The Forgotten Bloodline

Chapter 2

Hurried footsteps filled the emergency department corridor.

A female doctor pushed a gurney alongside two men. Eric lay on it, his face covered in blood. His broken right arm bent at an unnatural angle, while bruises and wounds covered his body.

The two men were Dominic and Andreas.

Dominic, who lived next door to Eric at the boarding house, had found him lying helpless by the roadside. He had immediately contacted Andreas, Eric’s only friend at college.

Seeing his friend’s condition, Andreas clenched his fists.

He took out his phone, photographed Eric, and sent the picture to the faculty group chat.

‘Take a good look at what you’ve done. I don’t care who was involved. If anything happens to Eric, I’ll make sure this doesn’t end here.’

The photo immediately silenced the previously lively group chat.

But the silence did not last long. The photo of Eric covered in blood with a broken arm soon drew a flood of reactions.

Some began questioning whether Eric truly deserved such treatment, while others still believed he had brought it upon himself.

Arguments filled the chat once again.

Amid the uproar, the photo spread from one group to another until it finally reached Xavia.

Xavia stared at her phone for a long time.

She had been planning to upload a video explaining the truth since that afternoon. But before she had the chance, events had escalated far faster than she had expected.

Without waiting any longer, Xavia recorded a video.

She explained what had really happened from the beginning, then uploaded it.

The video spread rapidly.

People began questioning the narrative that had painted Eric as the guilty party.

“So Eric really was the victim?”

“He was beaten that badly because of one false accusation.”

“If anything happens to him, who’s going to take responsibility?”

Accounts that had previously shared videos about Eric began deleting their posts.

But not everyone believed her right away.

The arguments continued. This time, however, the anger that had been directed at Eric began turning toward Issabel, Christine, and the students involved in the assault.

Before long, several news outlets picked up the story, drawing attention to the allegations of false accusations and violence on campus.

—

The emergency room doors opened.

A doctor stepped out, removing her gloves.

“Is the patient’s family here?”

Dominic and Andreas exchanged glances.

“We’re his friends, doctor,” Andreas replied.

“How is Eric?”

“His life is no longer in danger. His right arm is fractured, but we’ve treated it.” The doctor paused. “He’s been sedated and needs to rest for now. He’ll probably wake up in a few hours.”

Andreas and Dominic finally let out a breath of relief.

At least Eric was still alive.

As the story spread, people began identifying some of the students shown in the video.

Their family backgrounds also came under scrutiny. Some parents were furious when they learned of their children’s involvement, while others tried to keep the situation from escalating.

Online, demands for the attackers to be punished continued to grow. The university also faced mounting pressure to explain what had happened.

Near midnight, the university finally released an official statement. It announced that a special investigative team had been formed and promised to release its findings no later than the following day.

Three in the morning.

Eric slowly opened his eyes.

The hospital’s white ceiling greeted him.

He lay still for a long time, trying to remember what had happened. A few seconds later, his eyes widened.

“I’m… still alive?”

It took him a while to fully accept it.

He had survived.

Someone had brought him to the hospital.

Eric looked to his right. His arm was encased in a thick cast and held in a sling. Almost his entire body still ached, and his face was covered in bruises and scrapes.

He let out a long breath.

Being alive was more than enough.

Chime!

An unfamiliar mechanical sound suddenly rang in his ears.

[Legacy Intelligence has successfully identified a new user.]

At the same time, a transparent screen slowly appeared before him, floating in the air like a holographic monitor.

Eric’s eyes widened.

“This…”

His heart began beating faster.

The screen was exactly like the one he had seen before losing consciousness.

Eric swallowed.

“So… that wasn’t a hallucination?”

[Initiating synchronization.]

[1%… 2%… 3%… 4%…]

Click!

The door to his hospital room opened.

Andreas stepped inside, his eyes widening when he saw that Eric was awake.

“Eric!”

He hurried to the bed, then looked back.

“Dominic, get the doctor! Hurry!”

“Okay!”

Dominic immediately turned and ran out of the room.

Eric, meanwhile, barely glanced at Andreas. He paid no attention to what his friend kept saying.

All his attention was fixed on the transparent screen floating before his eyes.

What startled him even more was that Andreas seemed completely unaware of its presence.

“Eric, can you hear me?”

Andreas waved a hand in front of his face.

There was no response.

Eric stared straight through him, as though watching something no one else could see.

The numbers on the screen continued to climb.

[98%…]

[99%…]

[100%.]

[Synchronization complete.]

The screen before Eric changed.

[LEGACY INTELLIGENCE]

[Status: Active]

[Owner: Eric Brown]

[Age: 23]

A few seconds later, new lines of text slowly appeared.

[Welcome, Eric Brown.]

[I am Legacy Intelligence, an artificial intelligence developed approximately 218 years after your era.]

[My primary function is to help users analyze information, find solutions, and improve their chances of success when facing various challenges.]

Eric’s eyes widened.

“Two hundred and eighteen years…?”

His heart began pounding even faster.

That night, Eric slowly tried to make sense of Legacy Intelligence while Andreas explained everything that had happened after he lost consciousness.

But whenever he was asked who had attacked him, Eric remained silent.

Not long after Andreas left the room, the transparent screen appeared again.

[Blood relative detected.]

[Location: Kravania.]

[Would you like to send an identification signal to the target?]

[YES]  [NO]

Eric froze.

“A relative…?”

His breath caught.

As far as he knew, he had no family left after his parents died.

Then who was this relative in Kravania?

Was it possible he had other family members he had never known about?

His gaze remained fixed on the two options.

The room fell silent again.

After thinking for a long time, Eric finally raised his left hand.

His fingertip slowly touched the option—

[YES].