Blood Ritual

"Zach, wake up." A young lady whispered into the ears of a young boy, carefully shaking his sleeping body.

Her eyes glanced at the body of the young boy with pity and tears. The young boy bore wounds all over his small body—some wounds are old, some are fresh.

She was feeling sad for her brother. He has to endure all of the beatings, embarrassment, and anything else for all the other kids in the orphanage of the Kaiser Family.

"Celine..." Zach's voice was hoarse; his eyes opened without his body moving. It looked like Zach was as stiff as a stick. His condition was worse than he thought. Zach could not move his body due to the wounds he received during the day.

"Zach...I tried to get some water for you..." Celine carefully lifted Zach's body up as she handed him a cup of dirty water.

"This is all I could get. I'm sorry...I'm the oldest here, but you keep taking the repercussions I should have..." Celine said with sadness in her voice.

"This is not fair! Big sister! Big brother! How come they can always do this to us?!" A young kid with tears in his eyes came up to the makeshift bed Zach was lying on. 

As if that was the cue, a bunch of children started to come out of the shadow, walking towards Celine and Zach. All of them were crying but were trying to suck it up.

These are the children of the orphanage that belongs to the Kaiser Family. Even though they were living a better life compared to the children out on the streets, Zach and the other kids were not able to suppress their hatred towards the Kaiser Family.

They hated the young master of the Kaiser Family and his friends, who constantly bothered them and beat them up.

But thanks to Zach's efforts, the other children were able to stay safe as he always shouldered the beatings, harassment, and torture the young master and his friends would usually do to the children.

That is why the children look up to him, viewing Zach as their big brother who is always there to protect them.

"Keith, lower your voice. We don't want anyone to hear what you're saying right now." Celine whispered while helping Zach back down to his makeshift bed.

Their situation was so bad that Zach didn't even have anything comfortable to lie on. 

"But! Big sister! At this rate...Big brother Zach is going to end up dying!" Keith tried screaming in a quiet voice. He was sincere, and his rage was over the top.

After all, he was the child that Zach was protecting from the beating that happened earlier.

With what he said, everyone became silent. They knew that Zach's condition worsened by the day, but they could not do anything about it.

"Whew...let's have your big brother take some rest for tonight." Celine reluctantly stood up from her place and guided the other kids to another room.

The kids, especially Keith, kept looking at Zach while moving away. Their love for him was intense, but they wanted to let him take a rest.

"My body cannot take anymore than this..." Zach whispered to himself. He knew he was reaching his limits.

Zach was lamenting his birth and his powerless self. Had he been born into the Kaiser Family, would he have the power to protect his brothers and sisters or would he turn out just like the young master he hates?

Either way, Zach only wants one thing.

"In this life...I want to protect them with all I can. Even if my bones were to turn into dust, my flesh into ashes, I want to survive with them...why am I so weak?!..." Zach's eyes teared up.

Zach wanted power. He wanted to have the strength to oppose his enemies. He wanted to dominate everyone to protect his brothers and sisters.

In the middle of his weeping, he started to remember why he had to endure all this suffering...he started to curse the young master of the Kaiser Family.

"Hugh! If it weren't for you...if only you were a decent human being!!" Zach started to grind his teeth, blood gushing out from his mouth and injuries. His body was shaking, and his face became distorted due to rage.

His hands started to form fists, his fingers dug into his skin. Zach, at this moment, wanted nothing but to erase Hugh, the cause of all his sufferings.

As if his rage was starting to turn him insane, different voices started to whisper inside Zach's head: 'Kill him...destroy him...spare him no mercy!' 

However, there was one clear voice that spoke to Zach, 'You...want...kill...?' its speech was very slow as if to emphasize the meaning of each word.

Zach's rage and hatred made him answer: "I want to rip apart his body and make him experience the pain I have to endure every single day!!" 

Different reactions arose from the voices; some became angry, and some were giggling as if to tease Zach.

The clear voice spoke to Zach once more; 'Blood...Offer...Power...Give...'

Zach's eyes started to roll and his body was shaking rapidly. He was convulsing until he passed out. 

No one knew what transpired in this dark room of Zach except the voices inside his head.

----

"Today is the day Blood Ritual for you bastards happen!" A man standing on top of a grand stage shouted out loud. He was talking to the hundreds of children in front of him, who were all lined up neatly.

These were the children that the orphanage of the Kaiser Family took under its wings, and Zach and the others were a part of this.

"Today, we will know if you bastards have any worth to us, the Kaiser Family!" The man shouted.

Blood Ritual is the ritual where a child can come into contact with the home of the Bloodbeasts, the Planetary Universe. Of course, this ritual is expensive to uphold and it is time-consuming.

"If you are able to summon a Bloodbeast that can fight, you may join our ranks and become our soldier! If you are not able to, then you are going to get kicked out of the orphanage and you can rot in the streets!" The man shouted again while carefully making his way to the center of the stage.

At the center of the stage stands a grand crystal that they use in order to conduct the Blood Ritual.

The man gestured for the kid at the very front row to come forward and he activated the grand crystal.

Without any warning, the man slit the wrist of the child and his blood poured onto the grand crystal.

The child...did not make any noise or cry at all. It was because he was prepared for this day. He wanted to change his life by summoning a strong Bloodbeast!

However, even though a minute has passed, nothing happened at all.

"Trash spotted!!" The man eerily smiled. 

Snapping his fingers, two men came forward and dragged the kid away.

"N-No! D-Do it again! It must be a mistake! Please! I know I can do better!" The child screamed out of his lungs, but it was no use.

The man ignored the kid and said, "Now you all realize what the consequences are if you do not summon a Bloodbeast!"

"Next!" The man pointed to a random kid and made him go forward.

That random kid was...Zach, who was boldly walking towards the grand crystal.

He did not show any fear or hesitation despite what happened to the first kid.

The man did the same thing; he slit the wrist of Zach and made his blood pour onto the grand crystal.

As soon as the blood of Zach touched the grand crystal, it shone a bright red light.

The light was so bright that it made the man squint his eyes, thinking 'Oho? A brat with a potential? It's shining so bright, too. It might be a strong one. It's a good harvest for our Kaiser Family!'

Meanwhile, Zach was staring into the bright red light. And the bright red light was staring at him, too.

It had no eyes, but Zach could feel the intense presence behind it! But as if to tease Zach, the bright red light disappeared without a trace.

"Above!" The man shouted out loud as he felt a presence above him, and that caused Zach to look above him too.

Maybe it was because of the sun shining brightly, a huge shadow loomed over them.

Flapping its wings so proudly, a black bird was showcasing its majestic self. His ominous presence made others be wary of him, may it be a child or an adult.

The bird slowly flew down, stopping right in front of Zach. The bird was staring at Zach's eyes intently.

However, Zach was not looking at the bird, but rather at a scroll hanging in front of him.

[Name: Blackbird]

[Rank: Mortal]

[Potential: Infinite]