Alexandra stood near a middle-aged man who chipperly perused a bookshelf.

“So, my son is an employee of yours? I mean, Casper’s always been a bright one, he just forgets that sometimes. You know, after his mother passed, he became– a little anti-social. I still remember finding tiny bones stashed around the house. Ah, people used to tell me he’d become some sort of killer and that just riled me up. As a parent, how can you sit by and accept that? So I made sure to take extra care of him. Psychiatric exams, therapy sessions, medicine, it chewed a hole in my wallet, but I wanted to make sure he was alright. It’s just, I don’t know if it was the best thing for him.” Nathaniel spoke without any sign of stopping.

With a cramped smile, Alexandra interrupted him by raising her hand. “Mr.Clay, have you thought about my offer?”

“What, leaving Emerian Island? I can’t… This is the place– this is where Laura is, Casper's mother. I’m not leaving here,” Nathaniel replied with a peaceful smile.

“With all due respect, it’s a benefit of– employees– Casper would be upset if you didn’t take a vacation to–”

“Miss, I’m sorry, but the answer is no,” Nathaniel asserted.

He became stern in his refusal, not even considering the prospect of leaving.

Before Alexandra could speak again, Casper burst into the store, his eyes darting around until they stopped on the two people he recognized.

“Cas!” Nathaniel smiled and approached his son, but it was quickly replaced by a look of concern.

Casper’s jacket was torn and his general appearance was disheveled, not to mention his skin which was noticeably paler to his father. There was even a streak of grey mixed between his son’s dark brown hair, unaware of that its origins weren't exactly due to stress.

“What happened to you?” Nathaniel asked.

“Dad, you have to leave,” Casper said, turning to Alexandra who shrugged as if she was helpless.

“L-Leave? The store?”

“The Island.”

Nathaniel was taken aback by his son’s blunt tone, narrowing his brow in confusion.

“It’s not safe here... People are trying to kill me and they’ll kill you too.”

Casper was direct, not choosing to paint a lie or mislead his father. He looked over his shoulder erratically as if to make sure he wasn’t being tracked.

“Casper,” His father called out to him, but seeing his son was distracted, he repeated himself, “Casper!”

“I’m not arguing with you anymore, you have to leave.” Casper doubled down, opening his phone and purchasing a ticket to some unknown destination.

Barely a minute later, he spoke, “You have a flight to catch.”

“Just what the hell did you get my son mixed up in?” He turned toward Alexandra and demanded an explanation.

“Dad, she doesn't–”

“They’re here,” Alexandra said pushing past Nathaniel before heading to the entrance of the store.

“What? Already?” Casper muttered, before peeking out of the window of the bookstore.

The leader of the trio raised a medallion with a glowing eye that glared in Casper’s direction. He swung it around tauntingly before storing it in his jacket, a grin resting on his face all the while.

“That’s them, right?” Alexandra asked calmly, taking stock of the three.

“Yeah,” Casper replied solemnly.

The wheels in his head turned as he tried to figure out how they arrived so fast. The only thing that made sense was either the leader having a unique gift or a powerful artifact.

“Well, let’s say goodbye to keeping this hidden,” Alexandra said.

There was no way she could avoid the public eye if a fight broke out.

“You should leave through the back, before they see you,” Casper spoke to his father who reluctantly nodded.

Alexandra stepped outside with Casper together, both directing their gazes to the leader.

“I suppose you’re the one, huh?” The so-far, nameless, leader asked.

His question was directed to Alexandra who didn’t reply.

“Casper, can you handle the two assholes beside him?” She mumbled just low enough for him to hear.

“Yeah, I think I got it,” Casper said, a layer of bone emerged over his skin, lending him a frightening appearance.

Underneath the runic mask of bone that covered his face, his gaze seemed to turn dark.

“Good,” She replied, tossing her glasses aside.

Alexandra’s body became outlined with an aura of clear translucent scales. The faint cries of a reptilian beast echoed as she took up a martial stance. Inhaling deeply, before exhaling through her teeth, the concrete underneath her feet split into cracks. Her green eyes had turned into snake-like slits that shone with a dangerous light.

“Alexandra Hallworth?” Her identity became clear to the leader of the trio.

The two who had chased down Casper had already donned their armor and spread out. The leader himself tore off his jacket revealing hundreds, if not, thousands of faces tattooed into his body. He flexed his muscles and the faces opened their mouths, sending a loud boom reverberating throughout the area, shattering nearly all the glass in the immediate vicinity. Panicked screams followed as most bystanders that were close to the scene had begun fleeing while those who further away began taking out their cellphones to record from what they deemed to be a safe distance.

There were also a few artifacts on him, the eye-shaped amulet around his neck, several rings on his hands, and two bracelets on both wrists. With a thought, they transformed into a sword and shield which he held with an experienced grip.

Alexandra was about to step forward when she noticed a dazed look appeared in Casper’s eyes which had lost focus.

“Casper,” She whispered, but he just stood there as if lost.

“Shit,” She cursed, abandoning all plans to go on the offensive and instead took on a defensive stance in front of the seemingly hypnotized Casper.

“You’re gonna fucking owe me big time me for this!” She growled while three enemies approached her.

…

The moment Alexandra formed her draconic aura, Casper’s thoughts became clouded. His heartbeat like a drum after seeing her aura while something inside him threatened to burst out. Fighting the guardian of the proving grounds had forced him to learn and grow.

‘This isn’t a trial by combat, but something greater.’ The words of the guardian echoed through his mind.

In Casper’s subconscious which had suffered the most during his time fighting the guardian, something suddenly clicked. What made Casper freeze wasn’t psychological trauma, but rather, the feeling of enlightenment. His instincts drove him into an outer state of listlessness while his inner thoughts moved like a storm that pushed toward a singular realization.

‘It was always inside of me, this entire time.’ He whispered before his eyes was a sea of red.

Scarlet waves were roiling, crashing together, forming an image of bloody hands reaching toward a red sky. And Casper found himself in the middle of it all.

‘Is this… it?’ An incoherent question emerged from the edge of his mind.

What he sought to understand is if the real power within the Art of Sanguina was before him. He stood astonished by the bloody chaos that began to rage. It resembled a scene from a terrible nightmare. The origins title of Dread Sorcerer became clear as he watched the bloodscape writhed as if filled with an unstoppable rage. Had he not seen worse things, maybe he’d even feel dread at the sight of it all. It seemed fitting that even the ‘demon princes of hell’ were disgusted by him after taking on the path of the dread sorcerer.

He reached toward the sanguinary hell that danced in front of him. He felt so small in front of it but remained undaunted. If anything, he only felt a stronger calling to it as it seethed uncontrollably.

The real treasure of the proving grounds didn’t come in the form of the essence of miasma, or battle experience, but the process of opening his mind just enough for a situation like this to occur. The moment he stepped out of the ruin, it was destined to occur and being forced into a fight soon after only served to dramatically speed the process up. Alexandra and was the matchstick that set his mind ablaze. Seeing her draconic aura sent him into endless contemplation.

"Behold the sanguine splendor of this raw power. Won’t you take hold of it, dear Casper?"

Tantilating whispers from the bloody ocean urged Casper to grasp it. His hand reached toward the crimson sea that raised itself toward him, its darkened maw parted in anticipation, but Casper would be the one to devour it.

There was no hesitation as he threw himself in.

…

Casper stood blankly with his hands outstretched, his eyes flashed the moment his wits returned, but what greeted him was a large golden fist.

A single strike sent Casper flying backward, smashing into a car before his head fell limply. The skeletal mask on his face was cracked, blood trickled forth endlessly.

“Casper!” Alexandra shouted, but couldn’t turn to check his condition.

She raised her arm to block the thorn whips before moving to dodge a sword projection that scarred the street as it passed her.

Meanwhile, Casper’s body remained motionless. Blood dripped from his head, and pooled around him, clearly more than humanly possible. Much more than a head injury would entail.

“The fuck?” As the man in golden armor approached, he spotted the inconsistency immediately.

He launched himself forward, intent on destroying Casper’s body completely, but the endless arcs of blood that cut through the air forced him into a retreat.

The curved projectiles of blood struck him with incredible force, knocking him backward, but failed to break through his golden armor.

Casper’s body rose up stiffly, whatever bones had been broken from the punch snapped back in place and his mask closed the gaps that had been broken. Clarity returned to his eyes, though they had a cold light within them.

With an exhale, a red mist began to pour out of Casper’s body. It seemed as if it would expand endlessly, but ending up being drawn back to him. The blood aura around his body pulsed in tune with his heart, its ominous rhythm, and faint luminescence made it seem like a living being.

The heated fight that was going on came to a standstill as all eyes fell onto Casper. Alexandra’s dragon-like eyes looked at him and could see a monstrous life force surrounding him.

“Casper?”

The moment she spoke, Casper rushed forward.

Surrounded by the aura of blood, Casper let it sink into his muscles to enhance his speed. At the same time, he threw blood arcs toward the figure in golden armor. As they left his hands, the violet miasmic fire flashed and covered the armor in the power of decay.

The fiery substance splashed onto the surface of the armor before it spread and slowly solidified until reaching a sap-like state. The glossy surface of the purple blood emitted pulses of light as the miasma consumed what it touched.

“Shit!” The armored man shouted, his protective armament was a result of his gift but it was being chewed away.

Casper arrived in front of him and stretched his hands forward, directing a cloud of blood forward which covered the suffering man completely.

A series of bright explosions went off inside of the small cloud followed by a painful grunt. He flew out of the cloud and rolled onto the street with has his body exposed.

Casper was about to step forward when he was attacked by a sword strike that cleaved his arm right off. His severed limb was sent flying but threads of blood burst out and pulled it back. With a low groan, Casper’s arm was reattached.

The leader of the trio was without a doubt above him, so he sent a meaningful look to Alexandra who hurried to deal with the latter.

“Use your artifact!” The leader shouted as he contended with Alexandra’s deadly strikes.

Raising his body, the man in golden armor reached toward his head as his shining helmet seemed to melt away, revealing an earring.

Casper was quick to react, even as thorny vines whipped toward him, he swung two scarlet blades which extended far beyond their normal length.

The man’s arm which was about to touch the earring had been cut off as if Casper was paying back the leader of the trio. As it flew into the air, Casper caught the freshly cut limb and swung it downward.

The metal arm extended with a clattering sound before unfolding into a golden war scythe with bright blood runes decorating it. The trail of blood lingered in the air, following behind Casper as bore down on the injured man. The dozens of vines that attempted to restrain him did nothing to prevent Casper from beheading his dazed victim.

A powerful soul entered his body and along with it came a small enhancement to his strength. The blood from the fresh corpse of his dead attacker was absorbed into his aura, empowering it further.

Casper’s eyes fell onto the woman covered in thorns who unconsciously stepped back, even if she didn’t realize it, his focused stare scared her. Just as it seemed as if he was going to charge toward her, he chose to speak instead.

“Let’s leave it here for now!” Casper shouted, not to her, but the man beside her.

The man covered in tattoos of faces didn’t seem to hear anything as he brought his sword down on Alexandra, but in astonishing fashion, she caught the blade in her palm. The image of a wyvern’s head appeared on both her fists. They seemed to cry out as one held the sword between its teeth she sent the other toward the length of the blade with an open palm strike.

The sword snapped in half, losing all of his magical properties, almost as if they were consumed by the wyverns. The odds tilted toward Alexandra and Casper which made his offer more appealing to the remaining two of New Era.

The tattooed man spoke bitterly as he gazed at the head of his fallen companion, “This doesn’t end here, Casper. Not until one of us dies, and guess what? New Era isn't going to run out of people anytime soon.”

“You’re right,” Casper replied, unshaken by the implied threat. “But, you're at a disadvantage and there are people around who'll get hurt if we keep it up.”

He raised his chin toward a crowd of people who were recording from inside of stores or behind cars.

“Is that the real reason?” The leader revealed his doubt, but ultimately had no choice given they were at a loss if the fight continued. "Since you're kind enough to shoot yourself in the foot, we'll back off here, but don't expect the same treatment. We have an idea of how strong you are, we can track you, and the next time you see me, it'll be with a lot more people."

His tattoos shifted around before a pair of wings appeared on his back. Without a reason to stay, he flew off with his partner in hand before becoming a small dot on the horizon.

Once they were gone, Casper could no longer restrain himself and fell onto his knees. He lurched forward, spewing blood from his mouth as his aura all but disappeared. The bones covering his body sunk beneath his skin, revealing his exhausted face.

“Woah, hold on, take it easy.” Alexandra moved to support him.

As the crowd began to emerge, sensing it was now safe, she frowned.

“This is going to be a problem,” She said, sighing deeply as she helped Casper to his feet.

With his arm over her shoulder, Alexandra carried him away, ignoring the increasing number of cameras being aimed at them.