Ray sat alone beneath the dark branches of Still Water Grove, a place few dared to approach. The leaves whispered secrets to the wind, but he wasn't listening. His eyes were hollow, distant, staring into the shifting flames of his campfire.
"My father..." he thought bitterly.
That man—regal on the surface—was nothing more than a sick puppet master, hiding behind glory while weaving a web of lust and ambition. He had many children, born of many women. A dozen siblings? Two dozen? Ray had lost count.
He didn't care.
"I don't even remember who was the first, who was the second. I don't like to remember. They're all the same—sluts and bitches—spreading themselves for power, for favor, for fake prestige."
His fists clenched. His nails dug into his palms.
"I'm not like them. I'll never be like them. I'm different."
He wasn't born to crawl.
He was born to burn.
---
Ray had trained relentlessly over the past weeks. His body and soul were etched with the marks of cultivation, his mind forged in silence, solitude, and suffering.
He had brought four techniques to a greater mastery:
Faceless – the art of moving without identity.
Darkness – the power to blend into shadows, becoming one with void.
Footless Walk – silent movement, faster than sound.
Blood Dragon Style – his personal combat technique, born from pain and rage.
Each technique had broken through its limits. And with them, he had broken through—not just in power, but into the God Step Realm.
And that was when the Ring of Flames responded.
A new energy ignited within him, born from the depths of his pain and hunger. He had stepped into the Ring Flame Step, the first sub-realm of this new divine stage.
---
From the system, a quiet ding echoed in his soul.
> [Breakthrough Achieved: Ring Flame Step]
[Gift Box Unlocked]
Ray opened the gift box with narrowed eyes.
Inside lay two things:
1. Bloodline Upgrading Stone
—a mysterious crystal that could evolve his bloodline. Once tainted by "Punishment Grade," his blood would now awaken toward its true form.
2. Skill Scroll: Hidden Weapon
—a supreme-grade technique, ancient and secret.
Ray unfurled the scroll and smirked.
"This skill…"
It wasn't the strongest, no. It wasn't thunderous like gods, or cataclysmic like beasts. But it was perfectly his—silent, deadly, and veiled in deception.
Once mastered, it would allow him to manifest invisible weapons made of condensed energy, hidden even from divine senses.
And in the footnotes of the scroll:
> Cultivation Potential: Up to Void Fire Sorbet Rank
Ray laughed quietly. A rare, dangerous laugh.
"Void Fire Sorbet..." he repeated. "I will rise to it—and beyond."
His enemies would never see it coming.
Time passed like a silent predator in the wild.
Days melted into nights. Nights faded into the glow of focused meditation, blade movements, shadow drills, and the occasional low growl of a hidden dragon in his veins.
Ray had changed again.
He had stepped beyond the Ring Flame Step—into the next realm:
> [Breakthrough Achieved: Flare Vein Realm – Level 3]
His veins now carried the fire of ancient beasts. His blood surged like a river of lava beneath calm skin. Every breath he took shimmered with control, yet promised chaos. He had become powerful—frighteningly so.
And yet…
He remained still.
A whole month had passed since that gift box. A whole month since he'd assigned her that mission.
Her. Red. Bloody Red.
The girl with fury in her eyes and shame in her voice. The girl who wore her sins like war paint. He had named her Red, but others whispered another title behind closed doors.
> Bloody Red.
Ray stood up from the cold stone floor of the underground chamber, his cloak fluttering slightly from the sudden burst of heat. He stretched his arm, and a faint red aura flickered down his limb like a trail of controlled wildfire.
He opened his eyes.
> "It's time."
Time to return to the Palace.
Time to find out what Red—his Red—had done.
---
Ray exited the training cavern beneath Still Water and walked toward the palace complex, cloaked under the vast noon sky. The guards at the gates didn't stop him. They had learned by now.
Inside the inner courtyard, he was greeted by White—calm, sharp-eyed as ever.
"She returned," White said without prompting. "After two weeks."
Ray paused. "And?"
White tilted his head. "She completed the mission."
Ray didn't smile. But a flicker of something passed through his gaze.
"Details."
White pulled a scroll from his inner robe and handed it over. "You'll want to read it yourself."
---
The scroll was simple, bloodstained at the edges. Red's handwriting was rough but precise.
> Mission Report: Target Elimination
Name: Kiro
Rank: Rank 4 Servant of the Outer Sect
Target Status: Terminated
Method: Internal bleed via acupuncture strike
Notes: Target underestimated me. Laughed. Died.
At the bottom, she had written:
> They called me Bloody Red.
I call myself Red.
You gave me the name. I will live by it.
– R.
Ray closed the scroll slowly.
He didn't speak for a moment.
Then finally, he whispered under his breath:
> "Good."
Ray stood atop the southern watchtower of the Palace's forgotten wing. Wind blew through his dark robes, but the fire within him made him feel none of it.
White appeared behind him in silence, as expected.
Ray didn't turn.
He simply asked:
> "Reset to white."
White lowered his head slightly, acknowledging the command to return to form—no emotions, no distractions. Just clarity and obedience.
> "What have you done in these days?" Ray asked.
"Found something useful? Anything... dangerous? Hidden?"
White didn't hesitate.
> "I've been scouting the lower camps and the East Halls. Found signs of a rebel cultivator hiding under false identity—possibly a leftover from the Fire Bone Rebellion. Low risk, but unusual aura."
Ray clicked his tongue. "Assassination missions—are there any lined up?"
White nodded.
> "Three available. Two are cleanup. One is… delicate. Inner Palace. High-rank."
Ray's eyes narrowed slightly, almost glowing.
> "Give them to Red. She'll complete them."
Then after a pause, he added:
> "Or, if you feel like taking blood into your hands, do it yourself. I care for the result. Not the hand that pulls the string."
White nodded again, but didn't move. He was waiting. For the next command.
> "Search for someone."
That brought life into White's expression.
> "Who?"
"My third brother... or sister," Ray said, then paused, thoughtful. "We'll test them. You and Red will handle the screening."
Then his voice turned low, thoughtful—dangerously calm.
> "If it's a she… and she has that quiet rage, that cold poison behind her eyes… I'll name her Purple. That color doesn't scream. It stings."
White gave a sharp nod, already picturing the candidate.
Ray continued.
> "But... if you find someone else... something hungrier. A tiger... not for glory, not for coin, but for blood…"
Ray turned, eyes burning crimson-gold.
> "Then I'll name him Black. A core member. Not a shadow. A predator."
White smiled faintly. "I think I know where to look."
Ray stepped forward, overlooking the Palace and all the rot it hid beneath marble and silk.
> "Then go. Bring them back. The 13 Crosses aren't a rumor anymore. They're a reckoning."
Ray looked at White—not just his sword hand, not just his skills—but at the man.
> "Hey," he said. "I don't want you to act like some emotionless weapon—some national soldier groomed to obey."
White blinked. That wasn't what he expected.
> "Among brothers and sisters… there should be some love."
Ray stepped closer, lowering his voice—not in weakness, but in seriousness.
> "Not the love like between husband and wife… but the kind that binds your soul. If the First is fighting out there…" he pointed to the distant eastern gate "…then he should trust without doubt that the Second is guarding his back. That trust… that's what makes the 13 Crosses different."
He glanced sideways.
> "I don't want a mindless bloodthirsty wolf who only knows how to kill."
Ray's lips twitched in a faint, knowing smirk.
> "It's good. But it's not enough. Because sometimes, trust is more deadly than power."
He turned away again, his voice becoming a command once more.
> "White. Red. Begin your journey. If you find a 'Black'—a real one—I'll welcome him. Someone Red can understand. Someone whose thirst doesn't blind him."
> "If you find Purple first, I'll take her too. This world hides many talents… but only the useless fail to notice them. I won't."
White bowed, eyes resolute.
> "We leave before sunrise."
---
Scene Shift: Three Days to the Summons
Night fell.
Ray sat in meditation atop the black lotus stone. His body was still. But his mind was raging.
A royal command had arrived earlier that evening.
From the throne.
> "The 7th Prince is to present himself in the Grand Hall… within three days."
Ray didn't react outwardly. But inside, he was thinking fast.
> "If Father knows… if anyone in the Palace knows about my breakthrough, about my techniques, my system…"
He exhaled slowly, then opened his mouth.
> "System."
> [Yes, Host?]
> "How many points do I have?"
> [Current Points: 3,832]
Ray's eyes glowed slightly in the dark.
> "Is there a skill that can hide my strength? Something that can block others from detecting my cultivation or bloodline rank?"
The system hummed for a moment.
> [Searching… Complete.]
Skill Found: Nothing.
Description: A supreme concealment technique that masks all cultivation fluctuations and bloodline energy.
Effect: Cannot be scanned, sensed, or spiritually read—even by higher realms or divine techniques.
Cost: 3,000 Points
Remark: This skill allows you to define your own 'presence.' You may even choose to appear weak.
Ray smiled. A cold, victorious smile.
> "A skill called Nothing, huh?"
"Then let that be the name of this rank. The one only I will walk."
He stood, eyes sharper than ever.
> "Buy it."
> [Skill Purchased: Nothing]
> "Activate it."
A pulse of silence exploded from Ray's chest. It was as if the world itself forgot him—his power, his realm, his blood.
He looked into the mirror of his inner world.
> "You can look at me now," he whispered.
> "But you'll see nothing."
---