he ground would not stop shaking.
Dust poured from the cracked ceiling of the dragon chamber as ancient pillars groaned under pressure.
Aric forced himself upright, one hand still burning with the glowing runes crawling across his arm.
The dragon watched him calmly.
As if earthquakes were normal.
Above the pit, distant voices shouted.
"Containment spell failing!"
"Mana levels spiking!"
"Seal the breach!"
The dragon chuckled softly.
"They panic quickly."
Aric wiped blood from his lip.
"You're about to escape. I think panic is reasonable."
The creature's golden eyes gleamed.
"Escape?"
The chains along its wings rattled.
"I have not escaped yet."
Another violent tremor shook the ruins.
A crack split one of the massive stone pillars beside them.
Aric glanced up.
"If those chains break, the entire ruin might collapse."
"Yes."
"And you're fine with that?"
"Yes."
Aric stared at the enormous creature.
"You really hate humans."
The dragon tilted its head.
"You assume too much."
"You just said you did."
"I said I have reason to."
Aric crossed his arms despite the pain spreading through his body.
"Fair enough."
The dragon's gaze returned to the glowing runes on his arm.
"They respond faster now."
Aric looked down.
The golden symbols had spread past his elbow.
They pulsed faintly with each beat of his heart.
"What exactly is happening to me?" he asked.
"You are turning the key."
"That's not helpful."
The dragon lowered its massive head closer again.
"You opened the prison with blood."
"Yes, you mentioned that."
"Blood opens the gate."
Its voice deepened.
"But will opens the lock."
Aric frowned.
"Meaning?"
The dragon's eyes gleamed brighter.
"You must choose."
Another tremor shook the chamber.
Chunks of stone crashed from the ceiling.
Above them, the mage alarms screamed louder.
The Iron Phalanx was clearly losing control of the situation.
Aric looked back up at the dragon.
"Choose what?"
The dragon's voice dropped to a whisper inside his mind.
"Freedom."
Aric laughed once.
Short and bitter.
"You want me to free you."
"Yes."
"And then what?"
The dragon blinked slowly.
"Then I leave."
Aric shook his head.
"That's not convincing."
The dragon's long tail shifted through the darkness.
Stone cracked under its weight.
"You humans believe dragons destroy everything."
"That's because dragons destroyed everything."
"Sometimes."
"That's not comforting."
The dragon watched him silently.
Then it spoke again.
"You were thrown away."
Aric stiffened.
"They sent you here to die."
"That's not new information."
"You have no magic."
"Yes."
"You have no allies."
"Yes."
The dragon leaned closer.
"You have no future."
Aric said nothing.
The creature's golden eyes burned brighter.
"But you have a choice."
The glowing runes on Aric's arm flared again.
Pain surged through him.
He dropped to one knee.
"What happens if I don't choose?" he asked through clenched teeth.
The dragon answered calmly.
"Then the prison closes again."
Aric looked up sharply.
"And you stay trapped."
"Yes."
"And me?"
The dragon's gaze hardened.
"You die."
Silence filled the chamber.
Another pillar cracked in half.
Stone crashed to the ground.
Above them, the mage alarms changed tone.
Aric frowned.
"That doesn't sound good."
"It is not," the dragon said.
Aric squinted upward toward the pit opening.
"What are they doing?"
The dragon's voice turned colder.
"They are bringing something stronger."
As if on cue, the air above the pit suddenly glowed bright blue.
A massive magic circle formed across the opening.
Aric's stomach tightened.
"That looks expensive."
"It is a sealing ritual," the dragon said.
"And that means?"
"They intend to collapse the entire ruin."
Aric stared upward.
"They're going to bury us alive."
"Yes."
The dragon's voice held no fear.
"They fear what they cannot control."
Aric barked a laugh.
"They fear dragons."
"Correct."
The glowing runes on Aric's arm flared again.
He gritted his teeth.
The pain was getting worse.
"What exactly does freeing you do to me?" he asked.
The dragon studied him.
Long.
Quiet.
Then it answered.
"You survive."
"That's suspiciously vague."
"You also change."
Aric froze.
"How?"
The dragon's eyes gleamed.
"You become the one who holds the key."
Aric's mind raced.
"And that means what?"
The dragon smiled.
A terrifying expression.
"You will never be powerless again."
Another violent tremor shook the chamber.
Stone rained down from the ceiling.
The magic circle above the pit brightened even more.
Aric heard distant voices chanting now.
Dozens of mages.
The Iron Phalanx had called reinforcements.
"They are accelerating the collapse," the dragon said calmly.
Aric swore under his breath.
"How long do we have?"
"Minutes."
"Great."
The glowing runes reached his shoulder now.
They pulsed like living fire under his skin.
Aric forced himself to stand.
"If I free you," he said slowly, "what stops you from killing me immediately?"
The dragon's answer came instantly.
"Nothing."
Aric blinked.
"Well. That's honest."
The dragon's gaze remained steady.
"But I will not."
"Why?"
"Because you opened the prison."
"That seems like a thin reason."
The dragon leaned even closer.
"Because you interest me."
Aric rubbed his temples.
"That's somehow worse."
The chamber shook violently again.
One of the chains snapped slightly.
A loud metallic crack echoed through the ruins.
The dragon lifted its head.
The chain trembled but did not fully break.
"Time is ending," the dragon said.
Aric looked up again.
The magic circle above had expanded across the entire pit.
Stone began collapsing inward.
Huge chunks of the ruins started falling.
"They're really doing it," Aric muttered.
The dragon's voice returned inside his skull.
"You must choose."
The glowing runes burned brighter.
Aric's entire arm felt like it was on fire.
"What do I actually do?" he demanded.
The dragon lifted one massive claw.
Despite the chains binding it.
Despite the prison.
It pointed directly at Aric.
"Accept the bond."
Aric froze.
"Bond?"
"Yes."
"With you?"
"Yes."
Aric stared at the dragon.
"You're asking me to bond with a dragon."
"Yes."
"That sounds extremely illegal."
The dragon laughed.
"That has never stopped humans before."
Another massive crack split the chamber floor.
The collapse had begun.
Stone pillars fell.
Dust exploded through the air.
The magic circle above intensified.
Aric felt the heat of the glowing runes burning through his arm.
His vision blurred.
"If I refuse," he said quietly, "I die."
"Yes."
"And if I accept?"
The dragon's golden eyes burned like suns.
"You rise."
The ground beneath them began to collapse completely now.
Huge sections of the chamber broke apart.
Stone rained down.
Aric looked at the dragon.
Then at the collapsing ruins.
Then at the glowing runes consuming his arm.
He laughed.
One short breath.
"Well," he said.
"I always wanted magic."
The dragon's smile widened.
"Then choose."
Aric took one step forward.
The runes flared brighter.
The dragon lowered its massive head until its glowing eye was level with Aric.
"Say the words," the dragon whispered inside his mind.
Aric hesitated for one second.
Then spoke.
"I accept the bond."
The chamber exploded with light.
The glowing runes erupted across Aric's entire body.
Pain tore through him like lightning.
The dragon roared.
The chains snapped violently.
Ancient magic shattered.
Above the ruins, the Iron Phalanx screamed as the containment ritual collapsed.
And deep beneath North Ashfall…
The first dragon bond in centuries was born.