Chapter 1: A Blood Pact Begins. Supernatural & Dark Fantasy Manga Web Novel - Crimson High: The Blood Pact.

Chapter 1: A Blood Pact Begins

Thunder growled across the bruised sky, its echoes rattling the glass panes of Crimson High. Rain lashed against the old brick walls, washing the blood-red banners that hung limp and heavy in the storm. A bitter wind coiled through the deserted hallways like a warning, whispering secrets only the shadows understood.

Riku’s soaked shoes squelched against the cracked linoleum as he hurried down the hall, hugging his worn-out backpack tight. His breaths came in ragged gasps, fogging the lenses of his broken glasses. The sting on his cheek from where Kenta had slapped him still burned, but it wasn’t the worst part.

"Coward."

The word echoed in his mind louder than the storm.

"They’ll stop if I stay quiet," Riku told himself, but even that lie felt hollow now. His heart pounded in his chest—though not from running. It was the fear. The kind that seeped into your bones and made your hands tremble even when you clenched them into fists.

“Oi! Riku! Thought you could hide?”

Kenta’s voice pierced the hallway, sharp and mocking. Riku froze, his body refusing to move even as heavy footsteps approached from behind.

“Man, look at him. Pathetic.” Another voice sneered—it was Daichi, always Kenta’s shadow, grinning like this was all just a game.

Riku didn’t turn around. He could see their reflections in the shattered display case ahead—two towering figures, cruel smiles lit by the flickering hallway lights.

“Not even worth the air he breathes.” Kenta shoved him hard against the lockers, the impact rattling through Riku’s chest.

But this time…something inside him cracked.

“You done?” Riku’s voice came out hoarse but steady, surprising even himself.

Kenta blinked, then laughed. “Oh? The mouse bites back?”

Before Kenta could throw another punch, the loudspeaker crackled—an old, broken system that hadn’t worked in years.

“Riku... Kurobane... Library... now.”

The voice was hollow, and distorted, but it sent a chill down Riku’s spine.

Kenta frowned. “What the hell was that?”

“Screw this. I’m not sticking around.” Daichi muttered, pulling Kenta away. They left, their footsteps echoing into silence.

Riku stood alone again—but not for long.

The library was darker than usual, its towering shelves casting jagged shadows in the weak flickering lights. Dust hung thick in the air, and the storm outside made the windows rattle like the school itself was alive.

Riku walked deeper in, his shoes crunching over papers scattered on the floor. That’s when he saw it.

A notebook.

It sat on a table, untouched, its cover a deep crimson, darker than blood. The words “Vinculum Sanguinis” were etched in black ink across the leather.

"Blood Pact," Riku translated, the words tasting foreign on his tongue.

The room felt colder. He reached out, fingertips brushing the cover.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

The voice was soft but laced with amusement. Riku spun around heart racing.

There was no one there.

“Who...who said that?”

“Oh, you can’t see me yet, but soon enough.” The voice chuckled—a cruel, melodic sound. “You touched the notebook. That makes you mine.”

The pages of the notebook flipped on their own, the air around him thickening. Riku’s hand burned, a red mark blooming across his palm—a sigil, ancient and writhing like it was alive.

“What... what is this?” Riku gasped, trying to pull away, but his hand wouldn’t move.

“It’s a gift,” the voice purred. “Or a curse, depending on how you play the game. I’m Sable, and now we’re bound. Blood for power, Riku. That’s how this works.”

A flicker of movement—a tall, slender figure emerged from the shadows. Sable’s form was strange, his sharp features half-hidden beneath a dark veil. His smile was too wide, filled with teeth that weren’t quite human.

“You’ve been invisible your whole life, haven’t you? Bullied, forgotten... always the weak one.”

Riku clenched his fists, feeling the burn from the sigil spread through his arm.

“But now?” Sable grinned. “You get to choose. Power is yours—if you’re willing to pay the price.”

The library lights flickered violently, shadows stretching like claws.

“What... price?” Riku whispered.

Sable’s grin widened.

“Oh, nothing you weren’t already willing to give up... your humanity.”

The notebook snapped shut.

Outside, the storm grew louder, but inside the library, a darker storm had begun to brew—one that Riku couldn’t escape.

In the faculty lounge, a group of teachers sat in silence, watching grainy footage from the library on an old monitor. Riku’s hand burned red on the screen.

“Another one has taken the bait,” one of them murmured, sipping tea calmly.

“Let’s see how long this one lasts.”

The monitor flickered before going black.

The storm had not stopped. If anything, it had grown angrier, slashing against the windows of Crimson High like claws desperate to tear through the glass. Thunder rattled the walls, its growls echoing through the empty hallways. But deep inside the ancient library, Riku Kurobane stood motionless, staring at his burning palm.

The sigil still pulsed, glowing faintly under his skin, its lines twisting and curling like it was alive. His breath came in shallow gasps, each one fogging the cold air that now hung around him like a suffocating veil.

“You’ll get used to it,” Sable’s voice echoed in the silence, a cruel melody that danced through the shadows.

Riku snapped his head around, his eyes darting through the darkness. “Show yourself.”

A slow clap echoed through the aisles, and from behind one of the ancient bookshelves, Sable emerged. His tall, lithe form barely made a sound, but there was something deeply unsettling about the way he moved—too smooth, too perfect as if gravity itself bent around him. His face remained mostly hidden beneath a veil, but his eyes—dark, gleaming orbs—shone through.

“You’re bolder than most,” Sable mused, circling Riku like a predator. “Most of the others begged or screamed by now.”

Riku’s jaw clenched. “Others?”

Sable chuckled, his voice dripping with amusement. “Oh, yes. You think you’re the first desperate soul to stumble upon the Vinculum Sanguinis?” He gestured toward the crimson notebook, now closed and resting innocently on the table. “This school is filled with secrets, Riku. And you’ve just uncovered the biggest one.”

The sigil on Riku’s hand flared again, sending a jolt of searing pain through his veins. He staggered, grabbing the edge of a table for balance.

“What... is this doing to me?” he gasped.

Sable tilted his head. “The pact is awakening your potential. Power, Riku—real power—requires sacrifice. But don’t worry,” he leaned in closer, his grin revealing razor-sharp teeth, “I’ll guide you. We’re bonded now.”

The words echoed in Riku’s mind, louder than the storm.

“I didn’t agree to this!”

“Didn’t you?” Sable’s tone darkened, his form flickering for a moment like a broken reflection. “Every time you wished for them to suffer... every time you dreamed of being stronger... that was your silent agreement.”

Riku’s hands trembled. His mind raced back to the countless times he had clenched his fists under the cafeteria table, wishing Kenta and the others would just disappear.

Sable stepped back, his voice softening to a whisper. “Now, I’ll give you a choice. I am bound to you, but you must make your first pact to awaken your true strength.”

“What kind of pact?” Riku asked, already dreading the answer.

Sable’s grin widened. “A simple one. Choose someone... anyone... and take something precious from them. It could be their strength, their voice, their luck... or,” he paused, his shadow stretching across the library floor, “their life.”

The room seemed to shrink, the air heavy and suffocating.

The next morning, Riku walked through the school halls, the sigil on his palm hidden under a glove. Rain still drizzled outside, the gray sky casting the world in a dull, lifeless hue. But everything felt different now—sharper, clearer.

He could hear whispers he had never noticed before—the soft muttering of teachers behind closed doors, the subtle thud of footsteps echoing farther down the hall, even the racing heartbeat of the girl sitting beside him in class.

Sable’s voice echoed in his mind, omnipresent. “So, who will it be, Riku? Who deserves to pay the price?”

His eyes drifted to Kenta, who sat three rows ahead, laughing with his gang.

“I could take everything from him,” Riku thought, his fingers curling into fists. The idea felt... intoxicating.

But then his gaze shifted to Aya, the quiet girl who often sat alone during lunch. She was scribbling in her notebook, her brow furrowed in concentration. He noticed something—her hand trembled as she wrote.

Sable’s voice chimed in. “Weak. Alone. No one would even notice if she disappeared.”

Riku felt his stomach twist. “Shut up.”

“You can’t save everyone, Riku. But you can save yourself.”

Lunch break arrived. Riku sat in the empty rooftop garden, rain droplets pooling on the cracked tiles. The sigil on his hand glowed faintly beneath the glove.

“I didn’t ask for this,” Riku muttered.

Sable materialized next to him, his form hazy in the rain. “But you wanted it. Power. Revenge. You just didn’t know the price.”

Riku’s voice trembled. “I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

Sable’s chuckle was soft but hollow. “Then you’ll be the one who gets hurt. That’s how this world works, Riku. Crimson High doesn’t care about the weak. It devours them.”

A heavy silence settled between them.

Finally, Riku stood. “If I’m going to do this... I’m choosing who pays.”

Sable tilted his head. “Bold. Let’s see if you can live with the consequences.”

Riku’s eyes narrowed as he looked over the railing at the students below. His heart pounded in his chest.

This was the first step. One wrong move and there would be no turning back.

In the darkened faculty room, the teachers watched Riku’s every move through grainy surveillance footage.

“He hesitates,” one murmured.

“Good. The ones who hesitate break faster.”

But in the corner, a hooded figure sat silently, unseen by the others. A small, cruel smile crept across their face.

“This one might last longer than the others,” they whispered.

To Be Continued..

INTRODUCTION: https://storylinespectrum.blogspot.com/2025/03/introduction-supernatural-dark-fantasy.html

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