"'You're late, idiot.' Those were the first words my dead girlfriend said… from inside my mind."
The sky over Vaelgard was dark, but not because it was night.
A thick ceiling of smoke hovered like a curse above the slum-district rooftops. Fires crackled somewhere far off, muffled by stone walls and the suffocating weight of poverty. The nobles in the Upper Ring would see none of it. They never did.
Gray Ashveil sat on the edge of a broken balcony, legs swinging over cracked stone, a piece of stale bread in one hand and a dagger in the other. He watched the city breathe below him—slow, broken gasps between coughs of ash and heat.
"Gray," a soft voice called behind him, "you know that's a bad spot. You fall, I'm not scraping what's left of you off the cobbles."
He turned his head slightly.
Aria stood barefoot in the doorway of the ruin they called home. Her pale white hair shimmered with the reflection of firelight, even though no flame burned nearby. Her eyes—icy blue, sharp enough to cut—locked onto his.
He smirked faintly. "If I fall, maybe the gods will mistake me for a noble on his way down."
"You're not funny."
"Then why are you smiling?"
"I'm not." But her lips betrayed her.
She crossed the room, silent on bare feet, and sat beside him. Their shoulders touched. She always ran warm, even in the cold. She had that kind of presence—one that stayed with you even when she walked away.
Gray hated how much he needed that warmth.
"You still haven't awakened, have you?" she asked quietly.
"No."
A long pause.
"I heard some of the others whispering. They think you're Hollow."
Gray didn't flinch. "Let them think it. Better than hoping for something that'll never come."
Aria tilted her head, studying him. "You're not Hollow. Just… late."
"Maybe I'm not supposed to awaken. Maybe I'm meant to stay here, breathing smoke and swinging a dull blade at rats for coin."
She laughed softly. "You're terrible at self-pity. You should let me coach you."
"Pass."
Another silence fell, but this one was comfortable.
Then… it changed.
The air trembled. A deep, low sound rolled through the slums—not like thunder, but deeper. Hungrier. Buildings shivered. Dogs howled. Children screamed in the distance.
Gray stood.
"What the hell was that?"
Aria was already moving. She grabbed her coat, slung it over her shoulders, and sprinted to the window.
"Oh no…"
From their perch, they could see the outer wall of the city—the one closest to the mountains.
It was burning.
A massive, winged shadow blotted out the rising moon, flying overhead with a sound like cracking bone and roaring hellfire.
"A dragon?" Gray whispered.
"No…" Aria's face had gone pale. "Three."
A moment later, the alarm bells rang—too late.
Scene 2 – Fire in the Sky
Panic spread through the slums like oil to flame.
People ran, trampled each other, screamed in languages they'd forgotten. Soldiers stationed in the city's lower districts were woefully unprepared. Mages tried to conjure shields and failed. Dragons didn't attack cities anymore. Not since the Treaty. Not since—
Not since the Sovereign War.
Gray grabbed Aria's wrist. "We have to run."
"To where? There's nowhere safe down here."
They bolted down twisted stone stairs as debris rained from above—chunks of burning rooftops, fragments of bone, blood. The smell of burning flesh was instant. The screams became music—horrid and rhythmic.
As they ran, Gray saw something that made him freeze.
A woman—burned to the bone—still crawling on the ground, reaching for something she could no longer see.
Aria yanked his arm. "Don't look."
They turned the corner—and ran straight into the claws of death.
A lesser drake—small compared to a true dragon, but still massive—landed just ahead. Its black-scaled head twisted toward them, eyes glowing with molten hate.
"Gray!" Aria shoved him to the side.
The beast's flame breath lit the alley in brilliant orange.
Gray hit the ground hard, rolled. Fire roared past his body, heat kissing his skin. He screamed—but it wasn't pain.
It was Aria.
She stood in front of him, hands out, shielding him with her body.
And she was burning.
"No—no no no—Aria!"
She turned back toward him. Her skin blistered. Blood ran from her mouth. But she smiled.
"Told you not to sit on the balcony."
Then the world went white.
Scene 3 – Her Final Breath
The dragon was gone. Or dead. Gray didn't care.
He crawled to her. Her body was barely alive—charred, broken, barely breathing.
"Don't talk," he whispered. "I'll get a healer. I'll—"
"No you won't." Her voice was raw, but steady. "Listen to me, Gray."
"No."
"I'm not scared." Her eyes were wet with pain, but she was still smiling. "I'm just… pissed I didn't get to kiss you first."
His heart shattered.
He leaned down, pressed his forehead to hers, and whispered the words he'd never said.
"I love you."
And then she died.
But just before her final breath left her lips…
She smiled again.
Scene 4 – SSS-Rank Awakening
The air around Gray began to shift.
It wasn't heat. It wasn't wind.
It was something else. Something deeper.
A voice echoed in his mind—a soft, familiar voice.
"You're late, idiot."
His eyes snapped open.
A glowing red circle formed beneath his body—dragons, symbols, runes, fire. All of it carved into the ground by power he didn't understand.
A screen appeared before him:
[DRAGON CORE SYSTEM ACTIVATED]
Rank: SSS
Host: Gray Ashveil
System Administrator: Aria Dawnshade
Status: Soulbound
WARNING: System is unstable. Emotional overload detected. Initiating emergency stabilization…
"You weren't supposed to cry, you know."
Gray spun, searching the darkness of his mind. His soul.
And she was there.
Scene 5 – Her Voice, Her Flame
She floated in a void of fire and ash, wearing a ghostly, semi-transparent dress that clung to her curves like mist. Her body glowed with faint blue light, runes swirling lazily over her exposed skin. Her eyes were the same—icy, teasing, impossibly alive.
Aria smiled and cocked her head.
"Damn. I died hot, huh?"
Gray couldn't speak. Couldn't move.
"Don't look at me like that. I didn't have time to ascend or reincarnate, so I kind of… bonded with your system instead. Congratulations. You're stuck with me."
She floated closer, one finger brushing his chest.
"SSS-Rank. That's new. You always were dramatic."
"Aria…" his voice cracked.
"Don't get weepy again. I'm not a ghost. I'm your power now. Your system. Your dragon core. You want to survive this? Use me."
"And hey… try not to get killed. It'd be awkward if my boyfriend was a corpse."
She winked.
And the real world returned.
Scene 6 – Burning Escape
Gray rose slowly.
His body felt heavier—hotter. He could feel flames just beneath his skin. The air rippled around him as if the world was afraid.
The slums were still burning. Screams echoed down every alley.
But Gray's expression was empty now. Cold.
He stepped forward. Fire licked his boots but didn't touch his skin.
Dragons circled above, searching for survivors.
Gray looked up—and his eyes glowed red.
"You killed her."
"So I'll burn everything."
🔥 End of Chapter CTA:
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Chapter 2: "Flameheart Awakens" – Coming soon!
Gray takes his first step as a dragon-wielding reaper. Aria's power begins to burn through him… but at what cost?