Lucian staggered through the shadows of the city's ghetto, ragged hitched breath with every heavy step he took. His vision was blurring, and his lungs burned as he continued to trudge onwards in the dark twisting alleys, lit up by the sun through broken rooftops and cracks in the walls.
As the energy left him, he slumped against a wall, using it to support him from collapsing. He leaned his head back, his long black hair falling away from his face as he glimpsed a few rays of the sun worming their way into the cold alleyways.
"This is insane… Why is this happening?" Lucian's voice trembled.
He struggled to think as he looked down, blood soaking his hand as he unclenches his wounded chest. The crimson drenched his robes and dripped onto the cobblestone under his feet. He panted as he watched as more leak out, his eyes widening as he followed the trail of blood on the stones he'd left behind, stretching out towards the path he took to come here.
His expression flickered, traces of wariness, dejection, shame, and anger mixing and changing on his face. He forced himself upright, clutching his wound and staggering forwards once again.
He had been making progress in his blood cultivation lately, though too little and too late. He lauded as he recalled his sect elders praising his bloodline as the highest potential amongst all the youth in his generation. That was only on the surface however, it was difficult to understand or use such a powerful bloodline with poor cultivation.
After a decade, the hopeful glances turned to scorn. Though Lucian worked hard in tempering his blood, his potential was being squandered in the eyes of others. Then came his older brother, Lucius. Though his bloodline was weaker relative to Lucian, it was still high quality, and his genius made him the prodigy of the sect. Resources reserved for Lucian gradually redirected towards his brother who wouldn't squander them.
Once Lucian learned how to properly cultivate his bloodline, he was a footnote in his brother's success in the sect. His weakness led to this situation in the end.
Lucian grimaced as he continued to wander through the alleys, watching as more blood poured out of him, each drop sapping his strength. To all cultivators in this world, blood was power and the very foundation for cultivation. When a cultivator loses blood, they lose some of that power, lowering their strength until they can replenish the lost blood.
Even though he wasn't that strong to begin with, if he continued to bleed like this, he wouldn't be able to fight back when his pursuers caught up to him.
More and more sunlight lit up the downtrodden alleys as Lucian progressed out of the city. The edge of the city was in sight, his path to escape and recovery.
As he neared the bright exit, it was suddenly blocked. A dark silhouette struck out at Lucien, catching him off guard.
"Damnit! Another sneak attack!" Lucien howled in anger, raising his arms to defend himself. But as he drew on his drew on his blood, his energy stalled in his body preventing him from protecting himself.
The blow tore through Lucian's defenses, he flew back into the alleyway as blood poured out from his mouth. His ribs had been shattered by the strike, pain drowning his senses.
"Lucian… Found you~"
A familiar voice called out. His silhouette blotted out the fading sun on the horizon, creeping closer.
"It's not like I wanted to do this… but you understand right?"
Lucian's blood pooled around his body, growing cold as the strength of his blood left him. The silhouette crouched beside him, reaching down and running his hands through the spilling blood, admiring the fresh liquid with an eerie smile.
"After I refine your blood, my bloodline purity will soar… I'll be like a god in this city. I can lead the sect to greatness! You're... a necessary sacrifice. But if you surrender your blood core, I'll make your death painless. That's the least I can do as your older brother."
Lucien struggles as he looks up, the figure becoming clear enough to make out. Those beaming eyes stared hungrily as he watched his younger brother struggle to speak, trying to form words.
Lucius.
"Yes, little brother? Any final words?" The silhouette leaned in to listen better, noticing Lucian's struggle.
Lucian struggled to form words, but this fate was predetermined. It was no longer surmountable. He knew he would die today, and yet... Surrender? He would never.
"Fuck you, Lucius."
Bloody spit landed on Lucius's face catching him off guard. Lucius flinched, standing up and wiping it off his face with a scowl.
"Tch. Fine, I don't need your blood core. You'll die as you lived. Groveling in the dirt like a dog."
Lucian watched as his brother raised his leg, barely registering as his brother brought it down. Bones shattered and blood erupted as Lucian's skull shattered underfoot.
Time froze in that moment.
The final moments of Lucian were recorded in blood painting the twilight. As the blood dried, cracks spiderwebbed across the air, shattering the very world like glass.
The fragments were held firm by the fountain of Lucian's blood, drawn backwards as the world slowly began to rewind...
The streams of blood and fragments gradually reversed through the ebb and flow of time, straining to pull back as many fragments as possible. As it progressed, some fragments escaped, falling into the river of time where they dissolved. But the blood was desperate, most of the fragments held firm as they were dragged backwards.
The stream of blood and fragments gradually coalesced into a web of veins, glistening with an incandescent shimmer. They converged at the site of a youth with long black hair floating downstream, fusing with the veins on his body and entering his bloodstream. Each drop of blood held information recorded on the fragments of time, delivering them directly to the sleeping youth.
...
In a dark room, a young man sat up quickly. He was panting heavily, blood and sweat oozing from his oozing from his pores staining his clothes and bedding a dark crimson. The blood was dead and devoid of energy, exhausted after serving its purpose.
Taking deep breaths, the young man gathered his thoughts.
"It triggered again... Haha, have I been too low profile lately? I haven't seen anything good yet... but there should be some hints left in the fragments this time..."
A young Lucian Varis caught his breath as his mind analyzed the fragments his blood had collected.
"I see... So Lucius kills me again? That's twenty-one futures where he kills me..."
Lucian fell silent, watching the scenes recorded on the fragments.
"Ten years this time. I managed to start cultivating my bloodline, enough to survive a few strikes from a veteran Lucius. Interesting..."
He rubbed his bloody shaking hands together.
"There's something useful in this future, I'm sure of it. Techniques, a guide, something!"
Outside, the first rays of dawn lit up the sky from the distant horizon littered by mountains. Around the city, grasslands stirred as the city groans and wakes up.
Silver Wind City rose from this Boundless Steppe like a shimmering gem of civilization. Spanning the land, Iron and stones came together under human will to form something more. Many cultivators resided in the city, and many more mundane people, all who contributed to the growth and prosperity of the city.
In the city center, many cultivators gather to train, trade, and war for the sects and clans who control the city. The sects run different districts in the city, jointly cooperating with each other to safeguard the city in an uneasy balance of power.
Light Wind Sect managed the southern part of the city, where Lucian resided. The sect was known for its prominent light bloodlines, incorporating the elements of wind and light in their cultivation to create agile and graceful, yet powerful cultivators.
It was a dominant sect even in the city run by 6 sects and clans. Second only to the Willowing Woods Sect nowadays, the Light Wind Sect was well respected and occasionally held the title of city lord. Though outwardly graceful, the sect was strict and demanded excellence. With plentiful light cultivation techniques, anyone with a light bloodline would thrive in this sect.
In the sect's main hall, a few elders gathered to discuss the future. Light Wind Sect Leader held the main seat in the hall, the elders sitting along and down the hall.
"Lord Sect Leader, about Lucian Varis..."
Light Wind Sect Leader inwardly sighed knowing it was time to give up on the boy.
"I'm aware of the situation. Although we tried hard to help him, none of the light cultivation techniques we have resonate with his bloodline. His bloodline should be of the light element, like his brother Lucius, but there's been no reaction yet."
"Yes, Lord Sect Leader. Lucian's bloodline may be desolate... While his brother is an obvious talent. We should invest our resources in young Lucius instead..."
In comparison, Lucius had been cultivating using the sects founding Light element technique. His potential for the sect was obvious in comparison to his brother. For the sake of his brother, Lucian could remain in the clan in the hopes of one day igniting his bloodline. But he would have to do that on his own.
It was here a little over one year ago that Lucian and his brother had awakened in the sect's ascension ceremony. After Lucian and his brother shocked the sect in their ascension ceremony, with Lucius at 39% and Lucian at 46% purities respectively, the sect instantly took them in with great expectations. Lucian was initially heavily invested in, with such a high purity bloodline, if he could properly cultivate it, his future was boundless.
But to Lucian, it was like trying to move mountains with his bare hands. He couldn't figure out how to properly cultivate it, unable to use his newly awakened blood core or cultivate his bloodline. No techniques helped him connect with his bloodline. Lucius however, rapidly advanced using his genius with help from the sect quickly overshadowing Lucian while the sect slowly stopped researching ways to help him cultivate despite his potential.
The situation wasn't too bad yet, as over the past year Lucian had been passively receiving help from his bloodline. Visions of the future, fragments of a far-off time that showcase Lucian's life down the line.
Considering these visions have yet to result in a positive outcome for Lucian, he's always stayed quiet about these prophetic abilities his bloodline has granted him.
It couldn't stay like this for long however, as Lucian sat in his bed in a weakened state, drenched in his own blood and staring at the ceiling. His eyes darkened as he sighed in the aftermath of another fatal prophesy.
He had to start cultivating.
One day, Lucius would be overcome by greed and hunt him for his bloodline.
Lucius would kill him again, unless something changed soon.
"This... This is it!"