Three days passed.
Three days of peace. Three days of hope. Three days of watching Arthur and Silas train together in the training grounds, their blades singing in perfect harmony.
The family gathered every morning to watch them. The Iron Ghost and the Betrayer, fighting side by side. It was a sight that had not been seen in three hundred years.
Ethan stood at the edge of the training grounds, watching.
"They’re incredible," Thomas said beside him.
"They are."
"It’s like they were never apart."
Ethan nodded.
But something was wrong.
The system interface flickered constantly now—numbers rising and falling, warnings appearing and disappearing. The World Rebuttal was growing faster.
『 World Rebuttal: 55% 』
『 Warning: Reality destabilization imminent 』
That night, Arthur came to Ethan’s room.
The Iron Ghost’s face was grave.
"We need to talk."
Ethan sat up. "What’s wrong?"
"The World Rebuttal. It’s accelerating. The more powerful we become, the more reality resists."
"I know."
"No. You don’t." Arthur paused. "There is a way to stop it. To anchor us permanently. To make us truly real."
Ethan’s heart pounded. "How?"
"The Blood Sacrifice. A living Blackwood must offer their entire bloodline essence. It will bind us to the family forever."
Ethan was silent for a long moment.
"Who?"
Arthur met his gaze.
"You."
The family gathered in the main hall.
Ethan stood before them, Arthur and Silas at his sides. The elders watched with sharp eyes. Lily stood with Eleanor, her face pale.
"There is one final ritual," Ethan said. "The Blood Sacrifice. It will bind our ancestors to reality permanently."
He paused.
"But it requires a sacrifice. A living Blackwood must offer their bloodline essence."
Silence.
Eleanor stepped forward. "No."
"Aunt..."
"No. You’ve already sacrificed too much. Your cultivation. Your lifespan. Your body."
She grabbed his shoulders.
"I won’t let you die."
"I don’t have a choice."
"There’s always a choice."
Ethan spent the next two days searching for alternatives.
He asked the system. He asked Arthur. He asked Silas. He even asked the elders.
The answer was always the same.
There was no other way.
『 The Blood Sacrifice is the only method to permanently anchor the ancestors 』
『 Without it, the World Rebuttal will reach 100% within days 』
『 The family will be erased 』
On the third day, Ethan made his decision.
He stood before the family, the Sword in the Stone in his hands. Arthur and Silas stood beside him—not as ancestors, but as brothers. Eleanor stood with Lily, her face streaked with tears.
Thomas stood at the front, his expression resolute.
"I will perform the Blood Sacrifice," Ethan said. "But not before we face the Ashford Family one last time."
He looked at Arthur and Silas.
"Together."
『 The Blood Sacrifice has been scheduled 』
『 The ritual will be performed after the Ashford Family is defeated 』
『 World Rebuttal: 58% 』
『 New Quest Unlocked: Defeat the Ashford Family 』
The Ashford army appeared on the horizon at dawn.
Five hundred cultivators. Demons. Mercenaries. Victor Ashford himself rode at the front, his face twisted with rage.
Behind Ethan stood his family—three hundred strong. But they were not alone.
Arthur Blackwood, the Iron Ghost, stood at the gates.
Silas Blackwood, the Betrayer no longer, stood beside him.
And behind them, the spectral forms of the ancestors Ethan had created—Eleanor the Healer, Vivienne the Spy, Marcus the Merchant—flickered in the morning light.
The Ashford army stopped.
Victor Ashford’s face paled.
"What... what is this?"
Arthur stepped forward.
"This is the Blackwood Family. And we are done running."
The battle began.
『 Story Credibility: 100% 』
『 Family Faith: 100 』
『 Outsider Faith: 70 』
『 World Rebuttal: 58% 』
『 Ancestral Debt: 2 active 』
『 Arthur Blackwood: Fully Manifested 』
『 Silas Blackwood: Fully Restored 』
『 The Blood Sacrifice awaits 』
『 The Ashford Family has arrived 』