Long Yan lay still.
The flames crackled softly beside him, their warmth struggling against the chill that seeped from the depths of the Rift. The stars above were veiled in ash, and the moonlight shone like a blade on a battlefield left to rot.
His body was recovering—slowly. The new Voidscale Regeneration skill worked like a second heart, threading vitality through torn muscles and fractured bones. Yet even with it, the toll from defeating the Rift Guardian lingered in every breath, every movement.
Luo Yanling knelt beside him, placing a damp cloth across his forehead. Her fingers hesitated—just briefly—before brushing a strand of hair from his face.
"You were supposed to hold back," she whispered.
"I didn't need to," he murmured.
"You nearly died."
"I needed the core. It advanced the system."
"Is that all that matters to you?" she asked. "Advancement?"
He opened his eyes—gold, slit-pupiled, and calm.
"Yes."
She looked away, not angry—but tired.
There was a moment of silence.
Then, her voice: "My clan believed that cultivation was about balance. Not power. That we rise with restraint. That discipline is the root of harmony."
He sat up, wincing slightly. "And where is your clan now?"
The words cut—but gently.
Her jaw tightened. "Gone."
He didn't apologize. He never did.
But his gaze softened, just slightly.
"I don't reject balance," Long Yan said. "But I don't worship it either. I survived a world where balance was a story the weak told themselves to feel better before being devoured."
Luo Yanling studied him. "And what about this world?"
He looked toward the Rift.
"Same rules. Different monsters."
The next morning, the system awoke before he did.
[System Update Completed]
[New Module Unlocked: Sovereign Domain – INACTIVE]
[Draconic Core Stability: 58%]
[Warning: Further growth may attract forces of ancient rank]
[Optional Quest: Seek Ancient Ruins of the Flame-Kin]
Status: Hidden Questline Branch Triggered
Description: You are not the first dragon to walk this world. Trace the forgotten lineages. Awaken what lies buried beneath the ash.
Reward: Sovereign Domain Activation | Legacy Skill Tree Fragment
He exhaled slowly.
The power was snowballing now. Each step forward unlocked another locked gate, and each gate revealed something older—something watching.
The Rift had eyes.
He needed to move faster.
They traveled east, away from the rift edge, following fragmented maps carved into ancient stone tablets recovered near the shrine ruins. Luo Yanling deciphered the sigils while Long Yan hunted abyssal beasts for essence cores and bloodstones.
He used everything.
Blood to power the forge.
Ash to line his armor.
Bones to enhance the pulse of his Sovereign Aura.
Nothing was wasted. Every fragment became a step toward the next tier of transformation.
[Forging Complete – Voidbone Pauldrons (Tier 1)]
Effect: 9% aura pressure increase | 5% damage resistance vs. void entities.
On the fourth day, they reached the foothills of the Ashglass Range—a region once scorched by divine fire, now home to scattered cults, rogue sects, and wandering spiritual beasts.
The land itself was blackened crystal. Trees were dead but preserved like glass sculptures. The wind carried a metallic tang, and the sky shimmered faintly with residual flame aura.
"There are watchers here," Luo Yanling said. "I can feel it."
"Not watchers," Long Yan corrected. "Wards."
He pointed to the distant slope, where faint symbols shimmered like scars burned into space.
"They're not trying to keep things out," he added. "They're trying to keep something in."
[System Notification: Proximity to Flame-Kin Lock Site – 600 meters]
[Triggering Subquest: Trial of Ash and Bone]
Objective: Survive the flame echoes. Pass the memory chamber. Prove worthiness for Domain Activation.
Warning: Failure may result in full core destabilization.
Luo Yanling glanced at him. "You sure about this?"
"No," he said, stepping forward. "But I'm going anyway."
The moment he crossed the threshold, the world changed.
The sky turned orange.
The wind turned to fire.
And the ground beneath him vanished.
He fell into a sea of memory—not his own.
He was standing on a battlefield.
Dragons soared overhead—real dragons, vast and endless, their roars shaking the heavens. Flames consumed the land as spears of divine light rained from above. Armored titans fought horned abyssals in brutal formations.
And at the center of it all stood a figure.
Not scaled, not beastly—but human, cloaked in tattered robes and crowned with fire.
"You walk my path, stranger," the voice echoed. "But only one Sovereign may rise."
The figure raised a hand.
Flames shot forward, slamming into Long Yan's chest.
Pain bloomed—raw, divine, and ancient.
His system shrieked.
[Trial of Ash Initiated – Survive the Flame-Kin's Wrath]
Time Limit: 10 minutes | Regeneration Restricted | External Skills Locked
Long Yan didn't scream.
He clenched his jaw, forced his body forward—through the storm, through the pain, toward the flickering vision of the flame-crowned figure.
"You burned everything," he hissed. "And still failed. Why should I follow you?"
The figure smiled, faintly.
"I failed because I hesitated. Because I believed in love. In peace. In mercy."
"You will succeed because you won't."
The fire intensified.
Long Yan's skin cracked. Blood hissed into vapor. The Sovereign Aura within him screamed in rebellion.
[Core Stability: 41%]
[Vein Fracture Detected – Suppressing Overload...]
He dropped to one knee—but didn't fall.
"I will not die," he whispered.
"Then rise."
The flames vanished.
The battlefield shattered.
And Long Yan opened his eyes to a quiet cave of glowing embers.
He stood slowly.
His body was intact—but changed.
His skin shimmered faintly with inner fire. His gaze was deeper, older. His Sovereign Pulse had thickened, like molten gold rather than aura mist.
[Trial Complete]
[Sovereign Domain Activated – Flame Aspect Unlocked]
[New Skill: Emberstep – Phase through space within flame affinity zones.]
[Passive Gained: Flame Resistance +30% | Aura Presence +15%]
[Legacy Fragment Gained: Name of the Forgotten Sovereign – "Azerith"]
So that was the name of the last one.
The one who failed.
The one whose memories now burned quietly within his core like coals waiting for breath.
When he emerged, Luo Yanling stood waiting, sword drawn.
She gasped as she saw him.
"You're... not wounded?"
"Not anymore," he said.
Her eyes narrowed. "Your aura is different."
"I unlocked the Domain."
"And?"
"I saw what I will become if I lose myself."
"And will you?"
He didn't answer. Instead, he stepped past her and stared at the horizon.
"No," he said after a long pause. "I will never burn this world unless I choose to. Not because I lose control."
She walked beside him, silent for a while.
Then: "If you ever do burn everything… would you take me with you?"
He turned to her, surprised.
But her expression was sincere—faintly trembling, yet steady.
"I don't fear your power," she said. "But I fear being left behind."
He didn't promise her anything.
Instead, he extended his hand.
She took it.
And for the first time, no words passed between them—because none were needed.
Far away, in a tower veiled in blood and shadow, a cloaked figure opened their eyes.
"He awakened the Domain," she whispered. "A flame-born Sovereign rises again."
Another voice, deeper, replied from the dark:
"Then it's time. Send the Bone Cult. Let the Abyss know… the dragons are stirring."