The surface of the river was still.

Almost a mirror.

If it weren't for the dark stains of blood and torn flesh floating in the water, it might have seemed peaceful.

But the only thing I felt was the weight.

My body was heavy.

My lungs still burned. My body, soaked and heavy, pulsed with a strange sensation—as if a cold current ran through my veins.

My muscles contracted involuntarily, as if they were still trying to adjust to whatever had happened to me in the water.

And above all...

I was lying down.

Not on the water.

But on the shore, thrown to the side like a freshly caught fish, while a nine-year-old girl stared at me, arms crossed.

Serenna Drakos. Again.

She didn't look impressed at all.

I tried to sit up. My limbs protested, but I managed.

— Are you okay? — I asked, my voice hoarse.

— Yes. — She shrugged. — Why wouldn't I be?

Right.

She was a Drakos.

Maybe it was my stupidity to ask something like that. 

I took a deep breath and looked at her again. 

— Thanks for pulling me out of there. 

She tilted her head to the side. 

Her silver eyes gleamed for a moment. 

Then, she huffed, puffing her cheeks with air. 

— I didn't do it for you. 

I frowned. 

— Then why did you do it? 

— I need something to tell my dad later. — She said it without any shame, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. — Saving a drowned idiot should count for some points. 

Right. 

That was... blunt. 

Was brutal honesty one of the Drako traits? 

I opened my mouth to respond, but— 

Serenna was already crouching down, her small fingers playing with some rocks in the sand. 

She stacked them. Then knocked them down. Then stacked them again. 

The contrast was... strange. 

The girl who had slaughtered monsters seconds ago. 

And the child playing in front of me now. 

I blinked. 

— You... like rocks? 

— No, I like to win. 

— Win what? 

She rolled her eyes, irritated. 

— The game. 

— What game? 

— All of them. No exceptions. 

I blinked again. 

This girl was...

— Anyway, never mind. — She sighed, kicking the stones back into the water. — Now that you're alive, can you move?

It was only then that I noticed.

The gazes.

Many.

Dozens of eyes on me.

The other heirs. The guardians responsible for protecting the Great Regent. Even the members of the royal entourage.

They had arrived at some point. But their attention was entirely focused on one place.

Me.

Some tried to be discreet.

Others didn't even bother.

A shiver ran up my spine.

— Why... are they all looking at me like this?

Before Serenna could answer—

A deep voice spoke up.

— Because of your skin.

My breath stopped.

The heaviness of that voice so close made me freeze.

I looked up.

The Great Regent was walking toward me.

And it was only when I saw my own reflection in his eyes that I realized.

My skin wasn't just purple.

It was glowing.

A subtle, pulsing glow, like the reflection of blood under moonlight.

My body felt... strange.

But strange in a way that shouldn't be uncomfortable.

My muscles felt stiff, but they weren't tense.

Solid as stone, but without excessive weight.

I hadn't noticed it properly before because of the weight of the water in my clothes.

I slowly raised my hand. Expecting some resistance.

Nothing.

My skin seemed the same, but... it wasn't.

Each movement flowed with a precision that hadn't existed before.

— It seems the blessing of the river did more than expected.

I lifted my eyes to him.

His arms were crossed.

His gaze, analytical.

— What are you feeling?

My mind stumbled over the question.

It was hard to put that into words.

But after a few seconds, I tried:

— It's... kind of like...

I searched for a reference.

Something that made sense.

Something that explained this absurd feeling.

— ... like I slept in a bad position, and now my whole body's stiff. But in a strong way.

The silence was almost awkward.

Serenna stared at me.

Then she raised an eyebrow.

— That was, without a doubt, the worst analogy I've ever heard.

The Great Regent let out a low laugh.

— I'd say it was... creative.

It didn't sound like a compliment.

I shifted, uncomfortable.

— Alright, alright. Forget that. It's more like...

I searched for another reference.

This time, something more solid.

— Like a brick of porridge.

The Great Regent blinked. Serenna opened her mouth, but then closed it again, probably trying to process what she'd just heard.

The others in the background didn't know how to react.

It couldn't be that bad of an analogy...

I crossed my arms.

— A brick of porridge. Solid, but still kinda... flexible? You get it...?

Absolute silence again.

Then, Serenna burst into laughter.

The Great Regent just smiled, shaking his head.

— Now that makes perfect sense.

...

I was almost certain he was mocking me.

— But it is, without a doubt, interesting...

He stepped a little closer, observing me closely.

— Hm.

The guttural sound that escaped his throat unsettled me.

— It is indeed a peculiar sensation.

Serenna tilted her head.

— What's so interesting about that?

The Great Regent didn't answer immediately.

His eyes were analyzing my skin with a clinical gaze.

Then, he touched my forearm with the tips of his fingers, testing something only he seemed to understand.

I felt a different pulse beneath my skin.

It wasn't pain. It was like a wave.

He murmured to himself:

— The body rejects and accepts at the same time...

My forehead rumpled.

— What does that mean?

He finally looked up at me, thoughtful.

— You've already received the blessing of blood. Your body has already been molded by the river's influence. However, it still reacts to this new power in an unusual way...

His fingers lightly traced over my arm.

— As if it's trying to absorb something beyond what it should.

— ... Is that a problem?

The Great Regent smirked.

— Depends.

— Depends on what?

— On how you handle changes.

His casual tone only made me more uneasy.

Then, he turned his gaze to the other heirs.

And with a hiss of a few words—

The magic manifested again.

This time, beneath all of us.

The ground shimmered, and a magical circle expanded beneath our feet, alive and pulsating.

Scarlet lines serpented beneath our feet, expanding like living roots, connecting us to something beyond what we could see.

The scarlet lines radiated an intense energy.

More powerful. Greater.

The impact was instantaneous.

A powerful flow coursed through every fiber of my body.

Different from the "Second Skin."

Different from the blessing of blood.

This was something deeper.

Something that intertwined with the essence of who we were.

My senses—whether smell, sight, or hearing—blurred for a second.

Something inside me opened. My senses expanded drastically.

I didn't know how to describe it.

It was like...

I was seeing.

Not with my eyes.

Not with my senses.

But with something beyond.

My mind absorbed information before I even thought to look for it.

The weight of the air.

The pressure of the ground.

The flow of energy around us.

It was as if the world had become clearer.

Infinitely clearer.

The same happened with the others.

They tested their own movements, fascinated.

The Great Regent watched our reactions with a satisfied gaze.

— What you've received now is not a mere enchantment.

A pause.

— But something closer to an Ancient Power.

Confusion took over the heirs.

Eyes exchanged.

Uncertainty hung in the air. Except for two of us.

Me...

And another heir, who remained unfazed.

The Great Regent noticed.

And laughed.

It seemed to be a habit of his, laughing at silly things. Almost like a grandfather.

— You'll understand with time. Don't worry.

He gestured to his subordinates, who were standing a few steps away.

— For now, set that aside.

His gaze swept across the group.

— It's time to celebrate.

The tension dissolved.

Voices sprang to life once more.

But I...

I wasn't there anymore.

The world around me grew distant. Something pierced my mind.

A metallic sound.

Low.

Deep.

Agonizing.

Like the grinding of ancient gears moving for the first time in millennia.

[The necessary conditions have been met.]

The air around me rippled.

My vision wavered. This was becoming more frequent than usual.

The weight on my head shifted. It felt painful.

As if something invisible was adjusting me, shaping me.

[The fourteenth has been identified.]

My stomach dropped.

What?

[Initiating system...]