Valyria – Five Days Before the Doom, The Obsidian Archive
The air inside the hidden sanctuary was thick with ancient magic, the kind that pulsed like a heartbeat and clung to the skin like ash. Torches flickered in unnatural stillness, casting shadows that whispered, moved, and sometimes watched. This was no place for the uninvited. The Obsidian Archive was not merely a vault of knowledge—it was a prison for secrets too dangerous to breathe.
Kaelarys descended the spiral staircase carved into the heart of the mountain itself. Every step brought with it a pulse of resistance, as if the mountain itself did not want him here. But he pressed on, Draezhar at his side, the blade glowing with veins of fire that responded to the wards etched along the walls. Lyanna followed behind, silent and alert, while Varyn carried a satchel of enchanted tools and blood offerings. None of them spoke.
This was the last key.
The Archive's final seal.
Kaelarys stopped before a gate made of fused blacksteel and frozen dragonbone. Glyphs etched into the frame shimmered with a silver-blue hue, ancient Valyrian and something… older.
"Only one with blood touched by prophecy may enter," Lyanna read aloud, her voice barely above a whisper.
Kaelarys didn't hesitate. He drew a ritual dagger and sliced his palm. His blood fell onto the seal, sizzling as if it struck burning metal.
The gate screamed.
A wave of pressure burst outward, nearly sending Varyn to his knees. The glyphs melted and reformed into new shapes, and then… silence.
The gate parted.
System Update: Obsidian Archive Unlocked
Trait Gained: Forbidden Scholar
Sub-System: Archive Integration (Passive Lore Enhancement)
New Quest Unlocked: Secrets of the Nine Sorceries
Reward: +5 Intelligence, New Spell Blueprint: "Soulburn Cage"
Alert: You have awakened something ancient.
Kaelarys stepped inside.
The chamber was unlike anything he had seen.
Endless rows of floating runic tablets spun in place, defying gravity and physics. Books bound in human skin hovered like ghosts. Scrolls bled ink across time-worn air. Statues of unknown gods stood watch, their eyes following him, judging.
And in the center, on a pedestal of obsidian, rested a tome wrapped in chains of flame.
The Codex of Worldbreakers.
He approached it slowly. Every part of him felt the weight of the place—like the eyes of a thousand angry ancestors were upon him.
"This was what they feared," he whispered. "This is why they burned their own libraries. Why they erased entire bloodlines."
Varyn moved closer. "We should not stay long. The wards are fraying. Something is waking."
Kaelarys reached for the codex.
The flame-chains lashed out, wrapping around his wrist.
His body locked.
Visions exploded across his mind.
Cities sinking into flame. Dragons with five heads. A man of black steel standing atop a mountain of corpses. The sky breaking like glass. And above it all… his face.
Older. Stronger. Crowned in storm and shadow.
A voice echoed through him—hollow and vast.
"Claim it, Heir of Ash. But know this: what you take here will take from you in turn."
He opened his mouth to respond, but only blood spilled out.
Then—silence.
The chains broke.
The codex opened.
System Alert: Artifact Assimilated – Codex of Worldbreakers
Spell Trees Unlocked:
Necrosurge
Flamebinding
Mindflame
Special Ability Gained:
Unbreak Will – Once per week, negate any mind-altering effect.
Bloodline Potential: Awakened (Stage 2 of 5)
+10% Magical Recovery
+2 New Spell Slots
Kaelarys collapsed to his knees.
Lyanna caught him before he fell entirely. "Kael! What happened?"
He smiled through the blood. "I saw… everything. I saw what comes next."
And for a moment, the man who had faced dragons, assassins, ancient curses, and worse—trembled.
Later that night, back at the estate, Kaelarys stood on the cliffs once more. His dragons circled restlessly overhead, their minds bound to his. He reached into his space ring and retrieved the Codex again. It no longer burned. Instead, it whispered.
New spells etched themselves into his mind like brands.
Spell Gained: Soulburn Cage
Immobilizes a target and burns their soul instead of their flesh.
Effective against magic-users, dragons, and immortal entities.
Spell Gained: Mindfire Torrent
AoE magic blast fueled by mental willpower. Can be sustained for longer with sacrifice of HP or slave soul fragments.
He clenched his fists.
He was not ready for the Doom yet.
He was becoming ready to master it.
Down in the city, rumors began to stir.
That the youngest scion of House Rhaezar had vanished. That fires burned where no fire should exist. That someone was gathering weapons, dragon eggs, and ancient heresies.
And in the highest spires of the capital, a conclave of Dragonlords convened in secret.
"We must act," said Lord Tharyon. "Whatever Kaelarys Rhaezar is planning, it threatens all of us."
"But if he is the Heir of Ash—" another began.
"Then he must be stopped before he becomes the Lord of Fire."
Back at the fortress, Kaelarys gave his final commands.
Lyanna would lead the southern diversion.
Varyn would secure the last of the crystal maps.
He would seal the Archive entrance with flame and spell.
In five days, the sky would shatter.
In five days, Valyria would die.
But he…
He would live.
And so would his empire.
System Notification: Quest Stage Advanced – Doom Countdown (Phase III)
Countdown to Cataclysm: 4 Days, 12 Hours
Quests Active:
Escape Preparations (95% Complete)
Southern Diversion (Initiated)
Artifact Preservation (Complete)
Archive Locked: You may not return
New Legacy Entry Created: Rise of the Wyrmking