Thalion hurried through the now-crowded streets, his steps quick and restless. The sun stood high on the sky, which meant he couldn't have been unconscious for long. He had already shifted back into his human form, not wanting to alarm the citizens should his aura slip free once more.

Without hesitation, he entered the building where Maike and Kaldrek were staying. He hadn't sent a message, better to avoid disturbing them in the middle of an important discussion. In hindsight, maybe he should have. Because the moment he pushed the door open, he froze.

Kaldrek and Maike were tangled together on the couch, lips locked, looking up at him in shock.

"Hey... What are you doing here?" Kaldrek exclaimed, his hair sticking out in all directions like a bird's nest after a storm.

It took Thalion a moment to find his voice.

"Uh… I came for the meeting…" he stammered, quickly turning away. This was painfully awkward. At least they still had their clothes on. Any worse, and he might have wished for the ground to open beneath him.

"The meeting was yesterday," Maike said dryly, shoving Kaldrek off her. "In eight hours the tutorial ends. Didn't you check your messages? We told you everything."

Thalion's stomach dropped. Only a few hours left?

Oh no. No, no, no. This was bad. Very bad. He still had so much to prepare. The thought hit him like a hammer falling on brittle glass.

"Is anything expected of me before the tutorial ends, or on New Earth?" he asked, panic bleeding into his tone.

Kaldrek and Maike exchanged a glance. "Uh… no?" they answered in unison, still looking confused as Thalion bolted from the room without another word.

He stormed back through the streets, the awkward encounter already forgotten. Only one thought pulsed through his mind. He needed to strengthen Eagly and the Tidecaller Serpent as much as possible before the end.

Back in the basement, he shifted to the tidecaller serpent and began swallowing water crystals, four in total, which was the maximum he could endure. It might have been too many. The searing ache of digestion was painful, but he endured it. Two hours left until the system shop arrived.

He shifted into his human form once more, took out the item from Kael's god, and activated it with a thought. The craftsmanship was astonishing. An item infused with divine power and even the freedom to choose one's affinity. Thalion chose fire, then swallowed it as instructed.

For a moment, nothing happened. He almost cursed Kael's god for trickery. But then the Sanguis Impera ignited. Not with light but with heat, like a furnace roaring to life in his chest. Relief washed over him as his divine skill contained the blaze. Without it, his body might have been reduced to ash in an instant.

Heat radiated outward, but strangely, it didn't burn him. Not a single scorch mark, only a steady, controlled fire. Thalion grinned. If the Sanguis Impera could grant him fire abilities now on top of everything else, things would become very interesting. His bloodline, divine skill, and the Sanguis Impera were empowering into each other like three rivers crashing into a single torrent.

There wasn't much time left. He wanted to trigger his One Form in the tutorial. First, because transformations were always stronger inside the tutorial. Second, because he wanted mastery over his forms on New Earth, not weeks or months later. Today was the day.

The only question remaining was how to strengthen himself the most before the One Form? Meditation wouldn't be enough. No, he would push himself harder. As the crippled Eclipsari, he devoured every beast corpse he could get his hands on, while in his other forms he threw himself into the crushing embrace of the gravity array. It was brutal but effective, like forging steel in the hottest flames.

Hours later, the results spoke for themselves.

Eagly soared ahead with 18 points of strength gained.

The Tidecaller Serpent followed with 14.

The crippled Eclipsari lagged behind the others with 9 strength.

With his strengthening done, there was one last thing: the system shop. Another chance would come later, but it would be foolish not to use this one. He needed every advantage and every scrap of knowledge about New Earth.

If the voice of the system felt stingy, at least Thalion could still use the time to temper himself. Eagly alone could unleash enough lightning to temper its own body, and Thalion could almost feel momentum gathering around him like a storm tightening its grip on the land as he stepped into the system shop.

That no time passed in this place eased his mind somewhat. Still, he didn't summon his massage chair this time and instead just pulled out a bottle of beer. He deserved one, after all the pain and grinding work he had endured. His balance already sat at eighty million credits, a mountain of wealth piled higher than any sane person could ever dream of, and that wasn't even counting the payout to come after this shop.

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"Greetings. Can you tell me more about New Earth or the upcoming system events?" Thalion asked, cracking open the beer with a hiss and taking a long sip. The cold bitterness washed through him like rain over parched soil. Exactly what he needed.

"No. There are no more gods overstepping. I cannot give you information about New Earth. After what has happened, I want as little attention on the past few weeks as possible. And as for the system event, I cannot help you there either."

The voice was flat, monotone, like an empty drum echoing in a cavern.

Thalion frowned. After everything they had been through, it annoyed him that the system's voice was suddenly so stingy. Still, nothing he could do. Best to wring whatever value he could from this shop.

"I can't believe the gods aren't breaking the rules. We already know what events happened in the last era, because they leaked it themselves. And I'm sure they told their chosen more than they should have." Thalion pressed, unwilling to let go. Surely the gods wouldn't just leave their chosen without advantages.

"Yes. The chosen will have far more knowledge about New Earth and the system event. But that alone is not reason enough for me to intervene. You will live with that disadvantage."

The calm answer made Thalion's blood boil. Life was already brutal and now his opponents would get free stats and knowledge on top of it? He forced himself to swallow the frustration and switched topics.

"Fine. Another question then. I've been thinking of creating my own blood curse, similar to the witch's curse, using hers as a foundation, plus Nathaniels bandage. Would that work? Do you have something that could help me?"

A blood curse would be a major advantage, and the sooner he began, the better.

"Hm. You don't have enough credits to buy anything suitable right now. The blood curse from which hers originates is likely the most powerful in the entire system. Ask me again in a few hours, when we meet again. By then, you should have enough."

The cryptic tone grated on Thalion's nerves like sandpaper on raw skin, but he nodded. No point wasting more breath.

"One last question then," he said carefully. "If I acquire more bloodlines for different bodies. Will the One Form still work when the bloodlines differ?"

This was vital. If the One Form could only be used once with matching bloodlines, he might never dare trigger it again. A single mistake could cripple him permanently. When it came to bloodlines, there could be no carelessness, one wrong step and the fall would be endless.

"Yes, it works regardless. There is no difference whether the bloodlines match or not. The nature of the bloodline doesn't affect the outcome, only its raw power. That is what makes the One Form so valuable."

Thalion's heart hammered in his chest. This meant he could absorb even weaker bloodlines to strengthen his human body until something truly powerful came along. His human bloodline was already potent, and now… it could become unstoppable.

"Thank you. That lifts my spirits," Thalion said, a faint smile creeping across his face. "Is there anything else? Otherwise, I'll return to training."

"Not in particular," the voice replied, then added with sudden weight, "But you should buy a backpack."

"A… backpack?" Thalion blinked, caught off guard.

"Yes. You will lose your spatial ring. Only what you carry on your body will be teleported to New Earth. If you want to bring scrolls and crystals, you'll need a backpack or two."

For a moment, Thalion just stared. Of all the things to be told about, it was a backpack.

Oh, right. Thalion had completely forgotten. How could he forget something this important? Without hesitation, he purchased four massive backpacks.

He didn't have many crystals left, most had already gone to the alchemists or been consumed in forging his armor and sword. What remained were the usual shrunken water crystals and, of course, the giant one. A few more scrolls lay tucked away, and he still needed to collect the sheath for his sword from Lucan. Still, with four backpacks, it would be enough to carry everything of true value.

Since the voice refused to share anything more, Thalion turned to Eagly and began the tempering. Every spark of lightning that danced across its feathers crackled like dry branches snapping in a storm, and Thalion welcomed the sound, it was the rhythm of growth, of progress.

There was no more time to lose. He was determined to become the strongest, no matter what the future held. No pain would stop him, no chosen would bar his path. They might have an ancient god whispering power into their ears, but he was obsessed.

His determination burned like a forge that never cooled, each hammer strike of will shaping him sharper than steel. Thalion was certain of one thing: he wanted this more than anyone else. Nothing could match his drive.

That was what made him and the Sanguis Impera so special in the end.

Together they were not a man and a relic, but a storm and its thunder, inseparable and destined to shake the world.

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