The silence in the apartment wasn't peaceful—it was loud, heavy. Like the calm before a storm. Li Tian's heart hadn't stopped racing since the lights went out. The mysterious woman stood there, her sharp eyes locked on him, as if she already knew the storm had begun.
She spoke quietly, her voice cutting through the air. "They're tracking you, Li Tian. Through your blood."
He stared at her. "What are you even talking about?"
She stepped forward, her expression unreadable. "You're not just anyone. You're the last living heir of the House of Shadows—one of the original Thirteen Families."
He blinked. Once. Twice. Then let out a dry laugh. "Heir? What, like in some fantasy movie? Look, I'm just a student. I skip homework. I sneak out at night. I burn toast. You've got the wrong guy."
"I wish I did." Her eyes didn't waver. "But your blood says otherwise."
His throat tightened. "My father died when I was six. My mom raised me alone. We've never had money, never had… power. Just life. Normal life."
"She isn't who you think she is. And neither was your father." Her voice softened, just slightly. "He left the council. He went into hiding to protect you. But you were always part of this world, Li Tian. You just didn't know it yet."
Li Tian felt like the ground was shifting beneath him. The questions that had haunted him for years—the weird dreams, the way electronics sometimes flickered when he got upset, how strangers would sometimes stare at him like they knew—it all started clicking together. Terribly.
"This is insane," he whispered.
The woman pulled out a sleek silver vial, no bigger than a finger. "Let your blood tell you the truth."
He hesitated, then reached out and took it. The moment it touched his skin, the vial glowed red. Symbols flickered to life, spiraling across the surface like living fire. Then—pain. A sudden surge behind his eyes.
Images flooded his mind: chaos, ancient symbols, men in robes whispering in a circle of flame, towers crumbling, and a boy—him—screaming in the center of it all as everything burned.
The vial fell from his hand. His knees buckled.
"What… what was that?" he gasped.
"A memory," she said. "Encoded in your DNA. Your family's legacy, buried inside you."
Li Tian looked up at her, eyes wide. "I don't want any of this."
"I know," she said gently. "But none of us get to choose the blood we're born with. Only what we do with it."
Suddenly—CRASH! The hallway window exploded inward. A red laser swept the room.
Drones.
"They're here," she muttered. "We have to go. Now!"
She yanked him toward the window. "Trust me, Li Tian. Or you won't live long enough to figure out who you are."
Li Tian hesitated—but only for a second. And then, heart in his throat, he jumped.
The cold air slammed into him as they hit the fire escape. Gunfire blazed behind them. The woman turned and fired back, striking two drones with pinpoint accuracy.
Li Tian could barely breathe, adrenaline crashing through him. Everything he thought he knew about his life was a lie.
But he couldn't look back.
He was part of something now. Something ancient… something dangerous.
And maybe, just maybe, something bigger than he'd ever imagined.
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