The world blurred around Kael Draven Solaris as the silver-blue portal of the Azure Test swallowed him whole. His body felt weightless, suspended between realms, as if time itself momentarily forgot he existed. A soft ringing filled his ears—neither painful nor comforting, but ancient… a call older than the skies he grew up under.
When vision returned, Kael stood upon a vast floating platform of polished obsidian. Endless space stretched beyond it, not dark but filled with drifting streams of blue and gold light, like rivers of energy carving pathways through the void. It felt alive—each ripple of light pulsed like a heartbeat beneath creation.
"This…" Kael whispered, breath catching, "isn't the academy."
"No," a deep voice responded, its tone like a mountain speaking.
"This is the Dragon Vein."
A colossal silhouette emerged from the shimmering light—not a full dragon, but the luminous spiritual imprint of one. Its form was a skeletal frame of glowing lines, as if someone traced a dragon into the air with pure lightning. Eyes shaped from molten silver opened, staring down at him.
Kael's heart thudded painfully. Instinctively, he bowed—not in fear, but in recognition. He knew this presence. He had felt its echo many times in the depths of his dreams.
"You are the one who calls to me," Kael muttered.
"And you are the one who carries what was lost."
The dragon leaned close. Despite its intangible nature, Kael felt the heat of eternity radiating off its breath.
"Kael Draven Solaris," the spirit rumbled, "you stand at the threshold between mortality and ascension. The Azure Test is not merely a trial for talent. It is a sorting ground—one meant to identify heirs of the ancient blood."
Kael swallowed.
He had always known he was different.
But this…
"Ancient blood? I'm just—"
"You are not just anything."
The platform lit beneath him, revealing glowing circular runes. They were similar to the strange symbols that appeared on his skin back in Chapter 4—when the sealed energy inside him first awakened.
Kael's eyes widened. "These symbols…"
"Are the mark of the Primal Dragon Monarch."
Kael froze. A shiver raced up his spine.
The Primal Dragon Monarch.
The first dragon.
The being said to have forged the laws of cultivation itself.
"Your soul carries a shard of its will," the spirit continued. "Incomplete… fractured… but undeniably present."
Kael felt the truth settle in his bones. The strange pull toward dragon-related artifacts. The instinctive understanding of certain techniques. The dream of wings breaking free from his back. Everything made horrible, beautiful sense.
"So what happens now?"
The dragon spirit lowered its head, lowering the platform's hum to a deep, resonating vibration.
"Now, you will learn."
A fragment of light detached from its chest. It floated toward Kael slowly, like a falling star.
Kael tensed. "What is that?"
"A memory. A seed. A truth."
"The moment you take this, the world will begin to chase you."
Kael inhaled.
He extended his hand.
The star-like fragment touched his skin—and exploded into him.
Not painfully.
Not violently.
But like inhaling an entire sun.
His lungs expanded. His veins glowed gold. His bones vibrated as if awakening from a thousand-year sleep. Images slammed into his consciousness:
—A massive dragon coiling around a world of fire
—A spear of black lightning piercing the heavens
—A throne of scales and flame
—A roaring voice: "RETURN WHEN YOU ARE WHOLE."
Kael staggered, gasping, clutching his chest.
The spirit watched silently.
"That… was…" Kael's voice cracked, "a vision of the Primal Monarch?"
"A sliver of its last breath before it vanished from reality."
The spirit tilted its head.
"Tell me, Kael Solaris… do you think you can carry the destiny of a king?"
Kael trembled—but not from fear.
From clarity.
"No," he answered honestly. "I can't carry the destiny of a king."
The spirit's eyes narrowed.
Kael lifted his chin, gaze becoming sharp as a blade.
"I will become the king who chooses his own destiny."
For the first time, the spirit's form flickered—shaken, amused, impressed.
"Bold. Foolish. Fitting."
The runes beneath Kael shifted. The entire realm rumbled. Cracks of radiant blue split the platform, forming pathways.
"You now face the real trial."
At once, the rivers of light around the platform coalesced into humanoid figures—dozens of them, silhouettes of light wielding weapons forged from the void.
Kael instinctively stepped back.
They had no faces, yet he felt their killing intent prickling against his skin.
"The Azure Test… isn't this supposed to measure talent?"
"This is the part they don't know about."
The dragon's wings unfurled, spanning the entire horizon.
"This test measures destiny."
Kael exhaled slowly.
His right hand glowed. A translucent spectral blade—shaped like a dragon fang—materialized around his fingers.
Not summoned by technique.
Not summoned by cultivation.
Summoned by instinct.
Kael relaxed his shoulders, dropping into a stance he had never learned… yet somehow remembered.
The spirit's voice rumbled:
"Survive until the light fades."
The first figure lunged.
Kael moved.
Like lightning, he parried the strike, sweeping low under the blow. Two more silhouettes attacked from behind; Kael twisted, blade flashing, breaking their forms apart in bursts of light.
His body moved faster than his mind—guided by something ancient within him.
A whisper echoed in his blood:
Remember… the world bows to flame.
Kael inhaled.
His entire right arm burst with golden fire.
The silhouettes paused.
Kael spun, releasing a sweeping arc of flame that split the ground and vaporized five enemies instantly. Energy crackled around him, wrapping his body like armor.
More silhouettes formed from the rivers of light, replacing the ones he destroyed.
Kael grinned—breathing hard, exhilarated.
"So it's endless?"
"Until you fall… or you adapt."
Kael tightened his grip on the dragonfang blade.
"Then I'll adapt."
He charged.
Time blurred. Kael's movements became a dance—dodging, striking, flowing like a storm. The golden flame around him grew stronger with every blow, feeding on the trial, on the pressure, on his own heartbeat.
Shards of past lives flickered in his mind—memories that weren't his but felt like they belonged inside him.
A massive wing eclipsing the sun.
A roar shaking galaxies.
A throne of dragonbone.
Kael shouted, slamming his fist into the ground. A wave of gold fire erupted outward, obliterating dozens of light constructs.
The Dragon Spirit spoke again:
"You learn fast. Too fast."
Kael didn't stop moving.
The realm trembled as another wave of enemies formed—but this one was different. Taller. Stronger. Heavier with intent.
The leading silhouette was nearly twice Kael's height, wielding a spear of pure azure lightning.
Kael skidded to a stop, chest tightening.
"That one… feels different."
"It is."
The spirit dimmed, lowering its head.
"It is the memory of the one who killed the Primal Monarch."
Kael's blood froze.
The spear in the silhouette's hand hummed—charged with killing force.
Kael raised his blade, sweat dripping down his brow.
"Alright…" he whispered. "Let's see what destiny expects of me."
The silhouette lunged.
The spear cracked the air, tearing the void. Kael barely rolled aside, but the pressure alone sliced a thin line across his cheek. Blood dripped—glowing gold.
Kael's heart hammered.
He wasn't strong enough for this.
Not yet.
Not even close.
But he refused to fall.
He tightened his fingers around the spectral blade. Golden flame surged, spiraling up his arm. His blood roared like fire.
The silhouette raised the spear again.
Kael roared back—and charged head-on.
Their weapons collided.
A blinding shockwave erupted.
The entire realm shattered into white light—
—
Kael gasped as he crashed onto solid ground, coughing. His vision blurred, slowly clearing into the familiar courtyard of the Azure Testing Grounds.
Spectators stared at him, shocked.
Elders whispered to one another.
Aria ran to him, eyes wide in fear and relief.
Kael slowly sat up, still trembling from the trial.
He looked at his hand.
A faint golden rune glowed on his palm—one he had never seen before.
The mark of the Primal Dragon Monarch.
The world… would never be the same.