Valeris sat slightly ahead, her hair catching the wind as Asher leaned back, arms folded, eyes scanning the red-streaked horizon.
"Blood Sky City," Valeris murmured, her tone unreadable.
"It's the city owned by House Varnis," she added, glancing at Asher. "What kind of power or innate abilities does the Varnis family possess?"
Asher shook his head slightly, his gaze focused ahead. "This galaxy… the one born of Dungeon Worlds… it's not like ours. Not even like the cultivation galaxies we came from."
She raised an eyebrow. "How so?"
"There are no innate abilities passed down by bloodline here. Not in the way we know them. Here, everyone takes their power from the dungeons—they raid it. Whatever skill the first dungeon boss they defeat drops, that becomes their core power. It imprints onto them and grows stronger as they ascend."
Valeris frowned slightly, intrigued. "So if someone raids a dungeon and the boss drops a skill called… say, Shadow Bind… that becomes their primary ability?"
"Exactly," Asher nodded. "It fuses into their essence. That's the beauty of this galaxy. It doesn't just revolve around dungeons—it's shaped by them."
She processed that in silence for a moment, then asked, "So, the Varnis family might have descended from a dungeon that granted them some corrupted skill?"
He glanced at her, a faint smirk on his lips. "Yes. Aside from their legacy techniques and Law cultivation, their ancestral dungeon granted them a skill called Corrupted Blood. That's what House Varnis is known for."
"Corrupted Blood…" Valeris echoed.
"It's like a lesser version of my Sanguine Supreme, in a way," Asher explained. "It allows them to convert their own blood into a corrupted form—poisonous, acidic, chaotic. They can shape it, weaponize it, and coat their bodies or spells with it. Not as refined as Sanguine Supreme, but still dangerous."
Valeris narrowed her eyes, the red-streaked horizon reflecting in her gaze. "So we're heading straight into a city ruled by people who bleed weapons."
Asher chuckled. "Pretty much."
She gave him a sidelong glance. "And we're going to knock on their secret dungeon's door?"
He grinned. "Wouldn't be the first time we've broken into someone's legacy."
The Holy Imperial Swan gave a low, echoing cry as it descended through the crimson skies. Blood Sky City loomed ahead—its spires like jagged thorns against the horizon, and its streets already pulsing with hidden power.
The Holy Imperial Swan circled once before descending toward a secluded ridge just outside the city's outer ward—far from the main aerial docks where noble riders and trade convoys landed. Its massive wings kicked up a wash of dust and petals from the nearby crimsonleaf trees, but the beast touched down with the grace of a whispered promise.
Asher dismounted first, reaching up to help Valeris down. She barely needed it, but accepted the gesture with an amused glance.
Blood Sky City rose before them like a fortress of carved obsidian and ruby. The buildings gleamed with a faint red hue, as though the stone itself bled under the surface. Spires stretched high, some adorned with dark banners bearing the sigil of House Varnis—a coiled serpent wrapped around a bleeding sword.
"It feels tense," Valeris murmured, eyes scanning the city. "Like the ground itself is watching us."
"That's because it is," Asher replied. "This city is bound by a domain web. Subtle surveillance magic stitched into every street, every wall. Not the kind that alarms them on sight—but enough to flag unusual presences." This chapter is updated by Novel~Fire. (n)et
"And we're definitely unusual."
He smirked. "We'll keep our heads down. For now."
They approached the outer gates on foot, blending in with a cluster of merchants and travelers seeking entry. A pair of Varnis sentries in obsidian armor stood at the gates, their halberds crossed until they scanned each entrant with red-glowing monocles—an artifact that identified if one is criminal or not.
When it was their turn, Asher calmly stepped forward, aura masked under layers of concealment. The monocle flickered once, then went dull.
"Traveler, name and purpose," one of the guards said flatly.
"Vairon. I'm a historian, escorting my research partner," Asher said smoothly, gesturing to Valeris. "We're studying the architectural symbology of First-Era dungeon cities."
The guard narrowed his eyes, but the lie was delivered with such practiced calm—and backed by a forged identity crystal—that he nodded after a moment.
"You'll find little of academic value here, but your papers are clean. Don't cause trouble."
"Wouldn't dream of it," Asher replied with a pleasant smile.
They were waved through.
Once inside the city, the pressure only grew. Blood Sky City pulsed with the heartbeat of ambition—proud nobles cloaked in dark finery, Law Cultivators with blood-threaded auras, and faint trails of corrupted energy leaking from deep wells beneath the stone.
Valeris kept close to Asher as they walked through a side district, one that smelled of rusted iron and incense. "Where to first?" she asked, voice low.
"Hm, I wonder what that is?" Asher said, glancing to the side where a cluster of worn, leather-bound notice boards stood.
Valeris looked too, and they both leaned in to examine the parchment nailed to the surface. Most were mundane—mercenary postings, trade requests—but one stood out.
"Huh… the youngest daughter of the Varnis Patriarch is in grave danger," Valeris read aloud. "Anyone with healing skills is being summoned to try and help her. And the reward…" She paused. "It's enough to make even a World Rank cultivator come running."
Asher read over her shoulder, then smirked. "It's as if the whole world is helping us."
"You think you can fix her?" she asked, glancing sideways.
"Most likely," Asher replied with a quiet confidence. "If the last healer failed, it's probably because her condition stems from Corrupted Blood. And if it bleeds—nothing can stop me."
They stood in silence for a moment, both gazing toward the heart of the city, where the grand estate of House Varnis loomed—a dark, spired monolith wreathed in shadow and veiled power. The true seat of Blood Sky's legacy.