The sterile scent of disinfectant lingered in the hallways of the government testing facility, far beyond the public sectors of Sector 12. Monitors lined the white walls, blinking with streams of encrypted code and redacted data entries. Inside a dimly lit chamber labeled only "Room 13-A," a man in a sleek white lab coat examined a jagged waveform fluctuating across a digital spectrogram.
"Again," he muttered, eyes fixed on the signature.
A nervous assistant beside him tapped in a sequence. "Still no planetary lock, Director. The resonance bounced through three dead satellites before collapsing."
The Director leaned closer, pale fingers drumming on the console. "You're missing the point, Elric. That signal wasn't from Earth... but something on Earth woke it up."
Elric blinked. "You think it's related to—?"
The Director cut him off. "Begin a Sector 12 asset sweep. Discreetly. If the bloodline is active again, we're running out of time."
Dray sat on the rusted edge of an old support beam overlooking the scrapyard. The sun filtered weakly through the polluted haze above. He held a half-eaten protein bar in one hand, the other loosely gripping a thin iron rod scavenged from a broken antenna tower. His thoughts churned with restless energy.
He'd replayed the memory fragment a hundred times since the encounter below Sector 12. The sigil on his palm still lingered faintly, like a scar left by memory. Who had he been in that vision? Who was the man on the throne?
The system remained cryptic. It didn't answer personal questions, and Dray had learned the hard way not to waste energy on demands it wouldn't fulfill.
Still, it had left him something.
New Skill Unlocked:
Blood Sense (Passive - Incomplete): You can faintly detect nearby life signatures through instinctual resonance. Currently unstable due to low vitality and sealed bloodline.
It had triggered twice already—once when a rat scurried behind the orphanage walls, and another time when a hawk circled overhead. The sensation was subtle, like a whisper tickling the back of his skull.
But even that hint made Dray feel alive in a way he never had before.
Later that day, he returned to his hidden space beneath the scrapyard tunnel—his self-made sanctuary. He'd modified the abandoned maglev substation into a rudimentary base: scavenged lights powered by a cracked battery core, a terminal he'd managed to repair using old circuit boards, and a pile of tattered blankets.
The system screen floated silently before him. Dray exhaled slowly and opened the interface.
Next Level: 80 EXP
Name: Dray Ballack
Bloodline: Locked
Race: Human (???)
Level: 4
Class: None
Strength: 4
Agility: 6
Endurance: 1
Vitality: 5
Skills: Night Adaptation (Passive), Blood Sense (Passive - Incomplete)
Inventory: Broken Pipe (1), Rusted Circuit Knife (1)
System Shop: [Access Granted – Insufficient Permissions for Purchase]
Status: Stable
His eyes fell to the "System Shop" section. It was accessible—but every item he viewed was dimmed, marked with red text: "Insufficient Rank or Access Level."
"System," he asked, "why can't I buy anything?"
Response: User must attain Level 5 to unlock Tier-1 permissions. Additional system functions require Bloodline Activation or Class Designation.
Dray sighed. So close—and yet just out of reach.
He was about to close the screen when a sharp jolt of instinct prickled at his neck. A heartbeat too late—
Clink.
A rock bounced off the metal pipe above him.
He rolled sideways as another clatter echoed in the tunnel. A shadow darted across the hallway. Then another. Fast. Coordinated.
Dray grabbed the rusted knife and ducked behind an old control unit.
Warning: Three hostile signatures detected. Vitality level insufficient for prolonged combat. Recommend evasive action.
"They found me…"
But who?
Three figures emerged from the tunnel's mouth—dressed in scavenger cloaks and black visors. Their movements were practiced, efficient. One held a long-range energy baton. The others carried taser rods.
"ID signal came from here," one of them whispered. "Secure the subject. Non-lethal."
Dray sprang up and hurled his rusted pipe. It clanged harmlessly off one attacker's shoulder. He bolted past a broken power terminal, ducked a baton swing, and leapt over a low beam.
A blast of energy struck the wall beside him, showering sparks.
System Prompt: Evasive Protocol - Triggered
Temporary Agility Boost +3 (15 Seconds)
His body surged with speed. Time seemed to bend. The world blurred as he dashed left, jumped over an oil drum, and slid beneath a ventilation shaft.
One of the scavengers shouted, "He's enhancing! He's got a system!"
Dray didn't stop. His heart thundered. His limbs burned.
He exited into open daylight, sprinted up the hill of broken hulls, and threw himself into a pile of debris as the temporary boost wore off. Breath ragged, he waited.
No footsteps followed.
The system pinged.
Evasion Complete.
+30 EXP
You are being tracked. Relocate base within 24 hours.
Dray cursed beneath his breath. They weren't ordinary scavengers. They were hunters—and they had tech too advanced for typical urban bounty units.
Someone was looking for him.
Later that night, beneath a collapsing freight bridge, Dray stitched together a makeshift map using fragments of old subway blueprints and orbital terrain scans. There were dozens of abandoned zones beneath Sector 12—more than enough places to vanish.
But he needed to know why they were after him. Why now? What had awakened when he unlocked the box?
He still remembered the vampire emperor from the vision. That terrible gaze. The raw power.
And worst of all, the betrayal. The brother who had taken the throne.
The system had confirmed it: his father—the true Vampire Emperor—had extracted his own bloodline and hidden it within the box before escaping to Earth.
But those who overthrew his father did not know where Dray was. He was safe, for now. Only his signal—the faintest of echoes—had reached the stars.
System Message: Tracking attempts from external star sectors have failed. Identity encryption intact.
Bloodline Resonance: Dormant. Mutation Detected.
Mutation?
Class Evolution Node Unlocked: Hybrid State Potential
That was new.
Dray sat back and stared at the stars through the broken bridge above him.
He was just a kid. A no-name orphan in a dying city. But now—forces beyond his understanding were moving.
Somewhere in the galaxy, the vampire throne stood empty… and a forgotten bloodline pulsed silently through his veins.
Tomorrow, he would move again. But tonight, he would dream of crimson thrones and traitor kings.
He clenched his fists.
They would come.
But he would be ready.