The first rays of dawn slashed through Aetherhold's crystalline spires, casting kaleidoscopic patterns across the hallowed courtyards. Between the bell chimes and awakening incantations, cadets stirred to life in seamless rhythm. The campus buzzed as it always did—arrogant, sharp, alive with bloodline pride.
And yet, somewhere in the pulse of routine…
Something was off.
Rumors rippled through the mess halls.
> "You heard? Dorm Null's Cain Everheart. He's… back."
"Bullshit. He's dead. Got dragged out by a Warden construct. I saw the blood trail myself."
"I swear by the Stormcaller's crest, I saw him last night. He walked past the Pyroclast chamber like he belonged there."
"Even the wards didn't blink. That's not Cain. That's a mimic. Or a cursed revenant."
---
Cain walked through the outer corridors, hood up, steps measured, posture stiff—not from nerves, but from restraint. Every face he passed glanced once, twice. Some turned away. Others narrowed their eyes.
He was a phantom walking in daylight.
No one dared to speak directly, not yet. But the silence said enough.
His stolen bloodline had long since decayed, leaving behind faint warmth in his veins—a reminder of the system's conditions.
> "Cloneblood imprint expired."
"Status: Bloodless."
"Warning: Genetic Reversion Rate Increasing."
"Directive: Secure Anchor Trait. Sovereign Core at 0%."
---
Cain reached the lower levels of the eastern sector—Dorm Null.
Nothing had changed.
Cracked tiles. Faded sigils. The scent of mold and arcane dust. The academy's forgotten gutter.
Inside, five students sat in the common space. Hunched shoulders. Sunken eyes. These weren't cadets—they were survivors.
> Ashen faces. Spell-burnt arms. One girl clutched her notes like a shield. Another whispered to herself in loops.
They looked up as he entered.
Silence.
Then one boy stood—a gangly, bitter-eyed teen named Marrik. Cain recognized him. The only one who never participated in the hazing. But also the one who never stopped it either.
> "You're… back," Marrik said, voice flat.
Cain didn't answer.
> "You shouldn't be here." Marrik gestured to the others. "They're saying you're a freak now. That you came back alive that is wrong itself."
Cain lowered his hood.
> "They're not wrong."
> System Response: Ambient Aura Fluctuation – Dorm Null's morale altered. Status: Unstable.
---
> "Let them call me a freak,I don't care whatever" Cain continued. "It's the first time they've said my name in weeks."
That stirred some awkward chuckles. Someone coughed.
Cain stepped deeper in, eyeing the warped wall sigils. Defensive runes—never activated. Wards that had long since crumbled. They had never been protected. Not once.
> "I'm not staying here to be safe. I'm staying here to change things."
> Marrik scoffed. "Change things? You couldn't even cast a barrier glyph two months ago, What can you even do now?"
"I don't need glyphs anymore."
A pause.
Marrik stepped closer. "Then prove it."
Cain didn't flinch. His voice dropped.
"Bring me someone with a bloodline. Any rank it doesn't matter. I'll show you exactly how this 'freak' fights now."
---
🧬 [System Interface – Cloneblood Protocol Armed]
> "No active imprint."
"Awaiting contact with compatible genetic strain."
"Mimic Node charged: 0%"
"Warning: Physical limits currently capped. Host at 32% systemic stability."
"Mental threshold within danger zone."
Cain ignored the prompts. The system was fragmented—but functional. He didn't need it to be whole.
Just dangerous.
---
Hours later, a commotion stirred at the lower dueling yard. Marrik had delivered.
A Class C cadet named Renth Varros stood at the far end of the practice ring, smirking. He was broad-shouldered, with jagged amber tattoos that pulsed with kinetic energy.
> "This is a waste of time," Renth said, cracking his knuckles. "I'm not in the habit of dueling ghosts."
Cain stood across from him, unarmed.
> "No weapons?" Renth laughed. "No wonder they tossed you in the dirt."
> "I've got one," Cain murmured, eyes narrowing.
"I brought your bloodline."
The crowd jeered.
Then Cain moved.
---
It wasn't flashy.
Just fast—unnatural acceleration fueled by pain and instinct. Renth raised his arm to block, laughing as he channeled his kinetic shield—
> —and Cain touched his forearm.
> System: Genetic Sample Captured
Cloneblood Interface Syncing...
Trait: Force Buckle (Minor) – Converts blunt kinetic force into counterweight momentum.
Status: Instable. Decay in 43 minutes.
Cain spun back, knees bent, pulse rising. His muscles snapped with reactive energy. Renth lunged—
Cain met the blow head-on.
There was a sound like thunder.
And Renth flew backward, crashing into the barrier wall hard enough to crack the stone.
Silence.
Marrik stood dumbfounded. One of the other Dorm Null girls dropped her spell scroll.
> "What… the hell was that?" someone whispered.
Cain didn't answer.
---
He turned away as Renth groaned behind him.
The crowd didn't laugh anymore. They didn't cheer. They watched.
For the first time in his life at Aetherhold, Cain Everheart stood visible. Not as a victim. Not as a ghost.
But as something worse.
A wildcard.
A freak with no bloodline… and all of them at once felt a tingling sensation down their spine.