The shattered remains of the crimson moon glimmered above the cracked spires of the academy, casting the battlefield in an ethereal red. Silence reigned over the bloodied training ground, broken only by the soft hum of residual mana sizzling in the air.
Harvey stood still, his breathing even. Around him lay scattered fragments of the Executioner's porcelain mask, crushed into the earth. His dagger was stained with crimson light—blood not of this world.
Yet his eyes were on the center of the field.
There, embedded in the stone, was the true cause of the chaos: the spell circle.
Large, ancient, and ominously glowing with cursed runes, it pulsed with the remnants of forbidden power. Blood soaked its lines—his blood, the Executioner's, and another... older. The third source had long dried, yet still retained presence. A legacy sealed in this place long before he was born.
> [System Alert: Legacy Triggered.] [Warning: Interference from Bloodline Seal "Xerenth's Brand."] [Would you like to forcibly access the memory archive? Y/N]
He didn't hesitate.
"Yes."
The world around him dissolved.
Darkness surged like a tide, and Harvey found himself standing in a memory not his own. A time long past. The academy was intact—beautiful even. Lush gardens replaced the battlefield, laughter echoed in the halls, and at the center stood a man cloaked in silver and crimson robes. His face was hidden by shadows, but Harvey felt the familiarity instantly.
The man turned to a boy. A child not older than ten—frightened, scarred, but determined.
"You must remember this seal, Harvey," the man said. "It's the legacy of our bloodline… and the curse we must bear."
Harvey's breath caught. That voice.
It was his grandfather. The founder of the Vandrel branch family. The Executioner of the Last War. The man erased from history.
And the child...
It was him.
The spell circle reformed beneath their feet. Only this time, it was glowing bright gold, not red. A beacon of ancient power—not corrupted, but whole.
> [System Alert: Bloodline Archive Synced.] [Skill Acquired: Soul Carving Sigil] [Warning: Using this ability may overwrite existing contracts. Proceed with caution.]
Harvey blinked, and the memory shattered like glass.
He was back in the present.
The academy ruins. The cracked moon. The fading body of the Executioner turning to ash beside him.
But now, something had changed.
The spell circle beneath him began to shift—responding to the reactivated bloodline seal. The ground trembled.
From the shadows stepped Rina, her eyes wide. Her blade dripped with fresh blood—not her own—and her breathing was ragged.
"I took care of the second attacker," she whispered. "But Harvey… that spell… it's reacting to you."
He turned to her slowly. His eyes were glowing faintly gold.
"It's not reacting to me," he said. "It's answering me."
Behind him, the spell circle ignited once more.
A phantom gate rose—massive, ancient, covered in scripts no scholar alive could read. It pulsed with layered seals and intertwined destinies. It was the gateway to the hidden archives of the Vandrel family—the ones sealed away after the Crimson Sky massacre.
A forbidden vault.
"What… what is that?" Rina asked, stepping beside him.
Harvey stared up at it, his voice low.
"A legacy no one was supposed to remember. Not even me."
And yet, it called to him.
Inviting.
Demanding.
He took a step forward.
The gate shuddered.
The world trembled.