I watched the Blood Dragon Trial through the drone footage projected inside Dragon Base, completely alone, and the silence around me somehow made everything worse. The massive room felt far too empty as the holographic screen played the recording in front of me, forcing me to watch every single second of what Vikram was enduring. There was no one beside me to explain what was happening. No one to reassure me that he would survive. No one to stop the growing panic tightening around my chest. It was just me, an empty room, and footage of Vikram fighting for his life. At first, I had convinced myself that the trial would simply be difficult. Painful, yes. Dangerous, definitely. But survivable. I thought he would walk out exhausted, injured, and probably insufferably dramatic about the entire experience afterward. I had been horribly wrong. This wasn't a trial. It was torture disguised as destiny.
The drone followed Vikram through every phase, capturing everything from above and from angles that somehow made every moment feel even more brutal. There were no breaks between phases. No time for him to recover. No mercy. The trial kept throwing challenge after challenge at him as though it was actively trying to destroy him before he could ever finish it. And somehow, he kept moving forward. Even when his breathing became heavier. Even when his body visibly began slowing down. Even when any normal person would have collapsed and accepted defeat, Vikram kept getting back up. Then his powers awakened, and for a moment, I completely forgot how to breathe. The drone footage glitched briefly before stabilizing, and then I saw blood rising from the wounds on his body. His blood. It floated into the air as if it had a mind of its own before twisting into sharp weapons around him. Blades. Spears. Shields. Blood constructs formed from his own body. My entire body went cold as I stared at the screen in disbelief. Vikram looked just as shocked as I felt, staring at what he had created like he couldn't fully process that it was real. But the trial gave him no time to adjust. It forced him to keep moving, and he adapted to those powers terrifyingly fast.
That was what scared me. It wasn't just how powerful he looked. It was how quickly he learned to weaponize himself. Every time he used those blood constructs, he bled more. Every attack required him to physically give a part of himself. He was quite literally using his own body as a weapon, and he didn't hesitate for even a second. Then his healing abilities awakened, and for one brief moment, I felt relief. I watched cuts begin closing. Bruises started fading. Wounds slowly repaired themselves, and I stupidly thought things might finally become easier for him. Then I realized his healing wasn't enough. He kept getting injured faster than his body could recover. The healing only ensured that he could continue suffering longer. And somehow, he kept pushing himself harder. Like pain didn't matter. Like his own life didn't matter.
And maybe that was what terrified me most. This was his world. His responsibility. His legacy. I understood why he refused to quit. I understood why he kept fighting even when his body was breaking apart. But understanding it didn't make it easier to watch. It only made me feel more helpless. Because I knew that if saving his world required his life, Vikram would give it without hesitation. He wouldn't even think twice about it. That realization settled inside me like poison as I watched him continue moving deeper into the trial.
By the time he reached the final phase, I could barely remain still. Blood covered his clothes. His breathing was uneven and weak. His entire body looked like it was being held together by pure determination and whatever healing ability he had left. And still, he kept fighting. He kept standing back up. He kept moving forward. I found myself pacing around the empty room, my hands shaking so badly that I had to repeatedly stop and steady myself against the nearest table before turning back toward the footage. Then Vikram did something that made my entire body freeze. He used more blood than he ever had before. The constructs around him grew larger, sharper, and far more unstable than anything I had seen earlier in the trial. And in that exact moment, I understood what he was doing. He was willing to kill himself if that was what it took to finish this.
"No," I whispered into the empty room before saying it louder. "No."
Tears blurred my vision as I stared at the footage. "Please stop."
But he couldn't hear me. And even if he could, I wasn't sure he would listen.
The drone footage shook violently as everything around him erupted into chaos before suddenly going completely silent. The drone hovered in place. Vikram wasn't moving. My heart stopped completely as I stared at the screen, unable to breathe. Then, after what felt like an eternity, he moved. It was weak. Barely noticeable. But it was enough. A broken breath escaped me as my legs nearly gave out beneath me in relief. Moments later, bright words flashed across the screen.
TRIAL COMPLETE.
A shaky laugh escaped through my tears as relief crashed into me all at once. He survived. He actually survived.
Then I heard clapping.
Slow. Mocking. Deliberate.
My entire body froze as the sound echoed through the recording. Then came laughter. Cold. Unstable. Completely insane. A man stepped into view on the footage, and at first, the beard confused me. But then he stepped closer, and I forgot how to breathe entirely. I knew that face. I knew it far too well. The same eyes. The same smile. The same man who had killed me in my dreams. My hands began shaking uncontrollably as I grabbed the edge of the table to stop myself from collapsing. No. That was impossible. Because the man standing in front of Vikram was supposed to exist only in my nightmares. But he was real. And he was standing right in front of him.