The Cursed Extra: Bloodline of Sacrifice

Caspian sat hunched over the ominous book, its words pulling him deeper into its forbidden knowledge.

He barely noticed the faint footsteps approaching until—

"Hey, what are you doing here?"

The sudden voice startled him, and his head snapped up.

Standing at the end of the aisle, her gaze sharp and unreadable, was Eirlys Arkwright—his oldest sister.

Caspian froze, blinking in surprise. Eirlys was the one person in the family who had always ignored him, as though he didn't exist.

Unlike his other siblings, who actively tormented him, she simply overlooked him—cold, distant, and indifferent.

So why was she speaking to me now?

He quickly composed himself, lowering his gaze as if the book had suddenly lost its allure.

"Nothing," Caspian said, his voice flat. "I was just looking around."

Eirlys said nothing at first, her piercing blue eyes drifting downward.

Caspian followed her gaze and realized she was staring at the book in his hands.

Her expression shifted slightly, a faint trace of disapproval flickering across her features.

"What are you reading?" She asked.

Caspian tensed.

As expected... She didn't speak to him because of concern—it was the book.

The cursed book.

"Just something I found," he replied cautiously. "It looked interesting, so I decided to read it."

Eirlys' brows furrowed, her arms crossing over her chest.

"Out of all the books in this library, you found that one interesting?" She asked.

Caspian met her gaze, trying to keep his face neutral. "Is there a problem?"

Eirlys stared at him for a long moment, her expression unreadable before she finally spoke.

"You shouldn't read it." Eirlys suggested.

There it was—her 'advice.'

Her tone wasn't mocking like Eirak's or cruel like Jaxar's.

It was calm, almost matter-of-fact, but it still pricked at Caspian like a thorn.

'Who does she think she is to tell me what to do?.'Caspian thought bitterly.

'Isn't she the same as the rest of them? Ignoring me like I'm nothing...'

Something inside him cracked—a mixture of resentment and defiance boiling to the surface.

"Why are you giving me suggestions?" Caspian asked coldly, lifting his gaze to meet hers directly. His voice trembled slightly, but it carried enough weight to be heard.

"You can just ignore me. Isn't that what you always do? Pretend I don't exist? Mind your own business." Caspian replied.

For the first time, silence fell between them.

Eirlys' usually impassive face flickered with surprise—a rare crack in her icy demeanor.

It was the first time Caspian had spoken to her like that, and she hadn't expected it.

Caspian's heart pounded, but he didn't look away.

He'd had enough of being treated like a shadow, like a stain on this family.

Eirlys' expression shifted again, back to her cold neutrality.

"Suit yourself," she said quietly, turning slightly as if to leave. "But remember, you don't understand what you're playing with."

She walked past him, her footsteps echoing through the silent library, leaving Caspian alone once again.

Caspian watched her go, his fists clenching the edges of the book tightly.

His anger simmered beneath the surface, but another thought tugged at him.

Why?

Why did she bother speaking to him at all?

Why did she care about what he was reading?

No, he told himself. It doesn't matter. Whether she meant to help me or not, I won't stop here.

This book is my chance, and I won't let anyone take it from me.

With renewed resolve, Caspian opened the cursed book once more—.

Five to six hours later, Caspian finally closed the cursed book.

His eyes were strained, and his head ached, but the information he had gathered was worth the exhaustion.

He stood up slowly, his legs stiff from sitting for so long.

After reading it there was only one thing that came to his mind.

"Bullshit," Caspian muttered.

He has given up on idea to awaken darkness because it would take more time.

"Let's focus on fire element first which is already Awakened." Cas muttered to himself.

.

The week had passed with a steady routine.

Caspian spent hours in the library, buried in dusty tomes, and the rest of his time was spent practicing his fire element's mana control.

He ignored the bruises and the lingering pain—he knew he was weak, and strength wouldn't come without effort.

Even now, his fingers throbbed faintly whenever he moved them, but compared to the torment he'd endured in this house, this was manageable.

Avoiding the training hall and his brothers had kept him safe, at least for now.

The Arkwright library was massive, a sprawling labyrinth of knowledge most of the family ignored.

Caspian had claimed a corner for himself.

Today, Caspian searched for any remaining books on mana theory and element honing.

He ran his fingers across rows of leather-bound spines, his steps light as he moved through the shelves.

"Where is it? There's supposed to be something here about enhancing fire affinity…" he muttered to himself.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed something odd—a book out of place, tucked deep into a narrow gap between two larger volumes.

It didn't have a title on the spine, just a dark, cracked leather cover that looked untouched for decades.

Curiosity prickled at him.

He pulled it free, coughing slightly as dust billowed out.

The cover was unmarked, and the edges of the pages were darkened, as though burned.

When Caspian flipped it open, he was met with strange, faded script, written in a language he couldn't quite identify.

The letters looked almost alive, writhing faintly across the page when he stared at them too long.

The first page contained nothing but an inscription:

For those bound to blood and shadow, the forgotten waits.

Caspian frowned.

"What kind of nonsense is this?" He turned a few more pages, most of them blank or too faded to read—until his gaze landed on a detailed diagram spanning two pages.

The diagram showed a floor plan, but it wasn't labeled.

At first glance, it appeared to be the blueprint of an old building—or perhaps a section of the estate.

Lines crisscrossed the map, with symbols etched at various points:

A burning flame.

A crescent moon.

A coiling serpent.

And, at the very center, a darkened sigil, like a crack in the paper.

Below the diagram, there was another cryptic line:

When fire meets shadow, the path shall open.

Caspian stared at the map, his heart pounding faintly in his chest.

"This… this is part of the estate. I recognize that hall…"

The realization sent a chill down his spine.

He traced the lines with his finger, noting that some of the paths seemed to lead into sealed-off areas he'd only heard of in passing—places no one spoke of, shrouded in mystery.

But what intrigued him most was the dark sigil at the center.

Something about it felt wrong yet familiar—like it was calling to him.

"'Fire meets shadow'…" Caspian murmured, narrowing his eyes.

He didn't believe in coincidences.

If this was real, then it was no accident he'd found the book.

As Caspian sat back, staring at the diagram, a quiet determination filled him.

"This estate is hiding something… And if this book is right, it's something that could help me."

He glanced around to make sure no one was watching, then carefully tucked the book under his arm.

For the first time in weeks, he felt a spark of hope—and a flicker of fear.

What lay beneath the Arkwright estate? And why did it feel like it had been waiting for him all along?