The Crimson King
By @Jojie Karl Emelia
Elias Vance is a mere blood-scavenger in the corpse-strewn valleys of the Sanguine Steppes, surviving by draining the residual mana from fallen warriors. Everything changes when he accidentally absorbs the corrupted essence of the Crimson King—the tyrant prophesied to drown the mortal realm in endless war. Instead of dying, Elias inherits the tyrant's forbidden 'Blood-Sovereign' system, granting him the power to command the vitality of others, but at a terrible price: the system demands absolute dominion, slowly eating away at his humanity. Hunted by the Holy Inquisition who mistake him for the tyrant reborn, and plagued by the whispering consciousness of the dead king inside his mind, Elias must ascend the ranks of a cutthroat magical academy. If he fails to master his bloodlust, he will become the very monster that slaughtered his family. To survive, he must play the part of a savior, all while harboring a dark, parasitic divinity that threatens to consume his soul.
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