The mountain trembled.
Wind howled through the stone arches of the Elarian pass, flinging snow into blinding whorls. But the real storm stood in front of us—eight feet tall, forged in voidsteel and vengeance.
The construct's chest hissed open, revealing an arcane core pulsing with deathlight.
A Sentinel. One of the Empire's Dragon Executioners.
A relic of the Purge.
> [Enemy Class: Arcane Construct – Sentinel]
Threat Level: B
Weakness: Mana Surges, Soulfire Disruption
Resistance: Physical Attacks, Frost Magic, Light Piercing Damage
Kaela stepped beside me, eyes glowing red-orange now—embers flickering in her irises like burning paper. Her body shook, but she held her stance, dagger reversed in her hand.
"I thought they were extinct," she whispered.
I growled low, wings snapping open.
"They thought we were extinct too."
> [Battle Skill Activated – Draconic Surge Lv. 1]
Buff: +20% Attack / +10% Mana Output for 10 seconds
Cooldown: 30 seconds
I pounced first, a comet of fire and fury.
The Sentinel raised its plated arm to block—but I twisted mid-air, tail lashing out in a spin that cracked across its side. Sparks flew.
Kaela moved with surprising speed, a blur of red cloak and blade. She leapt into the air, thrusting her dagger toward the exposed seams behind the construct's shoulder.
CLANG!
It caught her mid-air.
Too fast.
It flung her toward the rock wall. Kaela crashed with a cry, sliding down limp.
My blood boiled.
> [Soulflare Echo Activated – Host Damage Detected]
+50% Rage Surge. Temporarily unlocked Flame Maw Lv. 1
Fire exploded in my throat.
I roared—and the world burned.
A lance of crimson flame burst from my mouth, engulfing the construct's chest and staggering it back. Metal warped. Sigils blinked in panic.
Kaela stirred—barely conscious. But through our bond, I felt her will anchor me. Don't die here, she whispered in thought.
> [Fireblood Link Triggered – Shared Skill Access Engaged]
Kaela has accessed: Dragon's Resilience (Lv. 1)
Darian has accessed: Flamebind Tether (Lv. 1)
I launched a tether of flame toward Kaela's body, encircling her with heat—reviving her just enough for one final stand.
She staggered to her feet, clutching her dagger. "Let's kill this bastard."
The Sentinel lunged.
We moved as one.
Kaela dodged low, sliding under its sweeping blade. I soared overhead, scorching the construct's back plating. As it turned to face me, Kaela leapt high, dagger glowing with borrowed flame from our link.
She stabbed it directly into the arcane core on its chest.
Time paused.
Then—
BOOM.
The explosion rocked the pass. Smoke choked the air. The construct's torso was blown open, and its legs staggered before collapsing like snapped stilts.
It fell. Lifeless.
Kaela dropped to her knees, coughing.
I landed beside her and nuzzled her shoulder.
> [Battle Concluded – Victory]
EXP Gained: 240
Level Up! Darian is now Lv. 5
New Skill Unlocked: Inferno Pulse (Lv. 1)
Bond Strength Increased: 74% – Near Ember Sync
Title Earned: "First Flamebound" (Kaela)
Title Earned: "Last Hatchling of the Skyborne" (Darian)
---
The snow fell soft and slow now, like the mountain had sighed.
Kaela looked at me, blood on her lips, eyes shining.
"You really are the last dragon," she said. "But not for long."
I blinked.
"What do you mean?"
She smiled.
"I think the world's about to change again."
The mountain had grown silent after the battle.
All that remained of the Empire's Sentinel was a twisted heap of voidsteel and smoldering snow. Darian and Kaela sat beside the remnants of the fire, the morning sun bleeding softly over the ridgelines.
But the world was no longer the same.
Not after the pact.
Not after what they had both seen.
Kaela clutched her arm, sweat slick on her brow despite the cold.
"I… I think something's wrong," she said.
She pulled back her sleeve.
There, etched into her skin, glowing faintly through flesh and vein, was a sigil—like a spiral sun wrapped in thorned wings. It pulsed in rhythm with her heartbeat. With his.
> [Fireblood Link Notification]
Host Mark Detected – Sigil of Skyborne Flamebound (Dormant)
Description: This ancient rune binds the soul of a chosen human to the blood of a trueborn dragon. When fully awakened, it grants access to ancestral Skyborne magic.
Kaela stared, horror and awe mingled. "What… what is this?"
I stepped forward, heart pounding. That symbol—it wasn't just old. It was sacred. Buried in instincts I hadn't fully understood until now.
And then, as if the world itself cracked, my mind ignited.
> [Memory Fragment Unlocked – Skyborne Gene Vault]
Accessing Draconic Bloodline…
Retrieving Core Memory: Final Roar of the Skyborne
The world around me vanished.
---
Memory Realm – The End of an Empire
Smoke blotted out the sun.
Cities once sculpted from skyglass and gold crumbled into ash and ruin. Towers melted under searing white fire. Screams of dragons filled the heavens—majestic and terrible, torn from the skies by the very weapons men once swore never to use.
The Skyborne Empire—my ancestors—was dying.
And at the center of the carnage stood a figure cloaked in imperial robes, holding the first voidsteel blade ever forged. He laughed as he drove it through a colossal dragon's heart.
"Extinction is your atonement," the man snarled.
I saw myself—smaller, younger, watching helplessly from a cliff as the last high wyrm fell.
My mother.
My blood.
Her final words echoed through my bones:
"Survive, my son. One day, awaken. And burn them anew."
---
I jolted back into the present, body shaking.
Kaela had dropped to one knee, panting. "What… what just happened to you?"
"I saw them," I whispered. "My kind. The fall of the Skyborne. The man who led their end."
Kaela rose shakily. "Was it the Emperor?"
"No." My voice was a rumble now. "Worse. It was a godmarked. A human… blessed by the false gods who betrayed us."
The air grew colder.
> [New Quest Unlocked – Legacy of the Skyborne]
Objective: Reclaim the Forgotten Vaults (0/7)
Optional: Awaken Ancestral Magic
Warning: You are being watched.
Suddenly, the fire died.
Wind howled again—unnatural, spiraling inward toward their cliff.
Kaela's mark blazed red.
A voice, low and ancient, whispered across the mountains:
"Hatchling. Flamebound. You are not alone."
A sigil appeared in the sky. Not one of fire—but ice. A rival mark.
Then, silence.
---
Kaela looked at me. "That wasn't one of ours, was it?"
"No," I said, eyes narrowing. "That was something else."
My claws dug into the snow.
If we were the last of our kind… someone else had survived too.
And they weren't going to stay hidden for long.