The first rays of morning filtered dimly through the fractured skyline of Crescent City, though their warmth never reached Outer District 7. The skyline still bore the scars of the Rift Alex had stabilized—veins of astral fractures running like silent cracks through the air.
He stood silently on the edge of a broken watchtower, his cloak rustling in the breeze. Beside him, Baroness Elara Vex waited—silent, respectful, and observant. She had not spoken since they arrived, her amber-red eyes fixed toward the horizon where invisible forces swirled.
But Alex's focus was not on the city below.
His awareness had dipped inward—into the world within him. The evolution of his internal realm echoed like a second pulse through his chest. There, the palace had grown—its structure still incomplete but no longer formless. The shallow pool beside it shimmered faintly, nourished by the cosmic residue of his celestial affinity and infused with the signature of blood. Baroness Elara's bond with it was evident. Her loyalty felt rooted in something more profound than servitude—a calling perhaps.
Alex thought again of the Origin Star System's last update:
"Title: Emperor — Dormant authority pending Blood Core Pool unlock. Creator of Princes. Founder of Realm. System remains hidden from all external detections."
He hadn't shared this with Elara. Not yet. For now, she only knew what he allowed her to know—that he had created her, that she was the first of a kind. And that a shadow war was already beginning, hidden from the world's eye.
Alex turned slightly, speaking without looking at her. "You'll accompany me to the Vault Council."
Elara inclined her head. "Understood, my lord."
No titles beyond that. No mention of Godfather. Only those who attained the prince rank would be permitted to speak it aloud—and none had reached it yet. She, as a baroness, was still far from that threshold.
His eyes narrowed toward the horizon, where Rift energies shimmered faintly like mirages.
The world was trembling beneath its skin.
A Quiet Tension
Back in the dormitory sector of Crescent City's Initiate Quarters, Alex closed the reinforced door behind him, sealing the world out. He reached toward the inner workings of his hidden interface.
"Origin Star System," he whispered.
A pulsing lattice of starlight bloomed into existence, its sigils folding out in silent sequence across his inner vision. The faint star-symbol glowed on his brow—but only within his awareness. Not even the most advanced Augur systems of the RSA could detect it.
— Origin Star System Interface —
Internal World Stability: 61.3%Spatial Affinity: 31.9%Accumulated Merits: 24Subordinates: 1 [Baroness Elara Vex]Palace Construction: 19%Shallow Blood Pool: ActivatedBlood Core Pool: Locked
His gaze lingered on a pulsing icon below the Palace tab:[Subsystem Modules – Dormant Status]
He selected it.
Subsystem Detected: [Blood and Spirit Clone Upgrade: Avatar Split]Status: Dormant.Condition: Inner World Core not fully stabilized. Blood Core Pool not yet accessible.Description: When active, enables generation of a physical avatar formed from internal blood essence and spirit thread. Can retain subconscious link and battle prowess exceeding 80%.Warning: Activation may alert powerful spatial or blood-type entities if safeguards are not implemented.
He exhaled slowly, thoughtful. Not yet. The time would come, but the world was still watching too closely.
A Mission in the Shadows
Hours later, the knock on his door came with mechanical precision.
Agent Mira stepped in, her standard-issue coat sharp, her aura unreadable. Her Augur eyes glinted with pale luminescence.
"The Rift event in District 7 changed your classification," she said. "You're under silent review now. But for now… you're needed in Sector 14."
Alex didn't blink. "Another Rift?"
"Minor. Localized," she confirmed. "RSA wants your presence. You won't be the lead—just backup and observation."
He nodded without protest. "I'll prepare."
Her eyes lingered on him—just for a heartbeat longer than they should have. "You're not the same as when you arrived."
He tilted his head. "Afraid of evolution, Agent Mira?"
She didn't answer. Her silence was answer enough.
As the door closed behind her, Alex remained still for a moment, allowing the weight of her words to sink in. He didn't plan to show up in person this time. But he also knew it wasn't time to deploy any surrogate yet.
Instead, he would go—quietly, carefully, as himself.
A king still pretending to be a pawn.
Whispers Beneath Stone
Later that evening, Baroness Elara entered his quarters, her boots soft against the metal floor.
She knelt without preamble and offered him an obsidian scroll. "Change in location," she said. "The Vault Council meeting has been moved."
Alex unfurled the scroll, brow furrowing.
"From the Temporal Cathedral to the Crimson Archive," she added. "Buried deep beneath Sael'Var territory."
"Safer," he said. "More controlled."
"Yes. It avoids the open surveillance of the Cathedral." She hesitated, then added, "But Raegor Val'Zar will attend regardless."
That name settled like iron in Alex's chest.
The Blood Marshal. A juggernaut among vampires, a veteran of the ancient bloodlines. He despised anything he deemed impure or threatening—half-bloods, hybrids, and especially those like Alex. Even the Sael'Var wouldn't be able to hold him back if he chose to act.
Alex's voice dropped to a whisper. "Then I remain unseen until the time is right."
Elara bowed again. "As you will."
The Palace Within
Later that night, Alex sat cross-legged in silence, his awareness drifting fully inward—into the realm of stars and blood that only he could access.
The palace had grown. Obelisks of silver-black spatial stone towered above the mist-covered landscape, etched in runes that shimmered with kinetic energy. The shallow pool beside the palace glowed faintly, a soft rhythm beating like a heart. In its reflection, one could almost glimpse the silhouette of something vast waiting below—something locked behind the stairwell sealed by ancient marble.
Elara's spiritual form took shape beside him, her posture deferential but at ease.
She said nothing at first. Just looked around, wide-eyed at the ever-growing palace grounds.
"You created this," she finally whispered.
Alex stepped toward the runes beneath the marble stair. "No," he murmured, fingers brushing against the seal. "This... builds me."
The Blood Core Pool was still inaccessible, its seal untouched, but he felt the gravity of it pulling at him. One day, it would open—and with it, his full authority as the Progenitor would rise.
For now, he ruled from the shadows.
For now, his name was only whispered in the echoes of stone and starlight.