[Opening Scene – After the Arena Collapse]
The night after the arena disaster felt… wrong.
Too silent.
Too empty.
Too dead.
No crowd.
No tournament banners.
No victory lights.
Only broken stone…
and distant emergency sirens.
Riku lay unconscious inside the underground shelter.
His chest slowly rose and fell.
Bolt sat beside him, fur standing on edge, sparks flickering weakly.
Toma leaned against the wall—blood dried on his knuckles.
Nobody spoke.
Finally, Toma whispered:
"…That wasn't a normal fight."
Bolt trembled.
"That dragon… that power… that wasn't human…"
Riku's Core suddenly pulsed once.
A deep, unnatural throb.
[Scene 2 – Core Dominion Headquarters]
Far beyond public maps.
Beyond politics.
Beyond law.
Inside the spiral black tower of the Core Dominion—
Six elite organization members knelt on one knee.
Their armors were cracked.
Their bodies still shaking.
Before them stood their leader.
A tall man in a long black coat.
Silver streaks in his hair.
Hands clenched so tightly they trembled.
A massive screen replayed Riku's battle again and again.
Lightning.
Violet pulse.
Dragon shadow.
The leader whispered:
"…So it has begun."
One commander lowered his head.
"Sir… Subject-09 has entered Core Evolution Phase-Type."
Silence.
"…The capture mission failed."
The leader suddenly slammed his fist down.
BOOOOOOM!!!
The steel floor shattered.
"USELESS!!"
The entire chamber shook.
"If his evolution destabilizes—"
His voice broke.
"…my son will die."
All six members froze.
[Scene 3 – The Horror Truth]
One commander dared to speak.
"Sir… why are you risking the entire Dominion… for one subject?"
The leader slowly raised his head.
For the first time—
He was not a monster.
Not a tyrant.
He was only a broken father.
"…Because Subject-09 is not a weapon," he said quietly.
Silence fell.
"…He is my child."
Shock spread across the hall.
One whispered in disbelief:
"T-then… Riku Aven is—"
"Yes," he said.
"My son."
The same son he had thrown into experimentation.
The same son he had sacrificed for progress.
[Scene 4 – Emergency Recall Order]
The leader raised his hand.
"All field hunters—stand down."
Across the world, every Dominion device lit up.
> GLOBAL RECALL PROTOCOL – EXECUTE IMMEDIATELY
Phase-Type Project suspended
All assassination units return
A commander panicked.
"But Sir! If we retreat now—his Core might evolve beyond control!"
The leader closed his eyes.
"…Better an uncontrolled god…"
"…than a dead son."
[Scene 5 – The Dragon That Did Not Obey]
High above the clouds over Soren Town—
A colossal dragon hovered silently.
Scales glowing violet and black.
Ancient.
Terrifying.
Magnificent.
Draygion.
The Dragon Spirit of Kaen Drayze.
Its gaze lingered on Riku below.
Then—
Space cracked open behind it.
A voice emerged from the void.
> "Your interference ends here, Draygion."
Dark chains of dimensional energy wrapped around its body.
For the first time in centuries—
Draygion struggled.
> "That child is not your experiment…"
"He is the Stormbearer…"
The chains tightened.
> "Humanity owns his fate now."
A massive burst of dragon light exploded across the sky—
And then—
Draygion vanished.
Erased from the battlefield.
[Scene 6 – Kaen Drayze Feels It]
Far away, inside a collapsing ruin—
Kaen Drayze suddenly dropped to one knee.
Blood spilled from his lips.
"…Draygion…?"
The bond was severed.
His dragon… had been taken.
[Scene 7 – Riku's Nightmare Past]
Inside the shelter—
Riku's body suddenly arched upward.
His Core burned violently.
His mind shattered into visions:
White laboratories.
Chains.
Needles.
Exploding Core energy.
A man turned his back.
A woman screamed.
And a child cried:
> "Father… why…?"
Then another memory—
A woman holding him tightly.
"Forget everything… live."
Then darkness returned.
And a voice echoed:
> "Forgive me… my son."
Riku suddenly woke up—
Gasping.
"D-Dad…?"
Bolt jumped up.
"RIKU!!"
Toma rushed forward.
"You idiot!! You scared us to death!!"
Riku grabbed his chest.
His hands were shaking.
"…The man chasing me…"
"…The leader of the organization…"
"…He's my father."
Bolt and Toma froze.
---
[Final Scene – Two Fathers, Two Sins]
One father who created a weapon.
One father who protected a child.
One betrayed science.
One betrayed blood.
And between them—
Riku stood at the center of evolution.
⚡ END OF CHAPTER 12 ⚡