In the dying shine of the setting sun, a silhouette cut through the sky.
At first it was only a shadow against the burning horizon—vast wings beating, each thunderous flap shaking the air itself. As it drew closer, its true size became impossible to ignore. Nearly fifty feet from snout to tail, towering twenty feet tall even before its wings unfurled, the dragon's bulk was immense. Black and crimson scales caught the fading light, gleaming like molten metal in dusk. Its wings stretched wide like living curtains, displacing the air with every slow, powerful beat. Its irises glowed a nocturnal yellow, sharp and predatory, while its sclera burned a deep crimson red.
Seris smiled.
She spun once on her heel and stepped forward, excitement overtaking her composed demeanor.
"Bithorn!" she called, giggling—almost like an overjoyed schoolgirl seeing her beloved hound after a long day apart.
Atlas stood apart from the moment, seemingly unbothered, his eyes lowered to the Culling Sphere Vorenna had given him. The crystal hummed faintly in his palm, catching reflections of the sunset. Garruk, meanwhile, was simply staring upward, his mouth slightly open as he followed the dragon's descent through the clouds. Ako, on the other hand, was glowing. Her ears twitched with excitement, eyes shimmering as the massive creature drew closer.
"So cool…" she squeaked, barely containing herself. Seeing a dragon up close had clearly exceeded her expectations.
Lorian, however, had vanished.
Or rather—he had relocated behind Garruk.
"It's huge…" he whimpered. "Oh shit."
His voice cracked somewhere between terror and disbelief.
He wasn't alone in that fear. Inside, Lady Vorenna was panicking just as much, though she hid it better. Dragons were unlawful creatures—dangerous, untamed, widely regarded as walking catastrophes. Destroyers of cities. Living weapons. They were common in the Demon Territories, which, at the very least, worked in their favor. If dragons were everywhere there, one more wouldn't draw attention. That's why she approved this in the first place, otherwise bringing a dragon onto Coalition grounds is extremely illegal. This would be an exception.
The creature descended and landed heavily on the grassy field outside the Sunborn Empire's gates. The earth trembled beneath its weight. It huffed, a low rumble vibrating from its chest, and exhaled sharply through its snout.
The blast of heated breath washed over them like a foul gust.
"Oh gods—" Ako gagged. "That's… bad."
As a beast-kin, her senses were sharper than the rest. Unfortunately, that included smell.
Bithorn lurked forward, towering over all of them—even Garruk, who stood nearly ten feet tall himself. Lorian looked moments away from fainting.
Seris stepped forward calmly.
"It's okay, Bithorn," she said gently. "They're friends."
"Acquaintances, actually!" Lorian squealed.
"Comrades?" Ako offered.
"Coworkers," Atlas added flatly.
"We're friends?" Garruk asked hopefully, his booming voice earnest.
Seris glanced back at them, unimpressed."Do you want to get eaten?"
Lorian swallowed hard. "Friends is fine. Friends is good."
The dragon snorted, nostrils flaring as it sniffed the Deathforged one by one before turning its attention fully to Seris. She reached up and scratched beneath its scaled chin.
"There you are, buddy…" she murmured.
Bithorn closed his eyes and leaned into her touch, rubbing his massive head against her. Seris laughed softly.
"Okay, okay! I missed you too." She rested a hand on his snout. "Bithorn, do you think you could give me and my… friends… a ride to the Demon Territories?"
The dragon huffed once, then lowered himself until his head rested against the grass.
Seris grinned and hopped onto his neck, walking up it like a ramp until she stood atop his broad back.
"Ride's here."
Atlas stepped forward, studying the dragon carefully.
'Never seen one before. Didn't think they were this big.'
Instead of climbing, he bent his legs and sprinted, launching himself upward in a smooth motion. He landed silently beside Seris, balanced and steady.
"Show-off," Lorian muttered.
Ako stared up at Atlas, eyes sparkling. "He's so fricking awesome…" She was a fan girl of sorts.
The small girl ran forward, "A dragon! hey big guy!" she patted Bithorn's head enthusiastically, then climbed onto his neck. Garruk followed, grabbing onto the dragon's scales and hauling himself up with brute strength. Vorenna cupped her hands.
"Be careful! This mission is incredibly important!"
Something tugged at her leg.
She looked down to see Lorian curled into a ball, eyes squeezed shut.
"…Eh?"
Atlas leaned over the dragon's edge.
"Hybrid. Get over here. Now."
"First off, jackass, my name is Lorian Volkas!" he snapped. "And secondly—hell no! That thing gives me the heebie-jeebies..."
"Now," Atlas said. "I'm not a babysitter."
"There is literally no way you're getting me on that thing! I'd rather—"
---
They were airborne.
Bithorn soared through the dusk clouds, wings cutting through the sky as the Sunborn Empire shrank below. Lorian lay flat on his back atop the dragon, gripping its scales like his life depended on it.
"Shit. Shit. Shit!"
Garruk sat curled beside him.
"Are you okay?"
"No," Lorian snapped. "You wanna know why?"
"Why?"
"Because that short bastard made you drag me onto this damn thing!"
Garruk thought for a moment, recalling Lorian screaming like a girl as he was hauled across the grass.
"I think I remember."
The dragon adjusted its flight path, banking slightly as it searched for the route east.
Lorian stiffened and shivered. "Why is it moving like that—so carelessly—"
Near the dragon's head, Atlas unfolded the paper Vorenna had given him. "I'll read it later," he muttered, stuffing it back into his pocket.
The dragon began to fly to the east, Ako stumbled from the sudden jerk but she was caught by Seris.
"Careful," Seris said with a small smile. Ako looked up at the tall dark elf woman.
"Yeah... thanks."
Seris was staring at something in the distance, in fact all of the Deathforged were, save for Lorian—he was too busy shutting his eyes and plugging his ears. Ako followed their gaze and saw the figure of a man in the distance, floating over the Sunborn Empire.
Ako's eyes widened, "Is that—"
""Lykkos," Seris said. "Looks like they finally sent him after the envoy."
Atlas studied the figure, he was curious about the Icon of Hope, Lykkos. He was clearly bothered by something.
'I've never felt threatened just by someone standing near me. Never.'
Lykkos paid them no mind in the distance. He simply floated above the empire. Just then golden light erupted from Lykkos's back. The same light that created the flower he gave to Vorenna just hours earlier.
Aether Resonance.
Atlas squinted his eyes as the light formed behind Lykkos and took the form of a golden, glowing, elastic barrier behind him.
Lykkos pressed his feet onto the vertical barrier. The consistency was malleable, almost like a trampoline. Ako looked on in wonder and confusion.
"What is he—"
BOOM!
A sonic crack echoed as Lykkos launched forward, vanishing into a streak of gold that tore across the sky. As quickly as he came, he was gone and completely out of sight over the horizon.
"He's so fast!" Ako squealed in awe.
Atlas grunted.
Seris patted her back with a chuckle, "Calm down, we have a long ride ahead."
"Everyone! please, shuuuut up!" Lorian shouted in his hands as they covered his face.
---
The Deathforged were on their first mission. For the first time, they were alone together.
Comrades? Companions? Coworkers? Friends?
Whatever they would become—this was where it began.
"A soul marked for death may alter its fate if it performs deeds equal in weight to the sentence itself."
These simple words would define a generation.
Why?
Because this is the story of how five criminals, death row inmates, became the heroes that saved the world from ruin and the contract that made it all possible.
This is the story of the Deathforged Contract.
---
PROLOGUE—END