The skies of Ashen screamed.
Dragons, scattered through the air, roared in fury and despair.
The palace trembled beneath the weight of their cries — an ancient thunder, born of rage and fear intertwined.
Beneath the crimson clouds, Ryo stood still.
The fire of the throne still burned around him, tracing golden runes across his skin — remnants of the Dragon King's final blessing.
But to the people, he was nothing but an intruder.
> "He defiles the throne!"
"The King died because of him!"
"Cast him out! Let him return to his mortal world!"
The voices rose higher, sharper — thousands of roars blending into a storm.
Dragons of the council, the elders, even the youngest among them — all united in a single fury.
Some took human form, others remained titanic and scaled, their eyes blazing with primal fire.
The ground quaked beneath their rage.
Even the wind seemed to turn against the throne.
Ryo watched them in silence.
No fear.
No anger.
Only a cold, ancient weariness — the calm before annihilation.
He slowly raised his gaze to the sky.
The gold in his eyes dimmed, swallowed by a faint black glow — the reflection of the abyss.
> "Enough."
His voice was neither loud nor harsh.
Yet it resonated through the palace like a thunderclap.
For a heartbeat, the dragons froze.
Then one of them roared —
> "You have no right here, human! You are—"
The word never came.
The air twisted.
An unseen weight crashed down upon the world.
Ryo had released a fraction — five percent — of his Void Mana.
The heavens darkened instantly.
Flames died out, devoured by something beyond magic.
Dragons fell to the ground, crushed under a pressure that defied all comprehension.
Their wings folded, their hearts quivered, their power shattered.
The elders gasped for breath, faces pressed against the stone.
Even the runes of the throne cracked, unable to bear such force.
A single breath.
A fragment of eternity.
And all of Ashen bowed.
Ryo closed his eyes.
His hair drifted in a wind born from nothingness itself.
Around him, magic no longer sang — it cowered in silence.
> "I am not your enemy," he said quietly.
"But if you dare to dishonor your King's memory… I will remind you why he chose me."
His words rolled through the realm like thunder.
The mountains ceased to rumble.
The sky, slowly, regained its color.
Ryo lowered his hand.
The aura of the Void vanished.
Air returned. Flames reignited — but none dared to move.
The dragons, trembling, looked at him in awe and dread.
They understood.
He was not human.
He was not dragon.
He was something else.
An existence carrying both Ashen's flame… and the silence of the void.
Ryo turned away, his cloak billowing in the ashen wind.
His gaze drifted toward the horizon, where the storm of gods had once raged.
> "Rise, children of fire," he murmured.
"For from this day on… the shadow shall protect you."
And in the heavy silence of the palace, the dragons bowed —
not in loyalty…
but in fear.