Free Web NovelChapter 3: Chapter 3. Crimson Reformation
The cave was silent. Aiden was seated cross-legged on the cold ground, his breathing uneven, his mind in chaos.
Moments ago, the necklace had shattered the instant his fingers brushed against it. It had not been broken, rather, it had been dispersed.
Fragments of crimson light had burst apart and sunk into him, into his skin, his veins, his mind.
And then came the pain. It was not pain of the body. But pain of understanding forced where none had existed before.
He clenched his fists.
"...What was that..."
There was no answer. There was only cold,precise and absolute clarity-not power,not strength,not sentience. But knowledge.
A path. Crimson Reformation Technique. That was all. No knowledge of who it belonged to. Or where this technique came from. Not that Aiden cared about any of that. He had found a path forward, an opportunity to choose his own way, to make his own decisions. That was all that mattered to him.
A glint flashed through Aiden’s eyes.
Whoever was the source of this technique must have left their name, their background, and who they were out of the knowledge of the technique as a way of indicating that who the source of this technique was, or their origin did not matter:
Aiden was free to use it to walk his own path. And forge his own way forward. He could even decide to keep the knowledge of the technique and not use it. It was all up to him.
Aiden understood this clearly. He had found this technique by chance. Not by destiny or fate. Had he not found it, perhaps, the necklace that contained the knowledge of this Crimson Reformation Technique may have been found by someone else, or left here forever.
Aiden exhaled slowly.
His parents’ voices echoed faintly in his thoughts.
Take over the business.
Stop chasing things that don’t exist.
This is your future.
" I will use this opportunity to forge my own path and decide my own future"
He closed his eyes. He was about to use the crimson reformation technique to transform himself. That was its one and only purpose.
At first, there was nothing.
Then—
Thump.
His heartbeat was slow, but heavy at the same time.
Thump.
He focused on it. Followed it.
With each beat, something moved within him.
His blood.
It had always been there, ignored and unnoticed.
Now, it was impossible to ignore.
Aiden narrowed his awareness.
The flow became clearer, sharper, and defined.
Then, what followed was pain.
A sudden pressure stabbed through his chest as his awareness forced itself deeper than it ever had before. His breath faltered, but he didn’t pull back.
He pushed further.
The outside world faded.There was only him, and his blood.
The understanding surfaced—not as words, but as certainty.
Normal beings existed in separation.
Body.
Blood.
Life.
Three systems. Connected, but not one.
__
And because of that—
They were stable.
Closed.
Untouchable.
The life-anchor.
Aiden felt it now.
Not directly.
But as a presence.
A structure.
A silent force binding everything together.
It held his life-force in place.
Regulated it.
Stabilized it.
And through it—
His blood was not free.
That was why no one could touch another’s blood essence while they still lived. As long as the life-anchor remained intact, the system rejected all external interference. Only upon death did that anchor collapse, leaving the blood essence unbound—and only then could it be absorbed.
A perfect system.
Aiden’s breathing steadied.
"...Then I won’t break it."
His voice was low.
"I’ll change it."
He inhaled deeply.
And began.
His heartbeat slowed.
Thump.
He forced his breathing to match it.
Thump.
In.
Out.
In.
Out.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Gradually, the rhythm aligned.
His body.
His breath.
His blood.
All moving as one.
For a moment—
Everything became still.
Balanced.
Then he pushed.
Aiden pushed deeper into his bloodstream, searching for that unseen force within it.
His life-force.
It resisted.
Not violently.
But completely.
It was never meant to be touched like this.
Pain exploded through his body.
His veins felt like they were being torn apart, his heart slamming against his chest as if trying to escape.
His body trembled.
His breath broke.
But he didn’t stop.
"Move..."
He forced it.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Bit by bit—
Something shifted.
His life-force began to compress.
Not around his body.
But into his blood.
The pain deepened.
His vision darkened.
His heartbeat faltered—
For a brief moment—
Everything nearly collapsed.
If he stopped—
He would die.
Aiden’s jaw tightened.
"I decide... what I become."
With one final push—
He forced the resistance to give in
Silence.
Then—
Thump.
His heart beat again.
Aiden’s eyes snapped open.
The world returned.
But something had changed.
Everything felt... clearer.
Sharper.
Quieter.
He lifted his hand slowly.
For a moment—
Nothing.
Then—
The blood beneath his skin moved.
Not by instinct.
Not by body.
But by his will, his blood obeyed him.
The blood congregated above his finger, turning into a tiny arrow. Aiden’s black eyes turned crimson for a moment.
Then by his will, the tiny blood arrow diffused into blood droplets and returned into his being.
His eyes resumed their normal black color.
Aiden’s expression remained calm.
"The life-anchor..."
He spoke quietly.
Feeling it.
Understanding it.
"...was never broken"
"I made it mine."
"Also," he added quietly, "The blood of others is not mine to command... only their essence, once the anchor breaks after their deaths."
He rose to his feet.
His body felt lighter.
Not weaker.
But refined.
For the first time in his life—
Aiden felt completely different.
A sound broke the silence.
Footsteps.
Aiden’s gaze shifted toward the entrance of the cave.
A man stepped in, his expression wary, eyes narrowing as they fell on Aiden. The man pointed his phone torch at Aiden, getting a clearer view of the brown haired fellow with black eyes.
"You... what are you doing here?"
Aiden said nothing.
The man’s gaze sharpened, scanning him.
Expensive clothes.
Then—
Something flickered.
Greed.
"You seem like a rich kid.. hand over your money else don’t blame me for being aggressive"
The man stepped closer, taking out a knife.
This place was a safe zone. What would a warrior come here for? This kid was a normal human just like him.
He would just kill the kid and take his money if the kid proved stubborn. His daughter’s hospital bills had to be paid by hook or crook.
"Hand it over."
Aiden was silent.
A glint of coldness flashed through Aiden’s eyes.
This man wanted to kill him. Aiden thought.
Aiden knew he had to kill this man. And it would be his first time killing someone.
But so what? Should he hesitate? Feel guilty that he was about to kill someone who wanted to kill him?
Definitely not. Besides, he never had plans of playing hero in the first place. He may not be experienced, in how the world worked, because of the kind of sheltered and controlled upbringing he had. But he watched the news, and kept up with the happenings around the world. And from that, he had come to a conclusion.
This was a world built on merit and benefits, not heroism.
Endra was a cruel pragmatic world. The strong preyed on the weak. Had he been weaker, this man would have killed him, taken his money, and bolted off. But Aiden was different now. He was not who he was when he entered the cave.
Aiden stepped forward. He moved with precision.
His hand shot forward, grabbing the man’s neck before the man could react.
Shock flashed across the man’s face as he felt suffocated. The man struggled, trying to breathe.
He stared into the calm eyes of the youngster.
He realized this youngster was not ordinary. He understood the rules of this world. The weak were prey for the strong.
Aiden’s grip tightened on the man’s neck. Aiden did not hesitate.
Crack... The man’s neck broke under Aiden’s grip. The man’s eyes turned lifeless and his body went limp. Aiden released him.
The corpse fell to the ground with a dull thud.
Aiden looked at it for a moment.
Then closed his eyes slightly.
Something changed.
Not in the body.
Not in the blood.
But in what remained after life had ended.
A presence was fading.
Breaking apart.
Losing its structure.
Aiden didn’t move.
He simply felt it.
Then, through his awareness, he reached.Not physically and not with force.
The moment he did—
It responded.
Something separated from the corpse. It wasn’t blood or flesh.
A faint crimson light flickered in his awareness in an instant.
Then drifted toward him, silently without any resistance.
It flowed into him like a thread being pulled from something already severed.
" So this is blood essence..." Aiden thought.
Warmth spread through his body. A quiet surge marked the completion of intake.
Aiden opened his eyes.He stared at the corpse.It remained unchanged.But the corpse felt different now-Empty, stripped and no longer holding anything meaningful.
Aiden reached with his awareness, attempting to guide the blood of the dead man towards him. But nothing changed. The man’s body remained on the ground. The man’s blood did not react, nor did it obey Aiden. It was not his to command or control.
" Indeed, the blood of others, even after their life anchor collapse after death cannot be absorbed or controlled, only their blood essence can be absorbed by me"
Aiden turned away, leaving the cave. The rain had finally stopped.
Aiden willed his own blood to appear before him.
Faint crimson hues congregated across, as his eyes assumed a crimson light. Blobs of blood appeared, floating before him. The blobs of blood turned into small arrows.
" Fascinating"
The world remained the same, unaware, unchanging.
But within Aiden, something had shifted.
And for the first time...
Aiden felt it.
Freedom.
