The girl's laughter chimed like tiny bells as the carriage rolled across the rough mountain road. Her hands clutched the silken hem of her ceremonial gown, bright white stitched with faint golden runes. She had never worn such fine things before, nor seen so many smiling faces around her.
The elders had stroked her hair, the villagers had praised her beauty, and the priests had told her she was chosen. She beamed at the thought, innocent eyes reflecting only kindness where none truly lay.
When the carriage finally halted, she peeked through the window and gasped at the looming cave mouth. Torches guttered in the wind, their light painting jagged shadows across the stone. The priests finished their chant in hushed tones, pressing their foreheads to the earth as if in reverence.
And then—without another word—they rose.
"Wait—where are you going?" she asked, but her voice was drowned in the shuffle of boots.
The priests sprinted, their robes flapping like torn wings, and slammed a heavy iron gate into place across the pass. The clanging echoed through the valley as they locked it from the outside, abandoning the girl where she sat.
The silence pressed in.
Her smile faltered.
"…Hello?"
No answer.
Only the faint drip of water from the cave.
Unseen above, a shadow perched on the roof of the abandoned carriage. Kael sat with his chin resting on one hand, his cloak wrapped close around him. His eyes gleamed in the half-dark, expression unreadable as he watched the ritual unravel into cruelty.
So this is their "sacrifice." A lamb dressed in silk, fed to wolves.
The air shifted. Heat rippled from within the cave, a dry gust carrying the sharp stench of brimstone. Pebbles rattled along the ground.
Then it came.
A massive lizard emerged, scales dark as burnt stone and veined with glowing red fissures. It rose onto its hind legs, towering nearly twelve times the height of a man, its maw glowing with ember-light. Twin horns crowned its head, and its claws gouged molten streaks in the rock where it stepped.
Kael's eyes narrowed. Legendary rank. And mutated…
The thought stirred something primal in him. A creature like this would be more than a weapon; it would be a terror, an emblem of domination. His abyss-dragon core hummed in resonance, eager to test its strength against such prey.
He almost rose, the shadows around him sharpening like blades—
But movement stilled him.
The carriage door creaked open.
The little girl climbed down, her small feet crunching the gravel. Her wide eyes locked on the lizard, not with terror but awe. The monster's rumbling growl softened into a low vibration as it turned toward her.
And then, impossibly, it did not strike.
Instead, it turned back toward the cavern's dark heart, lumbering inside. The girl, clutching the hem of her gown, followed after it—like a moth trailing a lantern into the abyss.
Kael's lips curved into a dangerous half-smile. Interesting… Very interesting.
Without another sound, he stepped from the carriage roof. His form dissolved into a veil of shadows and slipped silently after them, into the waiting dark of the cavern.
The cave's breath grew hotter the deeper Kael moved, the walls glowing faintly with veins of molten ore. Stalactites dripped with condensed steam, and the floor bore gouges from claws far heavier than any beast of the forest.
The girl padded a few steps ahead, utterly fearless, her gown already smudged with soot. She followed the rhythmic tremor of heavy steps until the cavern opened into a massive hollow chamber.
There, in a pit of stone scorched black and lined with bone fragments, the fire lizard lay coiled. Its chest swelled and shrank with each thunderous breath, the glow in its scales pulsing like molten rivers beneath stone. For a moment, it seemed almost calm, its gaze locked on the girl as though appraising her worth.
Kael crouched in the shadows above, eyes sharp. It isn't attacking… Why?
But then—its pupils shrank.
A hiss, shrill and sharp, split the chamber.
The lizard's eyes flared crimson, molten light bursting across its scales. It lunged with terrifying speed, jaws opening wide enough to swallow the child whole.
The girl froze.
But Kael did not.
Before the creature's teeth could close, shadows lashed forward like spears. Kael materialized in front of the girl, one arm sweeping her small frame behind him while the other braced against the monster's jaw with raw, dragon-core strength. The impact sent a thunderous shockwave through the cavern, rocks tumbling from above.
The girl gasped, staring up at him—at the hooded man whose form had come from nothing, who held back the jaws of death itself.
Her tiny voice trembled. "Y-you… saved me…"
Kael's gaze never left the beast. "Stay behind me."
The mutated fire lizard roared, flames searing from its nostrils as it twisted violently, wrenching Kael back across the stone floor. Sparks erupted where claws gouged deep furrows. The Sovereign's cloak flared, his aura rising in a storm of black pressure that clashed against the lizard's heat.
And thus the battle began.
Later that Night,
In the marble halls of Greyspire's inner keep, Arlen leaned casually against a balcony, goblet in hand. Messengers had already returned with word: the ritual had gone smoothly. The sacrifice had been delivered, the mountain sealed, and no interference reported.
Arlen exhaled a slow sigh of relief. Good. No interruptions. The Prince will be pleased.
But elsewhere, threads of intrigue wove themselves tighter.
In her private chambers, the Prince's younger sister sat across from her second-eldest sister. The candlelight caught the mischievous curve of her smile as she unrolled a parchment—the same words Kael had whispered to her in secret.
"Proof that our dear brother bleeds the empire dry to fund bandits," she said softly. "That he silences nobles with coin, and sells our people's safety for his campaign."
Her elder sister's eyes gleamed. "If this spreads, his power will crack. And if I move quickly…"
"You will have your chance at the throne," the younger finished smoothly, leaning back. "And in return, I expect the seat of Prime Minister when you wear the crown."
A nod sealed the pact.
By dawn, rumors already spread across the capital's wine halls and Greyspire's crowded streets: whispers of corruption, of bribes, of sacrifices that were more than symbolic. Small seeds planted in the dark, now feeding on the empire's unrest.