[Sister's POV]
It was dark.
My mouth felt dry and my body weak. The smell of the alley went through my nose, mixed with blood and mud.
I couldn't move my hands. It felt like my wrists were pinned, but there was nothing there. It was just the bruise from when he had thrown me down.
The thugs were nowhere to be seen. They had put me down, and the portal had disappeared. Only the heat remained in the air.
'Why didn't they take me?'
Then I sat up fast, remembering.
"Brother?"
No reply. Just the cold wind passing through.
My eyes landed on a body lying curled up as if he had fallen from the stairs. His stomach had a big wound, and blood pooled around him. Way too much blood, thick and dark.
Time stopped around me.
"Brother!" I stumbled over, my entire body shaking. I pressed my hands to the wound, the blood slipping through my fingers.
"No, no, please..."
His body lay still. There was no way of knowing whether he was alive or not. I couldn't use my magic since I couldn't focus, so I started screaming, tears flowing freely.
No one was near. But then,
I could hear footsteps running beside me. My gaze landed on the figure who had just arrived.
A man in armour with red hair, his sword drawn, his face containing intense rage. My brother, who was supposed to be in the city by tonight.
His body froze when he saw us.
"No..."
He dropped to his knees, shoving me aside. It was not hard, just urgent. He pressed his hand over mine.
"What happened?"
"Some thugs took me. He tried to stop them. And..."
I couldn't speak after that. My throat hurt, stuck.
Big Brother's face went pale as he said, "Move back."
He removed his cloak and pressed it on the wound.
"He's gone," I whispered. "They killed him."
Big Brother's jaw clenched. "No. He's not."
I cannot understand what he said. Then I looked down.
The blood wasn't flowing anymore.
The wound, it was closing. Slowly. Edges knitting together like threads pulling tight. Not healing, something else.
Something wrong.
Big Brother saw it too. His eyes widened.
"That's not normal."
He pressed harder, but the blood had stopped. The wound was sealed. A scar was already forming.
I stared. "What... what is that?"
Big Brother didn't answer. He just lifted Brother's shirt and checked the scar. He frowned.
"Get up," he said quietly. "We need to go. Now."
I helped him lift Brother. He was heavy, limp, but breathing.
A corpse. A living one.
As we dragged him out of the alley, Big Brother muttered, "Whatever that was... we can't let Father see it."
I nodded, too scared to speak.
We disappeared into the crowd.
[YES]
My mind was a complete mess after that. It felt like my consciousness was drifting into nothing.
Occasionally, a few images flashed before me. They looked like memories or scenes that I haven't seen yet.
A hooded figure was sitting on a mountain, and a rift or something like a portal opened near him, slowly emitting energy throughout the place.
There were hundreds of them below, chanting some unknown words.
It must have been a spell.
I was there too, but I was drowning. In blood. I couldn't come out no matter how much I tried.
My breathing slowly stopped as I looked at the portal
The cloud slowly started turning red as a terrifying figure came out of the rift. Its hands reached towards me as multiple heads emerged.
"GEEEEEEEENEEEEEEE."
Fuck.
I woke up gasping, like I'd been pulled out of the sea a few minutes before.
My chest burned, but it was not due to the wound. My entire body felt like it was on fire.
I could not remember what I dreamed of just now.
Vision slowly crept into my eyes, and the surroundings came into view.
Then the entire room came into view, one by one, the green screens and furniture.
Finally, I saw them.
Family crowded around the bed: Father standing like a statue, arms crossed, face filled with worry lines I hadn't noticed before.
Mother beside him, hand on his arm, eyes red from crying.
Sister hovering at the foot, twisting her braid, looking like she'd aged five years in a day. And the brother, the one who'd shown up like a storm, leaning against the wall, arms folded, but his eyes locked on me as if I might vanish.
Big family, huh.
"You're awake," Father said, voice rough.
No "son" this time.
He must have felt bad about almost letting his son die the day after getting back from death.
I nodded, my throat felt dry.
"Yeah. What... happened?"
"You got yourself cut," Brother said, pushing off the wall.
"You should've dodged instead of stumbling like that. That bastard's sword nearly took your life."
Father grunted. "It was my fault. I shouldn't have left you two alone."
"No," I croaked. "My bad. I can't even save my sister."
Everyone's face darkened at that.
Sister rushed forward, grabbing my hand. "You scared us. The healers said it was bad, really bad. But then... the bleeding just stopped. Like magic."
Magic.
Right.
Mother leaned in, smoothing my hair. "We thought we'd lost you again. The seer never mentioned this."
I forced a weak smile. "Guess the stars forgot to warn her."
They all chuckled, a tense, relieved sound. Brother ruffled my hair roughly. "Don't do that again, little bro. I rode all night from the borders, and you try to die before I even say hello?"
"Sorry," I muttered. "Won't happen again."
Obviously a lie.
But the warmth in the room, their worry, their relief... it hit me hard. Back home, no one would've cared if I dropped dead.
Here? They were falling apart over a "coma kid" they'd barely gotten back. It felt... good.
Weirdly good.
Father cleared his throat. "Rest. We'll talk later. About your... awakening."
That word gnawed at me. In stories like this, noble awakeners usually manifested elemental powers: fire, wind, and lightning. Clean, heroic magic.
If they saw my blood move on its own to stop the wound... that's not a normal occurrence. The only time I read about blood power in this novel is when a demon uses it.
Also, awakening? Did they see something while I was unconscious?
He clapped Brother on the shoulder.
"Come. Let him sleep."
They filed out, Sister last, squeezing my hand one more time.
"Get better, okay? I have more illusions to show you."
The door clicked shut. Silence.
I exhaled, slumping back. The wound wasn't exactly hurting much. I lifted my bandage and found the scar, which was very light.
Wait, wasn't I forgetting something?
"Status window."
Beep.
[SYSTEM ACTIVATED]
The blue screen popped up in my vision, hovering like it had been waiting.
[ STATUS WINDOW ]
Name: Gene Riven
Level: 10
Rank: Awakener
Health: 80/100
Mana: 100/100
Unique Skill: Blood Manipulation[Description: Manipulate your own blood or nearby blood sources. Current limits: Small volumes, basic control (shape, harden, move).
Upgrades available with levels/experience.]
[Secondary: Blood Sense (Passive) – Detect blood nearby, sense life force/weaknesses.]
'What is that skill?'
Holy shit. This sounds so fucking cool.
Strength: 50/100 (Rank Limit)
Agility: 60/100 (Rank Limit)
Endurance: 40/100 (Rank Limit)
Intelligence: 40/100 (Rank Limit)
Perception: 60/100 (Rank Limit)
Luck: 40/100
I sat up straight, ignoring the pain in my chest. My eyes darted around to see if anyone was nearby.
Great. No one to disturb.
There were needles on the medical stand beside the bed. I picked one out and went to the bathroom.
Didn't want people to freak out that I was bleeding again.
I used the needle to put a scratch on my finger.
Prick.
Hot blood formed and slowly dripped down in droplets, falling on the ground. After spilling enough to make it move, I slowly raised my hand, focusing on the blood.
"Arise."
.....
...
'Why wasn't it working? Was it not the keyword?'
I spilt some more blood, but made sure not too much. And tried focusing again. This time, my focus was strong, trying to see through the particles in the blood.
A strange sensation flowed through me. I felt my pulse beating out loud in my head. I felt the coldness of the tiles as blood was dropped. Then my mind started becoming one with the blood.
[BLOOD MANIPULATION ACTIVATED]
The blood on the tile slowly rose.
It looked like someone was pulling it with a thread. The blood slowly turned into a ball shape and landed in my hands, solid.
Holy shit.
Splash.
What? That's it?
[BLOOD MANIPULATION CAN ONLY LAST 60 SECONDS FOR NOW]
It took 40 seconds for it to reach my hand. And I already lost this much blood.
I quickly cleaned the floor; didn't want to make the family think I was being suicidal.
So, system, can I inject this back into my body?
[NO]
So it's a matter of who bleeds first.
Wait, wasn't I forgetting something?
"Hey system, why didn't I receive the memory yet?"
[INSTALLING MEMORY]
There was no warning. Just an immediate pressure forced onto my skull.
The system was forcing the information.
My head suddenly shot up as my pupils disappeared, blood dripping down my nose.