Inside the dim cave.
Sylutia’s heartbeat gradually synchronized with Carmilla’s, and her own Aspect began to waver. The silver-and-blue life force card quivered, blood-red veins spreading across it like rose vines, inching their way inward.
On the life force card, the girl held an exquisite silver astronomical clock. Behind her, dawn and dusk alternated, but their light was fading. A faint red moon slowly rose in the background, and the little stars that served as time markers on the clock shifted into different moon-phase symbols.
Deep in her consciousness, the woman seated in a royal dressing room looked into her mirror and found her reflection changing from silver hair with blue eyes to golden hair with red eyes. She raised a finger and peered at her palm. I am—
I am Sylutia…
I am Clovante…
Two streams of thought alternated, two sets of memories clashing and arguing.
As the clock’s hands clicked, a sound rang out, and the true crimson settled into her irises.
That’s right, I am Clovante. I have been reborn into this mortal shell.
She began to review this mortal life: episodes of Sylutia growing up in the Meizhalansi family, days living in the Hidden Grove, and her time studying after joining the Mage Alliance.
How rich and vivid, she thought. If I had not been chosen as the heir, might I still have lived such an easy, free life? She glanced at her mirror image.
Still, she had doubts she could not tolerate—there were blurred blanks in her memories after Sylutia turned twelve.
As a former emperor of the Blood Clan, she knew many methods, especially how to trace past experiences through one’s own bloodline.
The sealed Memory Maze that once hid what young Sylutia could not probe was gradually being pried open by this empress’s forceful measures, and the experiences the girl had forgotten began to surge up like monstrous waves.
Thunder roared, massive lightning exploding beside her ears. Even Clovante felt astonished by that power.
In a daze, she returned to Sylutia’s childhood: she was inside a trembling airship while a ferocious storm raged outside.
Inside the airship, hurried footsteps and shouts echoed, all drowned beneath the greater thunder of the downpour.
Through the small round window, she saw scorching lightning tearing the sky. Its explosive force would have felt dangerous even during her imperial reign.
Amid such tossing winds and rain, a dragon’s roar echoed across the sky, as if the whole world shook. Then the storm passed and she lost consciousness.
.....
When she came to again, she was inside a speeding carriage, escorted by high-ranking knights in blue-and-white armor, guiding the carriage through the night forest.
Those knights were all Fifth Tier and above. They wore silver-white armor with blue flowers pinned at their shoulders; their helms sported blue-and-white tailfeathers. They carried pristine lances and rode pure-white unicorns. Even during the Blood Dynasty era, such troops could serve as imperial personal guards.
The carriage jolted. Attackers occasionally burst from the roadside—some firing razor-sharp enchanted crossbow bolts, others directing colossal mammoths as chaotic, brutal instruments of war.
These were likely assassins or mercenaries hired by other powers. They kept harrying and wearing down the convoy, and the knights escorting the carriage knew it. They could only speed up, hoping to break out of the dangerous wood.
“In the name of Carmillas!” the leading knight shouted. White motes of light emerged from beneath their armor, and the flowers on their shoulders blossomed in response, echoing that radiance.
Blessings of the fairies were invoked. The knights and carriage surged forward, their speed increased by eighty percent, like flashes of lightning.
Everything along the road blurred into illusions. The attackers temporarily vanished from sight.
Life returned to the convoy for a moment. A robed cleric in the carriage soothed the young Jade Dragon Ti Ya.
“Miss, please remain calm. If we reach the northern Dove Harbor, the dynasty’s fleet will take over. No one will dare act rashly then.”
“Hm. Take care as well.” She nodded to the cleric.
Only now did the girl notice her attire: an eastern-style gown of white silk, sleeve hems embroidered with pale-blue cornflower patterns, matching her silvery snow hair.
The convoy’s relative calm did not last long. A terrifying gush of purple-red infernal flame poured in from ahead, engulfing the entire group.
The Meizhalansi knights raised their shields. Blue-white light shields interlocked to barely resist the violent breath. After more than ten seconds, the purple-red flame receded. The convoy staggered, the carriage was launched into the air and flipped. Thanks to the cleric’s control, it did not smash to the ground.
In the chaos, the knights reformed their lines and finally saw the enormous creature ahead: a mountain-sized demonic dragon. Its skin was dark red, pairs of strange eyes sprouted from head to spine, and hot breath still billowed from its maw.
[Varak Demon Dragon] (Seventh Tier · Distortion · Dragon Eye · Nightmare)
A terrifying dragon twisted by otherworldly forces during the Seventh Epoch. It should have been banished to the Astral Plane, but cultists summoned it back.
Once the party realized how powerful this beast was, all faces grew grave. Figures cloaked in shadow appeared behind the demon dragon, each covered head-to-toe in black robes, faces concealed.
[Faceless Ones] (Sixth Tier · Mist Shadow · Nightmare)
Beings without form or body, capable of adopting any visage, entering a living creature’s dreams, and striking at the softest, most vulnerable places.
Four clerics slowly rose into the air. Behind them, wings woven of radiant light spread, facing the shadowed Faceless Ones.
[Radiant Clerics (Angel-possessed)] (Sixth Tier · Luminous Moon · Vaulted Sky)
Clerics who commune with the celestial gardens through the Hours, receiving blessings and protection—walking bathed in light.
Though the Meizhalansi side seemed outmatched, they did not cower. The knights formed a protective ring around the carriage. The activated veil stood like iron walls, and when the four clerics ascended, a grand beacon of light shot from the ground up into the heavens.
A distant dragon’s cry sounded. Light converged from all directions, weaving a thousand-meter-long jade figure that circled and wrapped the light column as it descended. Its mere appearance lit the night as bright as day.
[Jade-Eyed Jade Dragon] (Seventh Tier · Dragon Eye: Verdant Nectar · Luminous Moon)
“By the Dragon Covenant, a jade dragon of stone descended from the celestial gardens. Its body is pure white, eyes like blue-green jade. Its arrival embodies the Hours’ will in the form of the ‘Emerald Dragon.’”
The great battle began. The agile jade-stone dragon clashed with the bloated, massive demon dragon above. Purple-red infernal flame burned the sky while jade-white stone rain scattered and shattered. The destructive forces periodically battered the knightly shield wall below, sending chills through those who defended it.
The two dragons’ fighting rendered thousands of kilometers around perilous—earth heaved, flame boiled into an abyss of dark red.
Under the dragons’ shadows, the Faceless Ones and the angel-possessed clerics also fought. They darted through spatial rifts, blinking into and out of existence. Their dull blades could slice reality and void, inflicting irreversible damage to souls and consciousness.
Under such assault, the four Radiant Clerics could only defend with difficulty. Fortunately, they were not weak; even four against six, they held for a considerable time.
As the standoff continued, more robed cultists with covered faces emerged from the attackers’ ranks. They fixed their gaze on the carriage and began to chant eerie prayers and incantations.
The sky, once interlaced with light, slowly tore open like a painted canvas sliced by a knife, revealing hidden brilliant colors below.
As the wound opened, streams of color bled forth—mists and hues writhing. Those vivid pigments presented themselves in a hallucinatory way, giving an impression of a reality not belonging to this world.
[Alien Star Hue] (Astral Being · Unknown)
“Part gas, part pigment—flowing vivid colors that possess life. Once descended, they gradually seep into the world until the entire realm is slowly assimilated.”
It was as if the world shed five-colored tears. The changing hues flowed and then dripped into the protective light barrier around the knights below.
The jade dragon tore through the atmosphere, scattering shockwaves that momentarily repelled the demon dragon. It then dove at the falling Alien Star Hue. The white-jade body was stained by the colors and began to shift; its once-clear jade eyes grew cloudy.
Sylutia, lifting her head below, watched in horror.
At that moment, another drop of the Alien Star Hue pierced the knights’ protective veil and entered the girl’s eye. Her clear gaze instantly dulled, and she slowly sank to her knees.
A kaleidoscopic droplet of color sank into her consciousness and struck the life force card she originally held. It then spread out.
The life force card shattered, scattering like grains of dust, dissolving into multicolored particles. Simultaneously, a flood of alien information surged through and overwhelmed her.
Compared to the girl’s mere dozen-odd years of life, this information torrent contained the Alien Star Hue’s accumulation over hundreds of millions of years—the traces of innumerable times and the remnants after devouring countless worlds.
Suddenly, every memory that defined this girl’s identity was diluted. She could no longer maintain coherent awareness or personality; her eyes went blank like a puppet’s.
In the dim cave, the real-world Sylutia was changing as well.
Her golden hair lost color again, fading into pallor. Her consciousness sank into deep sleep under the onrush of information.
Time passed. In that barren depth of awareness, a meteor streaked across and faint consciousness was tugged awake.
Summoning a vague perception, the seven-colored picture book slowly descended. Like a library, it resealed and gathered the compressed information in that sea of awareness.
After a long time, Sylutia finally came to and opened her eyes.
Two illusory tomes floated in her sight.
「True Crimson Blood · Clovante」
A codex condensing the life memories of the Blood Dynasty’s seventy-sixth emperor, Clovante. It reveals many Blood Clan secrets. (Can obtain an Eighth Tier career path: Blood Clan Empress? and numerous forbidden rites, and mastery of 24 exclusive Blood Clan rituals.)
[Transformation Rite · Blood Scion Shift] (Luminous Moon · Bloodline - Nightmare)
[Coronation Rite · Thorned Blood Crown] (Bloodline · Castle · Secret Word)
[Enthronement Rite · Rose Oath] (Bloodline · Castle · Secret Word)
......
[Outer Tome · Alien Star Hue]
A codex sealing the temporal traces of the Alien Star Hue. Though filled mostly with useless chaotic data, it also contains small quantities of comprehensible essences. (Grants various Alien Star Hue abilities and forbidden otherworldly knowledge.)
Abilities: “True-Color Gaze,” “Twisted Hue,” “Rift Wounds,” “Chromatic Occupation”
[Otherworld Rite · World Palette] (Alien Star · Distortion · Secret Word)
[Otherworld Rite · Devour Colors] (Alien Star · Nightmare · Distortion)
The girl reached out and let the two spectral tomes fall into her hands, sensing the sealed knowledge and information within. Gradually her consciousness cleared.
That was dangerous, Sylutia thought, pressing her forehead.
I almost became Clovante. Fortunately, that empress—so proud and absolute—would not allow lapses in memory, and in her attempt to eliminate gaps she accidentally opened a locked box.
Now Sylutia understood why so many events after she turned twelve had been missing. The Alien Star Hue’s strike nearly dissolved her entire soul and consciousness.
Normally, such a transdimensional lifeform would directly seize and assimilate a mind, turning the person into flowing pigment—part of the Alien Star Hue’s color information—just as the jade-eyed jade dragon was struck during that battle.
But at the last moment, she had suppressed and sealed that single drop of Alien Star Hue. As the cost, she lost all past memories and somehow slipped out of her family’s protection, ending up on the Fourth Continent.
According to the recollection of the accompanying cleric, she was supposed to be escorted to Crane Harbor—the cloudsea mega-port linking the Third Continent with the First Continent. At that time, the Sun Dynasty had already sent a fleet to fetch her.
Some memories returned, but more questions arose. Why could the clerics who escorted her summon protection from the Emerald Dragon? That protection should come from the Hours who guard the Sixth Continent.
And angelic possession as a blessing has limited sources—connected to the fallen Hour, Dawn Wind Eagle. How did the Meizhalansi family establish ties with that being?
The phrase Dragon Covenant seemed deeply tied to her origins. Perhaps her half-eastern lineage had great connections indeed.
Sorting through the surfacing recollections, Sylutia slowly came back to herself and checked on the sleeping Carmilla.
Though she had just endured tremendous danger, the Blood Clan princess’s state remained relatively stable.
As a legitimate royal descendant, Carmilla had pressed down on ancestral memory awakenings through a variety of clan rites and records. By entering a deep sleep, she had halted her consciousness and prevented Clovante’s assimilation.
But Carmilla’s ignorance of countermeasures did not mean Sylutia was ignorant. If lineage and inheritance were concerned, Sylutia might be the more ‘legitimate’ bearer of heritage before her, knowing many more Blood Clan secrets.
Recalling Clovante’s memories and knowledge, Sylutia lifted a finger and pressed Carmilla’s forehead.
A special bloodline rhythm slowly transmitted with the heartbeat, synchronizing Carmilla’s pulse with her own. Using this method, Sylutia gradually guided Carmilla’s body to learn new Blood Clan abilities.
This was a forbidden Blood Clan sealing technique, used specifically to resist higher-order bloodline suppression and to impede kin assimilation and erosion.
[Blood Rhythm Reverse-Flow] (Bloodline)
“With an inverse blood rhythm, obstruct the Blood Clan’s suppression, assimilation, and inheritance—cutting ties between oneself and the clan lineage.”
After a long while, seeing Carmilla slowly acquire the ability, the girl breathed a sigh of relief and prepared to wake her.
But she hesitated: how to rouse Carmilla gently and without harm? Should she mimic fairy tales and kiss Sleeping Beauty awake?
No, that was a contrived romantic plot device. A splash of cold water might be more sensible, but Carmilla was in deep sleep with sealed awareness—ordinary water wouldn’t take effect.
She pondered for a long time, then found a solution.
A cool sensation spread from Carmilla’s forehead, seeping toward the depths of her consciousness. The sleeping Carmilla’s awareness stirred and was gradually roused until she slowly opened her eyes.
The cave remained dim, but a few tiny golden stars floated behind the girl, casting a soft halo. Carmilla gazed at the familiar face in a daze, feeling as if she were still dreaming.
How did I get here? This must still be a dream.
But the dream felt real. She had not seen that face up close for a long time, yet it was extraordinarily clear—she could even make out the faint, youthful down on the girl’s cheek.
Seeing Carmilla still uncertain, Sylutia flicked the middling point between her brows. A sudden coolness spread through her, and Carmilla sat upright.
“I—why are you here?” Carmilla gripped Sylutia’s narrow shoulders, feeling this living body, surprised and a bit at a loss.
“You’re a bit silly, Carmilla.” The girl comforted her, fingers brushing the pale-golden long hair behind Carmilla.
“Of course I came looking for you after finding you missing.”
A simple sentence, and Carmilla steadied again. As a Blood Clan princess, she fully understood what pursuit she faced and how far she had fled, how remote her hiding place had been.
Even so, this girl had found her.
She must have spent countless thoughts and energy, possibly facing hostility from other Blood Clan members and walking through danger to find her. At that thought Carmilla felt worry, guilt, and then deep gratitude stirring within.
She should have been older and stronger than this girl, yet she had been the one saved and cared for—an odd emotional contrast arose.
After a while Carmilla came to her senses. She realized she still needed to guard against memory encroachment and prevent her Blood Clan identity from being exposed.
She quickly discovered it would be hard to keep her lineage secret now. Moreover, this girl had taught her forbidden techniques she had never seen to resist the memory inheritance within her bloodline.
Learning the secret method, Carmilla finally solved the torment that had plagued her for some time. She no longer feared losing her own awareness to Clovante’s replacement.
“How did Hedra know this secret?” she could no longer contain her question.
“Well…” the girl’s expression grew slightly embarrassed. She brushed her silver hair aside and answered softly.
“Because earlier, to wake you, I entered your dream and saw many secrets from the Blood Dynasty.” She chose to be honest.
“Oh—” Carmilla did not know how to respond. Then she thought of another concern: if Sylutia had seen Clovante’s memories, had she also seen Carmilla’s past? In other words, did she now hold every secret?
Carmilla lowered her gaze.
Fortunately, Sylutia sensed the princess’s mood and held her in a gentle embrace, soothing her.
“It’s okay. I don’t blame you for hiding your identity. Everyone has many secrets.” The gentle words melted into the Blood Clan princess’s heart, and she buried herself in the girl’s arms, letting out a faint sob.
But Carmilla quickly recovered. Her reddened eyes blinked; the tears disappeared fast, replaced by a quietly composed expression.
“Then can I ask Hedra to keep my secret?” She looked straight at the girl with her true-crimson eyes as if requesting confirmation.
“Of course.” Sylutia nodded, her pale-blue eyes steady and unchanged.
Hearing that, Carmilla let go completely. For some reason she felt she had become different from before.
Though somewhat inferior to her sister Catella, she was still a Blood Clan queen and should be more mature and composed, in control—not acting like a little girl, nervous and insecure.
Does personality shift with power rank? She blamed Catella for making her feel small.
Still, finding such a friend was another kind of fortune. She pressed a finger to her chest, feeling the heartbeat, and smiled faintly as she thought.
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