Chapter 4: The Weight of Blood
The guild headquarters towered over the city like the spine of a sleeping beast. Black-stoned pillars stretched into the sky, each carved with ancient dragon motifs that glowed faintly in the dim sun of this strange world. Rin had never seen anything like it. Not on Earth for sure.
Now… he was royalty.
Or so they claimed.
He still doesn't understand the weight behind this title.
He passed through the towering gates with a pair of armored escorts at his side. Inside, the halls were lit by veins of glowing crystal embedded in the walls, casting soft blue light that made everything feel ancient, sacred… and cold.
Other nobles strolled the halls,tall, elegant men and women with golden eyes, horns curling from their heads, and cloaks stitched with family crests. Their eyes slid over Rin with a strange mix of curiosity and dismissal.
He didn't walk like them yet. Didn't carry himself like someone born into power.
The reception room was grander than anything he'd ever seen,vaulted ceilings painted with a mural of a golden dragon erupting from a volcano, teeth bared at the sky. Rin stood there in silence, surrounded by wealth and firelight, waiting for the man who had summoned him: Lord Kael Solas, commander of the East Royal Guild and one of the king's brothers, his uncle.
Time dragged. His palms sweated. He hated that.
The doors opened with a low rumble.
A presence swept into the room, and the air changed.
Rin barely saw his uncle step in before a crushing force descended upon him like a falling mountain. It wasn't physical. It was in his blood, like his very cells recognized they were in the presence of a predator.
His knees hit the ground hard. He tried to resist. His arms trembled. He grit his teeth.
"Son of a—!"
Lord Kael stood tall in robes lined with white dragon scales, eyes glowing with gold light. His horns were long and sharp, and he held himself with the stillness of something ancient.
"You enter my chamber and forget to kneel?" Kael said, voice calm but cutting.
"I…" Rin tried to speak, but his mouth was dry. "I wasn't... trying to—"
Kael waved a hand, and the pressure vanished. Rin gasped as blood rushed back into his limbs.
"You've returned," the uncle said, stepping down from his dais. "Alive. Changed. I want answers."
Rin struggled to his feet, wiping the sweat from his brow. "It all happened too fast," he said, keeping his voice steady. "One moment I was in the field, then… darkness. I don't remember much."
Kael circled him like a wolf sizing up prey.
"You feel different," he murmured. "it is like you are not you anymore."
Rin said "facing death will change anyone sir."
"You will report to Captain Ilvar for evaluation tomorrow," Kael continued. "If you are still capable of basic combat, you may keep your station."
Kael's eyes narrowed. "I'll be watching you."
Then, without another word, he turned and left through a side corridor, his cloak trailing embers behind him.
Rin stood there for a moment, alone again.
He clenched his jaw. His body still ached from the pressure, but the sting in his heart burned hotter.
"that old piece of shit is suspicious of me i need to get away from him from now on ," he thought. "But i changed i am not a nobody i am a royal. And I was treated like trash."
As he left the audience chamber, fury roiled in his chest. Passing through a side hall, he heard laughter,low, mocking, and far too familiar.
He paused.
Two noble youths leaned against a column, whispering to each other with smug grins. He didn't know them, but he knew their type. They wore the sigil of House Sael, a lesser line under the Eastern royal family. Not full dragons,just lizards wrapped in silk.
"…Did you see how he dropped? Like a rat in front of a lion."
"Supposed to be noble blood, they said. Ha."
Rin's eye twitched. For a moment, he considered walking away.
But something in him snapped.
He turned and walked directly toward them.
"Hey," he said.
The two froze.
"Which family are you from?" Rin asked, smiling too widely.
One of them straightened. "House Sael," he said. "Under East banner. Why?"
Rin's smile darkened. ""Because I like to know which stables produce dogs who bark at dragons."
The second boy stepped forward. "Watch it, bastard. You might have some royal blood, but you—"
SLAP.
The sound echoed down the marble hall.
The boy staggered, clutching his face. The other looked like he wanted to draw steel,but hesitated.
"I dare you," Rin said, stepping close. "Touch me. I'll decorate this hall with your blood. Let's see how far your family crawls to beg forgiveness."
Neither of them moved.
Rin turned his back on them and walked away.
> [SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
Tyrant Path +1
"Congratulations. Dominate the weak, walk without shame. Only tyrants rise above dragons."
Current Progress: 1 / 2000 Tyrant Points
Reward at 2000: Blood Purity +3% → Target: 20%
Rin stopped mid-step, blinking.
"Did… I just get stronger for slapping that idiot?"
Excitement bubbled up inside him.
"So this is how it works. Not kindness. Not mercy. Power."
His lips curled.
"Good. Let the path begin."