The smoke was thicker now.
Each breath burned Gray's lungs like he was drinking fire, but he kept running—boots slamming through the crumbling alleyways of Vaelgard's dying slums. The screams had dulled, but not because the danger was gone.
They'd simply stopped.
The dragons were still out there.
So was death.
He stumbled over a charred corpse—a child, maybe eight. No head. Just soft hands, curled inward like she'd been trying to shield her face.
Gray didn't look back.
Scene 1 – The Fire in His Veins
Every step sent a jolt of heat through his bones. His heart pounded like a war drum, but it wasn't panic anymore. It was… something else.
Power.
Unseen, untapped, and now surging through his blood like magma.
[SSS-Rank Dragon Core stabilizing…]
[Host body adapting to Flameheart Circuitry…]
[WARNING: Emotional trauma threshold exceeded. Release imminent.]
"Aria," he whispered, his voice rough.
"Still here," she cooed from somewhere behind his mind. "You didn't think I'd leave you on your first day, did you?"
Her voice—gentle and mocking—sent a shiver down his spine. It wasn't just a memory. It felt like she was inside his chest, curled up like a cat made of light and silk.
"Let it in, Gray. Stop resisting. You're not human anymore—not fully. You're mine now."
His knees buckled.
He dropped to the blood-stained ground and clenched his jaw as flames erupted beneath his skin, dancing under the surface like serpents made of sunlight. He grunted in pain—but not agony. It was pleasure too. Twisted. Addictive.
"Gods… what's happening to me?"
"Your core is awakening," Aria whispered. "It's not just magic. It's me. You're syncing with my soul."
"Then why does it feel like I'm on fire?"
"Because you are."
Scene 2 – Baptism by Fire
They came at him from the alley shadows—four raiders, armed with curved swords and dragon-bone armor. Their eyes gleamed yellow with blood-pact corruption—mercenaries bonded to lesser drakes for strength, speed, and madness.
"Look what we got here," the leader hissed. "Pretty little Hollow, crying in the dirt."
The others laughed. One stepped forward to carve his face off.
Gray looked up, eyes now glowing red-hot like molten steel.
"Run."
The raider sneered. "Or what, Hollow—"
FWOOM.
A pillar of crimson fire exploded outward from Gray's chest, hurling the man into the side of a building with enough force to crack the stone. His body burst into flames, screaming as it turned to ash.
The others froze.
[Skill Unlocked: Dragonfire Surge – Tier S]
[Flameheart Path: 4% Integration]
"Gray…" Aria whispered seductively, "that was hot."
He stood slowly, smoke rising from his fingertips.
The others turned to run.
"Too late."
Gray raised his arm, and a wall of fire erupted behind them, trapping them like rats in a kiln.
They tried to beg. He didn't listen.
He moved forward, blade out, heart hollow.
Scene 3 – Temptation and Power
After the fight, he stumbled into an old apothecary half-collapsed from the earlier blast. He sat heavily on a bench, blood and soot painting his face like warpaint. His breathing was ragged.
"You did good," Aria whispered. "I always knew you'd be a monster if someone pushed you hard enough."
Her voice slid over him like silk bedsheets. He shivered.
"You're not real," he muttered. "You died."
"And now I live in you." A pause. "Are you complaining?"
Suddenly, she appeared again—her spirit form shimmering into view across from him, sitting sideways on a half-broken countertop like a queen on her throne.
The same translucent dress as before—barely there, hugging every curve of her ghostly body. Her long legs were crossed, one arm resting under her ample chest, the other playing with a lock of silver hair. Her expression was part sadness, part wicked smile.
"You were always looking at me when you thought I didn't notice," she whispered, voice sultry. "And now I'm your system. I know everything."
He swallowed hard. "You're not real."
"Oh, I'm real enough to keep you alive. Real enough to make you strong. And real enough to drive you mad if you don't start listening."
She leaned forward, lips inches from his. The scent of ash and roses filled his mind.
"Do you want to survive, Gray?"
"Yes."
"Then give in."
Scene 4 – Baptized in Battle
The city trembled again as a section of the lower wall collapsed. Drake-riders stormed in—six of them this time, mounted on beasts with glowing eyes and armor laced in obsidian steel. Elite killers. Probably hired to soften the city before a full invasion.
Gray stepped into the street, sword glowing with heat, Aria hovering behind him like a demon in angel's clothing.
"You're not ready for them," she warned.
"I wasn't ready to watch you die either."
"Then I guess we're both going to do stupid things."
The riders saw him—and charged.
Gray didn't wait.
He lunged forward with unnatural speed, his sword carving a line through the air, now burning red with dragonfire. The first mount fell—its head separating from its body in a spray of blood and flame. The rider screamed, impaled on a spike of molten rock that erupted from the ground seconds later.
[Skill Unlocked: Magma Vein – Tier A]
[Skill Chain Active: Dragonfire Surge + Magma Vein → Dragon Wyrm Bloom]
The street exploded in heat. Flames bloomed like flowers made of rage, engulfing the remaining enemies in a chaos of destruction.
Their screams faded quickly.
Gray stood alone.
"This isn't normal," he panted. "This power—how the hell am I using all this?"
"Because I'm feeding it to you," Aria purred. "You're not just drawing from magic. You're drawing from me."
"So I'm just your puppet now?"
"No," she whispered, lips brushing his ear. "You're my chosen."
Scene 5 – Her Secret
As the fires died down and ash fell like snow, Gray leaned against a wall, his body trembling.
"Aria…" he said softly. "Why are you really here? You should've crossed over."
A long silence.
"Because I couldn't."
"Why?"
She floated to his side, her ghostly fingers brushing his hair back.
"Because I never told you the truth."
He stared at her.
"The day I met you… I was already dying. I just didn't know how fast."
Gray's heart stopped.
"I was bonded to a dragon once, Gray. A real one. Not some petty drake or wildling beast. A Sovereign."
"That's impossible. No human—"
"Not a human," she interrupted. "Not entirely."
Her eyes locked onto his.
"And neither are you."
Scene 6 – The Next Target
A whistle rang out—short, sharp, close. A signal.
A ragged survivor burst into the alley, eyes wild with panic.
"Hey! You! You the one burning those bastards?!"
Gray turned slowly. "Yeah."
"There's a warlord heading toward the inner sanctum—the Academy vaults. They're after the dragon egg inside. If they crack it open, the city's done."
Gray looked up at the burning sky.
His heart beat once—heavy with grief. Twice—with power. Third—with rage.
"Where is it?"
"North sector. Gate's already down. You'll never make it in time—"
Gray walked past him, fire trailing behind his boots.
"Watch me."
🔥 End of Chapter CTA:
🔥 Aria's hiding secrets. Gray's losing control.
What happens when the dragon egg hatches? What was Aria bonded to… before she died?
Drop a comment, bookmark the story, and buckle up—Chapter 3: "The Egg That Shouldn't Hatch" is coming soon.
You don't want to miss what's inside.