I Found An Artifact. My Father Wants TO Conquer The World With It.

Ross replaces cities. Burning them wastes valuable infrastructure.  In the shadow of Veridia’s white towers, the Empire records children born with blood variance before assigning them names. Output undergoes strict tracking. Dampening fields suppress raw potential until the body fails on a sterile schedule, funneling the weak toward an execution center known as Quiet Mercy.  Benjamin endures the outer slums by learning to fold his internal pressure. That tight control keeps his circulation steady under massive strain, delaying his inevitable capture by the silver-clad Justicars. Condemned to the nursery, his survival becomes a matter of absolute compliance.  Then the old miner arrives.  Plucking the boy from the processing track, Ross brings him to a hidden camp built in the margins of the Empire. This camp offers pure structure. Rations arrive precisely measured. Instructors demand compressed blood over chaotic release, turning raw healing into brutal enforcement. Benjamin adapts with terrifying speed. His output scales smoothly under pressure, settling where others violently rupture.  Ross weaponizes that stability. Initial operations target localized trade routes, applying just enough pressure to guarantee surrender before escalation forces their hand. Soon, the objectives shift toward massive Veridian regulators and regional supply networks. The true strategy finally emerges. Interrupting supply lines introduces measured instability to the surrounding cities. By the time local governors request assistance, Ross waits in position to provide it.  Authority transfers through signed ledgers. Casualties remain low. Records stay valid.  Benjamin executes each step of the takeover. Refining his blood arts creates devastating efficiency, shutting down resistance before opposition can form. The toll accumulates in the rapid narrowing of choices. Leaving the camp remains a physical possibility, yet remaining becomes a structural inevitability. Power flows from absolute control, finalizing the conquest long before the Empire realizes the throne has changed hands.