The sanctum loomed like a wound in the earth—blackened spires twisting upward, scorched by dragonfire. Smoke coiled from cracked stone, and shattered runes littered the air like falling snow. Gray stood before the ancient gate, his boots crunching over burned bones and shattered banners.
The inner sanctum of Vaelgard had once been a holy place.
Now it stank of death and something worse—corruption.
"This is where I died, Gray…"
Aria's voice whispered in his mind, quiet but full of tremors. "This is where we buried the egg."
He clenched his fists. His new armor, blackened and veined with crimson flame sigils, pulsed like a second skin. Ever since the Flameheart System had awakened, something in his blood had changed. He could feel the heat building behind his ribs—a dragon's heartbeat that wasn't his own.
Gray took a step forward. The gates groaned open without a touch.
Inside, twisted figures stalked the halls—warped remnants of knights, their armor fused with scales, their eyes glowing red with unnatural light. One turned and screamed, the sound like a sword being sharpened inside a throat.
Gray didn't hesitate.
He unleashed fire.
Blazing arcs of red flame tore through the corridor. Runes shimmered from his palms as he moved with instinct far beyond his training. Two enemies fell in seconds, their bodies erupting in brilliant heat.
"Well done…" Aria cooed, her voice darker now. "You're learning. Do you feel how alive your body is? This is what power is, Gray."
He wasn't sure if it was a compliment or a warning.
Scene 2: The Vault of Embers
The hallway narrowed, then split into spirals of jagged stone. Gray followed the pull in his chest—the System guiding his every step like a compass buried in his bones.
When he reached the vault, he knew.
A massive door carved from obsidian stood before him, ringed in ancient dragon script. Aria's presence grew colder.
"Don't open it, Gray. Not yet."
"I need answers," he muttered aloud.
"It's not answers behind that door. It's something… older."
But the System had already reacted. His palm glowed with the crest: a dragon encircling a heart aflame. The vault unlocked with a low, growling hum.
Inside was the egg.
It was massive, as tall as a grown man. Its shell pulsed like liquid obsidian, with veins of glowing crimson and icy blue. It didn't just sit—it hovered, rotating slowly in midair, humming with dormant life.
Gray took a step toward it—and it reacted.
A jolt of white-hot pain shot through his core. The dragonfire within him surged.
"It knows you," Aria whispered. "It remembers my magic. But it shouldn't. The egg was sealed with blood—mine."
"Then why does it feel like it's calling me?"
Before she could answer, the vault shook.
Scene 3: A Rival Appears
A door exploded behind him—stone and fire blowing inward.
Gray spun, summoning flames into his fists. But the man who stepped through didn't flinch. His armor shimmered with dragonsteel, jagged and pulsing with infernal energy. His hair was black and wild, eyes glowing with unnatural amber.
He removed his helmet slowly, revealing a face both regal and broken.
"Thanks for opening the door," he said casually, as if they were old friends. "I was hoping you'd beat me here. Saves me the trouble."
Gray stepped between him and the egg. "Who the hell are you?"
The man smiled, something cruel curling at the edge.
"The name's Michael. Host of the Infernal Drake System. And that egg?"
He gestured lazily. "It's mine."
Gray's fists ignited. "You'll have to kill me to take it."
Michael tilted his head. "That's the idea."
Then he lunged.
Scene 4: Flames Collide
Michael's style was chaotic—blunt, brutal, burning. Every strike from his halberd cracked the ground, sending shockwaves of heat through the vault. His flames were not like Gray's—they screamed when they burned, black and oily with infernal corruption.
Gray ducked, countered, blasted flame across the chamber. The egg spun wildly, reacting to their clash. Sparks flew. Runes detonated across the walls.
"He's bonded to something ancient," Aria warned. "His system is parasitic. Gray, if it touches the egg—"
"Then we don't let it."
Gray struck with a full-force flame burst from his chest—Dragon Breath. Michael stumbled back, armor melting at the edges.
"Not bad," he coughed. "But let's see how long you last."
Suddenly, his body split, forming wings of bone and fire. The Infernal Drake form was monstrous—scales jagged, his mouth full of flame.
Gray screamed in defiance, channeling everything into his core. The Flameheart System blazed red.
For a moment, light overwhelmed shadow.
And Gray struck.
Scene 5: The Crack
Michael crashed into the far wall, embedded in obsidian. Smoke rose from his chest, his corrupted wings twitching.
The vault went silent—until the egg screamed.
It wasn't a sound. It was a pulse, a shockwave of magic and memory that knocked Gray to one knee. The shell cracked—slowly, then faster. Cracks spiderwebbed across its surface like breaking glass.
"NO!" Aria's voice cut through the chaos. "It's too soon—it's not ready!"
Gray reached for it. But the egg flared with blue flame.
And then it hatched.
Scene 6: Something Not Quite Dragon
The pieces fell like molten crystal.
Inside the egg was a child—a girl, no more than ten, her body glowing with radiant heat. Her hair shimmered white and gold, floating as if underwater. Horns curved delicately from her head, and her skin was marked with glowing script that matched Aria's runes.
Her eyes opened—piercing, inhuman, yet soft.
She looked at Gray.
And smiled.
"Hello… Father."
🔥 Chapter End CTA:
Aria screamed. Not in anger, but terror.
"This isn't possible. This wasn't supposed to happen—Gray, you don't understand what she is—what we made—"
The girl floated toward him, her hands warm like starlight.
"Don't be afraid," she whispered. "I remember everything. Even you."
Behind them, Michael vanished into shadow, whispering curses about "the prophecy" and "the mistake reborn."
Gray stood frozen, caught between fire, legacy, and something terrifyingly alive.
🗡️ Next time on The SSS-Rank Dragon System Is… My Dead Girlfriend?!:
What is the child?
Why does she call Gray "Father"?
What truth is Aria hiding?
And what the hell is Michael planning with the corrupted systems?
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Let's unlock the secrets of the Dragon Systems—together.