The child emerged from the river…

His body drenched, his steps hesitant,

But his eyes burned with a color they did not possess before—

Red.

Not just the red of blood,

But a hue that felt like something burning within him,

Something ignited that had yet to be extinguished.

Severin Duke Kairam.

The youngest son of Heunkel Fang Kairam, and the first to enter.

Born of a concubine whose name no one cared to remember since his birth.

Never acknowledged.

No one expected him to survive the Cradle of Blades—

Let alone endure the Iron River of Kairam.

Yet he survived.

No—he succeeded.

And he truly returned.

Voices swirled.

Some rejoiced at his success—his mother, the servants.

Others were bewildered at how that frail body withstood the river’s wrath.

Some even found satisfaction in his return.

But without question,

The most astonished of all… was Heunkel himself.

For the first time,

He felt a thrill while watching a Blood Awakening Trial.

And it was his silence…

That terrified them most.

That day,

The sons of Kairam who were to be tested this year began arriving one by one at the courtyard.

There were no celebrations.

No applause.

For the courtyard knows only silence… and silence alone.

Vanrik Fang Kairam was the first to enter—

His steps steady, his features bearing inherited pride.

A son of the first wife.

He carried the Fang name like a banner.

He stood before the river without hesitation,

And just before diving, he declared:

> “I do not ask for acceptance. I claim my right.”

Then he plunged in.

Two, maybe three minutes later, he emerged.

A remarkable time—well within the standard range expected of the Fang children.

Dukes, by contrast, rarely lasted more than a minute or two.

Next came Mirian Duke Kairam, a five-year-old girl—

Her eyes darted away from every gaze,

Her body trembling,

Yet she stepped forward and stood before the river for a long, silent moment…

Then gazed at it as a child would stare at an inescapable beast.

And she dove.

Then came Kyle Fang Kairam,

Youngest son of the second wife—

A smirk stretched across his face,

His eyes seeking admiration.

> “I only enter because the rules demand it,

Not because I need this water.”

And he dove in carelessly.

After him, Ariel Fang Kairam, age three—

Youngest daughter of the first wife.

Despite her young age, she was clever—

In the end, she too entered, and lasted three full minutes beneath the surface.

After the ritual,

The courtyard grew still—

Empty.

Almost.

One remained.

Severin sat alone in a shadowed corner of the courtyard,

Watching—without blinking, without breathing deeply.

He spoke to no one,

Didn’t even glance at the siblings whispering his name.

He was no longer the same.

Nothing about him resembled the child who had entered the river just yesterday.

That night,

While everyone else slept,

He remained awake, seated at the same edge where he had drowned.

Though he had lived this trial before,

It felt like his first time.

A strange feeling stirred within him.

> “Did everyone who entered feel like this?”

“Why does it seem like it’s my first time?

Was I too young to remember it last time?

Or is this time… different?”

> “This is nonsense. Last time, I barely lasted a minute—maybe less.

I didn’t even manage to master half the Kairam techniques…

But this time will be different. Entirely different.”

> “This time, I won’t be just a hunting dog, thrown away once the prey is gone…

This time, I’ll shatter the rusted shackles around my neck!”

> “Heunkel… monsters…

Even if the demon clan itself stands against me—

I’ll make the hunters become the hunted.”

As he said this,

His small hand extended before his eyes.

His fingers trembled slowly—

But it wasn’t from the cold.

He felt something else.

Inside him… something had begun to breathe.

Something not born in a womb—

But forged in the depths of the river.