---
> [System Notification]
Host: Darian Vael (Reincarnated Soul – Inactive Form)
Soul Sync Progress: 63%
Incubation Core: Stable
Mutation Path: Sovereign Flame Wyrm (Rare)
Trait Activation: Pending…
Time felt strange inside this shell.
I couldn't move.
Couldn't scream.
But I could think.
And more importantly, I could feel her. The girl—Kaela—was more than a temporary host. The bond was solidifying through shared mana, a side-effect of being nurtured outside of the Empire's incubator prisons.
That changed everything.
> [Hidden Title Acquired: Dragon of the Outcast Flame]
Title Effect: +10% Fire Resistance, +5% Soul Sync Speed when bonded with an exile, orphan, or cursed individual.
That explained the pull I felt toward her. She was just a scrap of a girl, too thin, too tired, and yet she shielded me like I was gold. Warmed me when she had no reason. Risked her life stealing me from the battlefield.
Even now, she was dying in silence, trying not to disturb me.
Foolish girl.
I would burn the world for her.
---
The wind howled outside the ruins.
The Empire's patrols were growing more frequent. I sensed the magic signatures in the distance—cold, unnatural waves pulsing from the south. Undead scouts. Rune-hunters.
They were looking for me.
No—not me.
They were searching for the weapon they believed I was.
> System Warning: Imperial Beacon Detected
Distance: 3.2 kilometers
Type: Arcanic Tracking Drone – Bronze Tier
Threat Level: Low
Estimated Arrival: 41 Minutes
Kaela stirred, then froze.
She heard it too now—an unnatural clicking in the wind, like bone against bone. Her hand slowly reached for the dagger she kept tied at her hip.
Then—thud.
A shadow slipped into the ruined chapel's doorway. A long, hunched figure with a hooked spine and flayed skin trailing down its face. A human once, long ago—now twisted by necromancy and rot.
> [System Alert]
Threat Detected: Bone Warden Scout
Tier: I
Weakness: Fire
Perfect.
---
Kaela backed against the wall, clutching me. "No, no, no… not now—"
The Bone Warden sniffed the air. Its face twitched toward us.
Kaela raised her dagger, shaking.
I didn't hesitate.
> [Emergency Flame Burst – 94% Incubation Override Engaged]
Mana Core: Active (Phase I)
External Skill Cast Enabled – Limited Range
I burned.
From within the shell, fire erupted outward, wrapping around us both in a wall of spiraling heat.
The Bone Warden screeched, flesh bubbling. It lunged—but not fast enough.
> Skill Cast: Ember Pulse (Lv. 1)
Radius: 2 meters
Damage: 36 HP
Status Effect: Burned
The creature's torso exploded in a shower of bone and ash.
Kaela stared.
Wide-eyed. Stunned. Then slowly looked down at me.
"…You… you protected me."
I pulsed again. Brighter this time. The first cracks began to form along my shell.
> [Hatching Progress: 98%]
Soul Sync: 71%
Carrier Acceptance Level: 100%
I was coming.
And the world would burn for it.
---
Kaela coughed blood into her hand.
That hit earlier—something broke inside her ribs.
She was still young, barely sixteen, but her eyes had the weight of someone who'd already buried family, friends, innocence.
She looked at me, not with fear, but determination.
"I don't know what you are, dragon… but I swear," she whispered, "I won't let them take you again."
She ripped off the last strip of cloth she had and bound it around her torso. Then, ignoring her pain, she hoisted me into her arms and limped out of the chapel into the snowy dark.
Toward the mountains.
Toward freedom.
---
> [New Trait Acquired: Flame-Bonded Hatchling]
Due to hatching under duress with a willing carrier, initial evolution path altered.
Trait Effect: Shared Mana Bond (Unique)
– Host can borrow draconic magic for limited durations.
– Host damage reflects to bonded soul during crisis moments.
Warning: Emotional instability may trigger Premature Ascension.
I would not allow her to die.
Not after carrying me this far.
And not before I could repay her tenfold.
---
Deep in the Empire's capital, somewhere beyond the reach of snow and silence, a mage's eye glowed crimson in the center of a floating beacon.
He saw the brief flare of draconic fire far across the wilds.
He smiled.
> "It hatches... at last."
And miles away, in the ruined fortress of Ar'Valeth, an old, blind prophet opened his eyes.
"The Last Flame returns. And this time… the gods themselves will kneel."
The snow didn't stop.
Kaela's boots were torn at the soles, letting cold seep in with each step as she trudged through the frost-bitten trails leading into the Elarian Mountains. Every breath came out as white fog, every movement sending pain rippling through her bruised ribs.
But still, she carried me—the egg—cradled to her chest like it was worth more than her own life.
And to me?
She was more valuable than a kingdom of gold.
> [System Status: Partial Hatch – Soul Sync 81%]
Physical Form: Locked (2% Shell Integrity Remaining)
External Magic Access: Enabled
Passive Skill: "Flame Pulse" available
Within the shell, I could feel her heartbeat weakening.
Too much blood loss.
Too much cold.
And now... we weren't alone.
---
Snow shifted.
Something moved at the treeline—slow, silent, slithering across the frost like a shadow with no body.
Kaela paused.
Her fingers tightened around the dagger at her belt.
She whispered, "If you're still listening in there, dragon… I need you now."
> [Warning: Host Vitality Falling – 27%]
[Emergency Link Initiated]
Mana Transfer: 12%
Side Effect: Mental Echo risk 5%
I poured mana into her bones. Not much—just enough to make her see shapes faster, react sooner, breathe with less pain.
Kaela's eyes glowed faintly with molten orange light. The dagger in her hand shimmered red-hot.
The creature stalking her leapt—
A wraithcat. Bone-thin. Magically enhanced. A tracker beast bred in imperial labs.
It aimed straight for her throat.
Kaela ducked low, blade whistling through the cold.
Slice.
She opened its chest in one sweeping cut, fire trailing behind the dagger as though the steel had been forged in a volcano. The beast dropped, twitching once before melting into ash.
> [Wraithcat Killed – Level 3 Beast]
Bonus XP Gained: 90
Passive Trait "Draconic Companion" Shared: +1 to Dexterity for Host (Temporary)
She panted. Knees trembling. "There'll be more."
I knew she was right.
The Empire wouldn't just send scouts.
Now that I had shown myself—even slightly—they'd send real hunters.