Meanwhile…
Planet Aurora – The Reflection World.
The sky there was cracked like a mirror shattered in slow motion, and a gray sun shone over a land that reflected nothing but the void. The air was stagnant, as if the world itself had ceased breathing. In the midst of this eerie stillness stood Balberith, with his tattered clothes and wide-eyed stare, trapped inside one of the most bizarre and extreme realms: [The Reflection World].
This world was unlike anything he had seen or imagined in his previous life. His presence here was a mere coincidence—or a curse. Ever since his master, Lloyd Amora, departed with the Tower Overseer, the old Orc Gorlam, Balberith felt as though something was being pulled from his essence; something ancient, as if Lloyd's absence had uncovered a buried layer of his being he never knew existed.
Standing in the middle of the cracked plaza, trying to make sense of his surroundings, a status screen suddenly flickered into existence, glowing amidst the gray void.
[You have accepted the invitation to join the "Selenium" Empire]
[You have obtained the title: "Earl of the Sky-Heart"]
He read the words repeatedly, his brows furrowing, then whispered in astonishment. "So he is a vampire?... Suddenly, everything is starting to make a little sense."
He hadn't truly understood what it meant to be a "vampire" before. The word itself used to conjure a fog in his mind. But something had shifted within him since entering this world. His lips had grown drier, and his senses sharper. His ability to distinguish pulses in the air and perceive the movements of invisible entities began to multiply instantaneously.
Despite the strangeness, he felt no fear... but something else, akin to a hidden thrill. He stared at his new name and the title he didn't quite grasp but felt was significant. "Earl of the Sky-Heart"…
He tried to interact with the status screen, but it wouldn't respond correctly. Sentences flashed and faded, overlapping with old scenes from his past: battles in training yards, screams, eyes glinting in the dark, and a vision of a hand reaching out to him—Lloyd's hand, covered in blood but steady.
At that moment, Balberith felt a sharp sting in his chest, followed by a cold ache spreading through his limbs. He pressed his hand against his heart, but it wasn't beating as it used to.
[As the first Noble appointed by His Majesty, you have been granted the right to be part of his Imperial Guard!]
[Evaluating combat prowess...]
[Detected: Your combat proficiency is extremely weak!]
BOOM—! Suddenly, Balberith felt a powerful suction force pulling him toward one of the terrifying, towering spires.
[Since you are the first new Imperial Guard, you must become stronger..]
[Warning! Due to the opening of the first floor of the Training Tower - Beast's Torment, the second floor will now be unlocked..]
The interstellar travel from Planet Aurora to Planet Eirasia took some time… not because of the distance, but because of the strangeness of the method. Despite the galaxy's staggering technological progress, the only method the old War Pioneer Gorlam chose was the ancient Space Arrays.
Lloyd, who had barely finished adapting to his Royal Blood Core, sat cross-legged in the center of the array's light. His face was pale, his body drenched in sweat, and his eyes half-closed. Lloyd's body was far too weak to endure something like this for the first time. In fact, normally, no one below the Third Peak of Transcendence could survive such a hazardous journey, but Lloyd Amora was a special case. Not only did he possess a Royal Vampire body enhanced by the First Peak of Transcendence, but he had company!
War Pioneer Gorlam strove to make the journey as smooth as possible, skillfully bypassing slippery dimensional points.
"Is it… is it normal to feel like my intestines are being put through a wash cycle?" Lloyd muttered in a strained voice.
Gorlam, standing in the center of the array as if on a leisurely stroll, replied calmly while stroking his hooked beard—if he had one. "If you only feel nauseous... then you're fine. One of the last people to try this ignited and turned to dust." He added with a side-smile, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. You aren't like them… you have Royal Bones."
Lloyd stared at him, then muttered sarcastically, "Royal bones? My ass... that won't stop me from throwing up on you right now..."
Gorlam laughed, a rare sound indeed. It rumbled like an old cannon. "If you must vomit, please ensure it is in a dimension other than the one I am standing in."
This trip was unusual for both of them. While Gorlam had fought thousands of battles across the galaxy, led armies, toppled sects, and even married twice in the same day, escorting the heir of Amora through a primitive space array was not on his usual agenda.
But Lloyd? He handled the situation as he handled everything else: with stubbornness, cold nerves, and a hint of sarcasm that didn't vanish even as his body collapsed.
"How much longer?" he asked faintly, trying to adjust his seating position while practically upside down.
Gorlam replied after checking a set of flickering runes: "About three void layers and one temporal rift. If we hadn't been delayed by the Intar Star warps, we'd be there by now."
Lloyd nodded, then stopped abruptly. Wait, a temporal rift?! Gorlam simply shook his head. Lloyd fell silent, then said, "I think I'll be fine."
As an annoying gray light dawned from a corner of the array, both realized the journey was nearing its end. Lloyd's body was barely holding together, his limbs trembling, but inside, the Blood Core glowed steadily. He had adapted. He accepted the change. And he realized that being the "Lord of Blood" meant facing things... much greater than pain. "That damned game.."
When the light finally dimmed, a space portal opened before them, as if the fabric of reality was being slowly unzipped. "Welcome back to Planet Aurora, Your Majesty," Gorlam said, stepping out of the portal.
Lloyd stood behind him, trying to realign his spine. "Will it… will it be this agonizing every time?" Gorlam replied, "No. Next time, you'll wish it was this easy." Lloyd sighed, pulled his cloak behind him, and said, "Great. A wonderful start to the invasion project."
**
Planet Eirasia..
Near the northern borders of Nirath Province, in the Giant Daisura Forest.
In a remote corner of the barren hills, where the winds howl like wandering spirits begging for mercy, stood a small shack tilted at a suspicious angle.
The roof was slanted, several planks were missing, and a single window was covered with translucent paper, scrawled with poor handwriting: "Keep away, danger of Magic Rot."
Inside this structure, in a room barely large enough to fit a broken iron bed and a three-legged table, sat Ethan Dortmund in front of a cracked mirror. He wore a gray shirt stained with a large spot of… something he couldn't remember when or how it got there.
"Hmm! Let's see… Status!" he muttered, gesturing with his left hand. A faint flicker appeared before him, followed by a pale blue screen.
[Name: Ethan Dortmund]
[Race: Human]
[Innate Traits: Chaos Cloning, Deceptive Jester, Kinotsugan]
[Titles: Patriarch of the "Breath of the Seal" Sect]
[Ascension Talent: S (Limit Broken)]
[Main Class: Martial Artist]
[Sub-Class (1): Swordsman]
[Awakening State: Body Tempering - Stage 1]
[Level: 5]
Qi: 500 Units
Strength: Level 5
Agility: Level 7
Defense: Level 5
Dexterity: Level 5
Vitality: Level 9
Endurance: Level 5
[Sect Points: 0 Mission Points, 0 Battle Points]
[Sect Wallet: -]
[Sect Grade: Rank 9]
[Sect Buildings: Sect Headquarters (Level 1)]
[Overall Status: Miserable – But Stable]
"Well, at least I have a 'Sect'..."