“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We are now preparing to take off. Please make—” Prince could hear the voice broadcast. In the past couple of years, airports would be his most visited locations, except for the academy, of course.

  He had opened the small window beside him, and the smell of melted cheese was filling his seat premises. Yet, he was letting the scent linger in vain, as the pizza was resting, letting red light filtered from the wine fall over it. Prince was reclining on his seat. His neck, now clear of blemishes and without a bandage.

  He was heading to Lanor — an exquisitely famous country. It was well known throughout the world for its smuggling, kidnapping, and debauchery. A haven for the unofficial Bloodeds.

  Though, Prince was undoubtedly an unofficial Blooded. No government had the power to investigate it and pursue it. There was a long list of torn, dusted or burnt cases which linger only for a brief moment in action. In the government, enough corruption runs to never let his secret out.

  “Good morning, Sir. Would you like something to eat or drink?” The air hostess said, breaking Prince from his personal thoughts. It wasn’t much of an experience as a regular, yet he couldn’t hold a small laugh, as he looked at her. He instantly looked the other way, and covered his mouth. Now smiling, under his hand.

  I’m sure she wouldn’t reach my shoulders. Prince commented, as somehow he was finding it humorous.

  “Oh no. I don't have much of an appetite right now. Thanks.” He replied, giving her respectful attention. Looking at her. But still, he couldn’t hold his lips curling underneath.

  The plane ride wasn't long. And soon, he was collecting his luggage as he moved just enough to where there were necessary preparations for him to have a comfy ride to a fancy hotel. No matter how bad a country, there was always someplace for rich people like him.

  In a pristine exhibition of subservience, he was received by the hotel staff and the country. No people were normal here. The waiter, the receptionist or a random woman wrangling on the footpath. It wasn't that the city was grey. It was pitch dark.

  Yet no group, no matter how lawless — especially the lawless, actually— would even dream of messing with members of the cult. What to say of its prince.

  It was infamously called as K. As for why, the reasons were highly unknown. The higher ups never gave it a name, so this name just somehow found its way.

  He had arrived here early. The ruins opened in the evening, but he didn’t want to stay at his father’s house. He had nothing noteworthy at his place either, so he just set out for Lanor.

  Lena, the expert his father had arranged, helped him successfully complete his awakening. She briefed him about the concepts of blooded. “Basically, humans carrying magical blood which turns them magical.”

  She was quite fun in her explanations. But the topic was much more complex than Prince had expected. She even suggested that he join theory classes. But Prince was confident he could learn this material in a week of study. So why spend a year, boring yourself to death.

  Prince didn’t know what exactly she did. He wasn’t technically aware of the terms and processes yet. But basically, he had awakened like all Bloodeds. Apparently, all Bloodeds awakened in their young adulthood — so did he. And his awakening had caused the bodily functions to enhance, causing his body to face the repercussions.

  She just let him successfully awaken. Channeling the mystical productions of his blood by the use of potions. And he could stabilize himself.

  Prince was facing jet lag, so he was suddenly feeling exhausted, out of nowhere at noon. As his eyes began to drop beyond his utter control. He helplessly laid himself on the bed, and soon, he stopped moving.

  The sun went down, and it was time for the ruins to open. It was apparently an exploration, so Prince decided to go alone. Of course, he was lavishly guided to the ruins.

  The ride was a solid suv. Nothing fancy. But considering the swampy marshes of the forest and dangling trees. It was quite a treat.

  Prince looked at the ruin from the entrance and frankly, he was disappointed. There were no gates, and some old wooden framework — which may have been fancy at its time — was embedded on the four sides of the entrance. Plenty of vine overgrowth was dangling. Pebbles, and some rocks, were lying around. Crunching at his feet as he walked.

  These ruins were quite exquisite and under the manipulation of power. Whether government or someone private. In Lanor, there was no government. And thus Lanor was the undoubted choice for him.

  He was wearing black jacket and pants. He was also wearing a black cap to hide from the burning sun. But wearing a cap in this underground ruin would be stupid.

  Prince had been expertly trained in combat. It was the major part of his schooling. So, he was confident in his skills.

  He held a torch, and a knife which was shimmering under the torchlight’s influence. He held a stance. Because he knew most of the journey here wasn’t about exploration. It was about combat.

  In general knowledge, ruins have naturally been rising above the land, and ultimately, burying under it. There are many hypotheses, speculations and researches but the origins of the ruins are unknown.

  Prince was walking under the dim light of the torch, and the sweet scent of wet mud. He could feel the sponginess of the floor under his feet. It was a slope, and he was descending. Perhaps, for the past five minutes.

  The walls were decked with holes which must have jewels embellished. But, of course, there weren’t any left anymore. Just some old and moist wooden carvings were left in the round corners of the cave. They must have been left as they don’t carry any value now. Prince noted in his mind, as he continued to move.

  He pointed his torch forward and the path was straightening at his next step. Prince noticed light from a distance of several meters. There was a turn in between, so almost no light was reaching there.

  “Be on high alert from the point you can see lights.” He recalled the words from Lena, as he relaxed his body. He pointed the torch sideways, and he couldn’t see anything of concern. The path here seems safe. No holes either. He noted internally.

  Unlike the washed up interior of the slope, the sides were covered with layered brick walls. And the ground lost its sponginess. It was all concrete.

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  Prince tiptoed to the turn. He reached out to his waist. He was wearing a tactical belt, carrying some weapons. He tucked the torch in the flashlight holster, and took out another knife from it. Now wielding two knives he proceeded forward.

  Prince was trying to be aware of every sound. He booked the ruin for tonight. So no one else should be here. When Prince turned, he noticed the sources of light — flame torches. This must have been done by the owners. Prince commented.

  He relaxed himself, completely aware of the imminent fight with guardians of the ruin. They were the natural fauna of the ruins. And they were the reason, ruins couldn’t be left undiscovered for a long time.

  These guardians were hostile to any visitor to the ruin. And they generally fed on the flora of the ruin — magical herbs. Thus, not only did exploring older ruins become exponentially difficult because of the risen power of the guardians. They had way lesser variety of flora.

  Though, they had their own worth. One herb from the older ruins, could best anything found in the newer ruins.

  Prince was sauntering through the pathway. His sporty footwear was quiet, and palms clenched two brilliant knives. He wasn’t comfortable with his power yet. But he did best when being reckless.

  “Your blood is very unique, Prince.” He recalled the talk with Lena. “Statistically, people like you shouldn’t exist. And this is a new type of blood, so I can’t comment on its Powers. Frankly, no one can. You can only try to get a timely hang of it.”

  From the mechanics of it, Prince’s blood was supposed to produce magic. Quite literally. Generally, Bloodeds can heal faster, or some can become stronger. Beyond the conceivable. Some can process insanely, or some can literally, produce magic. But these kinds are rarer.

  There were different stages too. But his father didn’t allow for such knowledge yet. He was first supposed to explore the ruins till he found the sacrifice he needed. Commit the sacrifice, and rise to the next stage. What exactly it was. He didn’t have a single clue.

  “They don’t follow a pattern. Or they do. That’s exactly the problem.” Prince still remembered how Lena had exhaled, clutching her head. “These guardians… they just jump out.”

  But where are they? Prince thought. He stopped, and looked again. In all directions. He was listening all the time, but he halted every activity to quietly listen. But, nothing.

  He had walked a fairly large distance now. For a good, 8-10 minutes — as he estimated — he was walking. Yet, there was no sign of anything.

  He was getting more curious about his powers now. Yesterday, he had just gone through a heavy day. And today, all his body wanted was sleep. So he didn’t have quite the will. But now, hanging out in the ruins, he really wanted something to happen.

  He was timely sticking his ears to the chilling walls, but all he could hear was the light noise of dripping water. Having watched the conditions of the soil firsthand, he didn’t make much of it.

  Not clinging to disappointment, he decided to move further. He reminded himself to be cautious. Dropping his guard in an enemy territory alone, would definitely lead to his death. But his body was still relaxed — a byproduct of having faced enough perils.

  The path continued and continued and continued… Nothing happened, and he kept on moving for another set of several minutes — or so he guessed.

  Again, at a distance, he saw the large tunnel turn. He stuck himself to the other edge of the tunnel, to get a farther view behind the turn. Sticking to the walls, he moved forward. Very quietly. The wall was chilling cold, so he kept his hands away from it. He looked up, and saw nothing but dark. The tunnel was large, and the top would roughly be 15 feet above the ground.

  He looked at the other side of the turn, and there was nothing new. A similar queue of lit flame torches. Walls, and concrete floor. He pushed himself to move forwards, when he heard something that was not the sound of dripping water.

  Something like the sound of light scuffling or something dragging against a rough texture. It sounded like it came from behind him. It was very dark up there, but it seemed to be a barrel vault-like structure. Prince immediately turned behind, as his pupils dilated, and he instantly dodged — on instinct. He was quite lucky that the awakening had made him significantly faster.

  What was that? A hidden guardian? Tch. Prince complained. Remembering how he wasn’t patient enough, and was too relaxed. He was fast. Very fast. The dagger which attacked him was nearly at his chest. His jacket was torn from the right, as he dodged. But Prince was keeping an eye in all directions.

  Expectedly, from the top, a figure emerged. For a moment, all Prince could see were spikes. But as it crawled out, dragging its spiky tail, digging through the surface. It’s humongous body appeared.

  Its head, back, and the edge of its tail, was all filled with spikes. Spikes which were larger than the knives he was holding. Its own body was at least 3 meters long. It looked like a big lizard, hanging on the walls.

  It left one of its hands and then the other. The slight difference caused its body to swivel midair as it landed, perfectly. Its intimidating, yellow eyes were now, directly looking at Prince.

  Explosives were dangerous for the ruins. Especially for the older ones. Thus, high-level Bloodeds wielded almost no weapons. A significant number of guardians were immune to almost every kind of magical weapon produced by today’s resources.

  For this ruin, Prince could have brought guns. But he didn’t want to work with a weapon he would have to discard in no time. Knives on the other hand were a safety, and complimented the basics of hand-to-hand combat.

  Prince didn’t want that giant meatball to start rushing towards him. In the pathway, it would be impossible to avoid confronting it head on. So he rushed forward. The lizard immediately opened its mouth as a tongue flung out of its mouth. Its front was akin to a thick dagger.

  The tongue moved with an insane speed as it swung the dagger towards Prince. He didn’t halt, and instead lunged forwards performing a front roll, as he kept his momentum. He wanted to close the distance which was the only way to increase his chances.

  The tongue flipped it way, as it aimed for his legs. Prince noted the heavy sound of air swirling as the tongue pounced its dagger at his feet.

  If he jumped his way out of this now, it would disrupt his momentum and the tongue would quickly change its track to attack. Prince was quite sure, he couldn’t handle the heavy attack of the tongue. Especially when his heart was hitting the ribs of his chest very hard.

  For Bloodeds, the heart was the most crucial. Their powers ran on it. For lower-level Bloodeds, the heart was completely uncontrolled, and so were their powers. Only at the time of extreme danger, when the blood pumping became rigorously faster. Their powers came through. And the Blooded heart couldn’t stop pumping. Many newbie Blooded, died because of excessive pumping.

  Prince wasn’t sure of what to do. He looked back and the tongue was swirling just behind him. He threw a dagger at it with whatever force he could gather, and though it hit the wide target, it barely did anything. Just a scratch.

  I’ll need to counter it. Prince scrutinized. As he saw the dagger almost at his calves, he lunged forward again. Just a bit. He noted, as he completed his roll, and found the tongue behind him Now, the confrontation was inevitable.

  If I take a hit, I am done for. He commented internally, as he saw the tongue approaching. Prince decided to focus all on speed and reaction. The power his blood had given him.

  He switched his angle to the walls, and ran at it. Holding the knives up, he aimed at the tongue. It isn’t so smart huh.

  The tongue moved forwards, as the dagger hit its end at angle. Prince felt the strain on his wrist as he held the knife up against the tongue. He was barely glazing at its edge, but it was tough enough to force his hand. The rough clash worked in Prince’s favour as a gash was left at its tongue.

  It grumbled. As it thrashed its tail at the floor, and set out for him. But Prince stood, calmly. Looking at his dagger. Tch, I need to learn about the Blooded.

  He held his hand over his heart, and it was thumping under his hands. He could feel his chest muscles clenching from strain. He could hear his ragged breathing. And closing of death, wrapping around his heart — like he was at the verge of it. Yet, he felt more powerful than ever.

  The thumping of the lizard walking towards him was banging through the quiet hallway. As Prince clasped one of the flame torches and took it out. I am going to live because of money today. He grumbled, as he held his knife above the flame. It instantly caught fire. Prince hurled it towards the lizard, as it blasted, and loud and dying wails of the monster could be heard throughout.

  The artisan who he had brought these knives from had told him about Pyrox. The metal it was smitten from. And he said, it had a special property to it. It blasted under easy conditions, generally stalling for a couple of seconds. Thus, it was commonly used as an explosive.

  Seems like he didn’t lie.