Lux stood on the auction stage with chains on his wrists and a thousand eyes on his skin.
The iron around his ankles made it impossible to forget what he was to them. Property. Inventory. Something to be bought, used, and discarded. Yet the way the crowd stared made it clear this was not a normal sale.
Nobles leaned forward as if they could taste his worth through the air.
Women in jeweled dresses whispered behind fans, their laughter light but hungry.
Men with soft hands and sharp eyes assessed him the way a butcher assessed meat, deciding where to cut, how to sell, how to profit.
Lux met their gaze without blinking.
He did not lower his head.
He did not flinch.
He simply stood there and breathed.
The auctioneer's smile brightened, pleased by the tension.
"Honored guests," she said, voice carrying smoothly across the hall, "you all have eyes. You can see he is not like the others."
A wave of murmurs rolled through the seats.
Lux's jaw tightened slightly.
Not like the others.
He knew what that meant.
A pretty slave fetched a higher price.
A stubborn slave fetched a higher price.
A slave with a spark of talent fetched the highest price.
The auctioneer's gaze slid over him, lingering for only a moment on his hands.
She did not show it, but Lux could tell she was curious.
Something about him bothered her.
Or interested her.
"Opening bid," she announced brightly. "Twenty spirit stones."
A low laugh echoed from the front row.
A noblewoman with ruby earrings raised a hand lazily.
"Thirty."
A man beside her smiled.
"Forty."
The bids came fast, as if the hall had been waiting all night for this moment.
"Fifty spirit stones!"
"Sixty!"
"Seventy!"
Lux listened, face calm.
Inside, his thoughts moved quickly.
So this is how they measure a human life.
A number, shouted from a seat.
A hammer strike.
And you are gone.
His palm warmed.
The Omnimage mark pulsed faintly beneath the skin, as if reacting to the pressure of the moment.
Not pain.
Not fear.
More like… awareness.
Lux flexed his fingers once, subtly, and kept his hand relaxed at his side.
If it wanted attention, it would not get it.
Not here.
Not in front of predators.
The auctioneer's voice rose.
"Seventy spirit stones from House Veyron. Do I hear eighty?"
A different noblewoman giggled behind her fan.
"Eighty."
A man with a heavy ring laughed.
"Forget eighty. One hundred."
The hall stirred.
That was a serious bid for a slave.
Lux tilted his head slightly, eyes narrowing.
One hundred spirit stones.
That was enough to buy a foundation pill earlier. Enough to buy pieces of the shattered Rank One weapon's fragment.
These people were throwing it around because they wanted a toy.
Or because they saw something they could exploit.
Lux spoke quietly, not shouting, but loud enough for those near the front to hear.
"If you're buying me for the night, save your stones."
The hall froze.
Then laughter exploded.
The auctioneer blinked.
The nobles looked offended and amused at the same time.
Lux continued with the same calm tone.
"I don't perform for free."
More laughter.
But now it had an edge.
One of the men in the front row stood, face dark.
"You're bold for a slave."
Lux met his eyes.
"I'm alive. That's all boldness is."
The man's lips twitched.
A few nobles clapped, entertained.
A few looked irritated.
And a few watched with interest, the way serious buyers watched a rare item that might be more useful than it appeared.
Up in the VIP balcony, Aurelia Lancelot laughed openly now, her amusement sharp.
"He talks like he thinks he can negotiate."
Her grandfather's expression remained calm, almost bored, but his eyes never left Lux.
On the table beside him, the bloodline detector sat still.
Too still.
As if it was holding its breath again.
The old man's fingers hovered near it, not touching.
Waiting.
Below, the bidding continued.
"One hundred and ten."
"One twenty."
"One thirty."
Two merchant representatives tried to join, but they were crushed instantly by noble bids, their voices swallowed by wealth they could not match.
A nobleman with pale hair raised his token.
"Two hundred spirit stones."
The hall erupted.
Even the auctioneer's smile widened.
"Two hundred spirit stones. Honored guests, do you hear two ten?"
A woman in the second row leaned toward her friend, whispering loudly enough for those nearby to hear.
"He would look good kneeling at the foot of my bed."
Her friend giggled.
"Buy him then. You can teach him manners."
Lux's eyes narrowed, and he smiled faintly.
Not warmth.
Not humor.
Just a thin curve of lips that said, I am listening.
He spoke again, voice calm.
"If you want me kneeling, you'll need to earn it."
That did it.
The hall roared again.
Some laughed like it was the best entertainment they'd seen in months.
Some looked offended, like a dog had spoken back.
The pale-haired nobleman's gaze hardened.
He pointed at Lux.
"Three hundred."
The auctioneer's voice sharpened with excitement.
"Three hundred spirit stones from Lord Halbrecht. Do I hear three ten?"
A man in a silk robe smirked.
"Three fifty."
"Four hundred," someone else snapped.
The bids began climbing too fast now.
It wasn't about Lux anymore.
It was about pride.
Politics.
Face.
Lux could feel it.
His chains clinked softly as he shifted his stance.
And beneath the skin of his palm, the Omnimage mark pulsed again.
This time stronger.
Lux inhaled.
Control it.
Stay quiet.
Don't react.
But the mark didn't stop.
It thrummed like a heartbeat.
Something inside it was excited.
Or alert.
Or warning him.
Lux kept his face smooth.
Inside, he repeated a single thought like a prayer.
Not here. Not now.
In the VIP room, Aurelia leaned forward, eyes bright.
"Grandfather. He's driving them insane."
Her grandfather didn't answer.
His gaze had shifted.
Not to Lux's face.
To Lux's left hand.
The old man's eyes narrowed slightly.
The bloodline detector on the table flickered.
A faint red pulse.
Then stopped.
Aurelia's laughter died.
She stared at the artifact.
"…That's not normal."
The old man finally spoke.
"It reacted when the unknown stone appeared."
Aurelia frowned.
"And now it reacts again."
His voice lowered.
"Not the artifact."
He pointed subtly.
"Him."
Aurelia's eyes widened slightly.
She looked back down at Lux.
For the first time, the amusement in her expression softened into interest.
Real interest.
Below, the bidding war hit five hundred spirit stones.
People began to gasp openly.
A merchant shook his head.
"That's madness."
A noble laughed.
"Madness is cheap if you're rich."
A different noble sneered.
"Rich is cheap if you're born correct."
The insult sparked another argument.
Seats shifted.
Voices rose.
The auctioneer attempted to keep the energy controlled.
But it was slipping.
Too many egos.
Too much money.
Too much excitement.
Lux watched it all and felt something odd.
A strange calm.
Like standing on the edge of a cliff and realizing the fall was inevitable.
The auctioneer raised her hand.
"Five hundred spirit stones. Do I hear five fifty?"
"Six hundred," Lord Halbrecht snapped immediately, his face tight.
The silk-robed nobleman responded.
"Six fifty."
"Seven hundred!"
The hall was shaking with noise now.
Lux's palm burned.
The Omnimage mark pulsed violently.
Lux's eyes widened just a fraction before he forced them steady.
Something is wrong.
No.
Something is happening.
The mark wasn't just reacting.
It was… reaching.
Like it could sense something in the air.
A presence.
A pressure.
A thread connecting his blood to something else.
Lux's gaze flicked upward for half a second.
To the VIP balconies.
To the shadows.
To the private rooms where true power sat quietly.
Then he saw it.
The Lancelot balcony.
Aurelia was smiling.
Not amused.
Not playful.
It was a smile that said, I found you.
Lux's stomach tightened.
What are you?
The question rose in his mind, uninvited.
The Omnimage mark pulsed again, almost answering.
Aurelia turned her head toward her grandfather.
Her lips moved.
Lux couldn't hear her words.
But he saw the elder's posture change.
The old man reached for the bloodline detector.
Touched it gently.
The artifact glowed.
A faint red line spiraled inside the crystal like living blood.
Then it stopped.
The elder's eyes sharpened.
He lifted his token.
The hall was still roaring, but his voice cut through the chaos with calm authority.
"One thousand spirit stones."
Silence slammed into the room.
The kind of silence that swallowed even breathing.
The auctioneer froze.
Lord Halbrecht's eyes widened.
The silk-robed nobleman stiffened.
A thousand spirit stones.
Not for a Rank S beast core.
Not for a Rank One weapon fragment.
For a slave.
The auctioneer finally recovered, voice careful.
"One thousand spirit stones from…"
She paused, eyes flicking to the emblem on the balcony.
"…House Lancelot."
The hall erupted, but now it was different.
Not playful chaos.
Not rich laughter.
This was fear dressed as excitement.
Whispers spread like wildfire.
"The Lancelots?"
"They're bidding?"
"They never bid on slaves."
"They never bid on anything unless they must."
Aurelia leaned over the railing, smiling openly now.
She called down, voice bright.
"He looks fun."
The hall laughed nervously.
But no one dared laugh too loudly.
Not at a Lancelot.
Lux stared at her.
For the first time, he spoke directly to someone in the VIP seats.
"Did you come here for me?"
The hall gasped.
A slave addressing a noble lady directly.
Aurelia's smile widened.
"I didn't think so."
Her eyes gleamed.
"But now I'm curious."
Lux's palm burned.
He clenched his hand into a fist, slowly, controlling the heat.
The auctioneer swallowed.
"One thousand spirit stones. Do I hear one thousand and ten?"
No one spoke.
Lord Halbrecht's face twitched.
His pride screamed at him to continue.
But his fear was louder.
He sat down stiffly.
The silk-robed nobleman looked away.
One thousand spirit stones was not just a bid.
It was a declaration.
This slave belongs to us.
Try and take him.
And we will remember.
The auctioneer lifted her hammer slowly.
"One thousand spirit stones. Going once…"
Lux's heartbeat steadied.
His mind raced.
House Lancelot.
A noble family.
Powerful.
Built by the previous rejected one.
They came for something.
Not pleasure.
Not entertainment.
Something else.
Something inside him.
The hammer hovered.
"Going twice…"
The hall remained silent.
Then something shifted.
Pressure descended again.
A subtle weight.
Not as heavy as before, but enough to remind everyone in the hall that the Rank One cultivator was still present.
No one moved.
No one breathed too loudly.
The auctioneer's voice dropped slightly, respectful.
"And sold."
The hammer struck.
The sound cracked through the hall like thunder.
Lux did not move.
He simply stared ahead as the reality settled.
Sold.
Again.
Different cage.
Different chain.
Same truth.
Aurelia clapped lightly, amused.
Her grandfather stood.
The hall watched him with reverence.
The elder did not look at the crowd.
He looked only at Lux.
And for the first time, Lux felt something he hadn't felt since arriving in this world.
Not fear.
Not rage.
Not even hope.
Recognition.
As if an invisible door had opened.
As if a path he didn't know existed had just revealed itself.
Guards approached Lux immediately.
Two on each side.
Professional.
Efficient.
Not like the scavengers.
These men moved like trained retainers.
One of them spoke quietly.
"Do not resist. You are now property of House Lancelot."
Lux lifted his chained hands slightly.
He smiled faintly.
"I wasn't planning to run."
The guard paused.
Then muttered under his breath.
"Strange slave."
Lux leaned closer, voice low enough that only the guard could hear.
"I'm not strange."
His eyes sharpened.
"I'm expensive."
The guard huffed a laugh despite himself.
Then grabbed Lux's chain and led him toward the back exit.
As Lux was escorted off the stage, the hall slowly returned to life.
Whispers erupted.
Speculation exploded.
Who is he?
Why did the Lancelots bid?
What did they see?
And above it all, Aurelia's laughter echoed lightly, like someone enjoying a private joke.
Lux was led down a corridor away from the stage lights.
The sound of the auction faded behind him.
For the first time since arriving in this world, Lux was out of the cage.
Not free.
But moving.
Walking.
Breathing air that didn't smell like iron and fear.
He glanced down at his palm.
The Omnimage mark pulsed.
Then a cold blue screen appeared in his vision.
Clean.
Merciless.
Unavoidable.
System NotificationMajor Event Registered: AcquisitionLocation Node Updated: House Lancelot
Lux's breathing slowed.
Another line appeared.
Quest InitiatedEnter the Lion's HouseObjective: Remain Unbroken for 7 DaysRestrictions: No External TechniquesFailure Condition: Kneel in True SubmissionReward: Omnimage Technique Seed I
Lux stared at the text.
His jaw tightened.
Remain unbroken.
Seven days.
In a noble house.
Where politics killed more quietly than blades.
Lux exhaled slowly.
Then he smiled.
Not because it was easy.
Because it was clear.
"Alright," he whispered to himself.
"Let's see what kind of lions you are."
The guards opened a final door.
Night air rushed in.
A black carriage waited outside, marked with the Lancelot crest.
Aurelia stood beside it, hands behind her back, smiling like she owned the moon.
Her grandfather stood nearby, face unreadable.
Aurelia tilted her head as Lux approached.
"So," she said softly, eyes bright. "Tell me, slave…"
She stepped closer.
"What are you?"
Lux met her gaze without blinking.
He answered honestly.
"I'm the reason you came."
The elder's eyes narrowed.
Aurelia's smile widened.
And the bloodline detector, sitting quietly in the elder's palm, pulsed one more time.
Stronger than ever.
As if confirming it.