Curseblood

Margit, the Fell Omen's corpse gradually turned to ash and scattered away, leaving only a pitch-black crystal lying silently on the ground.

Lu Mingfei bent down and picked up the black crystal. Under the sunlight, it refracted an eerie halo, its sharply defined facets so perfect they did not seem naturally formed.

"Could this be the item that sends me home?"

Lu Mingfei turned the crystal over and over in his hands.

"But... how am I supposed to use it?"

Lu Mingfei scratched his head.

"Open sesame?"

Lu Mingfei shouted at the crystal. When it showed no reaction, he tried several other poses.

"Boroboromir! Give me power! I am Ciri! Balala energy! By the law, be swift!"

He hurled the crystal to the ground.

"Whatever. Do what you want!"

The crystal merely bounced twice on the ground, completely unharmed.

After all, it was a product of the Lands Between. Lu Mingfei had tested it long ago; the thing was harder than diamond. Otherwise, he would not have dared throw it on the ground.

"Looks like I'll have to ask a professional..."

Lu Mingfei sighed.

To be honest, among the fellow Tarnished he knew, there was currently only one: "Emiya Shirou." The guy was a genuinely good person and seemed to often leave summon signs in all sorts of places to help newbies.

He had previously promised Lu Mingfei that he would help him defeat Margit, the Fell Omen, making him one of Lu Mingfei's guides.

But why had he not appeared?

It was not that Lu Mingfei thought himself skilled enough to fight the Fell Omen alone. It was just that the guy had been impossible to contact lately...

Ever since Emiya had taught Lu Mingfei how to use the Finger Severer, Summon Finger, and Tarnished's Old Finger, Lu Mingfei would occasionally use the Tarnished's Old Finger to communicate with him. Emiya had generally answered every question.

But right before Lu Mingfei was ready to strike out on his own, Emiya suddenly lost contact, catching him completely off guard.

With such a thick, sturdy thigh to cling to gone, he had no choice but to steel himself and fight the Fell Omen alone.

"Old Emiya..."

He muttered,

"Could he have run into some trouble?"

He recalled what Emiya Shirou had said during their last contact.

"I'm going to help a friend. Wait for my news."

Lu Mingfei had not thought much of it at the time, but now so much time had passed...

After hesitating for a long while, he took out the Small Golden Effigy, first located Emiya Shirou's world coordinates, then used the Tarnished's Old Finger to write a message on the ground.

"Brother Shirou, I've defeated the Fell Omen. What should I do next?"

Unexpectedly, before Lu Mingfei had waited long, a familiar golden summon sign appeared on the ground!

Of course, he knew it was Emiya's summon sign. Without hesitation, he touched it and pulled the man over.

Amid a burst of dazzling golden light, a familiar figure clad in a full set of Carian Knight Armor slowly appeared.

"Brother Shirou!"

Lu Mingfei dashed forward with an Arrow Step and gave him a bear hug.

"Long time no see! Thank goodness you aren't dead!"

Emiya Shirou staggered half a step back from the impact, then patted Lu Mingfei's back with a wry smile.

"Lu..."

He started to speak, then stopped. In the end, it became a sigh.

"Sorry, I should have..."

Lu Mingfei hurriedly waved him off.

"Ah, forget it, forget it. It's nothing. I know you really couldn't get away. Besides, I only died twenty-three times before winning, so it's not like I suffered much..."

Emiya Shirou froze at that, studying his old friend carefully. When they had last parted, Lu Mingfei had still been a rookie who could not even make it through Coastal Cave. Now, he was already capable of standing on his own.

"By the way, what have you been busy with lately? You didn't even send a message."

Lu Mingfei looked at him curiously.

Emiya Shirou forced a helpless smile.

"We went to help a friend. His name is Ken Kaneki..."

"Wait." Lu Mingfei's eyes widened. "I remember him. Didn't you say he was an invading spirit and tell me to be careful around him? How did he become a friend?"

Emiya Shirou sighed.

"Ken is actually a very gentle person. I've known him for quite some time, and he has a good reputation among the Tarnished. He only fell onto the path of the Bloody Finger recently."

"Strictly speaking, there isn't really anything wrong with being a Bloody Finger..."

As he spoke, Emiya removed his gauntlet and extended one finger. Its originally flesh-colored skin slowly turned red.

"It is merely a symbol, a qualification for entering the Blood Dynasty. As long as you do not actively invade others, it is not really a problem..."

"The Blood Dynasty is a place very suitable for acquiring Runes. Ever since it was discovered, us Tarnished have all gone there to explore and train."

"After you reach Liurnia, you will meet the White Mask, Varre, again. He will tempt you onto the path of 'blood.'

"You only need to play along with him, then use items to trade with other Tarnished and complete the invasion task. After that, run a few simple errands, and you can gain the qualification to enter the Blood Dynasty."

Emiya Shirou spoke with some melancholy.

"It seemed Ken had encountered something urgent in the real world and desperately needed power. So he went and did it too..."

Lu Mingfei scratched his head.

"That doesn't sound like a problem."

Emiya sighed again.

"But Ken's inner essence happened to resonate with Curseblood. Combined with his already unstable mental state and emotions at the time, he was directly lured by the White Mask onto the path of 'Curseblood.' Then, in a moment of carelessness, his mind was eroded..."

"Curseblood?"

Lu Mingfei looked puzzled.

"Yes, Curseblood." The red-haired youth explained, "Just like the 'Glintstone sorcery' I wield, and the 'Dragon Communion' you asked me about before, Lu, they are all kinds of essence paths—power systems inherent to the Lands Between."

"Besides those, there are the Golden Order, flame, Black Flame... Some people choose not to touch such powers and instead strengthen and train themselves. That is also a path."

"Each of these paths has its own flaws to some degree. Like the Dragon Communion you walk, Lu, it is a path that no one has attempted so far, because the risks are too great..."

"And Curseblood is the same. It is too mysterious for anyone to understand, and Ken was the first person qualified to study and walk that path."

"So," Lu Mingfei finally understood completely, "this so-called Curseblood has the side effect of affecting the mind. And Ken happened to get caught by it, right?"

Emiya Shirou nodded, then shook his head.

"Curseblood's side effects are not that powerful by themselves."

He rubbed his brow wearily.

"Ken's circumstances are very unusual. His constitution resonated astonishingly with Curseblood, and under the White Mask's influence, his power grew too quickly. Coupled with how emotionally unstable he truly was at the time, that was why his mind was exploited...

"It was only recently that we found a way to help him regain clarity from the Bloody Finger Hunter, Yura."

Emiya Shirou paused, then asked Lu Mingfei,

"Lu, since you were able to defeat Margit, the Fell Omen so quickly, I assume you have already undergone Dragon Communion, correct?"

Lu Mingfei nodded.

"Then," Emiya Shirou said seriously, "please be extremely careful, Lu."