The once-sacred Heartstone Chamber felt hollow now, stripped of the pulsing life that had filled it moments before. Only shattered silence remained—silence laced with shock, fear, and awe. The air still hummed faintly with remnants of Kael's awakening, golden sparks drifting through the air like dying embers.
Kael sat on the cold stone floor, back propped against a fractured pillar. His chest rose and fell in uneven breaths, skin still faintly glowing beneath the surface. The world felt different—too sharp, too loud, too alive.
"Just breathe," Seris whispered beside him, one hand pressed lightly over his heart, channeling a soft pulse of healing energy. Her touch steadied him, grounding the wildfire roaring through his veins.
Lira paced nearby, hair messy, movements frantic. "Okay. So. You didn't just awaken an affinity. You awakened a myth! A whole dragon myth. A sovereign myth!" She threw her hands up. "WHY? How? Does this make you royalty? Should I bow? I'm not bowing."
Kael managed a weak smile. "No bowing. Please."
"Great. Because I wasn't going to anyway."
Master Arcturus approached slowly, his robes whispering across the stone floor. His expression was unreadable—a rare mix of reverence, shock, and… a flicker of something darker.
He stopped directly in front of Kael.
"Kael Draven Solaris," he said, voice low. "You are no longer a normal novice. You are now the center of a prophecy we had hoped would never come to pass."
Kael's heart tightened. "What prophecy?"
Arcturus hesitated—not something he did often.
"The return of the Draconic Sovereign… and the rise of an enemy determined to end the world."
Lira blinked. "Okay, but how does that relate to Kael?"
Arcturus's eyes darkened. "Because the Sovereign's return is the catalyst. And Vaelcar's appearance confirms the enemy knows Kael awakened."
Kael felt the weight of that truth pressing on his chest like a stone.
"I don't understand," he whispered. "I'm no king. I'm not even sure I'm… me right now."
Arcturus knelt, meeting Kael's gaze.
"You awakened power older than empires. And power like that never awakens by accident."
Kael swallowed hard. He remembered the voice he heard in the heartstone—the ancient, thunderous whisper calling him Draven Solaris—recognizing him before he recognized himself.
A shiver crawled up his spine.
Arcturus stood, gesturing toward the far end of the chamber. "Come. You three as well. There are things you must see."
Kael struggled to push himself up. His limbs felt heavy, as though his body was relearning itself. Seris helped him stand, her arm slipping around his waist for support.
"You're trembling," she murmured.
"It feels like my blood is fire," Kael admitted through clenched teeth.
"Then hold onto me," she said. "You don't need to pretend you're fine."
Kael didn't argue. Not this time.
Lira rushed over on Kael's other side. "If you pass out, I'm carrying you like a sack of potatoes. Just letting you know."
"Please don't," Kael muttered.
"No promises."
The Hall of Echoes
Arcturus led them through a rune-locked door into a chamber Kael had never seen in any Academy map. The air grew colder as they descended. Strange inscriptions glowed softly along the walls—old, pulsing, alive.
At the bottom sat a massive hall lit by floating golden flames.
Gigantic murals covered the walls, each one depicting events that felt impossibly ancient.
Dragons soaring through storm-ridden skies.
A warrior wielding fire like a living blade.
A city of floating temples collapsing under shadow.
Kael stopped, staring at one mural in particular.
A lone figure stood atop a mountain—eyes burning bright gold, draconic energy swirling around him like a celestial storm.
"Arcturus…" Kael whispered. "That's…"
"Yes," Arcturus said quietly. "That is the last Draconic Sovereign."
Kael stepped closer. The figure's silhouette was almost identical to his own.
Same posture.
Same intensity in the eyes.
Same symbol glowing on the chest.
A symbol Kael had seen inside the Heartstone moments before it shattered.
"This can't be real," Kael murmured. "I am not him. I'm just—"
"Reborn," Arcturus said bluntly. "Or chosen. Or bound by fate. The legends aren't clear."
Kael's pulse pounded in his ears.
Seris moved beside him, her presence soft but firm. "It doesn't matter who he was. You're not him. You're Kael. Whatever destiny says… you get to choose what you become."
Kael met her eyes. Her steady calm pushed back the rising panic.
Lira crossed her arms. "She's right. Destiny can choke. You're still the awkward guy who tripped on his own boots last week."
Kael groaned. "Can we forget that happened?"
"Nope. It's canon."
Even Arcturus cracked a faint smile.
But the moment didn't last.
Because the next mural sent chills down Kael's spine.
A monstrous shadowy figure towered over a burning world—
Eyes red like Vaelcar's.
Arms stretched like tendrils of smoke.
A crown of thorns floating above its head.
Beneath it, text written in ancient runic script glowed faintly.
"When the Sovereign awakens, so shall the Devourer arise to claim the world."
Kael felt the air leave his lungs.
"The Devourer… is that who Vaelcar serves?"
Arcturus nodded grimly. "Yes. Vaelcar is one of his heralds. And now that he knows you live, he will stop at nothing to end you before your power matures."
"So he wants to kill me," Kael said softly.
"Not kill," Arcturus corrected. "Erase. Wipe your soul from existence."
Lira's face twisted in rage. "He can try. I'll punch the shadow out of him."
Seris placed a hand on Kael's shoulder, her voice trembling slightly. "We won't let anything happen to you."
Kael looked at the mural again.
He didn't feel like a king.
He didn't feel like a Sovereign.
He felt like a boy standing in the shadow of a prophecy he didn't understand.
But deep inside—
In the core where the golden fire pulsed—
Something stirred.
Something ancient.
Something proud.
Something unwilling to bow.
The Unleashing Room
Arcturus stopped before a sealed gate wrapped in chains etched with glowing runes.
"This room is forbidden to all but Sovereigns," he said quietly. "It is where the first Sovereign trained. And where you must train."
Kael felt the air shift—felt energy pulling him toward the gate like a magnet.
"What's inside?" he asked.
Arcturus met his gaze. "Your true heritage."
The runes flared, reacting not to Arcturus—but to Kael.
Golden sparks danced from Kael's fingers.
The chains unraveled.
The gate parted.
A rush of warm, ancient wind swept out, feathers of golden fire swirling around Kael like they recognized him.
Seris stepped back in awe. "Kael… your aura…"
Kael glanced down.
His entire body was glowing—
A soft gold at first.
Then deeper.
Brighter.
Stronger.
Like the heart of a dragon awakening fully.
Arcturus gestured inside.
"You must enter alone."
Seris's breath caught. "But he's still recovering—"
"I will be fine," Kael said, surprising even himself. "I… I need to know who I am."
Seris opened her mouth to protest. Lira grabbed her arm gently.
"He needs this," Lira whispered. "We'll be right here when he comes back."
Kael stepped inside.
The gates sealed behind him.
Darkness swallowed him whole.
Inside the Room
Kael stood in a void of stars—an endless sky stretching in every direction. The ground beneath him felt insubstantial, like walking on air.
Then—
FWOOOM—
A massive figure materialized before him.
A dragon—colossal, ancient, scales shimmering like molten gold.
Its eyes burned like twin suns.
Kael froze.
His heart hammered.
His bones felt like they were vibrating.
The dragon lowered its head.
"Draven Solaris," it rumbled.
"At last… you return to us."
Kael swallowed. "I'm not Draven. My name is Kael."
The dragon studied him for a long, heavy moment.
Then—
"Names change. Souls do not."
Golden energy swirled around the dragon, wrapping around Kael like warm lightning.
"You are Sovereign. You are heir. You are flame reborn. And you are hunted."
Kael clenched his fists. "Then teach me. Help me survive."
The dragon's lips curled in what might have been a smile.
"Survive? No… You must learn to conquer."
The dragon rose to full height, wings stretching wide—
A cosmic storm of gold and fire.
"Your training begins now."
Kael inhaled sharply—
Fire bursting from his lungs.
Light flooding his vision.
Power roaring through his veins.
Outside the chamber, Seris and Lira felt the ground shake.
Arcturus whispered under his breath:
"He awakens faster than the first Sovereign… The world is changing."
Kael's transformation had begun.
And so had the storm of fate.