Chapter 1168: The Beginning of the Bloodline

It is unclear what Adam expected after his conversation with Damien, but it was not on his list.

An unknown woman who turned out to be stronger than he appeared out of nowhere. Moreover, Damien knew about her. A phantom of his level couldn’t have noticed someone that strong waiting for Adam at the exit of the tower.

However, Damien saw no point in interfering, it wasn’t his problem, it was Adam’s. Adam had to deal with it himself.

“Who are you?” Adam asked, wary.

The woman’s last words echoed in his mind over and over again. He was shocked, but tried not to show it. First, he had to understand what was going on.

She smiled as she took a step back. She didn’t want to scare him anymore, although she doubted Adam would try to run away. She knew a lot about him and understood what to expect.

“My name is Mariam, and you’re right, I’m not a Phantom, I’m a Hybrid, just like Nessa. Although… I hate to admit it, but I’m much older than she is.”

Adam’s eyes widened for a moment.

“N-Nessa? You know about her?”

“Of course I do. I’m sure Damien told you that she’s the only Human Hybrid that appeared in this World Wipe. There are very few of us, but she’s not the only one.”

Then, Mariam opened her purse, reaching for something.

“I’m sure you want to know more about me and how I’m connected to Nessa. Hah, at least I hope I’ve piqued your curiosity!”

An amulet appeared in Mariam’s hand, bearing a silver cross with five rubies dripping dark blood.

Adam had seen this emblem only a few times in his life, but it had been so long ago that he had almost forgotten about its existence.

Strangely enough, he had been thinking about it just recently, not about the amulet in Mariam’s hand, but about what stood behind it.

“Crimson Path… Are you one of them?”

In response, Mariam nodded deeply.

“Of course. For your information, every Human Hybrid belongs to the Crimson Path. It’s a very good place for us that helps us in many ways, especially young ones like Nessa. However, there are very few of us, so it’s not a very difficult task.”

Even though the Crimson Path was one of the three most important organizations whose influence surpassed even the Twelve Branches, Adam knew practically nothing about the Crimson Path.

Like every Phantom, whether new or veteran, he knew that the Crimson Path valued purity of blood and lineage above all else. For the Dark Order, power was most important, while the Azure Lotus sought to establish order in everything.

However, that was the extent of Adam’s knowledge about the Crimson Path. He didn’t know what they did, where their bases were, and most importantly, who their leader was.

He had met Damien at the very beginning of his journey, and although he had never met Frida in person, her spear had saved him during his first difficult battle.

Step. Step. Step.

Mariam’s heels clicked on the floor as she approached Adam.

“Don’t be so perplexed. I’ll explain everything. We can do this here, or…” She glanced around. “Move to a more suitable place for conversation.”

Adam gulped.

…

He didn’t know what to do or what the right decision was in his situation. Mariam’s figure was mysterious and frightening, and Adam didn’t want this situation to continue, especially considering Mariam’s words. However, he couldn’t do anything about his curiosity.

Moreover, did he even have a choice?

Tap.

The waiter placed chocolate ice cream for Adam and cherry ice cream for Mariam on the table. There was nothing else on the table except for a single bottle of wine, which was worth more than several salaries of an average resident of the First Ring.

Adam looked around, taking in the first floor of the restaurant from their exclusive vantage point.

Not that luxury could impress a K4-Phantom like him, but Adam was quite young and hadn’t seen much of the luxury segment in his life.

Everything from the menu, the waiters, the location, and the decor spoke to how important and inaccessible this place was.

This was not the case for Mariam. At her level, it wasn’t just about money, but also about influence.

“You know, this restaurant is one of the oldest in the entire Citadel,” Mariam said, carefully picking up her spoon.

Adam leaned on his hand.

“Hmm? Because, unlike many other restaurants, this one will survive the World Wipe?”

Mariam giggled.

“That also contributed. If your restaurant is in the Second Rank of the Third Ring, it simply cannot survive more than 250 years. However, that one is much older.”

After a few moments, Adam sighed heavily as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“Come on, enough of this show. What do you want from me? You showed up out of the blue. I wasn’t expecting this, but ice cream with a stranger? This isn’t how I imagined my evening.”

Mariam’s lips turned up into a smile.

“I don’t mind talking. You can start asking questions.”

“Alright. For starters, who are you? Not just your name, but what is your position at the Crimson Path?”

“It’s simple.” Mariam waved her hand dismissively. “I’m one of the captains. To make it easier for you to understand what that means, I’ll show you.”

Before Adam could comprehend it, Mariam grabbed his wrist as a torrent of her dense energy rushed toward his body in a powerful surge.

A chill ran down Adam’s spine as his breath caught in his throat. For a moment, terror filled his heart, but he quickly regained his composure and gathered his thoughts.

He had only felt this way before with Damien, Gladius, Saegar, and Kenward. However, Mariam was not as strong as they were, she was one stage below them, although she was stronger than many Lords.

“You… You are the Second Rank Phantom?”

“Well, calling me a Phantom isn’t entirely correct, since I’m a Hybrid, but you’re not wrong about my level of power. I’m just as strong as the heads of the Twelve Branches. I’m second only to Damien, Frida, and the other strongest Phantoms, as well as the True Lords.”

Adam nodded weakly as Mariam released his wrist.

She didn’t want to hurt him, it was just a demonstration of her power so as not to scare the people in the restaurant, as well as them.

“What about Nessa? I haven’t seen her in quite a while, but you seem to know more about her than I do, right?”

“Sure. Don’t worry, she’s fine. We don’t keep her locked up or control her. She lives with Magnus, her father, and hunts in the Dead Lands, just like before. We, the Crimson Path, help her as much as we can, because only our ranks include the Hybrids.”

Adam felt relieved, but he had a new question that he needed to know the answer to right now.

“What about your head? Is he or she… also a Hybrid?”

Mariam licked her lips, as if she had been waiting for this question.

“No. Like the foundation, and the very top of the Crimson Path consists of the Phantoms, the Hybrids are a minority.”

Then, she took the bottle of wine and slowly opened it.

“Our head is a human. Naturally, like all humans of his level, he knows about the Hybrids, about me, about the others, and Nessa. But he’s not someone you should be thinking about right now. You can’t have anything to do with him, at least not right now.”

Adam nodded weakly.

It wasn’t that he wanted to meet the Crimson Path head, but he was curious to know who this man was who stood on equal footing with Damien and Frida.

“Your leader… Did he create the Red Feast? I’ve heard rumors about it.”

“They’re not rumors.” Mariam shook her head as she filled their glasses with wine. “It’s true. It’s not just rich people who eat monster meat, Phantoms and Hybrids do it as well. As do other monsters. They simply don’t have the concept of cannibalism.”

Adam lowered his gaze, looking at his reflection in the wine filling his glass.

“Is this somehow related to the ideology of the Crimson Path, or was it just his whim?”

“Hah, Adam, it’s an ancient tradition, if you can call it that. I think you felt a surge of energy when you ate monster meat. The key is not to overdo it.

“In dark times, when it was unknown whether humanity would survive the next World Wipe, it was one way to stay alive longer.”

Mariam took occasional sips and ate her ice cream, while Adam didn’t touch his drink or dessert.

He wanted to delay this moment as much as he could, but he was forced to ask.

“Mariam… What did you say when we first met? Did you really mean it?”

Her eyes narrowed as her fangs appeared for a moment.

“Of course. I don’t mind having children with you, but you’re not my only option. Other female Human Hybrids and simple Phantoms of the Crimson Pah have been watching you for a long time.”

It wasn’t a joke, she knew why she had come and hoped that Adam would eventually agree. However, before that, he needed to learn a lot about his blood and his achievements.

“But why?”

Mariam licked her lips.

“Many reasons. We’ll discuss them all, but the main one is that you started a new bloodline. You were a blank slate, but that’s no longer the case.”