The desert sun was merciless by midday, a blinding tyrant ruling the skies.
Its glare turned the horizon into a haze of golden fire, where mountains seemed to ripple like ghosts and every shadow tried to hide from the heat. Waves of shimmering light danced over the dunes, giving the illusion that the world itself was melting.
Erevan trudged forward, his steps dragging through the sand.
Each grain felt like it was fighting him. His legs ached. His breath came short. And though the Bloodcrown Codex whispered silently in the back of his mind always watching, always measuring his heart still beat in the rhythm of a boy who had no idea where he was.
This world felt wrong.
Not evil.
Not broken.
Just… unfamiliar. Like a painting done in colors his eyes weren't meant to see.
"Gods…" Erevan muttered under his breath, rubbing grit from his eyes. "Does this place *ever* cool down?"
Beside him, Kael let out a low grunt. "This *is* cool."
Erevan blinked at him. "You're joking."
Kael didn't answer. He simply adjusted the cloth wrapped around his neck and kept walking, sharp eyes scanning the endless sands ahead like a wolf on the hunt.
Erevan wiped at his face again, only for more sweat and sand to replace it. "Back home, we had mountains. Forests. Seasons. I could breathe without sand in my teeth."
Kael's gaze didn't waver. "Back home, you didn't have monsters crawling out of the dirt to rip your throat out. Count your blessings."
Erevan scowled. "...Thanks for the reminder."
"You must have lived some where very nice in this world." Said kael
Erevan laughs it off
He didn't say what he was truly thinking that he still hadn't accepted this world. That despite the System, the battles, and the blood on his hands… part of him still believed he might wake up in his bed, heart pounding from a nightmare.
But when the wind shifted and brought the stench of distant rot and scorched metal… that hope thinned.
The world didn't feel like a dream anymore.
It felt real. And very, very alive.
They crested a ridge, and Kael slowed, his voice a rough rasp in the still air.
"We're close to Siltrun."
Erevan looked ahead and saw it a jagged wound carved into the dunes. Ruins. Columns half-submerged in golden sand, buildings like sunken bones, their stones etched with faded glyphs. From this height, he could make out the distant movement of people, carts, beasts… a hidden heartbeat beneath the sand.
"A city buried in secrets," Kael continued. "You'll find allies there. Or enemies. Often both."
Erevan's eyes narrowed. The Bloodsense pulsed faintly flickers of life moving below.
"I need allies," he said softly. "And answers."
Kael glanced at him, smirking. "Then don't ask too many questions. Curiosity gets you killed faster than a Sand Fiend's bite."
Erevan's jaw tightened, but he said nothing.
They moved down into the ruins, past the husks of crumbled statues and sunken temples. Once, this place had breathed with magic. Now it coughed up sand.
The market in Siltrun was a maelstrom of sound and color.
Heat shimmered off brass pots and polished blades. Merchants barked in a dozen dialects. Children darted between legs. Camels brayed. Spices laced the air saffron, chili, sweetroot and blended with the earthy tang of sweat and sunbaked stone.
Erevan's senses reeled.
The crowd pressed in on all sides. His hand drifted to the hilt of his blade. He was used to narrow alleys and quiet nights not this… chaos.
[Lifeforms Detected: 183 within 500 meters.]
He grimaced.
The Codex always knew more than he did. It felt like having a god stuck in his skull.
"Overwhelming, isn't it?" Kael said, watching him with faint amusement. "Breathe. Follow my lead. And don't stare at anyone too long. You'll invite a duel… or a scam."
They passed a cloaked figure seated near a pile of bones. He whispered riddles to passing children.
A beggar hissed in a language Erevan didn't know.
And then, he felt it a presence.
Low and quiet, like something breathing just beneath his skin. Subtle, but powerful.
[Bloodsense Alert: Dominant Lifeform Detected.]
Erevan stopped. His heart jumped. His hand twitched toward his belt.
Kael followed his gaze.
"That's your first Monarch candidate."
The words hung in the air like thunder.
Monarch. One of the seven. The chosen. The crowned.
The path to becoming one was paved in trials, death, and blood. Erevan had only taken his first steps. He didn't even know what being a Monarch meant.
But he would.
He had to.
That night, they took shelter in an inn nestled between crumbling towers.
The air inside was thick with smoke and whispered deals. A woman stood behind the bar eyes sharp, arms scarred, voice like broken glass.
"Looking for work?" she asked.
Erevan nodded. "Information."
"That costs more than ale." She smirked. "But if you want to earn it… I've got a package. Ashveil outpost. Dangerous road."
Kael leaned in. "Dangerous pays well."
Erevan hesitated only a second before nodding. "We'll take it."
The woman handed over a small box, bound in leather and marked with a strange black sigil.
"Be careful," she said. "Ashveil doesn't welcome the careless."
The road to Ashveil was worse than any Erevan had imagined.
Sandstorms tore across the plains like wild gods. The wind howled with voices he swore weren't human. Shadows danced in the distance, always too far to chase, always too close to ignore.
And then came the bandits.
They rode in on bone-covered beasts, their weapons rusted but deadly. Their eyes burned with greed.
"Well, well," their leader sneered. "Travelers with a package. Hand it over."
Kael cracked his knuckles. "You're free to try."
Erevan's fingers trembled but not with fear.
With focus.
[New Skill Unlocked: Crimson Edict (Lv. 1)]
[Effect: Blood-powered shockwave. Incapacitates targets within 10 meters.]
He moved swift, precise, guided by instinct and the Codex's heat.
Scarlet energy surged through his veins and exploded from his palm in a wave of burning force.
The leader screamed as his body locked mid-step, frozen by the blood magic.
Kael carved through the others in moments.
When the dust settled, only silence remained.
[XP Gained: +150]
[Level Up! Level 3]
[Stat Points: +3 | Skill Points: +1]
[Blood Essence: 30%]
Ashveil was little more than a broken outpost of walls and whispers.
But inside its battered gates, soldiers spoke of Monarchs. Of bloodlines that refused to die. Of wars to come.
Erevan stood among them, cloak stained with sand, the box in his hands untouched.
He stared at the horizon, where the comet had fallen.
"I don't belong here," he whispered. "But I am here."
Kael joined him, quiet. "Then claim your place. Or someone else will."
That night, by the fire, Erevan listened as Kael spoke of the old kings seven Monarchs who shaped the world, only to vanish in flame and ruin.
"Some say they ascended. Others say they were betrayed by their own blood."
Erevan said nothing, but the Bloodcrown sigil beneath his skin pulsed faintly.
He was changing.
He could feel it.
This world was carving him into something harder, sharper.
"Whatever it takes," he said at last, voice low. "I'll rise."
Kael's eyes met his across the flame.
"Then prepare to fall first."
The fire crackled.
And the desert whispered its secrets to the stars.