Time Reaper: Rise Of The Blood Mornach

At the altar, Major Gareth's face darkened as he fixed his gaze on Kyoji.

"Run the ritual again," he ordered, his tone firm, leaving no room for debate.

What?!

The thought ran through everyone's mind, but Major Gareth stood his ground.

"There's been a malfunction," he declared, his voice cutting through the murmurs like a blade. "The orb flickered. The AI failed to announce a talent rank. None of this follows standard protocol. We have to redo the ritual."

His words landed like a hammer.

Redoing a Blessing Ritual after the first attempt—was that even possible? Wouldn't there be consequences?

A chill ran down the spines of everyone present.

The Blessing Ritual, the altar, the statues, even the orb—these weren't man-made creations.

Three centuries ago, they had appeared out of nowhere, their origins a mystery. Ten altars, spread across the world. Now, only five remained, the rest destroyed in wars and disasters. Humanity had built temples around the surviving ones, guarding them as if their very existence depended on it.

Because, in truth, it did.

For three hundred years, the ritual had never failed. You either received a talent, or you didn't. There was no in-between. Kyoji's case was unheard of.

Normally, when someone awakened, the orb would glow in a color corresponding to their talent rank—F being the lowest, SSS the highest.

Talents were divided into three branches:

Combat Talents – Berserker, Elementalist, Mage… those who dominated the battlefield.

Support Talents – Barrier Masters, Seers, Buff Specialists… those who reinforced and guided.

Life Talents – Rune Masters, Tailors, Enchanters… those who shaped the world in their own way.

The moment a talent was granted, the orb absorbed the energy, flashed brightly, and the AI would announce the result. But with Kyoji…

Nothing happened.

No glow. No announcement. No reaction from the gods' statues.

An impossible scenario.

Major Gareth's demand made sense, but redoing the ritual could also be seen as questioning the gods themselves. And that? That could bring divine punishment.

Yet, no one dared to argue.

Well… except Miss Anna.

"But—"

"But nothing," Major Gareth cut her off sharply. "We're not proceeding with an anomaly. Kyoji Ren, you will retake the Blessing Ritual. Immediately."

Silence fell over the temple.

All eyes turned to Kyoji.

He had stood still the entire time, seemingly frozen in shock.

Everyone assumed he was just as stunned by the situation as they were.

But Kyoji wasn't even with them.

He was in his own world.

Because he had become a Chosen.

For real.

The screen before him was proof.

---

< Name: Kyoji Renn >

< Talent: [???] Time Manipulation, [???] Blood Manipulation >

< Strength: 2.5 >

< Agility: 1.9 >

< Endurance: 3.2 >

< Intelligence: 2.3 >

< Attribute Points: 0 >

< Skills: Time Dome, Crimson Arsenal, Vital Control >

< Equipment: — >

---

This… this didn't make sense.

In his past life, he had received nothing.

Was this because he had traveled back in time?

Something was happening here. Something huge.

But what?

Before he could even begin to figure it out, Major Gareth's voice cut through his thoughts like a whip.

"Candidate 127, Kyoji Renn! Repeat the ritual process. We don't have all day," he snapped.

Kyoji blinked, his focus snapping back to reality.

His gaze lifted, cold and unreadable.

"There's no need for that," Kyoji said, his voice void of emotion.

Murmurs rippled through the crowd.

Major Gareth narrowed his eyes. "Why not?"

"Because I've already received a talent," Kyoji announced. "There's no need to repeat the process."

What?! He awakened?!

The temple erupted into chaos.

The officials standing before him stiffened.

Major Gareth recovered first. "Candidate 127, Kyoji Renn," he said, voice measured. "State the rank of your talent."

Kyoji's expression remained unreadable.

"I can't," he said simply.

A pause.

"What do you mean, you can't?" Mr. Sawyer finally spoke, his voice sharp.

Kyoji met his gaze.

"I can't," he repeated, unshaken. "My talent… doesn't have a rank."

Silence.

Then—

Boom.

The crowd exploded in whispers.

"Did you hear that?!"

"Yeah, no shit, I have ears too!"

"No wonder the orb couldn't settle on a color! It wasn't a glitch… he really has no talent rank."

But what Does This Mean?

The question hung in the air, heavy with uncertainty.

Never before had someone received a talent without a rank. No one knew what to make of it.

"Does this mean his talent is too weak to even be ranked?" someone finally asked, breaking the silence.

A suffocating stillness followed.

Many of them had already come to the same conclusion. Even Mr. Sawyer, Miss Anna, and Major Gareth had similar thoughts.

Miss Anna, unable to hold back, spoke up. "Can you at least tell us which branch your talent falls under?" Her voice carried urgency.

"Combat," Kyoji replied, his tone flat and emotionless.

A single word. A simple answer.

Yet the effect was immediate.

Mr. Sawyer exhaled, a barely concealed sigh of relief. Miss Anna, however, looked anything but relieved.

Mr. Sawyer smirked. "Well, well… looks like Celvaris Academy will be receiving quite an interesting batch this year." He chuckled, the smug satisfaction in his voice impossible to miss. "Don't you think so, Miss Anna?"

It was gloating.

And everyone knew why.

Celvaris Academy and Silverrock Academy were the two institutions responsible for training newly awakened Chosen in Coliseum City. They had always been rivals, each competing to prove they were superior. Their differing teaching styles and philosophies only fueled the competition further.

Celvaris Academy was renowned for producing the best warriors. Their entire curriculum focused on one thing—creating elite fighters. It was no surprise that anyone with a combat-related talent was automatically enrolled there.

Silverrock Academy, on the other hand, had a more well-rounded approach. While it did offer combat training, its focus leaned more towards support and life-related talents. Because of this, combat talents struggled to reach their full potential their, unlike support and life-talented individuals who flourished.

And that was the game.

For Silverrock, a weaker batch of combat talents meant a weaker Celvaris Academy. And a weaker Celvaris Academy meant a stronger Silverrock Academy.

Seeing Kyoji—a person whose talent was so weak it couldn't even be ranked—and realizing he would be joining Celvaris? Mr. Sawyer couldn't help but feel pleased by his rival academy's misfortune.

Miss Anna scoffed at the look on his face, but that only seemed to amuse him further.

"Enough, you two," Major Gareth barked, clearly irritated. Then, turning his gaze to Kyoji, he announced, "Candidate 127, Kyoji Renn. You are free to return."

Kyoji gave a small nod and turned away, walking back to rejoin the other teenagers.

All eyes were on him.

Some looked at him with pity.

Some with indifference.

And others? They silently gloated over his apparent misfortune.

But Kyoji?

He didn't notice.

Because his mind was elsewhere.

---

Ethan watched Kyoji return, his eyes filled with sympathy.

Though Kyoji's face remained calm and expressionless, Ethan could see the slight furrow in his brows.

This got to him.

He wanted to offer some words of comfort—anything to help his friend. But what could he even say?

In the end, he could only watch as Kyoji silently took his place beside him.

---

The ritual continued.

One by one, the next candidates stepped forward. Names were called. Talents were revealed.

Kyoji, however, barely noticed any of it.

His mind was elsewhere.

Now that he had received a talent, he felt uneasy. Because he knew what was coming next.

A beast horde.

Memories of his previous life surfaced. He remembered it clearly—moments after the Blessing Ritual ended, a sudden beast horde would descend from the sky, attacking the temple.

Back then, the city's defense systems failed. The detection barriers never picked up the incoming attack, and by the time anyone realized what was happening, it was too late. The sudden assault led to a massive loss of life.

In his past life, Kyoji had been spared from the danger.

Why?

Because only those who awakened a talent were kept inside the temple.

Those who failed the ritual were sent away immediately after.

Since he hadn't awakened a talent back then, he had left before the attack happened.

But now?

Now, everything had changed.

Now, he was among the newly Chosen. He would be here when the beasts arrived.

He needed to think of a way to survive.

Fast.

Fortunately, he had one advantage—his memories.

That was his saving grace.

---

The Blessing Ritual continued.

After Kyoji, hundreds more teenagers stepped up to the altar as their names were called.

Some walked back with their heads held high, proud of their awakened talents.

Others returned with their heads down, burdened by disappointment.

Nothing else of real interest happened—except for one moment.

Someone received an SSS-ranked talent.

That caused quite a stir.

But aside from that, the rest of the ceremony was uneventful.

---

Finally, the ritual came to an end.

As the last name was called, the officials turned to address the crowd.

"As per protocol," Major Gareth announced, "all individuals who have not awakened a talent are to leave the temple immediately."

There was no argument.

Those who failed the ritual quietly filed out, disappearing beyond the temple doors.

Now, only the newly Chosen remained.

Kyoji exhaled slowly.

His fists clenched at his sides.

Because now?

Now, the real nightmare was about to begin.

And he was the only one who knew it.