MEANWHILE: INSIDE 16's MIND
Lucinda stood face-to-face with the divine Dragon of Light—a being so vast and powerful, her very presence before it felt like a speck of dust before the sun. A shimmering wall of translucent mist-glass, forged by the ancient blood-seal, stood between them. Though it chained the beast, she could feel the rage building behind its radiant eyes—eyes that recognised her.
The dragon growled—a low, resonating roar that cracked the air itself. The sound struck Lucinda like a tidal wave, knocking her to the floor. Her limbs trembled as unbearable pressure bore down upon her. The beast had grown—in wrath, in power, and in terrifying size. Were it freed, its presence could stretch across the entire Demon Realm.
Its body radiated pure, blinding gold light—like staring directly into a living sun.
In the real world, Lucinda chanted spells in a forbidden dialect, draining the dragon's essence through the blood-seal. Inside 16's mind, the divine creature writhed in torment. Lucinda smirked darkly, savouring its agony—until suddenly her own heart clenched. Her breath caught.
Then—a flash.
She was hurled violently from 16's mindscape.
Back in the real world, she gasped and collapsed onto the couch. 16's eyes flickered between red and gold, his inner spirit waging war as the spell ripped at his soul. The seal across his body responded—half glowing red with rage, the other half gold with divine resistance.
Lucinda's confidence crumbled. In a panic, she summoned her trump card—five SS-ranked elite demon warriors, nicknamed the Death Squad. Handpicked from the King's personal guard, they were shadows made flesh—born for one purpose: obliteration.
Around them, palace guards attempted to intervene but were tossed aside like paper dolls.
Then came the sting.
A dart embedded itself into 16's arm—blackened with a venomous glow.
Soul Venom.
A merciless toxin crafted in the pit-furnaces of the Demon Emperor's labs. Once injected, it coursed through the body, setting the soul ablaze, melting organs into a liquefied state, and ultimately shattering the victim like burning glass—leaving only purple ashes behind.
More darts followed.
16's veins pulsed golden—then turned deep, venomous purple. His knees gave out, and he collapsed to the floor.
But... he didn't die.
Arvin, watching from the shadows, murmured, "How…?"
Lucinda snarled and barked a new order."Throw him into the furnace."
LUCINDA'S CHAMBER – NIGHTFALL
[Lucinda's POV]
"What was that?" a low voice asked from the shadows of the dim study.
Lucinda spun around."None of your business," she snapped at Arvin, who was flipping through ancient spell books with casual disdain.
"What is he?" Arvin pressed, lifting a glowing scrying sphere, refusing to even glance her way.
"I said—it's none of your business."
"Oh, but it is," he said coolly. "You mean something to the King. His firstborn—my prince—just got flattened by a servant. A 'normal' servant?" he sneered. "In all my immortal years, I've never seen anything like it."
He paused, letting silence settle.
Then he said what she feared.
"He's the Son of Light… isn't he?"
Lucinda froze.
"How… how do you know that?" she whispered.
"Lucinda Samantha Damin," he said with venom. "Any immortal worth his age can see the signs. Who else in the Nine Realms could make a demon prince bleed? The Goddess herself—or her child."
"I swear to you—"
"Don't insult me," Arvin cut her off. "You've had him all this time, haven't you? You even know the visions—what the Earl Seers foretold."
Lucinda was silent.
He smiled cruelly. "So you do know. You've hidden the one child destined to make the Demon Emperor bleed and beg. Your ambition blinds you."
"Not. A. Word. To. The. Emperor," she growled.
"Are you mad?" Arvin's silver eyes blazed. "Why should I stay quiet?"
"Because I'm the mother of his child. Your Queen!"
"You are not his queen," Arvin snapped. "You're just the woman who bore his first son. He doesn't even acknowledge you."
Lucinda's rage surged. "Leave. Now."
Arvin turned to the window. Before vanishing into the night, he threw her one final warning:
"You're not tormenting that boy, Lucy… you're training him. Tell the Emperor, before he finds out himself."
And then he was gone.
Lucinda stood alone. Her heart raced as she recalled the dream—the nightmare that had haunted her since her pregnancy with the twins, Leom and Leon.
THE DREAM
Blood. Everywhere.The stench of charred corpses choked the air. The land was torn, cursed, soaked in shadow magic.
Lucinda opened her eyes and gasped blood. The very air trembled with his presence—a pressure so vast, her bones cracked under it.
Floating high above was a child. A boy, no older than ten, his eyes glowing like stars—but with a sinister twist. Behind him loomed a colossal figure—a dragon, so massive it seemed to eclipse suns. Its form blotted out the sky.
Lucinda fell to her knees, weeping blood, her soul unraveling as his gaze pierced her very essence.
"W-Who… are you?" she managed.
The boy spoke. His voice echoed like thunder across eternity.
"I am the Golden Dragon, eternal ruler of light and order. The Goddess's son.The prince of a thousand universes…And your worst NIGHTMARE."
Lucinda screamed—and jolted back to reality, her body wracked with tremors. That dream had first come when she was pregnant with her twins. She'd searched for the child, obsessed. Only to learn too late: Alia, her husband's second wife, wasn't human—but a royal dragon herself. And she had carried him.
Lucinda's assassination failed. The child refused to die—he was indestructible. Sealing his powers was all she could manage. But his dragon… his beast… it was growing beyond her control.
She had to act.
A twisted idea slithered into her thoughts. One so vile even the underworld would gasp.
But to execute it, she would need to cross realms.To Earth.
AZA: DRAGON CITY – CENTRAL
[Derrick's POV]
It's been four years since anyone gathered the royal court for me.
The last time was when I was five—meant to be crowned Prince of Dragons. But something went wrong.
Now, here we are again. Same purpose. Different stakes.
When people hear "Son of Light," they think power, prestige, prophecy. But no one tells you the other side:The constant danger.The grueling training.The loneliness of knowing your existence shifts galaxies.
I didn't know either. Not until I turned seven—the age when your dragon emerges.
The training? Brutal. I've endured drills most of my father's warriors have never seen. And I complained—a lot. But Father's guardian just stared me down and said:
"Suck it up, child. This is just the prep. The storm's yet to come."
And I believe him.
Because somewhere out there… something's coming.And I need to be ready.