Bloodline Evolution: I Can Choose Opposing Paths-Chapter 41: The Cost of Power (1)

Aren opened his eyes, half-expecting to be within that unfinished painting-like world once more.

But instead, he was met with warmth. Though it took him a moment to understand that the warmth came from his hands. Well, there were two of them. One wrapped tightly around his own while the other pressed lightly against his arm.

The ceiling above wasn’t a ceiling at all, just a stretched canvas roof supported by temporary beams.

He turned his head over to see his little sister, calmly resting on the bedside.

Her hair was tied back sloppily except for a few loose strands. Her eyes were swollen and red that she didn’t even try to hide. The moment she saw his movements her breath hitched so loudly it almost sounded painful.

"Aren! You’re awake!"

She leaned over and wrapped both arms around his shoulders immediately, hugging him with enough force to remind his body of the pain from earlier.

"You’re insane," she sobbed into his shoulder. "Do you know what they said? They said the entire highway is gone!" Her grip tightened.

"They said—they said you bled enough blood to fill a small tank!"

Aren lifted his hand slowly and rested it against the back of her head, gently patting her hair. He could feel how hard she was shaking, how tightly she was holding on, like if she loosened her grip even a little he might slip through her fingers and disappear.

"I’m here," he murmured, and his own voice sounded rougher than he expected. "I’m not going anywhere."

A second presence hovered at the edge of his vision, on the other side of his bed.

Lily hadn’t rushed him. She stood half a step back at first, examining him once more. Her face was pale and her lips dry. She looked like she was about to fall over—the common side effect of overusing ether.

"You almost died," she said quietly. "Well, you did."

Anna immediately turned her head at the comment, already looking like a second wave of tears was about to burst out.

Aren’s eyes widened in panic. He shot Lily a look, subtly shaking his head, silently begging her not to say anything more.

"Well...that’s what the doctor said!" Lily added, covering for him. "But you seem to be fine now anyway."

She stepped closer then, fingers curling into the edge of the mattress instead of his sleeve this time.

"Somehow."

Even after saying he was stable, even after seeing him awake and conscious, her eyes remained fixed on him.

"Why didn’t you run?" she asked softly.

Anna’s fingers tightened again at his shoulder.

"What?"

"You had it, didn’t you?" Lily continued, her voice steady but thin. "The Core."

Aren didn’t answer immediately.

He could still feel it inside him, not physically in a way that a doctor could measure, but just his instincts telling him it was there.

"You could’ve dropped it," Lily said. "Thrown it off the highway. Let the military handle it."

Aren exhaled slowly before leaning back in his bed. He didn’t want to lie to them...but couldn’t tell them the truth either.

"If they got it," he said carefully, "it wouldn’t stop there."

Anna frowned. "What do you mean?"

"The Core," Aren replied. "It has immense powers, capable of powering up more Demonic Cultivators." 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

He paused, choosing his words wisely.

"And when they get stronger," he continued, his tone even. "They’d ravage everything...and put everyone I care about in danger."

Lily didn’t look convinced.

"You don’t know that," she said.

"No, I don’t," he replied. Aren knew it was a lie, a convenient white lie, but a lie nonetheless.

They met each other’s eyes, as Aren’s own filled with resolve. "But I wasn’t going to gamble on it."

"And he made the right choice, though extremely reckless."

A voice resounded from the entrance tent flap. Three figures walked into the medical tent, with two he already knew.

Aren’s eyes widened slightly.

That voice...

"Captain Eric! You’re alive!"

Eric stood at the front, uniform clearly fixed with makeshift patches. His expression was composed as always.

It was only when Aren’s gaze dropped that he noticed it.

On the left side of his body, a small stub had been heavily bandaged...where his left arm should’ve been.

Lily quickly tugged at his sister’s arm before signalling with her head. "Come on, Anna. Let’s give them some privacy."

They both left the tent as Aren waved them goodbye. Then his attention returned once more.

Behind Eric stood Lieutenant Leo, his usual folded-arm stance noticeably relaxed. He offered Aren a small, almost relieved smile.

"Good to see you awake, Aren."

A third officer lingered slightly behind them, one that felt familiar, but somehow he couldn’t recognize.

Aren’s throat tightened.

"Captain—your arm..."

His eyes flicked once more to the empty sleeve, unable to stop himself.

Eric followed the glance, then looked back at him without a change in expression.

"Occupational hazard," he said evenly. "It is what it is."

Silence stretched briefly between them before Eric took another step forward.

"You held your ground," he continued, voice calm but firm. "Had you abandoned the Core, we would likely be discussing a very different outcome right now."

"And while it was reckless," he added, almost as an afterthought, "it was not meaningless."

That was when the third officer stepped up.

She moved softly, Aren couldn’t even hear her footsteps. Unlike the others, she wore a long white coat layered neatly over her military uniform. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail, clearly signalling her values over efficiency rather than aesthetics.

"Easy," she said lightly when she noticed him trying to sit straighter. "If you reopen those stitches, I’ll have to scold you properly."

Her voice carried a strange warmth, a gentle presence.

"I’m Professor Mirelle Voss," she continued with a small nod. "Retired military physician. These days, I teach Mystic Biology at the Imperial City College."

Aren blinked. "Imperial City? You’ve come a long way."

"Well, I was on my way to visit some friends," Voss smiled faintly. "But as you can see, half the city collapsed and said friend—"

She looked over at Captain Eric.

"Seems to be missing an entire arm."

Eric scratched the back of his head sheepishly before continuing.

"She’s here to examine your condition...Well, to see frankly, how you managed to survive at all."

Professor Voss didn’t circle the topic.

"When you were brought in," she said gently, "your heart had completely ruptured."

"Your heart is gone, Aren," she said softly.

"The Core is functioning in its place."