The manor was quiet when Kaison returned from Mount Eldo, far quieter than it should have been for a place housing dozens of new recruits. The lamps along the corridors burned dimly, their flames trembling with each draft that slipped through the iron shutters.
He trudged into his dorm room and shut the door behind him with a dull click. The silence pressed in immediately. It was only when he sat down on the edge of his bed that the weight of the day came crashing onto his chest.
For a long moment he simply sat there, staring at his hands. His right palm bore the faint glow of the chain seal, though it flickered now, weary from use. It was warm against his skin, but it wasn't a comforting warmth. It felt more like an ember that refused to die.
The battle replayed in his head—the shriek of steel against steel, the molten burn of the Purgatory chains, the way Alice had appeared suddenly at his side, blades gleaming, her expression sharp and calm even in the chaos. Then, Rias descending like a storm, her Jade Black Dragon Emperor Seal bending the very elements to her will.
He remembered the way the Void agent had smiled even as he retreated, as though none of this was over, as though he had achieved exactly what he wanted: to leave them shaken.
Kaison leaned forward, pressing his palms into his eyes. His body was sore, but it wasn't just exhaustion gnawing at him. It was fear.
*"Will I really be able to survive in this world?"*
The thought came unbidden, raw and heavy. Until a few weeks ago, he had only thought of the seals as strange, sacred powers, marks of destiny and pride. But now he understood—they were targets. Shackles disguised as gifts.
Rias' words circled his mind endlessly: *"In the Sea Dragon Manor lies something that must never be unsealed."*
A creature so ferocious that even the Revolutionary, Staks Haze, could not destroy it. It took seven seals, united, to lock it away.
Kaison shuddered. He tried to picture it, but the images in his mind were half-formed horrors: a great shadow writhing beneath water, scales like iron plates, teeth like spears. Something old, too old, like it did not belong to this age of gears and steam, but to the chaotic dawn of the world.
*"And Void wants to unseal it."*
His throat was dry. If even one of the seven seals fell into their hands, wouldn't that mean they were already closer to success? And Rias—his sister—was a keystone.
He lay back on his bed, staring at the cracked ceiling, and for the first time since receiving his chain seal, Kaison admitted to himself: he was afraid.
Not of dying, not exactly. But of failing. Of being too weak to stand when Void came again. Of watching the world burn because he wasn't enough.
Sleep came in restless snatches, broken by dreams of chains snapping and oceans boiling. When the pale light of dawn crept across the stone floor, Kaison sat up. He had made his decision.
He needed answers.
---
**Benson's Room**
The training halls were already alive by the time Kaison slipped through the manor's corridors. The clang of weights, the hiss of sparring dummies powered by steam engines, the bark of instructors—all of it bled faintly through the stone walls.
But Benson's quarters were far from the bustle. The old master preferred solitude, and his chamber sat at the edge of the east wing, overlooking the ironclad city below.
The door was slightly ajar. A faint golden light spilled through the crack.
Kaison hesitated, then knocked gently.
"Enter," came the gravelly voice from inside.
He pushed the door open. The room smelled faintly of ink, parchment, and machine oil. Shelves lined the walls, heavy with books and scrolls, many of them older than the manor itself. By the far window, Benson stood with his back turned, a thick leather-bound tome open in his hand. The dawn light caught the streaks of gray in his hair and beard.
Slowly, the old instructor turned, his gaze settling on Kaison. His eyes were sharp as ever, though there was a heaviness in them Kaison hadn't noticed before.
"You're up early," Benson said, closing the book with a muted thud. "Or perhaps you never slept."
Kaison bowed slightly out of habit. "Good morning, Master Benson."
He stepped forward, his voice lower now. "I came because… I need to ask you something. About the Sea Dragon Manor."
At once, the air in the room seemed to change. Benson's expression stiffened. He exhaled, long and slow, setting the book down on a cluttered desk.
"So Rias told you," he muttered, half to himself. He rubbed the bridge of his nose before gesturing to the chair opposite his desk. "Sit, then. If you truly wish to carry this weight, I won't turn you away."
Kaison obeyed, though his heart thudded in his chest.
Benson lowered himself into his own seat, the chair creaking under the shift of his heavy frame. He laced his fingers together, resting his elbows on the desk. For a long time, he said nothing. Then, with another sigh, he began.
---
"The Sea Dragon Manor," Benson said, his voice quieter than Kaison had ever heard it, "was once nothing more than a fortress. Built during the early expansion of the Empire, before the age of machinery had fully risen. It was a bastion against pirates, rebels, and the beasts that prowled the coasts. But one day, it became something else. It became a prison."
Kaison leaned forward. "A prison… for the beast Rias mentioned."
Benson nodded grimly. "A creature whose true name is lost, but which we now call the Abyssal Wyrm. Some say it was born from the Sea Dragon God's blood, spilled across the waves in the First Era. Others claim it is a fragment of the world's chaos, a piece of the void given flesh. Whatever it is, it should never have walked among men."
He reached for the book again, flipping it open to a sketch. The ink was faded, but the image was unmistakable: a colossal, serpentine form, scales bristling like blades, a maw that seemed to swallow the horizon itself. Its eyes were pits of darkness, rimmed with fire.
Kaison swallowed hard.
"Staks Haze, the Revolutionary," Benson continued, "was the one who led the charge against it. He was no ordinary man—he bore the Seal of Requiem, a power that could lay to rest even the most indomitable spirits. But even his seal could not kill the Wyrm. It took him, and six other Seal Bearers of different types, to bind the creature. Creation, Destruction, Beasts, Dragons, Spirits, Wisdom, and Requiem—seven seals, woven together like chains around its body. Together, they dragged it into the depths beneath the manor and locked it there."
His voice grew heavier. "Many died. Cities drowned. Whole fleets burned. And still, even with all their strength, they could not destroy it. The Abyssal Wyrm is immortal so long as the sea remains. All they could do was contain it."
Kaison's mind reeled. "So the Sea Dragon Manor… it's not just a fortress. It's a seal itself."
"Correct," Benson said. "The walls, the gates, even the foundations—it was reforged into a lock, one that can only be undone by those same seven seals. And that is why Void is so dangerous. If they gather the seals, they will not just open a door—they will unleash the end of the coastlines themselves. The Wyrm will rise, and nothing born of steel or fire will stop it."
Kaison's hands clenched against his knees. He felt a chill crawl up his spine at the thought of that thing breaking free, its shadow blotting out the sun.
Benson's eyes softened slightly, though his voice remained firm. "That is why we fight. That is why you train. It is not merely for missions, or honor, or family pride. It is survival—for all of us."
---
### **The Seven Seals**
Kaison raised his eyes. "You said seven seals… I know Rias' Jade Black Dragon Emperor is one. What of the others?"
Benson leaned back, his gaze growing distant. "I cannot name them all to you. Some are hidden, passed down in bloodlines so secret even the Empire itself does not know where they rest. Others… may already be lost. But I can tell you this: every seal is tied to a role in the great balance of this world.
"The Seal of Creation once forged weapons that could slay mountains. The Seal of Destruction, like the Purgatory seal you faced, can unmake what Creation builds. The Spirits' seal allows one to command the dead, or soothe them. Beasts can bend the wills of monsters. Wisdom grants knowledge beyond human grasp. And Requiem… Requiem can silence even eternity itself."
Kaison listened, his mind racing. It was too much—too vast to hold all at once. Yet he forced himself to absorb every word.
"Remember this," Benson said sharply. "With one seal, a man is dangerous. With two, he is feared. With seven… he can tear the world apart. That is why we cannot let Void succeed."
---
Kaison sat in silence for a long while, staring down at his hands. The chain seal pulsed faintly, as though it too listened. He could still feel the fear in his chest—but beneath it, something else stirred. Resolve.
He lifted his eyes. "Then I'll fight. Even if I'm scared. Even if I'm not strong enough yet. I'll fight, because someone has to."
Benson studied him, then allowed the faintest trace of a smile to soften his weathered features. "Good. Fear is not your enemy, Kaison. It is your anchor. It reminds you of what you must protect. Never forget that."
Outside, the bells of the manor tolled, their iron notes rolling across the city. A new day had begun.
But for Kaison, the weight of destiny pressed heavier than ever before.
And in the deepest dark beneath the Sea Dragon Manor, something stirred in its chains.
---