The crystalline sword felt impossibly light in my hands, like holding solidified moonbeams. But the weight of what was coming through those silver trees was crushing my chest with each breath.
"Ryze," I whispered, gripping the weapon so tightly my knuckles went white, "I've never held a sword in my life."
"Good thing instinct matters more than technique right now." He was strapping on what looked like armor made from the same crystal as my sword, moving with practiced efficiency. "Your dragon blood is responding to the threat. Trust it."
Through the window, I could see them now—three creatures that looked like wolves crossed with shadows, each one the size of a small horse. Their eyes glowed with the same hungry red as the void horror, and when they moved, reality seemed to bend around them like heat waves.
"Shadow Stalkers," Ryze muttered, checking the edge of his own blade. "They hunt in packs and feed on spiritual energy. They must have been drawn by your awakening bloodline."
"Are they dangerous?"
"Kid, everything in Realm Two is dangerous. These things just happen to be the kind of dangerous that enjoys playing with its food." He moved to the door, pausing with his hand on the handle. "Stay behind me, watch my movements, and whatever you do, don't let them separate us."
[HOSTILE ENTITIES IDENTIFIED: SHADOW STALKERS]
[THREAT LEVEL: MODERATE]
[DRAGON INSTINCTS: ACTIVE]
[COMBAT ASSISTANCE: ENABLED]
[RECOMMENDATION: TRUST YOUR REFLEXES]
The moment the system activated combat assistance, something shifted inside me. The fear didn't disappear, but it transformed into something sharper, more focused. My vision seemed clearer, and I could hear my own heartbeat like a war drum.
"I can feel them," I said, surprised by the steadiness in my voice. "Their positions, their movements. How is that possible?"
"Dragon senses. Your bloodline is ancient, predatory. These creatures register as prey to your awakening instincts." Ryze's smile was sharp as his blade. "Hold onto that feeling."
He threw open the door and stepped into the clearing. The Shadow Stalkers immediately focused on us, their forms rippling like smoke given substance. The largest one, easily the size of a motorcycle, let out a sound that was part growl, part whisper.
"Dragon child," it said, and its voice was like gravel sliding down glass. "You smell of old power. We hunger for what you carry."
"They can talk?" I took a step back, but Ryze's hand on my shoulder stopped me.
"Intelligence makes them more dangerous, but also more predictable. They want to feed on your spiritual energy, which means they need to get close." He raised his sword, and the crystal blade began to glow with inner light. "Don't give them the chance."
The pack leader pounced.
It moved faster than anything that size should have been able to, crossing the twenty feet between us in a heartbeat. But somehow, I was already moving too. The crystal sword came up without conscious thought, intercepting claws that would have taken my head off.
The impact sent vibrations up my arms, but I held on. More importantly, the Shadow Stalker hissed and pulled back—my blade had actually hurt it.
[FIRST SUCCESSFUL PARRY]
[DRAGON INSTINCTS: STRENGTHENING]
[COMBAT REFLEXES: +1]
[AWAKENING POINTS +1]
[CURRENT TOTAL: 3]
"Good!" Ryze's voice came from my left, where he was dancing around one of the smaller stalkers. His movements were fluid, precise, each strike calculated to maximum effect. "Feel the rhythm of combat. Let your instincts guide you."
The pack leader circled me, its red eyes never leaving mine. "You fight like a cornered rat, not a dragon. Where is your fire, little heir?"
"Maybe I'm saving it for something that matters," I shot back, surprised by my own boldness.
The creature laughed, a sound like breaking glass. "Brave words. Let us see if you can back them up."
It lunged again, but this time I was ready. Instead of just blocking, I sidestepped and brought my blade down in a diagonal cut that Ryze had just demonstrated. The crystal sword bit deep into the stalker's flank, and it howled in pain and fury.
Black ichor sprayed from the wound, hissing where it hit the ground. The creature stumbled, favoring its injured side.
[SUCCESSFUL COUNTERATTACK]
[DAMAGE DEALT: SIGNIFICANT]
[DRAGON BLOODLINE RESPONDING TO COMBAT]
[NEW ABILITY UNLOCKING...]
The third stalker, which had been hanging back, suddenly rushed me from behind. I heard it coming—somehow, I actually heard its shadow-form padding across the grass—but I was too slow to turn.
Claws raked across my back, tearing through my jacket and into flesh. Pain exploded across my shoulders, and I stumbled forward with a cry of agony.
"Liam!" Ryze's voice was sharp with concern, but he was still engaged with his own opponent.
The injured pack leader saw its chance and pounced again, this time aiming low. I tried to bring my sword up, but the pain in my back threw off my timing.
That's when something extraordinary happened.
Heat exploded in my chest, racing through my veins like liquid fire. My vision went red around the edges, and I felt something that was definitely not human rising inside me. The crystal sword in my hand began to glow brighter, responding to whatever was happening to me.
[DANGER THRESHOLD EXCEEDED]
[EMERGENCY AWAKENING PROTOCOL ACTIVATED]
[UNLOCKING: DRAGON'S WRATH (BASIC)]
[WARNING: ABILITY UNSTABLE - FIRST ACTIVATION]
I roared—actually roared, like a wild animal—and swung my sword in a wide arc. Fire erupted from the blade, not metaphorical fire but actual flames that burned silver-white in the twilight air.
The Shadow Stalker hit the wall of fire and shrieked, its form dissolving where the flames touched it. In seconds, it was nothing but ash and the smell of burned shadow.
The remaining two stalkers froze, staring at me with what might have been fear.
"Impossible," the third one whispered. "The fire... it burns with ancient power."
I looked down at my hands, which were trembling from exhaustion. The sword was still glowing, but the flames had died down to embers along its edge.
"That's enough," Ryze said firmly. His own opponent was down, a spreading pool of black ichor beneath its still form. "You've made your point."
The surviving stalker backed away, its red eyes wide. "We did not know, dragon child. We did not know you carried true fire."
"Now you do," I managed, though my voice was hoarse from the roar. "Spread the word."
The creature nodded once, then melted back into the shadows between the trees. In moments, it was gone, leaving only the smell of sulfur and burnt shadow.
I sank to my knees, suddenly exhausted. The fire in my chest had cooled to a dull ache, and my back was throbbing where the claws had gotten me.
"That was..." I started, then stopped. I didn't have words for what that had been.
"Your first real awakening," Ryze said, kneeling beside me. He produced a small vial of something that glowed with soft blue light. "Drink this. It'll help with the wounds and the spiritual exhaustion."
I downed the potion in one gulp. It tasted like liquid starlight and made my injuries stop screaming quite so loudly.
[SPIRITUAL RECOVERY POTION CONSUMED]
[HEALTH: RESTORING]
[DRAGON'S WRATH ABILITY: INTEGRATED]
[AWAKENING POINTS +2]
[CURRENT TOTAL: 5]
[NEW THRESHOLD REACHED - SYSTEM UPGRADE AVAILABLE]
"System upgrade?" I looked at Ryze. "What does that mean?"
"It means you're progressing faster than expected. Dragon bloodline awakening usually takes months of gradual exposure to spiritual energy." He helped me to my feet. "You just jumped several stages in one fight."
"Is that good or bad?"
"Both." His expression was troubled. "It's good because you need power if you're going to survive what's coming. It's bad because rapid awakening draws attention. The kind of attention we can't handle yet."
As if to prove his point, a new sound echoed through the forest. Not the growl of shadow stalkers, but something else. Something that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
It was the sound of wings. Big ones.
"Tell me that's a friendly dragon," I said hopefully.
Ryze's face had gone pale. "There are no friendly dragons. They're all imprisoned, remember?"
"Then what—"
My question was answered as something massive passed overhead, blotting out the three moons. It was definitely dragon-shaped, but wrong somehow. Where a dragon should have had scales, this thing had what looked like armor made of darkness. Its eyes were the same hungry red as the Shadow Stalkers.
"Shadow Dragon," Ryze breathed. "They're not supposed to exist anymore."
The creature circled once, its gaze seeming to fix on our position, then let out a roar that shook the very foundations of the realm.
[EXTREME THREAT DETECTED]
[ENTITY CLASS: CORRUPTED ANCIENT]
[RECOMMENDATION: IMMEDIATE EVACUATION]
[WARNING: CURRENT POWER LEVEL INSUFFICIENT]
[SURVIVAL PROBABILITY: 3%]
Three percent. And that was after my awakening.
"We need to run," Ryze said, grabbing supplies from the cabin. "Now."
"Where? That thing can fly!"
"There's a sanctuary deeper in the forest. Ancient wards that even a Shadow Dragon can't break." He shouldered a pack and handed me another. "But we have to reach it before—"
The Shadow Dragon landed in the clearing with a sound like a mountain falling. Up close, it was even more terrifying—easily fifty feet long, with claws that could split trees and teeth like black diamonds.
When it spoke, its voice was like the whisper of dying stars.
"Dragon child. You carry the scent of the true flame. Give us your power, and we will make your death swift."
I raised my crystal sword, though it felt pathetically small compared to the monster before us.
"Counter-offer," I said, surprised by my own defiance. "Go back to whatever hole you crawled out of, and I won't burn you to ash."
The Shadow Dragon laughed, a sound that made my bones ache.
"Brave words from such a small flame. Let us see how long your fire burns."
It drew in a breath that seemed to pull light from the very air around us.
What came next was going to hurt.