Emotions were critical to invoke blood manipulation. 11 Affinities existed, so there were 11 types of emotions Frost can draw from to create an Art. She hadn’t decided on a name for her Arts just yet, nor had she found any success in creating one.
Mastering control over her blood was the first thing she needed to accomplish before she could create an Art. Arts were a method to expand one’s control over their powers. Martial Arts for example allowed one to overcome their body’s limitations, extend their physical reach or further hone their senses.
In that same vein, the Arts created for Sanguine Genesis would allow her to use blood beyond just hardening and manipulation. Though she hadn’t created an Art yet, she had various instances across the two weeks where she experienced a Blood Resonance.
These were no different to manifesting an Affinity for a State, but to much lesser degree. One could even see Sanguine Genesis working as mini–Emotional States.
Frost encountered her second Blood Resonance during a bath with Jury. Bathing was rare for them since they had access to [Cleanse] magic. However, Jury had insisted they take a bath to ‘strengthen their marriage’.
Of course, Jury did not come with pure intentions. One thing led to another, and Frost found herself at the mercy of her lover. It was here where she experienced a Blood Resonance relating to the Desire Affinity.
Instantly, Jury’s ear flaps wiggled as love hearts appeared in her eyes. The resonance had flicked a switch inside of her. As Frost’s lips were assaulted by Jury’s, and as the sweet taste of her tongue danced on hers, she realized that Desire had the power to amplify the current emotion of a person.
It was incredibly effective on Jury since her blood purity was high.
Further testing revealed that it also empowered those with her blood by varying effectiveness depending on their blood purity. For Jury, she gained a 20% increase in all stats so long as she was within a 100-meter radius of Frost.
This eventually came to be known as:
(S) Progenitor Art: Desire – Aspiration
< EFFECT: Resonate with the blood of allies. Current aspirations and emotions are amplified. The higher the blood purity, the stronger the resonance >
< COST: 70,000 HP per minute >
The triplets enjoyed a 12% boost due to being Children of Adams, whilst ordinary people gained a 5% buff at most. The Art produced a thin wave of blood across its maximum range before the effects were applied.
The next Progenitor Art was unsurprisingly Wrath. Her hatred of Iscario gave birth to a deadly version of her blood that responded to physical and emotional trauma.
(O) Progenitor Art: Wrath – Rupture
< EFFECT: Your blood reacts violently to dangerous stimuli. Send a barrage of bloody slashes and spears in all directions inside of a 50-meter radius. Increase AGI by 20% >
< COST: 75,000 HP per minute >
< ADDITIONAL EFFECT: Those with less than 50 RESIST and 1,000 ATT and MAG DEF are susceptible to having their blood rupture from within. Terminate them >
< COST: Nil >
The Art had two functions. The first was defensive. Frost tested it against the Listening Bird and found that physical attacks resulted in blades of crystalized blood erupting from her Coat of Sanguine Prejudice. It was controllable. If it wasn’t, then it would be far too dangerous to wear casually.
Secondly, the bloody slashes and spears it produced was a perfect method to eliminate massive amounts of enemies. It wasn’t the only power in her arsenal to wipe down rows of targets, but its advantage came in the fact that it bled her opponents, rather than either devouring them whole or reducing them to ashes.
This led to her next two Arts.
Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.
(O) Progenitor Art: Throne of the Anguished
< EFFECT: Use the target’s blood to conduct a massive, single-target attack. Will include other targets caught in the attack. Stagger and imprison the target in thousands of blood shards. Their HP will not drop below 1 without your intervention >
< COST: The blood of the target, or any blood. Can be substituted with by your blood at the cost of 250,000 HP.
< ADDITIONAL EFFECT: When choosing not to stagger and imprison the target, deal a massive blood slash containing millions of crystalized blood shards. Bypasses all DEF stats excluding armor. Deal 200% of total ATT against unarmored targets. This utilizes your own blood >
< COST: 120,000 HP >
This Progenitor Art was created through Frost’s experience with being riddled with Iscario’s False Spears of Annihilation. How utterly helpless she felt drawing what she thought were her last breaths. That anguish gave birth to this power that would allow her targets to experience immeasurable torment.
She tested it against the Listening Bird and watched it rip through the Corrupted. One could picture a pomegranate being grated against a cheese grater. A column of blood containing millions of blood shards appeared as quickly as the blood of the Listening Bird disappeared. Six more emerged, totaling to seven which imprisoned the bird before a crown of blood crystals were placed atop its head.
It disappeared with the snap of a finger, dissolving into a pool of coagulated blood. The Listening Bird was a formidable Corrupted once upon a time. But this creature was no more than punching bag for Frost, although she did pity it. It was an Archived Corrupted. Plus, a cute, chibified version of the Listening Bird emerged from its corpse and buried itself into Frost’s chest like a cute animal.
As for her fourth Progenitor Art – She lifted a hand into the air, and at once, the blood around her began to syphon into a great orb of blood exactly five meters above her palm.
(E) Progenitor Art: Attachment – Original Reservoir
< EFFECT: Create a reservoir of blood called a Blood Moon. All blood within a 500-meter radius is converted into your own. The Blood Moon constantly replenishes your HP. HP lost and used will be subtracted from the Blood Moon first. Can be used in conjunction with Nascent Fluids and Soul Anchor to create a Repenter. An Alter Frost can utilize a Blood Moon to relocate >
< COST: Nil >
Frost had the resources to test this. Not on any of the Nexus personnel, of course. But on criminals that were already in the process of becoming a Repenter. During the two weeks she had found herself visiting H10 to conduct minor experiments. One of them was to create a Repenter using Original Reservoir.
The process was disgustingly simple. Though Frost had no method to transfer souls, if she had taken 90% of a target’s blood, then their soul would be trapped within a Blood Moon. This meant that they could be reconstructed, effectively resurrecting them in the same vein as Scarlet Logic’s Hives and her own Blood Reservoirs, Replication Anchors and The Requiem.
Only that it can be done on demand.
It had additional effects as well.
< ADDITIONAL EFFECT: Create a Blood Star. HP cannot reach 0 so long as a Blood Star exists within 50 kilometers of you. Only one Blood Star may exist at any time. Can be used to resurrect any Repenter that holds your blood regardless of the location of their soul. It will be brought back from Guf if it is not destroyed >
< COST: 99% HP >
It was functionally the same as a phylactery. The Blood Star gave Frost what she called a ‘Home Advantage’. Should a fight be taken into the Nexus, then she would have the upper hand knowing that she could not die so long as the Blood Star existed.
Furthermore, it could be protected by Alter Frosts and Repenters.
Like her previous Progenitor Arts, this played into her next one.
(S) Progenitor Art: Purpose – Commandment
< EFFECT: Your words are law to those with high levels of blood purity. Those who contain your blood are subjected to your orders. The higher the blood purity, the stronger the effect. Beings born directly from a similar origin of your own are immune >
Jury instantly came to mind. She was the closest thing to Frost, as she was born from the Light of the Captured Star in the Old World. During one of their night sessions, Frost took the lead and sat on the edge of the bed with her legs crossed.
Then, with a racing heart, she pointed her finger downwards and ordered:
“Sit.”
She thought it worked at first. Jury did exactly that. She sat before Frost, her eyes wide as if possessed. But Frost had forgotten one key detail. She of course had asked Jury beforehand for consent to use this power on her.
Unfortunately for Frost, she didn’t realize that this was the perfect opportunity for Jury to expand her reservoir of lust-driven activities. Various thoughts came to Frost’s mind as she saw Jury at the whims of her control.
L-L… Lick… Gaaaaah! I can’t do it!
“Frost?” Jury slid her hands up Frost’s legs, squishing her inner thighs before plopping head onto her lap. “Master~?”
That one word alone destroyed any hopes of Frost taking the lead. Immediately, Jury’s tail lifted one of her legs to the side, and she began to nibble on her thighs.
“L-L… L-Lick…?”
“Oh? Don’t you mean…”
Suddenly, she pinned Frost down. Her tail slid over her eyes, and in the next moment, fireworks exploded behind her eyelids.
“… Eat~?”
Suffice to say, Frost got exactly what she wanted. Just that she wasn’t as in control as she thought she would be.
Interestingly, this power worked with Lailah. But she had the mental fortitude to resist it. The Arbiter’s blood composition had changed, so it was ineffective against her. But Ilya and the Healers were subjected to Frost’s power. Even the Triplets to an extent.
She promised herself to never abuse it, and had Anna chart an addendum into the Code of Conduct solely to prevent Frost from doing so. There was already a clause that enabled the Nexus to attack Frost if she was seen as a threat, like when she became the Crowned.
The checks were necessary, although, it was flattering that her Healers and Moons were confident that she’d never turn their backs to them. Because long before then, they’d be the ones to help her return.