Damien's feet left the edge of the cliff.
For a brief moment, he felt nothing just the absence of solid ground beneath him, the sudden lurch of gravity taking hold.
Then he was falling.
The wind screamed past his ears like a thousand voices crying out in warning. His ceremonial robes those expensive white and gold silks that were supposed to mark him as royalty whipped around him violently, snapping like flags in a storm.
And Damien smiled.It wasn't a happy smile. It wasn't triumphant or brave.It was the smile of a man who had finally stopped running, who had finally accepted the inevitable.
"Finally," he thought, his eyes drifting closed as the wind tore tears from them. "I'll be free from this curse Father laid on me. Free from the shame. Free from the disappointment."
The humiliation at the ceremony flashed through his mind one last time the laughter, the chanting, Seraphine's cold rejection, his father's face turning away and then he let it all go.
"I'm sorry, Mama," he whispered in his mind, thinking of the woman he'd never known, the commoner his father had bedded and abandoned. "I never got to meet you. Not really. Father never even told me your name. But maybe… maybe in death, I will? Maybe you're waiting for me somewhere beyond this world."
His smile widened peaceful now, accepting.
"At least I get to choose how I go. At least this ending is mine."
Below him, a sharp outcropping of black stone jutted from the mountainside like a massive spear thrust up from the earth itself. Its point was aimed directly at the sky.
At him.Damien opened his eyes one last time and stared at it.The rock was ten feet away.Getting closer.Closer.Few seconds left before impact.
A sudden white light erupted from Damien's right palm like a star being born in his hand.It wasn't warm.It was burning white hot, searing as if someone had pressed molten metal directly into his flesh.
Damien screamed, a raw sound of shock and agony that was instantly swallowed by the roaring wind. He clutched his hand to his chest instinctively, but the light only grew brighter, more intense.
It exploded outward in a blinding wave that swallowed him completely, turning the world into nothing but golden fire.The wind stopped.The rocks vanished.The mountain disappeared.And suddenly impossibly Damien wasn't falling anymore.
He opened his eyes.Darkness.Complete, infinite darkness stretched out in every direction. Not the darkness of a moonless night or a locked room this was something deeper.
It was the darkness that existed before light was ever created, the void that swallowed stars and crushed reality beneath its weight.
And yet, somehow, Damien could breathe. He blinked, confused and disoriented. His heart was still racing, adrenaline flooding his system. His hands trembled.
"What… what just happened?"
He tried to move and found that he could.His feet touched something solid glass smooth and ice cold though when he looked down, he saw nothing beneath him. Just more darkness.
"Where am I?" His voice echoed strangely, as if the void itself was listening.
He took a tentative step forward. Then another. Each footstep made no sound, left no mark.
"I was falling," he thought, his mind racing to piece together what had happened. "I was about to die. The rock was right there. I felt the light burning my hand, and then…"
He looked around at the endless emptiness and let out a shaky, breathless laugh.
"Oh So this is what death looks like." His voice was small, hollow. "It's… peaceful, I guess. Quiet."
He walked forward aimlessly, his hands hanging at his sides.
"At least death doesn't judge you," he continued, talking to himself because the silence was unbearable. "It doesn't care if you're weak or strong, noble or common. It just… accepts everyone."
Another bitter laugh escaped him.
"Even useless pieces of shit like me."
His words echoed through the void, bouncing back at him mockingly.
And then the silence broke.A voice.Not a voice like any Damien had ever heard. This was something that resonated in his bones, in his chest, in the very core of his being. It was deep impossibly deep like the rumble of mountains shifting beneath the earth. Powerful. Absolute.
"You were never powerless."
Damien froze mid step.Every muscle in his body locked up. His breath caught in his throat. Cold terror primal, instinctive washed over him like ice water.
"What was that?"
"Your power refused to serve lesser magic," the voice continued, and each word seemed to press down on Damien like a physical weight. "You are my heir."
"Who's there?!" Damien shouted, spinning around wildly. His voice cracked with fear. "Show yourself!"
For a moment nothing.And then the ground shattered.Not cracked. Not trembled.Shattered.Massive fractures of golden light split through the darkness like lightning frozen in time, spreading outward in jagged lines that stretched into infinity. The void itself seemed to scream as something impossibly vast moved within it.
*BOOM.*
A footstep.
The impact was so violent, so overwhelmingly loud, that Damien's knees buckled. He fell forward, catching himself with his hands, and felt the invisible ground beneath him crack and splinter.
*BOOM.*
Another step. Closer now.The air grew heavy suffocating, oppressive. Damien couldn't breathe. His chest tightened. His vision blurred at the edges. It felt like the entire universe was pressing down on him, trying to crush him into nothingness.
*BOOM.*
And then it appeared.Damien looked up.And low and behold his mind couldn't process what he was seeing.The silhouette wasn't just large. It was wrong too massive to exist in any reality Damien understood. Its form was draconic, but abstract, shifting constantly as if it couldn't decide what shape it wanted to hold.
Wings stretched out behind it enormous, impossibly vast blotting out even the darkness itself with something darker.But it was the eyes.Two burning suns of pure golden fire stared down at him from a height so great Damien couldn't even see where the creature's body ended. Those eyes weren't just bright they were infinite, holding the weight of eons, the birth and death of stars, the rise and fall of worlds.
Damien tried to speak, but no sound came out.He tried to move at this point but His body wouldn't obey.He was paralyzed not by magic, but by sheer, overwhelming presence. This wasn't just a powerful being. This was something beyond comprehension. A force of nature given form. A god made manifest.
The massive head lowered slowly.Until those burning eyes filled Damien's entire vision, and he could see nothing else.
"You tremble," the voice said, and now it was everywhere inside Damien's head, in his chest, vibrating through his bones. "Good. Fear is the first step toward understanding."
Damien's mouth moved wordlessly. His entire body shook.
"I asked you a question, child." The dragon's voice softened slightly, though it lost none of its terrible power. "Do you understand what I said?"
"I… I…" Damien forced the words out through chattering teeth. "I don't… I don't understand. What do you mean, I was never powerless? I couldn't summon anything. The Egg didn't react to me at all. Everyone said"
"Everyone," the dragon interrupted, and there was something almost like amusement in its tone, "is blind." It said
One massive claw each talon the size of a greatsword lifted into view and pointed directly at Damien's chest.
"Your mana refused to serve lesser magic. The Egg of Hearts measures ordinary power, mortal potential. You, child, are neither ordinary nor mortal. Your blood carries something far older. Far greater."
The claw moved, pointing at Damien's right palm.
"You felt it, didn't you? When you fell. When death reached for you. The power that refused to awaken in that pathetic ceremony it awakened the moment your life was truly threatened."
Damien stared at his hand. The skin of his palm was unmarked, but he could still feel it that burning sensation, the light that had erupted from within him.
"Who… who are you?" he whispered.
The dragon straightened to its full, impossible height.And when it spoke again, the words themselves seemed to reshape reality.
"I am the First Dragon God."
The darkness around them rippled and pulsed with each word.
"I am the one who existed before your world was born. I am the creator of the Six Dragon Hearts that beat at the foundation of your kingdoms. I am the fire from which all dragons were forged. I am the storm that shaped continents. I am the voice that commanded the void itself to give birth to light."
The burning eyes flared brighter.
"And you, Damien son of a fallen king carry my essence within you. It has slept in your veins since the day you were born, waiting, dormant. Until now."
Damien couldn't speak. Couldn't think. His mind was reeling, unable to process what he was hearing.
"The Dragon God. The actual, literal Dragon God. The one from the oldest myths, the stories priests told about creation itself…"
"I see doubt in your eyes," the dragon said. "Good. Doubt keeps you alive. But tell me this, child"
The massive head lowered again until it was mere feet from Damien's face. Heat radiated from it not burning, but overwhelming, like standing too close to a forge.
"Do you want to be strong?"
The question hung in the air like a blade suspended above Damien's head.His thoughts flashed back to the ceremony. To the crowd laughing. To Eden's cruel smirk. To Prince Charles's look of pity mixed with disgust. To his father his own father turning away as if Damien didn't exist.To Seraphine standing up and announcing to thousands of people that he had no future.
"I cannot marry such a weakling."
His hands slowly clenched into fists.
"Yes," he whispered.
"Louder."
"Yes!" Damien's voice cracked. He looked up at those burning eyes, and something inside him something that had been crushed and beaten and humiliated for so long suddenly refused to stay down any longer.
"Yes, I want to be strong!" he shouted. "I'm tired of being weak! I'm tired of being laughed at! I'm tired of disappointing everyone!"
He spread his arms wide, his voice rising to a desperate scream.
"But look at me! I'm useless! I couldn't even make a stupid egg react! My mana is…. Don't you understand "
"ENOUGH."
The single word was like a thunderclap that silenced everything.The dragon's eyes narrowed.
"Your mana is not weak, child. It simply refuses to serve those beneath it." The dragon leaned even closer. "The Egg of Hearts was designed to measure ordinary magic the scraps and fragments that mortals call power. You do not carry scraps. You carry my legacy."
Damien stared up at the massive silhouette, trembling.
"But power without purpose is meaningless," the dragon continued. "So I will offer you a bargain."
"A… a bargain?"
"Yes." The dragon's voice grew darker, heavier. "I will grant you my inheritance the full legacy of the Dragon God. The power to command dragons. The strength to reshape kingdoms. The authority to stand as my heir in this world."
Damien's breath caught.That was… that was everything he'd ever wanted. Everything he'd been denied.
"What…" His throat was dry. "What do you want in return?"
The dragon was silent for a long moment.When it spoke again, there was something in its voice that sent ice down Damien's spine. Not malice. Something worse.
"There is a storm coming, Damien."
The darkness around them seemed to pulse and writhe.
"Something stirs in the shadows of your world. Something old. Something very hungry."
The golden eyes dimmed slightly, and for the first time, Damien saw something almost human in them.
Exhaustion, age, The weight of eons.
"I am… diminished," the dragon admitted quietly. "My time in this world has passed. I can no longer act directly. I can no longer protect what I created."
It straightened again, and its voice hardened into iron.
"So I offer you this: I will give you the power you crave. The strength to prove them all wrong. The ability to become everything they said you could never be and even better."
"But in return"
The dragon's claw moved, pointing directly at Damien's heart.
"you will stand where I cannot. You will face the darkness that comes. You will protect the Six Dragon Hearts. And when the storm finally breaks…"
The dragon leaned down one final time, its burning eyes filling Damien's entire world.
"…you will become the Dragon King. The true heir. Not a pretender wearing borrowed power, but the rightful inheritor of everything I am."
The weight of those words pressed down on Damien like a mountain.He could feel it the magnitude of what was being asked of him. This wasn't just accepting power. This was accepting responsibility. Purpose. A destiny that could crush him if he wasn't strong enough.
But as he stood there, staring up at the god before him, something clicked into place.
"I was going to die anyway," he thought. "I threw myself off a cliff because I had nothing left. No future. No hope. Nothing."
He looked down at his hands.
"But now… now I have a choice."
He could refuse. Walk away. Accept death Or he could take the power. Accept the burden. And finally finally have a chance to become something more than "the useless prince."
Damien looked up at the Dragon God.And he smiled not with peace this time, but with grim determination.
"If I do this," he said slowly, "if I accept your power and your purpose… will I be strong enough to make them regret ever laughing at me?"
The dragon's eyes flared bright.
"Strong enough to make kingdoms tremble at the sound of your name."
"Will I be able to prove my father wrong?"
"You will become everything he wished his sons could be."
"Will I" Damien's voice cracked slightly. "Will I finally be worth something?"
The dragon was silent for a moment.Then it spoke, and its voice was surprisingly gentle.
"You were always worth something, child. They were simply too blind to see it."
Something in Damien's chest twisted painfully.He took a deep breath.And then he stepped forward, meeting those burning eyes without flinching.
"Then I accept your bargain."
"You understand the cost? The burden?"
"I understand."
"You know that failure means not just your death, but the destruction of everything I built?"
"I know."
"And you accept this freely? Without coercion or deceit?"
Damien's jaw set.
"I accept."
For a moment, nothing happened.And then the dragon reared back, its massive form rising to its full, terrible height. Its wings spread wide, blotting out even the concept of space itself.
And when it spoke, its voice was not just a sound it was creation itself speaking.
"THEN BY MY NAME, BY MY BLOOD, BY MY FIRE"
Golden flames erupted around Damien in a spiraling tornado of light.
"I GRANT YOU MY LEGACY"
The flames exploded outward in a shockwave that shattered the darkness like glass.And in the center of it all, burning brighter than the sun, script began to form.
Ancient dragon runes letters from a language that existed before words were invented burned themselves into existence in the air around Damien. They spiraled and twisted and danced, each one pulsing with power that made the very air hum.
And somehow impossibly Damien could read them.Not with his eyes.With his soul.
[THE DRAGON GOD SYSTEM HAS AWAKENED]
The words burned so bright Damien had to shield his eyes.But they didn't fade.Instead, they multiplied more script appearing, flowing like water, forming shapes and symbols that carved themselves directly into his consciousness.
[HOST RECOGNIZED]
[NAME: Damien]
[BLOODLINE: First Dragon God]
[TITLE: Heir to the Throne of Creation]
[STATUS: Inheritor of the Ancient Legacy]
[YOUR MANDATE]
[Stand where the Dragon God cannot]
[Face the storm that rises in shadow]
[Protect the Six Dragon Hearts]
[Reclaim what was stolen]
[Become the true Dragon King]
The flames shifted, reforming into new shapes.Damien felt knowledge flooding into his mind not words, but understanding. Pure information being branded directly into his soul.
[DRAGON SLOTS: 0/6 UNLOCKED ]
[Six seals bind six aspects]
[Each seal guards a dragon of legend]
[Prove yourself. Break the seals. Claim your inheritance]
[FIRST SUMMON CONTRACT AVAILABLE]
[NAME: The First Primordial Dragon]
[RANK: Beyond Classification]
[ELEMENT GRANTED TO HOST: Heat Manipulation]
Damien's eyes widened.
"The First Primordial Dragon?" he whispered, his voice barely audible over the roaring flames. "That's… that's impossible. The stories said it died before the world was even created. That it gave its life to"
"Death," the Dragon God's voice rumbled from everywhere at once, "is… flexible… for beings such as us."
[HOST HAS BEEN GRANTED: DRAGON WARLORD LEGION]
[UNLOCKED: 1 of Unlimited Collections]
[Ancient warriors bound to the Dragon God]
[Prove your worth. Conquer their trials]
[Command their blades]
[Your army awaits, sleeping in shadow]
[DRAGON KING WEAPONRY UNLOCKED ]
[NAME: The Unwritten]
[CLASS: S-Rank Divine Armament]
[STATUS: Sealed - Awaiting Master]
The flames began to condense, pulling together into a single point of searing golden light directly in front of Damien.And then new words formed simpler, more direct.
[YOUR FIRST COMPANION AWAITS]
[HE HAS SLEPT SINCE THE BEGINNING OF TIME]
[HE IS YOUR WEAPON. YOUR SHIELD. YOUR TRIAL]
[DO YOU ACCEPT THE BOND?]
Two options burned before him:
[YES] or [NO]
Damien stared at them, his heart pounding so hard he thought it might break through his ribs.His hand trembled as he raised it.But there was no hesitation.His finger pressed forward and touched the burning word.
YES.
The world exploded.Golden light detonated outward in a wave so powerful it shattered the darkness completely, tearing through the void like paper. Damien was thrown backward, tumbling through empty space as reality itself seemed to scream and tear apart around him.
And through the chaos, through the roaring wind and the blinding light, he heard the Dragon God's voice one final time.
"He has been with me since before time had meaning, Damien. He is the first weapon I ever forged. The first blade. The first flame. The first shadow."
The light grew impossibly brighter.
"Prove yourself worthy of him, and I will grant you power beyond your wildest imagination. Fail, and you will be consumed by the very fire you sought to wield."
A pause.And then, softer almost gentle:
"We have made our contract, child. And when you are ready… when you have grown strong enough… we will meet again."
The Dragon God's presence vanished.The light exploded one final time And then everything went black.Damien's eyes snapped open.He was lying on something hard and cold. Stone.His entire body ached, as if he'd been thrown down a mountain.He sat up with a gasp, looking around wildly.He was in a chamber.Vast. Impossibly vast.
The walls stretched up into darkness so high he couldn't see where they ended. The floor was smooth black stone, polished to a mirror shine that reflected nothing.And in the air… there was something. A presence that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up and his skin prickle with instinctive fear.
Damien slowly got to his feet, his legs shaking.
"Where…" His voice came out hoarse, barely above a whisper. "Where am I?"
No answer.Just silence. Heavy, oppressive silence that seemed to swallow sound itself.He took a tentative step forward. His footstep echoed once sharp and clear and then was consumed by the void.And then he saw it.
At the center of the chamber, rising from the darkness like a monument to death itself a throne.But calling it a throne didn't do it justice. It was a work of art and horror combined, something that should have been beautiful but was instead deeply, fundamentally wrong.It was constructed entirely from dragon skulls.Dozens of them. Maybe hundreds.Each skull was massive easily the size of a horse their jaws frozen open in eternal silent roars, their empty eye sockets glowing faintly with dying embers of golden light.
They were stacked and fused together, twisted and melted into a grotesque seat that seemed to radiate ancient power and terrible beauty in equal measure. Some of the skulls still had fragments of horns attached. Others had teeth as long as swords jutting out at odd angles.
And seated on that throne of bone and shadow Damien's breath caught in his throat.
A figure.Its body was pitch black not the black of darkness, but the black of absence. As if someone had taken a blade and cut a hole in reality itself, then shaped that emptiness into the form of a warrior.
It had no visible features. No scales. No skin. No clear anatomy. Just a vague humanoid silhouette that hurt to look at directly, like staring at something your eyes couldn't quite focus on.And draped across its form was something that looked like a cloak, but moved like liquid smoke. It shifted and flowed constantly, rippling with patterns that seemed to writhe and change as if creation itself had been woven into fabric and wrapped around this thing.
In its hand if it could be called a hand it held a weapon.A long black rod resting casually across its shoulders.Or was it a spear? A staff?Damien couldn't tell. Every time he tried to focus on it, the weapon seemed to shift changing shape and form as if it couldn't decide what it wanted to be.
The figure sat completely motionless.Damien stood frozen at the chamber's entrance, unable to move, unable to speak.And thenThe figure's head tilted Slowly.Two points of crimson light ignited where eyes should be burning red stars that fixed directly on Damien with an intelligence that was ancient, alien, and utterly terrifying.
The figure spoke.Its voice was low.And it didn't come from its mouth.it came from everywhere resonating in Damien's chest, his skull, his very bones.
"So."
The single word echoed through the vast chamber like a death knell.
"You're the one who woke me."