Chapter 3 – What the Hell Is This?
Kai stood frozen, staring at the floating red screen hovering silently in the center of his vision. It pulsed slightly, as if breathing.
"How did you even appear...?" he whispered.
His voice sounded small. Hollow.
He took a shaky step forward, but suddenly—
*Pain.*
White-hot, stabbing pain surged through every nerve in his body, bringing him to his knees in an instant. His breath caught in his throat as he clutched his chest.
*Wait… I was thrown off a mountain.*
*That's… hundreds of meters high.*
*How am I… still alive?*
But the thought fractured as another jolt of agony raced up his spine. He gritted his teeth, trying not to scream.
Then, the door to his room slammed open.
"KAI?!"
His mother's voice cracked, raw with panic. She rushed in like a storm, her eyes wide, her breath ragged. She dropped to her knees beside him, reaching out to steady him—but then froze.
"Y-Your… You're *bleeding*!" she gasped.
Kai blinked in confusion, then looked down—and his heart sank.
His shirt was drenched in deep crimson. Blood had soaked through the fabric, staining everything. But when he reached out to touch it, he found no wounds.
No cuts.
No broken skin.
Just pain—deep inside. Not on the surface.
"I… I'm fine, Ma," he managed to whisper, giving a weak smile.
She wasn't convinced.
"Kai—don't lie to me."
He tried to stand, but the moment he moved, his entire body screamed in protest. Every joint, every bone, every inch of muscle throbbed with pain. He staggered, barely staying upright.
"See?" he smiled again, this time more forced. "Just tired."
His mother frowned deeply and gently placed her hand on his neck, checking his pulse. Her fingers were trembling.
"Your heart is calm…" she said, confused. "But your shirt is soaked. This isn't normal."
She stood quickly, a storm brewing in her eyes. "Kai. Remove your shirt."
Kai's eyes widened. "Wait, Ma— I'm fine, really!"
Panic bloomed in his chest. He could barely move. Just lifting his arm felt like lifting a mountain. How could he explain *this*? What would she say if she saw…
"Kai," she said more sternly now. "*Shirt. Off. Now.*"
He stammered, stumbling over his words. "I-I can't— It hurts just to move. I swear, I'm not hiding anything!"
That was a lie. He didn't even know what was happening himself, but whatever *this* was… it wasn't normal. And if his mother saw the system screen—or worse, if it reacted to her—it could change everything.
And then—
[Warning: Host vitals unstable. Healing paused due to external interference.]
[Alert: System still calibrating. Full functionality in 2 hours, 14 minutes.]
Kai flinched.
The red screen was still there, hovering behind her. She couldn't see it—but *he* could.
His mom looked over her shoulder. "What is wrong my face is here not back there?"
Kai shook his head, sweat dripping down his brow. "Nothing. Just… hallucinating from pain."
She hesitated for a moment, looking at him, really looking. Her eyes softened. "You're shaking."
Then something shifted in her.
She knelt beside him again, lowering her voice. "You don't have to lie to me, Kai. You've been trying so hard for so long, even without a bloodline. I don't care what the world says—you're *not* worthless. But if something's wrong, you have to *tell* me."
He bit his lip.
And for a second, he wanted to tell her. To just spill everything. The fall. The meteor. The teleportation. The screen. The system.
But instead—
[Emergency healing initiated. Warning: internal strain may cause unconsciousness.]
A surge of heat exploded in his chest.
His body convulsed.
Kai screamed.
His mother jumped back, horrified as glowing red lines briefly spread across his skin like veins of fire. His eyes rolled back, his body trembling violently.
Then—he collapsed.
---
**Darkness.**
Then light.
Not sunlight. Not fire. Something… else.
He was floating in a black void, like space, but warmer. Safer. In the distance, faint symbols pulsed—some looked like runes, others like words from languages he didn't know.
[Host has entered Recovery Interface.]
[Welcome, Kai val Gremory.]
[Bloodline System Initialization Complete.]
[Status: level 1.]
[Access granted: Basic functions.]
Kai turned, confused. "Bloodline System...? What *are* you?"
No response came from a voice, but knowledge—like instinct—flooded his mind.
The system wasn't just a tool. It was alive, or at least partially sentient. Connected to something ancient. Something powerful.
A fragment of... something bigger.
*Something that had chosen him.*
Kai floated there in silence, trying to breathe, trying to understand.
A new window appeared before him:
[You are currently locked out of all active bloodline abilities.]
[Your body is under repair. Estimated time until mobility: 3 hours, 42 minutes.]
[Passive Trait Unlocked: Survival Instinct Level -1]
[You survived a 612-meter fall with 12% body functionality. No gear. No magic. No bloodline.]
Kai's eyes widened.
"Why me…?"
He didn't get an answer.
Just a final message, glowing in crimson:
[System has found bloodline within host]
[Generic Transformation bloodline]
---
And back in the waking world, his mother watched in shock and horror as Kai's unconscious body shock every few seconds—still unaware that her son was no longer the same boy who had climbed that mountain hours ago.
Not anymore.