The morning sun cut through the thin curtains of Rian's room. His body ached slightly, a lingering echo of the timeline that had ended in betrayal and death. He sat up, eyes scanning the familiar apartment, heart still heavy with the memory of trust shattered.
And yet… he was alive.
Hovering in front of him was the Primordial Bloodline System, glowing faintly. Its interface displayed:
[System Activated – Primordial Bloodline System]
[Time Rewind: One Month Before Apocalypse]
[Latent Bloodlines Detected: 0]
[Absorbable Traits Detected: Partial]
One month. One chance. No second rewinds. No shortcuts. Just him, the system, and a ticking countdown to chaos.
Rian exhaled, standing slowly. "Alright," he murmured. "Step one: identify what's useful."
Outside, the city seemed quiet—too quiet. A stray cat slinked along an alleyway. Instinctively, Rian's hand hovered near it.
[Trait Detected – Agility: Tier 1]
[Absorption Available – Confirm?]
He paused. This was how the system worked. Not everything could become a bloodline—only traits or beings with evolution potential could be absorbed. The cat's reflexes were minor, but with proper fusion later, they could become part of something greater.
[Absorption Confirmed]
[Trait Stored in Subspace Inventory]
Rian smiled faintly. Even a fragment like this could eventually contribute to something powerful.
The day continued with cautious experimentation. A rat in a sewer displayed remarkable survival instincts—absorbed. A stray dog with endurance beyond its breed—absorbed. A discarded mechanical drone? No potential detected—ignored. Every selection was calculated, every trait analyzed.
By late afternoon, his system began showing trends:
[Bloodline Potential: 12%]
[Absorbed Traits: 5]
[Recommended Fusion Experiment: Tier 1]
The system guided him subtly, indicating which traits were worth claiming, which could evolve.
Still, Rian knew this was only the beginning. A month wasn't long. The apocalypse wasn't slow—it would descend rapidly, with monsters, dungeons, and chaos.
He clenched his fists. "Step by step. Build from the ground up. One month, one chance, one system. I'll be ready when the world falls."
A distant, unworldly screech echoed from the outskirts of the city—the first warning of things to come. Most would not survive unprepared.
But he would.
This was the awakening of the bloodline, the first step toward reclaiming power and surviving the coming storm.