Lucian exhaled slowly as he forced his body out of bed, his limbs trembling under the strain of his bodyweight. His arms could barely lift him, and his knees buckled as he fell to the cold stone floor from his bedside. He gritted his teeth as he struggled to overcome the weakness in his body.
He glanced back to the bed behind him. The bedding was stained with a pool of sweat and blood outlining where he soaked the sheets from the chanced activation of his bloodline, smearing off to the edge of the bed where he had fallen off of it. The scent of iron and grime clung to the air.
"It was particularly bad this time..." He murmured, acknowledging the situation.
Examining the veins on Lucian's body would reveal a slight glimmer, an indication of light in his blood. But instead, they came from the remnant fragments of time.
Each fragment drifted along through his bloodstream like motes of light. Some held the image of vibrant blooming petals swaying in the wind and the sun, and others as vague as the outline of a distant mountain. Most offered moments of time, in breaths or flickers, puzzle pieces of the future.
Lucian had to act fast and stitch these moments of time together whenever they came. Each fragment could dissolve into his blood at any moment, and while they typically lasted some time, they would all be gone before the day was over. Only glistening blood would remain.
Dead and exhausted blood would be expelled in return for these fragments, the passive ability of his bloodline using up every ounce of energy these drops of blood could provide. Lucian could only speculate using the bits of knowledge revealed through the fragments, but the more fragments he pulled in and the further the future they came from would all increase the amount of blood he would spill.
Over the past year since his bloodline had been awakened the Light Wind Sect, he'd gotten used to the side effects of his passive bloodline ability. Lying still on the floor, Lucian recovered from the weakness in his body for a little longer. He used the time to continue thinking on what the fragments had revealed this time around.
His brother Lucius.
Though Lucian had grown up alongside him, almost every scene the fragments of time portrayed his older brother Lucius killing him, always for the sake of refining his bloodline for power.
Time and time again, the fragments would paint a similar picture. Lucian being murdered by his brother. The first vision had left him in shock and afraid of Lucius. The betrayal shattered Lucian's faith in his brother, in the sect who supported him, and the world that prophesized his tragic fate.
After the tenth time he died to his brother, Lucian's fear dulled. After the fifteenth, something else took its place. A hunger, a drive for survival. A loathing for his brother.
Now, after the twenty first time his brother saw it fit to take his life, Lucian only had clarity.
"To survive, I have to get stronger." Lucian's gaze sharpened as he continued to focus.
Awhile later, Lucian methodically washed his body clean, removing any traces of blood from his skin and hair. After that, he changed the bedding, tossing out any bedding ruined by the bloodstains. While he worked on tidying himself and the house, his mind continued to analyze the fragments in his blood.
"My blood shimmers with a pure light..." He muttered, observing where fragments trickled through his veins under his skin. "But it's not actually the light element flowing in my blood. Every cultivation method the sect tried on me failed to connect to my bloodline."
Pulling out a worn leatherbound journal, he added notes and sketches of this morning's vision. Each page noted details of his visions, estimations on when they occurred, who was involved, and any details of note the vision had to offer.
"If the visions are really the future, my potential outcomes, then my bloodline is probably of the time element... or perhaps an adjacent element, or of an unknown legendary beast." Lucian diligently wrote down his thoughts.
"Time... Death? I've only seen fragments from futures where I die... It's possible that my bloodline only pulls back fragments from when I meet my end. It could be related to death... Did I already live through these futures and bring fragments of the past back with me?" Lucian frowned as he finished penning his thoughts, closing the notebook and looking out the window.
Silver Wind City gleamed in the morning sun, the stone and metal making up the vast majority of the city gleaming in the early dawn. The city center held tall buildings where the sects and clans of the city gathered, making them particularly eye catching in the light of the sun. From these buildings could various cultivators be seen coming and going, some using the common wind bloodline found in this city to fly to their next destinations.
As Lucian took in the sight, he was certain. Somewhere across this sprawling city lied his salvation. If his future-self had truly started cultivating, a cultivation method he could use would be hiding somewhere. As his eyes scanned the cityscape, he had a chilling thought. With such a pure bloodline for a mortal, perhaps one day his bloodline might pull in fragments too large, distant, and numerous for his body to handle. Could he bleed dry in that case? If so, he might die before Lucius ever has the chance to kill him.
"Ha, I need to hurry up and find the method the fragments are guiding me towards... It would be too pitiful if I died to my bloodline activating on its own volition."
Lucian shook off the thought as he left his home to explore the city. Not far from there he mixed into the morning hustle of the city, a list of destinations worth checking out.
Weaving through crowds, Lucian wandered away from the city center towards establishments on the outskirts. With the small stipend of the sect, he wanted to try his luck in more mundane establishments. Libraries, old shops, any place he could try to learn more about his bloodline.
For now, the sect was off limits. Light Wind Sect only had methods regarding light, wind, or light-wind dual cultivation and techniques and he had already wasted a lot of time learning about these techniques when he believed he had a light element bloodline. As for the sect archives, Lucian was still a mortal didn't have access. Only cultivators belonging to the sect could go in and research it's materials. Lucian wouldn't be allowed access with his high purity bloodline and nothing to show for it.
The more mortal parts of the city would have to suffice.
The southern outskirts hummed with life, peddlers shouting from behind stalls, beast driven carts rolling slowly down the wide main streets, children playing and the like. The peoples here without the strength of bloodlines were still living a decent life. As long as they didn't offend anyone who did possess that strength.
Here, Lucian found the first destination he had been searching for. A decadent library run by a mortal man who once served a recently failed minor sect.
Inside was cool and dusty, the scent of paper and ink permeating the air. After taking in the library, Lucian headed for the bookshelves. He sighed looking at the shelves of dusty book covers, covering his mouth from the plumes of dust that arose when he pulled them away from their place of rest to scour their contents.
Looking at their spines, Lucian could discern roughly what elements the book covered. If applicable, the book would bear a sigil of Light, Wood, or Metal, the dominant elements in Silver Wind City.
These three were core elements, considered to make up most of the world when all 7 were included. Light, Dark, Fire, Water, Wood, Earth, and Metal all come together to form most of the natural resources found almost everywhere. Most humans had bloodlines that were also centered around one of these elements, like Lucian's brother Lucius having a Light bloodline. Geniuses could sometimes cultivate two different elements, Lucian heard Light Wind Sect Leader was one the few able to accomplish this feat.
Although Lucian looked diligently, he had yet to find information on bloodlines that fell outside of this category, however. There were several books on the core elements, but there was no mention of the time element Lucian was looking for.
Amongst the titles of the tomes he glossed through were "The Flames Unfurl" or "The Night the Stars Aligned." All equally worthless, but worth checking. Perhaps the author had a bad day when they named the book, hiding precious information inside it under the wrong element. After dozens of alchemical guides and theoretical blood cultivation essays written by mortals, Lucian was ready to give up on the store.
"Theres nothing here after all..." Lucien muttered, ready to leave. He grabbed one last book off the shelf just to finish off the row before leaving to look elsewhere. It was old and worn, but light compared to other books, seemingly damaged.
On the cover was written "Destiny's Child." Lucian furrowed his brows at the title, opening the book for more information.
The text was cryptic, more along the lines of rambling. It seemed more like a dream journal than an intellectual writing. Through riddles and poems, it spoke of a child who followed a red string throughout his lifetime. Everything, the string claimed, was bound by it. The world was woven in the string like an intricate weave, tangled and knotted, unable to break free. But within the string, if one had the strength, you could see your future.
Lucian muttered the final lines of the book.
"As the child followed the string, he held it tightly in his hand. Eventually, the string led into the maw of a terrifying beast. The child grew frightened and tried to let go. But fate was cruel to the boy who grasped it and would not let him go. So, he walked forward, trembling, into the beast's stomach. Destiny's child could see his future but could not change his fate."
Lucian felt a chill roll down his spine as he reread the final lines of book to himself. The imagery was clear, somewhat reminding Lucian of his bloodline ability.
It was cruel for what seemed a children's book. Lucian closed the book with goosebumps, staring at the cover as if waiting for it to change into something else.
The book remained as it was. There was no answer to be found here.
Lucian grew wary as he reread the cover one final time. Destiny's Child.
"Just... What is my bloodline?"