. Her barracks were reassigned.The hilt of her sword—once bearing royal commendation—was left to rust in a forgotten storeroom.
She never spoke of what was done to her.
But her body did.
In nausea behind the tent flaps.In the way she screamed during labour, not like a woman giving life, but like a soldier being torn apart from the inside.Like the thing clawing its way out of her wasn't a child, but a curse.
She died giving birth to the very thing Alcazar forced into her.
They buried her with full honours. Trumpets. Armor. Banners.
But the truth?
The truth was, she died the night Alcazar laid his hands on her.
And the boy—The bastard born of violence and power?
He was never meant to survive.
But he did.Because the Lightbringers got involved.
The Lightbringers were the hand behind the throne.The king? Just a puppet.The real power lived in the shadows.
When Merlin Lightbringer, Seraphine's grandfather, learned of her death and who was responsible, he unleashed his son, Arthur, upon House Rivenhart.
Arthur brought calamity.
He would've killed Alcazar that day…But Marianna begged.Begged for her husband's life.
Arthur relented.But on one condition:
"The bastard child will be raised under this roof.
He will be fed.Trained.Maintained until the day he turns eighteen."
Alcazar agreed.
But when he discovered the boy was frail, sickly, and ordinary, he spat on him. Treated him like a ghost that wouldn't vanish. Kept him alive not out of duty, but out of fear.
His sons?They found themselves a punching bag.Not too much—not in front of their father.Just enough to break him slowly.
Alcazar didn't care.Ash wasn't a legitimate heir.
Marianna, though…She had distanced herself from her husband for years.And she was the only one who held Ash like a son.Every night, she cried while cradling him, whispering apologies for sins that weren't his.
Ash didn't hate her.How could he?
He knew the truth.
He knew the pact.
When Ash returned from the forest, he went straight to Marianna.
She had been arguing with Licia, the maid, and panicked over his disappearance.Ash had not been present for his brothers' send-off ceremony because he'd been dragged into the Forest of Death by them.
Only three had returned.
Ash was not among them.
Marianna had seen the shadows dragging him away. She feared the worst.
When she demanded an explanation from her sons, all she got was slaps and silence.
But then—He walked in.
Ash.
For a brief moment, the shadows around him flickered.The family's guardian knight—sensing something—unsheathed his sword from his chamber.But when he reached the hallway, the presence was gone.
Ash had released his power for a mere second.Just enough to ripple through the walls.
He saw Marianna crying.Licia sobbing.He walked up and hugged them both.
"I'm safe," he whispered. "And I'm not a pushover anymore."
He said nothing more.Just turned, walked to his room, and closed the door behind him.
There, before the old, dust-covered portrait of Seraphine Lightbringer, Ash stood in silence.
His voice broke softly into the dark.
"You didn't want me... but I wanted you."
"Fate had other plans, Mother. But don't worry.""I swear—upon the names of the Lightbringers—""I will bring about the fall of House Rivenhart."
Morning came with an unfamiliar silence.No shrieks.No laughter.No thuds against his door.Just... silence.
For the first time in years, Ash wasn't being dragged out of bed.No brothers waiting to use him as a punching bag.No bruises scheduled for breakfast.
He sat up slowly, eyes narrowing at the stillness.
"Seems like fate's giving me—and my three soon-to-be-dead brothers—a head start."
He cracked his neck, stretched his limbs, and grinned.
"Six years. I've got six years to train. Get strong. Burn them to ash."
He got dressed, grabbed his dagger, and bolted straight to the forest.
Standing beneath the canopy of ancient trees, Ash looked around.
"Alright... time to train," he muttered, full of energy.
Then paused."But, uh... where do I start?"
"With your body," came a voice behind him.
Ash spun, summoning his dagger and flinging it in the direction of the sound without hesitation.
Thunk.
"Whoa, whoa—easy there, dagger boy!"
The voice laughed."That throw was adorable. Like a toddler having a tantrum."
Ash groaned. "Fuck me. Day one, and I'm already being mocked."
He called out, "Alright, come out. Show yourself."
"Right here, my man."
Ash scanned the trees.
"Oi, down here."
He looked down.
And froze.
A small wolf pup sat at his feet, fluffy, smug, and radiating too much confidence for something that looked like it should still be teething. "Oh-ho! That expression!" the pup chuckled.
"Were you expecting some old man with a stick or something?"
Ash blinked. Did he just hear my thoughts...?
"You fucker—you were expecting an old man!"
The wolf pup burst out laughing."Gods, that was priceless."
Ash stared, still unsure whether he was dreaming. "Anyway. Name's Fenrir. Yes, that Fenrir.
Legendary wolf mount of Hela, eater of gods, destroyer of heavens, blah blah blah."
Ash raised a brow. "Hela rides you? You're kind of... small."
Silence.
Fenrir blinked.Then snickered.
"Oh... oh, kid. You want to see?"
The trees groaned. The sky darkened.The forest turned pitch black.
And then he saw it.
A hulking beast of shadow and flame.Eyes burning like twin suns of rage.Fur rippling like smoke.Its body towered above the trees, taller than the Rivenhart estate itself.
Ash stumbled backwards instinctively.His heart raced. Legs frozen.
Then, with a flick of the tail and a puff of laughter, the giant vanished.
The pup sat once again in its place, grinning like a smug little demon. "You get the picture now?"
Ash just nodded. "Good. Now that we've got introductions out of the way—"
Fenrir stood and shook his fur."Let's get to work. First, I'm going to teach you to hunt."
"But before that, you need to understand your power."
After saying that, the pup started to gag. As if something was stuck in his throat.
Ash looked visibly worried. "Hey, Fenrir, are you okay? How can I help?"
Fenrir just raised his paw, signalling Ash to wait.
After some time, he threw up a ball of fur. From the furball, he took a red crystal.
"Ash, come forward," he commanded. Ash came in front of him and bent down to face the pup.
Smack! Fenrir pushed the crystal into Ash's eye.
"Huh, punk, this is how it's done." Ash's eye had turned black due to the force Fenrir put in inserting the crystal; his eyes started to glow.
Before he could ask, he remembered how the pup had puked the crystal out of his mouth. Ash began to vomit, seeing him, Fenrir felt guilty.
"Hey, I don't like the process either."
After calming down a bit. Fenrir asked Ash to sit cross-legged in a meditative state and focus his mind to look into his body.
"Ash, imagine a black liquid flowing through your body; follow it till you find the heart." Ash nodded and focused hard. He saw thick black fluid coursing through every vein..., and he found his heart focusing on his heart. He released the power and guided it towards his right eye, where the gem was inserted. Ash opened his eyes. He could see clearly and could focus far and wide, just like an eagle; his vision was improved. Seeing him use the all-seeing eye, Fenrir smiled. "Seems like Hela chose the right one"
" Alright now, ash listen to me carefully, put your palm forward and chant Blood echoes" Ash nodded and did the same. Once he spoke the words, are liquid formed an image of him getting bullied by Verrick, his right eye flickered and showed him a small window.
ANALYZING THE TECHNIQUES, CALCULATING THE MOVES THE HOST COULD USE TO FIGHT
BLOOD Echoes Active Lv1
"Records" all damage—physical, emotional, or magical—and allows the host to weaponise pain into strength.
Passive effect: The Host grows stronger the more he bleeds. Each scar becomes a memory, and memories fuel power.
Active effect: The Host can summon past wounds to replicate techniques used against the host, like an echo, though imperfectly at first.
"What the hell is this, Fenrir?" Ash asked, puzzled by what he was seeing., Fenrir smirked, crossed his paws and said, "This is the all-seeing eye. It lets you see the power of anyone you want to check." Ash Focused and tried checking Fenrir's level.
[The Eye Flickers]
Power Level Scan: FAILEDSubject exceeds scan parameters.Requirement: The Host must reach GOD-LEVEL to assess this entity.
Ash blinked, not believing what he had just seen. Fenrir patted his back and said, "This is something Me and Hela have designed to train you. Call it a divine messenger of sorts, it will help you in fights against stronger enemies and help you grow stronger, letting you use your power to its full potential. "
Call out to the All-seeing eye and say Stats. Ash focused and chanted Stats.
SHOWING THE STATUS OF THE HOST
HOST- ASH RIVENHART, INHERITOR OF SOULBRAND
AGE:12
STRENGTH:8/100 BELOW AVERAGE
AGILITY: 11/100 ABOVE AVERAGE
INTELLIGENCE: 15/100 SHARP AND OBSERVANT
WILLPOWER: 34/100 SURVIVORS FIRE
MAGIC POTENTIAL: 70/100 (LOCKED) LIGHTBRINGER BLOOD INHERITANCE.
SOUL RESONANCE: 6% SOULBRAND FORMED BUT UNSTABLE.
TALENTS AND TRAITS
[BLOOD ECHOES]: Passive: Learns from pain. Can mimic techniques used against him after surviving them.
[FENRIR'S PACT]: Bonded Skill: Grants heightened senses, reflexes, and beast-fusion when invoked.
[MOONVEIL PULSE]: Defensive (LOCKED): Auto-shield formed from soullight. Triggered in near-death situations.
[JUDGMENT SIGILS]: Magic (SEALED): Divine glyphs of sin/virtue. Unlocks with emotional evolution.
[LIGHT OF THE UNWANTED]: Mythical (DORMANT): The divine light born of rejection and pain. Will awaken under a trigger event.
Ash was dumbfounded, looking at his stats and abilities. "These will certainly come in handy, can't wait to unlock all the traits soon", Ash said to himself. Fenrir looked at him and smiled, "Looks like the Lightbringers have a troublesome heir loose"
Fenrir stood, tail flicking. "Well, stats won't help if you're dead. Let's see if you can survive your first hunt."