The great bronze doors of the Sylvaine Ancestral Hall groaned open at precisely the Hour of the Rising Sun. Sunlight speared through high stained-glass windows depicting the founding of House Sylvaine: a colossal eagle of wind and lightning tearing apart an abyssal void beast, its talons wreathed in stormfire. The light struck the central obsidian altar and refracted into countless miniature rainbows that danced across walls lined with jade tablets—names of every ancestor who had reached at least Saint realm in any system.
Elaric walked the long carpet of storm-weave silk between two rows of kneeling elders, branch family heads, and the core direct-line members. His mother and father flanked him; Duchess Elara's hand rested lightly on his left shoulder, Duke Reginald's massive palm on his right. Both parents leaked controlled spiritual pressure—enough to remind everyone present exactly who ruled this hall.
Behind the immediate family came the guests: three representatives from allied houses (Frostveil, Starweave, Ironbloom), and—most uncomfortably—two envoys from House Vesper. The older man, Viscount Harlan Vesper (no relation to the butler), wore a thin smile that never reached his eyes. Beside him stood a girl of fourteen in dark violet robes, hood drawn low. Lira Vesper. Her posture was perfect, expression blank, but Elaric's enhanced spirit sense caught the faint tremor in her qi sea.
She remembers nothing of last night, the System confirmed in real-time. Memory edit holding at 99.7% integrity. Residual subconscious unease: 4%. Negligible.
Elaric kept his face serene. Inside: Good. Fear without memory is the perfect leash.
The procession halted ten paces from the altar. Above it hung the Ancestral Eagle Statue—nine meters tall, carved from a single piece of Void-Black Jade mined from the Abyssal Rift seventeen centuries ago. Its eyes were twin fist-sized Thunderheart Crystals that pulsed slowly, as though the entire bloodline's accumulated power still slumbered within.
Duke Reginald stepped forward alone.
"Ancestors of Sylvaine," his voice rolled like distant thunder, amplified by natural aura resonance, "today our sole direct heir, Elaric Sylvaine, reaches the age of formal bloodline consideration. Last night the ley lines sang. This morning the eagle statue's crystals brightened for the first time in thirty-two years. We petition the blood to awaken in full and judge our heir worthy."
A low murmur swept the hall. The Vesper envoy's smile tightened.
The Duke turned to Elaric. "Son. Step onto the altar. Offer three drops of heart-blood. Speak your vow."
Elaric ascended the three obsidian steps without hesitation. He felt every eye like physical pressure—curiosity, doubt, greed, calculation.
He drew the ceremonial dagger from his belt (a relic-grade weapon whose edge never dulled), pricked his left index finger, and let three crimson drops fall onto the altar's central depression.
The moment the blood touched stone—
BOOM.
The entire hall trembled.
The Thunderheart Crystals in the statue's eyes ignited with blinding white-gold light. Wind howled from nowhere, spiraling around Elaric in a perfect vortex. Lightning arced between his fingertips and the statue's talons. Every jade tablet on the walls glowed simultaneously, ancient names flaring as though the dead themselves were watching.
DING!
Bloodline Awakening Ritual Detected – Sylvaine True Eagle Bloodline (Divine-grade potential)
Current Purity before ceremony: 48%
System Intervention Available:
• Option A: Passive Optimization (free) → projected final purity 72–78%
• Option B: Active Bloodline Surge (costs 1,000 System Points + one Rare Bloodline Enhancement Ticket) → projected 92–97% + random Divine Trait unlock
• Option C: Full Overclock (costs 3,000 Points + consumes all current bloodline tickets + temporary 24-hour weakness debuff post-ritual) → 100% purity + guaranteed Divine-grade trait + bloodline memory inheritance
Elaric didn't hesitate.
Option C.
Warning: Overclock will trigger internal heavenly tribulation equivalent during awakening. Host will experience extreme pain. Survival probability with current protections: 99.4%. Proceed?
Yes.
Golden light erupted inside his sea of consciousness. The System interface transformed—lines of code-like runes racing across every panel as though rewriting reality itself.
On the physical plane:
Elaric's body arched. Blood vessels glowed silver under his skin. Wind turned into screaming gales that tore at robes and hair. Lightning struck him repeatedly—dozens of bolts in seconds—yet left no burns, only cauterized channels of power.
Every witness gasped.
The Vesper girl's hood slipped back slightly; her eyes widened in naked terror.
Inside Elaric:
Pain beyond description. It felt as though his skeleton was being reforged with star-iron, his blood replaced with liquid storm, his soul stretched across dimensions. The Simulator ran at maximum, feeding him breathing patterns, meridian reroutes, aura armor layers, ki intent barriers—everything at once.
Progress:
Bloodline Purity: 48% → … 71% → … 89% → … 100%
DING!
Sylvaine True Eagle Bloodline – Fully Awakened!
Divine Trait Unlocked: "Storm Sovereign's Gaze"
• Passive: See through all illusions, concealment, and weak spatial distortions up to Saint realm.
• Active:锁定 (Lock-on) any target within line of sight; their position is marked on mini-map for 24 hours even through barriers or stealth. Cooldown 1 hour per use. Divine Trait Unlocked: "Tempest Rebirth"
• Once per month: Upon fatal injury, dissolve body into storm cloud and reform at full health within 10 km (costs massive qi/mana). Ancestral Memory Inheritance Received (partial): Fragment 1: Battle technique "Eagle's Descent from the Ninth Heaven" (Mythic-grade, incomplete). Fragment 2: Warning from 17th Patriarch: "When the Void Child prophecy activates, the beast tide will be but the herald. The true enemy sleeps beneath the central continent."
Elaric's scream turned into an eagle's piercing cry that echoed through the citadel. Silver feathers of pure wind manifested behind him like wings—illusory yet tangible enough to slice stone. Lightning crowned his head in a halo.
When the storm finally subsided, he stood transformed.
Hair now streaked with silver lightning threads. Eyes permanently flecked with storm-gold. A subtle pressure rolled off him—not aggressive, but undeniable. Like standing beneath an oncoming hurricane that chose—for now—to hold back.
Realm Updates (sympathetic breakthroughs):
• Mana Core: Peak Adept → Early Master Mage (wind/lightning dual-element domain forming)
• Aura Body: Peak Great Knight → Early Palace Knight (aura wings now permanent)
• Qi: Early Foundation Establishment → Peak Foundation Establishment (golden core 30% condensed)
• Ki: Mid Ki Condensation → Peak Ki Condensation (killing intent now visible as black lightning wisps)
New Function Unlocked: Domain Seed – Plant the seed of your future personal domain. Current progress: 1% (grows with every realm advancement across systems).
The hall was deathly silent.
Then the Duke roared with laughter that shook dust from the rafters.
"My son! True heir of the storm! The blood has answered!"
Elara was weeping openly—tears of pride, not sorrow.
The allied envoys bowed deeply. The Frostveil representative whispered, "A Divine-grade awakening… in a ten-year-old. The balance of power in Lumina Kingdom just shifted."
The Vesper Viscount stepped forward slowly.
"Remarkable," he said, voice oily. "House Vesper congratulates young master Elaric. Such talent… surely the royal family will wish to meet him soon. Perhaps even offer a betrothal alliance to stabilize the northern borders."
Elaric met the man's eyes. Activated Storm Sovereign's Gaze for the first time.
The world sharpened to painful clarity. He saw:
• The faint green poison thread running through the Viscount's meridians (slow-acting, self-administered loyalty insurance).
• The hidden talisman in the man's sleeve—emergency escape scroll linked to Vesper's secret array.
• And in Lira's sea of consciousness: a tiny, buried compulsion seal glowing sickly yellow. Mind-control parasite. Placed after last night's memory edit. They suspect something.
Elaric smiled—small, cold, perfect.
"Thank you for your kind words, Viscount. House Sylvaine always welcomes… honest alliances."
The emphasis on honest made the Viscount's smile freeze for a fraction of a second.
Elaric stepped down from the altar. Zephyr—his Storm Sovereign chick—had grown during the ritual. No longer palm-sized, now the size of a large falcon, silver feathers crackling with miniature lightning. It perched on his shoulder, eyes locked on the Vesper girl with open hostility.
Companion Update:
Zephyr – Realm: Early Juvenile (growth rate ×4 due to bloodline resonance)
New Skill: Storm Cry (stuns foes below Foundation realm for 3 seconds)
The ceremony concluded with oaths, feasts were announced for the evening, but Elaric requested—and was granted—private seclusion in the inner sanctum to "stabilize his new bloodline."
Once alone, doors sealed with nine-layered arrays, he sat cross-legged before a small spirit vein node.
Daily Sign-In – Day 3
Streak Bonus: ×2 multiplier
Rewards (escalated due to bloodline awakening):
• High-Grade Thunderheart Essence ×1
• Mythic Gacha Ticket ×1 (special event reward)
• Domain Seed Growth Potion ×1
• System Points +2,000
• Random Divine-grade Manual Fragment ×1
He immediately used the Mythic Gacha Ticket.
Interface erupted in golden fireworks.
Mythic Pull – Result:
"Eternal Sovereign Scripture" (Incomplete – Chapter 1/9)
Description: The forbidden scripture said to have been created by the first being to master all power systems simultaneously. Reading even one chapter grants permanent +30% comprehension speed to every cultivation art. Further chapters unlock unique fusion paths and transcendence methods.
Warning: Possession of this scripture is a death sentence in every major sect and empire.
Elaric's heart thundered.
This… this is the key. Not just power. The path to truly stand above the heavens.
He swallowed the Thunderheart Essence under full Simulator protection. Lightning qi roared into his core, accelerating golden core condensation to 68%.
Then he poured the Domain Seed Growth Potion onto his palm. A tiny golden seed appeared in his sea of consciousness—pulsing with storm, shadow, blade, flame, and void flickers.
Domain Seed Progress: 1% → 18%
Zephyr nuzzled his neck, letting out a soft thunder-purr.
Outside the sanctum, voices rose—Duke Reginald arguing quietly with the Vesper envoy. Words drifted through the arrays:
"…the beast tide comes in three months. If your house truly wishes alliance, prove it. Send troops to the northern pass. Otherwise… our heir's awakening changes many calculations."
Elaric smiled into the darkness.
Three months. Plenty of time to reach Master realm in at least two systems… and to plant the first seeds of fear in House Vesper.
He opened the Mission Board.
New Urgent Quest Unlocked: "First Public Display of Dominance"
Objective: During tonight's feast, demonstrate power sufficient to silence doubters and force at least one major house to offer formal alliance or tribute.
Reward: Legendary Companion Egg + 5,000 Points + Unlock "Faction Management Interface"
Hidden Objective: Uncover and neutralize the compulsion seal on Lira Vesper without alerting House Vesper.
Reward: Shadow Sovereign Title Fragment + Memory Edit Upgrade (permanent version)
Elaric stood. Lightning crackled between his fingers.
"Zephyr," he murmured, "tonight we stop hiding."
The eagle-kin let out a hunting cry that made the sanctum walls vibrate.
End of Chapter 3.