The night the sky turned crimson, I learned that monsters don't hide in the dark.
They rule it.
Rain poured over Black Hollow District like the heavens were trying to wash something away. The narrow streets were flooded with muddy water, neon lights flickering weakly above broken buildings. People had already locked their doors. Windows were shut. Lights turned off.
Because when the Blood Clans moved, the city pretended not to see.
I ran through the alleyways, my shoes splashing against puddles, breath tearing through my chest. My heart felt like it would explode. I didn't know why they were chasing me. I didn't know what I had done.
All I knew was that if they caught me, I would die.
Footsteps echoed behind me—slow, confident, deliberate.
They weren't rushing.
They weren't afraid of losing me.
They were enjoying it.
I turned the corner sharply and slipped, crashing hard onto the wet ground. Pain shot through my elbow as my skin scraped against broken glass. I tried to stand, but a shadow fell over me.
Five figures blocked the exit of the alley.
Silver masks covered their faces. On each mask was the same symbol—a flame carved into the metal.
Flame Blood Clan.
One of the Five Ruling Bloodlines.
One of the nightmares whispered about in the slums.
"Well, well," the tallest one said calmly. "The stray finally stopped running."
My throat tightened. "I don't even know you."
"You don't need to," he replied.
He removed his glove.
The veins in his hand glowed red.
The air grew heavy. Hot. Suffocating.
Suddenly, my chest tightened violently.
I gasped.
Something inside my body responded to him.
My blood.
It began to move unnaturally, crawling beneath my skin like living fire. Thin red threads emerged from my arms and wrapped around my neck and wrists.
I screamed.
"Impressive vitality," another masked figure muttered. "He survived the first pull."
"Doesn't matter," the leader said. "Stray bloodlines must be erased. That's the law."
Stray bloodline?
What were they talking about?
"I'm just a normal person!" I shouted desperately.
The leader tilted his head. "If that were true… we wouldn't be here."
He clenched his glowing hand.
Pain exploded inside me.
It felt like my veins were being ripped apart from within. My heartbeat thundered wildly in my ears.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
But then—
Something changed.
The pain didn't increase.
It deepened.
Shifted.
Answered.
The red threads controlling me suddenly froze mid-air.
The leader's glowing veins flickered.
"What?" he whispered.
The air pressure in the alley shifted violently.
The rain stopped.
Not slowed.
Stopped.
Each droplet hung suspended in the air as if time itself had paused.
My heartbeat became steady.
Powerful.
Ancient.
A strange warmth spread from my chest outward, replacing pain with something vast and commanding.
The ground beneath me cracked.
A pulse of golden-black energy burst from my body in a violent wave.
The silver masks shattered instantly.
The five men staggered backward, terror visible on their now-exposed faces.
"No… this aura…" one stammered.
"It's impossible."
Inside my mind, a voice echoed.
Cold.
Timeless.
Authoritative.
Royal Blood detected.
Dormant seal unlocking.
Heir confirmed.
The Last Blood King… has awakened.
My vision sharpened unnaturally.
The world looked different.
Clearer.
Alive.
I looked down at my reflection in the puddle.
One of my eyes had turned gold.
The other—deep black.
The leader roared in panic. "Kill him now!"
He lunged forward, flames igniting along his arm.
Instinct moved me before thought could.
I raised my hand.
The world responded.
His body froze mid-step.
For a single silent second, we stared at each other.
Then—
The blood inside him erupted outward.
A crimson explosion painted the alley walls.
The remaining four screamed.
They tried to run.
But golden chains formed from thin air, piercing through their bodies and pinning them against the cracked walls.
I could feel it.
Their blood.
Their fear.
Their power.
It flowed toward me like a river obeying gravity.
Absorbing.
Strengthening.
Evolving.
Within seconds, it was over.
Five elite members of the Flame Blood Clan lay motionless on the ground.
Silence swallowed the alley.
The rain resumed falling.
But it felt warmer now.
Heavier.
I staggered backward, staring at my trembling hands.
"What… am I?" I whispered.
The voice returned.
You are the last surviving heir of the Royal Bloodline.
Twenty years ago, your clan was betrayed.
Five blood thrones united to erase your name from history.
They slaughtered your people.
Burned your palace.
Sealed your power.
Images flooded my mind violently.
A massive throne room covered in gold and crimson.
A crown stained with fresh blood.
Five figures standing together, their emblems glowing—Flame, Shadow, Storm, Divine… and one unknown symbol hidden in darkness.
A child carried away through secret tunnels.
Me.
"They killed… my family?" My voice felt distant.
They feared your blood.
Royal Blood commands all others.
It dominates. Absorbs. Evolves.
You were sealed to hide your existence.
I looked at the bodies around me.
"So they came to finish the job."
Yes.
My chest tightened—but not with fear.
With rage.
The slums I grew up in.
The hunger.
The humiliation.
The feeling of never belonging anywhere.
It wasn't coincidence.
It was designed.
They made sure the last Royal heir grew up powerless.
Forgotten.
Weak.
I clenched my fists.
Golden-black energy flickered around my fingers.
"Why awaken now?"
The seal weakened as you matured.
And they sensed it.
Tonight was not an accident.
In the distance, sirens began to echo.
Not police.
Clan enforcers.
They would investigate the deaths.
They would realize what happened.
And then—
They would come.
Stronger.
More prepared.
I looked up at the towering skyline beyond Black Hollow District. The elite sectors glowed brightly in the distance, untouched by poverty or fear.
Somewhere up there sat the Five Blood Thrones.
Rulers of this world.
Murderers of my bloodline.
The voice spoke one final time.
You have two choices.
Hide… and die slowly.
Or rise… and reclaim the throne.
I wiped the rain and blood from my face.
For the first time in my life, I felt clarity.
I was never meant to live quietly.
I was never meant to survive.
I was meant to rule.
A faint smile touched my lips.
"Tell me what I need to do."
Golden-black energy swirled around me like a storm awakening.
Grow stronger.
Hunt the Blood Clans.
Break the Five Thrones.
Reclaim what was stolen.
Thunder roared across the sky.
But this time, it wasn't the storm that made the city tremble.
It was me.
I took one last look at the alley where everything changed.
The place where I died as prey.
And was reborn as a king.
"They wanted to erase my name," I murmured.
Lightning flashed above the city towers.
The crimson glow reflected in my dual-colored eyes.
"Let them remember it instead."
Because tonight—
The last drop of Royal Blood had awakened.
And the war for the throne had begun.