Bloodline Evolution: I Can Choose Opposing Paths-Chapter 32: They’d Come Running

The words of confirmation faded from his canvas, ink disappearing as though nothing extraordinary had happened at all.

Aren let the Brush dissolve from his fingers.

Across from him, Luna’s breathing steadied as she finished her own circulation. When she opened her eyes, the green light of the Core reflected faintly in them.

"You picked already?" she asked.

Aren nodded once.

"What did you take?"

He hesitated for a bit, glancing away from her before replying.

"Morphing."

Her eyes narrowed as her brows knitted together.

"...Morphing?" Her fingers tightened around his. "You’re in the Adept Stage."

"I know."

"That’s not a Trait you just take randomly." Her tone sharpened slightly. "That’s usually recommended for Line 4 at the earliest."

"Most people wait until Veteran Stage before they even consider it," she continued. "Some Masters don’t even touch it until then."

"We’re not in a normal situation," Aren turned and met her eyes now. "I have to take some risks in order to survive."

"Besides, when have I ever done anything random?"

Luna froze for a second, remembering the story Lily had told her. About how Aren stood under a lightning rod in order to cleanse his ether channels.

"You’re insane..." she said a moment later.

Aren shrugged. "I’d rather die later than die now, thank you."

Despite herself and the situation, a small breath of laughter escaped her lips. Aren jerked at the reaction, as it was also his first time seeing her smile at anything at all.

He remembered her from his memories. How, everytime he’d see her, either in person or on the news, she’d be almost...blank.

Even when walking through crowds with camera shutters clicking and lights flaring against her eyes, her expression had never changed.

It was almost like her body was on autopilot. But now—

The laughter continued for a while before she seemed to catch herself. When she looked back at him, the faintest curve still remained at the corner of her lips.

"You’re really a bad influence."

Aren opened his mouth, then closed it again.

The moment was so unexpected that the only thing he managed was—

"...Sorry?"

She stared at him for a moment longer before shaking her head faintly, as if dismissing the absurdity of the entire exchange.

"You chose something reckless," she said quietly. "So tell me something."

Aren straightened slightly at the shift in tone.

"If you were me... what would you take?"

Luna’s Canvas unfolded in front of her, ink lines branching outward in structured paths. Unlike his, several branches were already dim, locked by incompatibility.

Aren turned away immediately.

He didn’t even process it consciously. His gaze snapped toward the barrier instead, toward the swirling mass of compressed ether beyond the translucent wall.

Wait.

Did she just—

There was no way.

The Canvas could be considered the representation of a person’s soul and was rarely shown outside of master-disciple relationships. It was the first thing that Aren had learned when becoming a Mystic.

He remembered in other parts of the world, specifically the Southwestern continents, the Canvas was called something else:

A True Name.

There were countless stories of gods being bound, enslaved, or destroyed after their true name had been exposed. That was where the stigma came from.

And here Luna was, having her soul bared out in the open.

"Did you," he began slowly, "not have that lecture?"

"What lecture?"

"The one about not showing your Canvas to people who aren’t your master."

Her brows knit together slightly as she searched her memory. "We had a lot of lectures."

Aren stared at her, "The one where they compare it to handing someone your heart."

"Oh. That one."

"And?"

She tilted her head faintly. "Yeah, I remember now."

Aren waited.

"I was sleeping."

For a moment, he wasn’t sure if she was joking. But knowing from past interactions, especially during the tournament, he’d come to believe anything she said.

"Is it really that serious?" She watched him carefully for a second before asking, more softly this time.

He held her gaze.

"Yes."

"Well, it’s not a problem if you were the one to see it." Then she shrugged lightly. "Right?"

Aren felt his heart beat faster in his chest.

If it was him?

Does that girl know what she just said!?

But upon asking himself that question, the answer came almost immediately.

Of course she didn’t.

"Alright, fine," he continued, shaking his head faintly. "But don’t show it to just anyone, okay?"

"Okay," she nodded softly.

Aren drew in a slow breath and turned his attention fully to her Canvas. If she was going to trust him like this, then he needed to take it seriously.

The Ice Jade Spirit, one of the strongest Pathways for an attacker.

Yet, the only flaw, if it could even be considered one, was their lack of reactive defense. That assumed there was someone strong enough to get close to them anyway.

But on the off-chance that someone might...Aren’s gaze shifted to another branch.

"Crystallization," he said finally. "That’s your best Trait right now."

Aren’s gaze remained on the glowing branch as Luna studied it in silence.

"Crystallization?" she repeated, testing the word under her breath.

"You can condense moisture into solid forms instantly," he continued. "Allowing you to create shields and platforms quickly without having to concentrate much."

"It also unlocks the path to your Ultimate Art, Cold Tomb," he added.

Her eyes flickered toward the neighboring branch.

Evaporation.

A more elusive path. It would thin her presence, convert her body and attacks into dispersing mist. It was better on paper, but against someone with better speed than her, it’d be worth nothing.

Luna finally made her choice. The tip of the Brush descended and pressed against the branch of Crystallization.

The moment ink met pathway, the line along it solidified, permanently ingrained into her soul.

Luna exhaled slowly.

"It’s done," she said.

Aren nodded once, allowing himself the smallest measure of relief.

He shifted his focus back to the puncture point in the translucent barrier. The thin stream of life ether still flowed through the needle-sized opening he had created.

It had served its purpose. Any longer and they would be tempting fate.

"Hold steady," he murmured.

He withdrew his hand from Luna’s and rose, stepping toward the barrier. The pressure increased immediately as he approached, the compressed mass of life ether beyond the wall responding faintly to his presence.

He observed it for a while.

Strange...why’s it acting like this?

The ether seemed to sprint erratically around, moving toward him as he shifted ever so slightly.

Aren married his eyes and extended spiritual pressure toward the hole, intending to seal it. He gathered carefully, shaping it like a cork to plug the breach he had made.

Yet, the moment his will brushed the opening.

Life ether started surging out from the hole, a second thread slipped through the puncture, intertwining itself with the first. The current grew heavier as it rushed outward.

What–!?

His mind raced for any answers.

Life ether was dense and abundant, like water finding its way back to the source.

His breath hitched at the realization.

To the Core, they were no longer just cultivators inside its chamber. They had become another source, almost like a magnet to the ether.

"Luna—!"

Before he could finish, the stream surged.

The needle-thin strand swelled violently, the barrier shuddering as compressed life ether rushed toward the breach. He tried to hold it back, but it was like trying to stop a river with his bare hands.

Luna staggered as the ether lashed outward, drawn not just to the puncture but toward them.

"Aren!"

"Shit! Let’s leave!"

He abandoned the attempt to seal it. There was no time to finesse it. Any second they wasted was a second they didn’t get back.

The next instant, Aren felt solid ground beneath him.

They were back in the nurse’s office.

For half a heartbeat, everything was still.

Then the air shifted.

A faint pulse rippled outward from the Core bag where it sat sealed on the floor. Aren felt it travel through the walls, through the glass, through the city beyond.

Both Luna and Aren looked at each other for a moment before she muttered what he didn’t want to say.

"It...got out."

Just as quickly, they both stood up in unison. Aren zipped up the medical bag once more before throwing it over to Luna.

"Go! I’ll be right behind you!"

She looked back once more, hesitation flickered in her eyes before she opened the window and jumped right out of it.

Aren reached for his back pocket, pulling out the talisman, his eyes focused on the barricaded door.

Any second now, they’d come running.