The moment Rey broke the seal and opened the box, something shifted.
Not in the room.
Not around him.
But across the world itself.
A ripple spread silently, unseen, unfelt by ordinary beings.
Yet for those who slept beneath years… it was enough.
Enough to wake legends.
Enough to invite calamity.
Deep within a dense forest, a cave barely large enough to draw attention hid an interior vast beyond reason.
Something colossal stirred.
A pair of ancient eyes opened, gazing toward a distant direction.
The energy was familiar.
Yet weak.
After a long pause, the creature closed its eyes again, choosing silence over movement.
Far below the ocean's surface, buried beneath coral and stone, a mountain-sized beast lay dormant.
Its deep blue eyes snapped open.
The surrounding sea trembled.
Creatures fled in blind terror.
Moments passed.
No threat followed.
The eyes shut once more.
The ocean returned to stillness.
Within a dormant volcano disguised as a lush mountain, lava began to boil.
A being awakened.
The land quaked.
Yet the volcano did not erupt.
Instead, the presence faded again.
The damage, however, remained.
Beasts and animals fled for miles, instincts screaming danger.
Near the ThunderPeak Kingdom, thunder roared nonstop atop a towering mountain.
Clouds twisted violently.
Lightning tore through the sky.
A massive avian silhouette circled the peak, radiating fury.
Even the Duke was shaken.
These beings were not supposed to stir.
Not yet.
Minutes later, the storm ceased.
The sky went quiet.
But the news did not.
Within hours, whispers spread across the Five Kingdoms and the Empire.
Something had moved.
In the Ice Heart Kingdom's capital, beneath the frozen earth, stood a palace of snow and ice.
Every edge was perfect.
Every curve deliberate.
On an ice throne sat its master.
When the ripple reached him—
Two chilling eyes opened.
The cave froze deeper than ever before.
A faint grin appeared.
Then silence returned.
Even so, the Duke family had already been alerted.
Elsewhere, in a plain room that seemed almost laughably simple, a human opened his eyes.
For a brief second, shock flickered across his face.
Then—
A smile.
Wide.
Predatory.
As if he had just smelled blood.
Before he could return to meditation, a knock sounded.
"Come in."
A man in luxurious attire entered and knelt immediately.
"I greet the Great One. Reports from all five Duke families confirm dormant beings have begun to stir. Should we act? If this continues, the world may learn of that existence."
The young man hummed softly.
"No."
The kneeling man froze.
"This is merely a glance," the young man continued calmly. "They are not moving yet. They are waiting. Just like us."
His gaze sharpened.
"The era is turning. Either we die… or we rise beyond what he gave us."
The man bowed deeply and withdrew.
Outside, the corridor was dazzling beyond imagination.
Gold, crystals, divine artistry.
A stark contrast to the plain room within.
Alone again, the young man exhaled.
"So… your heir has finally stepped onto the stage."
He touched his chest.
A massive dent scarred his body, an old wound that even time could not heal.
"I'll see whether he deserves to exist… before I ascend and confront you again."
Silence swallowed the room.
Back in Rey's room.
None of them knew what had just happened.
None of them realised how many eyes had turned his way.
Because all attention was on the box.
Inside it lay—
A ring.
Plain.
Unadorned.
No engravings.
No markings.
Just dull metal and a small rhombus-shaped crystal embedded within.
"That's it?" Rey muttered.
Aiden tried everything.
System scans.
Manual inspection.
Even brute-force probing.
Nothing responded.
No information.
No reaction.
Eventually, he gave up.
"Do whatever you want with it," Aiden said.
Rey reached out.
The moment his fingers touched the ring—
It changed.
The metal darkened.
Slowly.
Relentlessly.
Silver became grey.
Grey became black.
Pure.
Pitch-black.
The room went silent.
Before anyone could react—
The ring, now completely black, suddenly di—