Ethan trembled on the ground as he felt some kind of a power growing inside him uncontrollably. It was a feeling similar to blood, flowing through the veins, feeling life in itself and longing to be more. The system is no longer a far-away watcher; it is standing beside him, feeding on his action, pain, and power.
This is a transformation witnessed before his very own eyes-an evolution beyond flesh, mind, or even soul. Something otherworldly, a force beyond description.
As the air thickened with the oppressive superfluous pressure of power he had just gained, the system chimed in once more.
{System Alert: Evolution Tree Unlocked.}
Ethan's mind snapped toward the notification. The Evolution Tree. Something once so far away and abstract now dangled before him, beckoning him with bated breath. It was an avenue, a set of pathways that would lead to an entirely different torch-lit road determining his fate in the days ahead.
{Choose a Path: Blood Sovereign, Beast of Crimson, or Blood Puppet Master.}
Each choice was as straightforward as the next, but each one weighed down on his chest as though sucking the very life out of him.
The Blood Sovereign path seduced him with the capacity to command blood over anything and everything. It was about governing one's flesh and dominating others at the mere flick of a thought. The desire of a king-that of one who commands not armies nor minions but rather the very esoteric essence of life.
It was a darker promise with a more primal nature, that of the Beast of Crimson. It promised to totally change Ethan into a being made raw of power, a creature whose strength would be at par with the fiercest monsters. His humanity would go even further, but in exchange, he would be an unstoppable force.
Then came the Blood Puppet Master, a path by which he could force others through their blood, making them tend to his will as marionettes on strings. It constitutes the path of a strategist, a ruler who had no need to fight directly but could command his puppets to do his bidding.
{System Update: Chose Wisely. Every Path Changes Your Future.}
Ethan's mind flitted between the selections. He could feel the burden of the choice on his shoulders. Each road would lead him down a different path and into another version of himself-different futures forged by his decisions. His fingers flitted above the alternatives, but he could not bring himself to press them. It was simply too historic. All he was had endured was leading him to this single moment in time.
And then, as if ignited by a spark in a darkened room, he knew what he would do.
{Path Chosen: Blood Sovereign.}
He was snared within a flash of crimson light, and the world around him seemed to warp. As if the world itself had undergone some transformation through the self-same aerial decision, that air quivered with the great weight of the decision. The blood within him gushed and then responded with an oath to some higher command, recognizing it as the new master. His power—or rather, power—now grew fiercer and finer, and for one instant, Ethan felt as if he wore the heavy crown of kingship.
{Evolution Progressing: Blood Sovereign Path Activated.}
It was all things breaking apart into the kaleidoscopic vision of sound. Battle flashed before him. Fields drank blood. A throne of bone and sinew. The pictures twisted and warped before him, shifting like visions of some distant, forgotten future. He envisioned himself on that throne, the multitude of enemies slain at his feet, their blood pooling beneath him. There, presently, were the faces of terror whose daring had once dared oppose him-with now only just enough power to be his servants.
{Skill Acquired: Blood Domain.}
The system echoed in his mind, but this was different from just a notification; it felt like a proclamation: Blood Domain. Just the thought of it made Ethan's heart race with thrill. It was a power he might use to rebuild the world, command the blood of all living things, create his own sphere where his rule was absolute. A domain into which none could escape.
So went the flow of energy to drain his mind in convulsions, muscles rippling under new strength. His world began to dim, and he almost expected to go unconscious just when a final churn and rush of energy completed his metamorphosis.
Ethan expanded his brain; he understood what he had turned into. His eyes glowed in fierce crimson light as the air around him bent and pulsed with his power. There was no longer blood flowing through my veins. It was a weapon, tool, and mirror of his will, all at once. And with it, he could shape reality itself.
Power of the Blood Sovereign was absolute. His transformation would now go beyond mere survival: it went into dominion itself. He could feel the blood of his bestial kin, even when they were miles away, and he could also taste the fear-they nursed-his taste of hatred and pain. And he would twist it to his will.
While standing there under huge amounts of weight that came from his power, Ethan began to think about what the future would be like. And now it was up to him to decide how he would wield it, for that was what the system had promised him-a path without blood and without power. The tyrant would be born a monster, and everyone would fear him. Or something more-like beyond the whole system beyond blood.
{System Update: Blood Sovereign Title Earned.}
So the title was his, and the very world around him seemed, in some degree, to shift with its significance. He had now become a being of blood and power-a ruler in the making. But as that message from the system mantra played in his mind, there arose a more probing question, one that might shape his whole journey.
What would he do with this power?
And more importantly-who would be the first to fall?