The Fallen System: Gaining Bloodlines of the Fallen-Chapter 49: Royal Library

The sound of rain tapping softly against the glass windows was the first thing Cairen heard when he woke up.

For a moment, he forgot where he was. The white ceiling, the silence, and the absence of mist disoriented him. After so many days sleeping amid the cold, metallic scent of blood, that clean and quiet room felt... strange, in a way.

He got up slowly, washed his face, and looked at his reflection in the polished mirror.

He remembered Mei Ran’s words. He looked at his messy black hair and at his eyes, eyes filled with an absolute darkness, as if they didn’t reflect light but absorbed it.

He could say he was satisfied with his appearance. For a moment, he simply sighed and took a deep breath. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

The energy within him flowed like a river through his dantian, silent, without turbulence. His cultivation was stabilized, his soul firm, and his body already accustomed to the weight of all his bloodlines.

Kyrian just stared at himself. He felt no urgency, no pain, no restraint. Only silence.

He gazed at his own reflection for a few minutes until he decided he was ready.

The rain continued as he walked through the corridor that led to the royal library.

Guards opened the heavy wooden doors, and the scent of damp parchment enveloped him.

The Archive of Rhyne. The very heart of the kingdom’s knowledge.

Vast halls, stone corridors, and torches burning with blue flames that cast living shadows across the walls.

An elder in gray robes sat at a table covered with books. He lifted his head as soon as Cairen entered.

The old man’s eyes were cloudy but still sharp.

"So it’s you," murmured the elder, noticing and recognizing the obsidian pendant on Cairen’s neck.

"I’ve been expecting you."

"I came to learn more about the War Academy and anything else that might be useful," Cairen replied plainly.

"Right. I’ve heard from the king. You have permission to access all the archives," the man said, handing him a sealed parchment bearing the royal insignia.

"Your authorization. Without it, you cannot enter the lower level, where the academy records are kept."

The elder looked Cairen up and down and nodded.

"I hope you find what you came for."

Cairen raised an eyebrow but merely nodded and walked away, descending the stairs to the lower floor.

The lower level of the library was vast and silent. The damp stone walls reflected the bluish light of embedded crystals, and the sound of Cairen’s footsteps echoed hollowly.

Each step seemed to absorb centuries of history.

He passed by shelves covered in dust and rows that stretched up to the ceiling, filled with scrolls, books, and even jade tablets.

The air was heavy, dense, as if something was constantly watching him. The smell of mold mingled with the faint aroma of ink on ancient pages.

Cairen reached a central table and unrolled the authorization scroll. The seal glowed, reacting to his presence. The blue flames of the crystals flickered, and for a moment, he felt something shift.

As if the archive itself had awakened. Suddenly, the sensation of being watched vanished. Now, he felt free to touch everything without worry.

The nearest shelves then moved on their own, revealing a new section. Five records were laid out on a small stone altar. Their titles were simple, written in differing hands.

"Diary of Ren Yao."

"Notes of Ling Yaomei."

"Mission Record – Commander Rark."

"Scroll of Ji Mu."

"Legacy of Liu Bai."

Cairen began to read.

Ren Yao had been the first from the Kingdom of Rhyne to enter the War Academy more than three hundred years ago. His diary described awe and admiration at seeing the thirty kingdoms competing on the same battlefield, where each student represented an entire military power.

"The academy is not a place of learning. It is a permanent battlefield. The weak will be forgotten, and the dead replaced."

Ling Yaomei, a princess of the kingdom, left calmer records. She spoke of many of the academy’s trials, which changed each season.

"Those without ambition should not even step into the testing grounds."

Cairen read every line carefully, feeling a shiver of anticipation crawl down his spine for reasons he couldn’t explain.

Commander Rark wrote more about the internal divisions, the so-called Ten Spears, and the simulated wars between them.

The rivalry among kingdoms and factions in the academy was deliberate, part of its method to forge its students.

Ji Mu, on the other hand, wrote about the weight of the academy’s neutrality.

"The academy has no morality. It is balance itself. It accepts demons, saints, assassins, and the righteous alike, as long as they possess talent."

It was the only place where everyone was equal.

Well, unless you were weak.

Finally, the last record spoke of much of the same, but at the end, there was one final message:

"I left something interesting hidden in the academy. Find it, and perhaps your life will be easier."

It then described the supposed location of this thing. Though Cairen believed that, surely, someone must have already found whatever that "interesting thing" was, he kept the information in mind.

Cairen slowly closed the last volume.

After that, he began searching for other texts.

He wanted to understand more about the world itself.

He discovered that the Kingdom of Rhyne was part of the southern continent, one of the five great continents.

The southern continent was known for its diversity of races and spiritual bloodlines since ancient times. Its territory was divided among humans, beast tribes, countless other races, and even subterranean civilizations.

To the west, where the War Academy stood, lay a territory of absolute dominion. It governed thirty kingdoms, each competing for resources and influence.

Rhyne ranked fourteenth in strength, a respectable power, yet still far from the great empires at the top.

The texts also described forbidden places across the continent, regions sealed away since ancient wars.

Like the Forest of Black Tides, where time was said to flow incorrectly.

Or the Desert of Bones, home to forgotten ancient beasts.

And the Valley of Silent Voice, where not even sound could escape.

Cairen then read about the beasts that inhabited the world. He had already read the Bestiary of the Southern Continent back in the Sect of Three Poisons, but compared to the information stored here, that book had been little more than a child’s toy.