The air trembled when Danny stepped back through the golden rift.
Not from pressure—
not from heat—
but from recognition.
The world felt him before the three dragons even spoke a word.
The dojo grounds glowed faintly beneath his feet, like the earth itself remembered what Golden Dragons once were.
Swift and Jake stood a few paces back, instinctively giving Danny room—not out of fear, but reverence. They had watched Danny train, grow, break limits, and rise. But what returned from Pyra'nael was something even they weren't fully prepared for.
Danny's golden aura no longer flickered.
It didn't roar.
It didn't even glow constantly.
It breathed.
A living, ancient flame that pulsed in harmony with the world.
Jake's mouth hung open. "Dude… you're like… glowing but also not glowing? How are you glowing without glowing?"
Swift elbowed him lightly. "He means your presence has changed."
Danny shrugged softly. "I guess that's one way to put it."
Kael'ar appeared behind him, wings half-folded. Their feathers shimmered with fading echoes of the Last Flames.
"The Golden Heir has taken the first step," the Phoenix said. "One your ancestors waited lifetimes to manifest."
Danny rubbed his arm awkwardly. "I'm still me."
Swift walked forward. "You are. But you're also… more."
Jake added, "Way more. Like 'I could melt a mountain by staring at it' more."
Danny winced. "Can we not test that?"
Kael'ar laughed—soft and warm, like a bonfire remembering summer. "There will be time to explore his new state. For now, he must stabilize."
Master Oro approached from within the dojo, eyes soft with pride.
"Welcome home, Danny."
Danny's chest tightened. "How long was I gone?"
Jake answered, "A day and a half."
Swift added, "And the tournament is in less than five days."
Danny nodded slowly. "Then we don't have time to waste."
But Master Oro held up a hand.
"No. You need to rest. What you did would have burned any other dragon to ash."
Danny opened his mouth to argue, but his legs suddenly wobbled.
Swift caught him. "Easy."
Jake whistled. "Maybe we should, I dunno, sit down before the Heir of the Order falls over?"
Kael'ar nodded solemnly. "The First Flame demands recovery. Your body must learn to house what your soul accepted."
Danny reluctantly allowed Swift and Jake to guide him toward the steps of the dojo. The golden fire inside him hummed quietly—never sleeping, never silent.
He wasn't just carrying power now.
He was carrying memory.
Responsibility.
Destiny.
The first Golden Dragon in ages.
And the universe had already felt him awaken.
Far away, Shadeclaw's shadowy form limped back into the Wolf King's cavern.
His once-fluid movements were jittery. His breathing hollow. His aura distorted by proximity to Danny's awakening.
The Wolf King rose from his throne of molten rock.
"You return… shaking."
Shadeclaw fell to one knee, claws digging into the stone. "The sun has awakened, my king."
The cavern dimmed as the Wolf King's flames narrowed.
"Speak."
Shadeclaw swallowed hard.
"The Golden One touched the First Flame. The last of creation's fire. He has taken in power that predates our oldest ancestors."
The Wolf King closed his eyes.
He felt it even now.
That rising golden heat.
That luminous presence.
A predator equal to him—but of a different nature.
Shadeclaw whispered, "He has taken the first step toward Ascension."
The Wolf King inhaled slowly, chest expanding, flames curling around his fangs.
"So the sun rises early."
Shadeclaw looked up, trembling. "He will be unstoppable in time."
The Wolf King smirked.
"In time… but not yet."
He rose, towering over Shadeclaw.
"When two forces of the Order awaken—creation and consumption—they destabilize the balance. That is why we clash. That is why the tournament calls to us."
Shadeclaw bowed deeper. "My king… Bones offered you—"
A low growl filled the cavern, vibrating the walls.
"A proposition. A shadow alliance."
Shadeclaw flinched.
"Will you accept it?"
The Wolf King turned toward the darkness where Bones had vanished days earlier.
"No."
Relief washed across Shadeclaw's face.
Then the Wolf King added:
"But I will not reject it either."
Shadeclaw stiffened again.
The Wolf King flexed his claws, molten fire dripping from their tips.
"Let Bones think he has my interest. Let him believe he can shape me. When the time comes, I will decide who survives."
Shadeclaw bowed. "Your wisdom burns through all shadows."
The Wolf King's flames brightened.
"The tournament draws near. Danny has taken his first step. And I…"
He looked at the ashes of two former lieutenants.
"…have yet to take mine."
The Wolf King turned his gaze toward the stars.
"I cannot grow without conflict. But I can prepare."
Shadeclaw blinked. "Prepare how?"
The Wolf King smiled.
"By building what Bones desires."
Shadeclaw froze.
"My king… you would build the Dark Buddies?"
The Wolf King shrugged.
"Let Bones think I build it for him. But in truth…"
His eyes burned brighter.
"It will be mine."
He turned toward the exit of the cavern.
"Gather the strongest hybrids. The cunning ones. The ones who hunger."
Shadeclaw bowed deeply and disappeared into the shadows.
The Wolf King's smile widened, glowing with savage anticipation.
"When the sun rises fully… I will be the shadow that swallows it."
Bones floated through the emptiness between dimensions, green fire swirling in slow spirals around him. The sealing stones floated nearby, humming tauntingly.
He ignored them.
He was thinking about alliances.
About architecture.
About Danny.
The Golden Flame pulsed faintly across the far reaches of the void.
Bones grinned.
"He grows quickly. Good. A strong flame casts deep shadows."
He flicked his wrist.
A small dimensional window opened—not a portal, not fully connected—just enough to observe.
On the other side appeared Magic Kid, sitting atop a floating prism, carving faces into asteroids.
Bones chuckled softly. "An unpredictable ally… unpredictable even to himself."
He raised his hand.
A whisper of green flame drifted from the void, carried by nothing, guided by intention alone.
Magic Kid's ear twitched.
He looked up.
The whisper touched him gently.
Magic Kid blinked. "Oh. A message."
The whisper faded.
Magic Kid stared into the void.
"Bones wants me to join the Bad Buddies?"
He grinned, delighted.
"Ooooh. Chaos club!"
But then his smile softened, strange clarity flickering through his usually scattered magic.
He leaned back on his floating prism.
"No."
He tapped his chin.
"Not yet. I'll wait for the tournament."
His grin returned, sharper this time.
"That's when all the fun starts."
Bones watched from afar.
"…Interesting."
Magic Kid was unpredictable.
Even to him.
That made him valuable.
Back at the dojo, Danny sat beneath the cherry blossom tree in the courtyard, legs crossed, breath steady. Kael'ar sat across from him, wings folded respectfully.
Jake lounged nearby, arms behind his head. Swift stood with his back straight, staff across his shoulders, watching over them.
Danny inhaled deeply.
The golden fire responded—not wildly, not painfully, but with a gentle swell like a tide following the moon.
"I feel different," Danny said quietly.
Swift nodded. "You look different."
Jake pointed at Danny's chest. "Dude, your markings keep shifting around like they're breathing too."
Kael'ar nodded solemnly.
"They are not markings. They are the First Script."
Danny blinked. "What does that mean?"
"It means," Kael'ar said, "your body is starting to rewrite itself to match the flame within."
Oro approached with slow, meaningful steps.
"This is only the beginning of Ascension, Danny. The full transformation awaits you in the tournament."
Danny frowned. "I'm not ready."
Oro smiled. "Exactly. If you were ready, you would not be ascending."
Jake snorted. "That makes no sense."
Swift elbowed him again. "It makes perfect sense."
Kael'ar leaned forward.
"The Order chose you. And the Order does not choose mistakes."
Danny exhaled slowly.
"Then we push forward."
"Together," Swift added.
"Ride or roast," Jake agreed.
Danny laughed softly.
"Together."
Kael'ar spread their wings.
"Then your next step begins now."
Danny lifted his head.
"What step?"
Kael'ar's eyes glowed brightly.
"The step where your flame touches theirs."
Danny blinked. "Theirs?"
Swift and Jake exchanged confused looks.
Kael'ar clarified:
"The tournament is not only for you. Swift must unlock his Silver Moonform. Jake must break into the Titan Core. All three of you must ascend to your rightful place in the Order."
Jake swallowed loud enough for everyone to hear.
Swift squared his shoulders.
Danny stared at both of them.
"We're doing this. All of us."
Swift nodded.
Jake nodded, then immediately regretted it. "We're doomed."
Danny laughed.
But behind the laughter, something heavy settled among them.
The responsibility of their lineage.
The weight of the Order.
The pressure of destiny.
The tournament was coming.
In days.
Danny looked toward the horizon as the sun began to set, glowing gold.
The Wolf King felt him.
Bones watched.
Magic Kid waited.
Shadeclaw trembled.
The Order stirred.
Danny whispered:
"Let them come."
And the last days before the tournament began to tick away.