Wolf of the Blood Moon: A Blood Magic

Scarlet

I regain consciousness while floating in space, feeling very… weird. Not just weird, but full. And like I can sense every last bit of blood within the span of an entire solar system around me.

Which feels a little uncomfortable.

Huh. Did I actually go through an ascension without feeling much pain? Other than the beginning of it, that is. Which was excruciating.

I’m pretty sure I fell unconscious for the rest of it.

A very nice change of pace.

I look around for a moment, only to look down at my chest as I notice a glowing symbol on it. Just like the symbols in my eyes.

The symbol looks like a glowing red full moon. And it’s shining with an eerie crimson light.

Strange… and I kind of don’t want to have a glowing symbol shining through my clothes on my chest. Is there some way to-

The moment I think about wanting it gone, the symbol fades away like it never existed.

My eyes narrow slightly, but I just shrug, deciding that’s not important right now.

What’s important are the notifications that appear in my vision the moment I think about the System.

Warning! Error! Error! Error! Warning!

Class VI is not supported within the System!

Class VI user Scarlet Art Asger de Archeron will now be expelled from the System!

Yeah, I was expecting that. Tar told me it’d happen a long time ago.

A strange symbol appears at the center of my vision. Some sort of ring surrounding a pair of fairy wings. And the symbol is just rotating in circles kind of like the loading symbols in a video game.

The symbol eventually stops rotating while upright once more, only to flash once. Then twice.

Then I feel a stabbing pain in my chest that has me shouting out loud before I see that very same symbol shooting straight out of my chest.

I grimace while clutching my chest in pain, my legs curled upwards a bit. But the symbol doesn’t wait. Some sort of notification appears around the symbol. Not like normal notifications, though. Where the normal ones appear right in my vision as if my vision itself were a computer screen.

This one appears where the symbol is floating. As if it’s an actual physical screen.

My eyes narrow a little as I read the notification.

User Scarlet art Asger de Archeron has hereby been expelled from the System.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

All System guidance has been taken back.

The former user must teach themselves how to use the powers they previously used through the System’s active skills.

The former user must learn their own way to absorb life force or reality energy.

The effects of passive skills on the user will remain.

Tar appears in the air over the System screen, but he doesn’t say anything as I stare at it.

Several seconds pass in silence while I stare at the thing, only for the symbol to rotate three hundred and sixty degrees once, following which the text in the screen changes.

And I can’t help but raise a brow at what it says now.

The System wishes you a pleasant life, Wolf of the Blood Moon.

It has been a pleasure working with you.

Please save the universe.

For the System. For Titania.

For the universe itself.

And for all that’s special within it.

Especially the wolves.

I stare at that last line for several seconds before turning to look at Tar the moment the screen vanishes.

Tar?

“Yes?” he asks, sounding like he didn’t have anything to do with the last line.

Does the System by chance have some sort of ego?

“Yes, it has developed an ego over the past couple years,” Tar answers me, not holding anything back. “But the ego still has to follow its own rules. So it can’t just do whatever it wants.”

Right. But why does the ego seem to love wolves?

“Um…” Tar mutters, this time sounding rather hesitant.

Answer me.

“Well, your life’s journey has been a rather large factor in the System’s gaining of an ego, so…” Tar mutters while avoiding my gaze. Only to glance at my wolf ears and then away again. “Yeah.”

Seriously?

“Seriously,” he responds, making me want to bury my face in my hands. But I don’t.

Instead I let out a sigh and focus on my skills.

And just as I expected, I don’t feel anything. Where I used to feel an instinctive sensation the moment I tried thinking about any particular skill, I don’t feel anything anymore. Not a single thing.

I purse my lips before raising a hand and using Ruler of Blood. But instead of feeling any sort of skill, all I manage to do is create some blood above my hand. Just naturally, and not with any sort of skill.

Hmm.

“Looks like you still know how to use everything Ruler of Blood gave you,” Tar says with a relieved expression on his face. “That’s good.”

Yeah. I don’t know how to do what my other skills did though.

Maybe I should’ve spent more skill points on passive skills…

“It’s too late now,” Tar says, making me nod my head as I look through the faint glowing red light at the floating Red Plague above my hand.

I glance behind me when I notice a strange light shining back there as well. Not just from my eyes.

“You have another glowing symbol at the center of your upper back,” Tar says, answering my unasked question. “This time it’s a wolf’s head.”

Oh.

I try to think about the symbol vanishing, just like the one on my chest. And it does. At least, judging by the lack of a crimson glow back there now.

Okay, now about the symbols in my eyes.

But no matter how hard I think about it, those symbols don’t vanish. Leading to me frowning. 𝘧𝘳ℯ𝓮𝘸𝓮𝑏𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓁.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Well, that’s annoying. At least the ones in my eyes don’t stand out as much though.

I glance at Tar before smiling wryly and trying to open my status.

But nothing shows up.

Goodbye, System.

It’s been a fun ride.