Year 1 Winter Blood Moon
He fell forever.
Through the Red Code Wall, through silence and light, through a storm of broken memories.The world above vanished, but the crimson glow followed him — a pulse that moved like a living heart.
When the fall ended, there was no ground.Only a river.
It stretched endlessly beneath a blood-colored sky, its waves glowing faintly, warm as breath.Thousands of red spider lilies bloomed along the banks, their petals curling toward the moon.They whispered in a voice that was not wind.
He drifted in the water, weightless.Every heartbeat echoed through the current as if the river itself were alive.
From the mist, a woman's voice spoke — low and calm, older than the world.
"So the mortal who crossed the veil arrives at last."
She emerged from the red fog, her feet touching the river without ripples.Her hair was white as snow, flowing to her waist.Two horns rose from her temples — one blue, one red.Half her face was beauty, the other half marked by fire's touch.Her eyes, one crimson and one pale as moonlight, watched him with quiet sadness.
"You carried life across death," she said softly. "Few ever do."
The water rose, surrounding him like silk.It didn't drown him — it changed him.His body shrank, the weight of mortality washing away.When the current settled, a child floated where a man once had.
Small hands. White hair.Ears that tapered to sharp points.Eyes glowing red beneath the Blood Moon.
He stared at his reflection in the water, breathing in awe.
"What… am I?"
"The river's first answer," said the woman. "The bridge between life and death. The first of a kind."
She placed her palm upon his brow.Golden light spread from her touch, tracing luminous veins across his skin.
"I am Hel, keeper of this river. You were chosen by fate and folly alike."
The red lilies bent toward her as she spoke.Each petal shimmered, dissolving into runes that spiraled around the boy and burned gently into his chest.
From the mist behind her came a faint, familiar sound — a soft laugh, the click of a cane against invisible ground.He turned his head.
Time froze again.
The river turned into a mirrored carnival — masks floated above the surface, their laughter hollow and distant.On a bridge of red light stood Ix, dressed in his long black coat and tilted hat, red eyes gleaming beneath the brim.He twirled his cane, watching quietly.
Hel's expression hardened.
"You again, Jester of the End."
"Don't mind me," Ix said, voice light and amused. "I only came to see how the river names her miracle."
"Your interference ends here."
"I'm not interfering."He leaned on his cane, smile sharp as glass."Just… enjoying the show."
He tapped the cane once.The scythe appeared, gleaming faintly, and the carnival reflections vanished.Time moved again, and only Hel and the child remained.
Hel sighed. "Ignore him. He feeds on curiosity."
She looked down at the boy once more.
"Your name… shall be Ketsuraku — the place where blood falls and flows again. Remember it, for it carries both your curse and your promise."
Runes flared above the water, forming luminous symbols that arranged themselves into living text.
[ Blood River Cultivation Interface ]
Name: Ketsuraku
Race: Blood Elf (First of the River)
Age: 4 (Reborn)
Cultivation Realm: Blood Awakening – Early Stage
Aura Type: Blood Qi / Void Qi (Unstable)
Astral Capacity: 1 / 7 (active clone limit)
Weapon Spirit: Crimson Scythe (Spirit Dormant)
Aeon Bond: Ix – Aeon of Nihility
Status
HP – 620 / 620Mana
480 / 480Qi – 540 / 540Qi
Strength – 8
Endurance – 7
Agility – 9
Intellect – 8
Spirit – 12
Vitality – 10
Luck – 13
Traits– Echo of Nihility – Can divide Astral Soul– Blood Core – Absorbs vitality as cultivation fuel– Meditation of Void – Gains insight near death
Current Focus: Condense the Crimson Core
The letters glowed once, then sank into his skin.He gasped, feeling them settle beneath his ribs like living light.
"It's alive…" he whispered.
"Not alive," said Hel. "Aligned. It listens to your will."
She turned toward the horizon where dawn was beginning to stain the sky.
"The mortal world will soon remember you. Go with its flow until the river calls again."
The water beneath him began to rise, carrying him toward a distant shore glowing with morning light.Higanbana petals floated around him, red as embers, whispering softly in a language he didn't yet know.
From far behind, just before the light consumed everything, he heard Ix's voice again.
"Enjoy your second act, little echo. The audience is waiting."
Then the river swallowed the sound.Ketsuraku closed his eyes as warmth embraced him.
When he opened them again, he would no longer be a wanderer between worlds.He would be a child of blood — the first Blood Elf, reborn beneath the Blood Moon.