"Let the awakening ceremony begin."
The clan head's voice rang through the vast hall cold, absolute, unquestionable. The moment his words fell, silence swallowed everything else.
From the front, a man stepped forward.
He was in his seventies, yet his posture was straighter than most warriors in their prime. His clothes were entirely white shirt, trousers, even his gloves untainted, pristine, almost unnatural. Strength clung to him like a second skin. A heavy, oppressive domain aura radiated outward, pressing against the chests of every child present, forcing shallow breaths and lowered gazes.
"I am the butler of the Shade Clan," the old man said calmly. "And the personal servant of the clan head."
His eyes swept across the hall like blades.
"Send in the common bloodline children."
At his command, movement began. One by one, then in groups, children stepped forward. Around one hundred and fifty common-blood children gathered in the center of the hall. Around them stood forty-five royal and fragment-blood heirs, watching silently.
The old man raised his hand.
"Before the awakening begins," he said, voice devoid of warmth, "there are rules."
A pause.
"Rule One: We are not responsible for your deaths."
The words landed heavily.
"Rule Two: What happens here stays here. Forever. If a single word leaves this hall your punishment will be immediate execution. Crime: treason."
Confusion rippled through the children.
"What what does that mean?" a trembling voice asked. "What we see here… we can't tell anyone?"
The butler smiled faintly.
"You will understand."
He reached into his sleeve and took out a fragment.
Without hesitation, he crushed it.
Reality broke.
The floor beneath the children vanished.
In an instant, one hundred ninety five children were swallowed by darkness, dragged downward as space itself opened beneath their feet. Screams erupted. Bodies flailed. Edward was pulled along as well, the world tearing away beneath him.
As they fell, laughter echoed.
The butler's voice followed them into the abyss twisted, amused, merciless.
"Children… innocent children. You think awakening is a blessing?"
His laughter deepened.
"Awakening is survival. Only those who live deserve power. If you think you are special—prove it."
The darkness seemed endless.
"Survive ten days. Only then will your blood awaken."
His voice sharpened.
"Remember this well if you die here, the world will forget you. No burial. No mourning. No record. We will not care."
Laughter exploded through the void, echoing in every child's mind.
"Only survivors earn the power of ancestors. Only survivors gain a fragment. Hahahahaha..."
Above, the clan head spoke calmly.
"In ten days, we return. Until then, all remain within the academy or the kingdom."
And the hall emptied.
Edward was still falling.
Not just him all of them plunging endlessly through a pitch-black void. Screams tore through the darkness. Common-blood children cried until their throats bled. Panic devoured reason.
But Edward stayed silent.
His body trembled, but his mind held firm.
The eternal-blood children were different. They fell calmly, eyes sharp, expressions controlled as if this was expected.
Edward turned his head.
Derek was beside him.
Their eyes met.
"Did you know?" Edward asked quietly.
Derek said nothing.
But he blinked once.
Yes.
Edward noticed the gazes upon them. Eternal blood heirs were watching. Measuring. Calculating.
He understood immediately.
Silence became his armor.
Then
Everything stopped.
Mid-fall.
The darkness shattered into blinding white.
They were suspended in a vast, endless white chamber. No walls. No ceiling. No exits. A moment later, gravity returned, and the children crashed onto the floor.
Edward rose slowly, scanning his surroundings.
White. Endless. Empty.
No doors. No escape.
A message burned into the air before them, written in blood-red letters:
"THE FIRST KILL IS THE KEY TO ENTRY."
Fear crawled down every spine.
The realization struck all at once.
This was not an awakening.
This was hell.
A boy stepped forward.
"My name is Kinston Markstone," he announced loudly. "Eternal bloodline."
He looked composed. Clean. Noble. A born ruler.
"Everyone calm down. We are in this together. Follow my orders, and we will find a way out."
He raised his hand.
"Eternal blood and fragment blood right side. Common blood left."
Shock paralyzes thoughts and Fear smothered judgment this is a mistake can cost there life
And one by one, the children obeyed.
Edward watched silently.
He rubbed the coin his mother had given him, calming himself.
Then, without hesitation
He walked toward the eternal bloodline side.
Mistakes were already being made but he understood what was going to happen now .....
And Edward was not going to be among the prey among them
After arranging them from left to right, Kinston watched the common-blood children drown in fear and confusion, their eyes darting, their bodies stiff, their courage leaking away second by second. As he was checking another status message, a new line burned itself into the air like a death sentence.
T–5:00 minutes. Everyone in this room will be crushed to death.
The four walls began to move.
Slow at first.Then closer.Closer.
Stone grinding against stone, crushing the air itself as the space narrowed around the children trapped in the center. One hundred and ninety-five children. No exits. No mercy. Panic exploded like wildfire screams, sobs, bodies colliding as instinct overpowered reason. Fear ruled the room.
Then someone stepped forward.
From the Eternal Bloodline.
He moved against the flow, toward the common blood children, not away. In his hand, a fragment shattered with a sharp crack, its diamond shaped body breaking apart as a small sword manifested from within it thin, cold, and merciless. He didn't hesitate. He didn't shout. He ran.
The blade rose.The strike fell.
A head separated from a body in one clean motion.
Blood erupted, warm and heavy, splashing across the stone floor and soaking the man standing beside the victim. The corpse collapsed without dignity, without sound. The killer stood still, drenched in blood.
Edward Shade.
In that instant, he understood the rule hidden beneath the terror.
The first kill is the key.
The walls stopped.
Seconds earlier, Derek had been standing beside Edward, his voice low and controlled."We have to spill blood," Edward said. "Only then will the real entrance open. We can't stay here forever."
"I know," Derek replied, eyes dark. "But I also want to kill. The problem is reputation. I need mine intact. No one from the Eternal Bloodline will risk it. Being seen as 'good' has future value."
Edward turned to him. "Did you bring a weapon?"
"Why?" Derek asked.
"To kill," Edward said flatly. "I don't need a reputation. Give it to me. Now. The walls are closing. Forty seconds left."
Derek pulled out a fragment transparent, diamond-shaped and placed it in Edward's hand."First spill your blood on it," he said. "Then use it. Twenty-nine seconds remaining."
Edward cut his palm without hesitation. Blood soaked into the fragment. The weapon awakened.
He stepped through the crowd toward the common-blood children, his thoughts cold and calculated. If I must kill, it should be someone who will never threaten me later. His eyes locked onto one boy old gray shirt, worn sandals, a bag on his back. Afraid, but not broken. Brave enough to stand upright.
Ten seconds.
Edward moved.
Six seconds.
The fragment shattered in his grip as the sword formed. His arm swung.
Five seconds.
The boy saw it.
Four seconds.
He tried to react.
Two seconds.
The walls were close enough to crush everyone.
One second
Cut.
The sound was wet. Final. Absolute.
The head fell.
Silence followed.
A message appeared in the air, glowing with ruthless clarity as the walls froze in place.
THE FIRST KILL GOES TO EDWARD SHADE.
The walls was halted.
The hunt has begin ...