The sound of chains echoed through the palace depths — deep, rhythmic, alive.
Rayzen could feel it in his bones. Something ancient was moving far below, whispering through stone and shadow.
Daemonos' low growl filled his mind.
"They woke the slumbering blood. The capital hides more than kings, hatchling."
Rayzen clenched his fists. His wrists still bore faint burns from the failed binding ritual.
He could still feel the Emperor's voice echoing in his head — "You are the heir of Aethryon."
The words didn't feel like a truth.
They felt like a trap.
1. The Cage of Gold
For the next few days, Rayzen and Aiden were confined within the inner citadel — a golden prison disguised as a royal suite.
Guards stood outside every door, and even the air shimmered with surveillance runes.
Aiden tried to smile, forcing cheerfulness.
"Well… at least the food's better than academy rations?"
Rayzen didn't answer. His mind was elsewhere — tracing the shape of the sigils carved into the floor.
Every inch of this place was designed not to protect them… but to contain them.
Daemonos rumbled within.
"They watch. They test. The Emperor fears what you might become."
Rayzen whispered, "Then we'll give him a reason to fear."
2. The Visitor in Silver
That night, the door opened without sound.
A figure stepped in — slender, cloaked in silver armor, face hidden behind a veil.
Rayzen instantly tensed, lightning sparking faintly across his hands.
The stranger raised both palms peacefully.
"Relax. If I meant harm, your guards would already be ash."
Her voice was sharp, feminine, but calm.
She removed her veil — revealing soft silver hair and eyes like liquid mercury.
"I'm Lyanna Veyr, Captain of the Imperial Wingguard. I serve directly under Emperor Remiel."
Aiden frowned. "Then why sneak in here?"
Lyanna smiled faintly. "Because the Emperor doesn't know I'm here."
That got Rayzen's attention.
She stepped closer, lowering her voice.
"The Emperor lied to you."
Rayzen's jaw tightened. "About what?"
Lyanna's gaze flickered — almost pitying.
"You are not his heir. You're his replacement."
Silence.
The words hit harder than any lightning bolt.
Rayzen's breath caught. "What…?"
Lyanna looked toward the window, at the glowing spires of the capital.
"Remiel's power comes from a bond to an artificial dragon — a beast made from stolen essence. But it's dying. He's searching for blood compatible with the Primordial Crown."
She met Rayzen's eyes. "You're not his son. You're his vessel."
Daemonos' growl shook the room.
"He plans to transfer his soul… into you."
Rayzen's eyes widened, fury burning.
"He wants to steal my body."
Lyanna nodded. "And your dragon. He's been building the ritual for years."
3. The Hidden Rebellion
Before Rayzen could respond, a faint pulse of blue light shimmered on Lyanna's wrist — a secret seal.
She whispered quickly, "There's more. A group within the Empire opposes him. The Rebellion of Wings. We want to restore balance between tamers and dragons — not domination."
She handed Rayzen a small silver shard.
"When the moon rises crimson, crush this. We'll find you."
Rayzen stared at the shard, feeling its faint hum of energy. "Why help me?"
Lyanna's lips curved sadly. "Because I once served another heir. The real one. And Remiel killed her."
Before he could ask more, she turned and vanished into the hall, leaving only the faint scent of burning silver.
4. The Academy of Blood
The next morning, guards arrived to escort Rayzen to a new location — Drakonis Academy, the Empire's elite training institution inside the capital.
Remiel's voice echoed from a projection rune:
"Since you refuse obedience, you will earn your place through strength. Survive the Academy, and prove your worth to the crown."
Rayzen said nothing.
But inside, he already knew — this wasn't training.
It was surveillance.
And a test.
5. The Trial of Fangs
Drakonis Academy was unlike the outer one. The halls bled with power — students bearing dragon marks, armor forged from living scales, and teachers whose mere aura could crush bones.
The first instructor to greet him was Lord Kareth, a towering man with crimson eyes and scarred wings.
"So you're the Emperor's little pet," Kareth said coldly.
"Let's see if your legend survives five minutes."
The arena gates opened.
A roar shook the ground.
From the darkness emerged a beast — a three-headed drake, each maw radiating a different element.
Aiden shouted from the stands, "Rayzen, don't—!"
But Rayzen was already moving.
Lightning flared across his body, his mark glowing fiercely.
Daemonos' voice surged through him.
"Together, hatchling."
Their auras fused — purple storms and black fire swirling as one.
Rayzen leapt into the air, meeting the drake head-on.
Claws met thunder.
Teeth met storm.
The entire arena erupted in chaos.
Spectators gasped — this wasn't a tamer fighting with skill.
This was a bond fighting with fury.
6. The Unseen Threat
When the dust settled, the drake lay unconscious — unharmed but defeated.
Rayzen stood over it, chest heaving, eyes blazing with raw lightning.
For a moment, the entire academy was silent.
Then whispers began.
"Is he human?"
"Did he just sync with a Primordial?"
"Impossible…"
Lord Kareth stared, speechless. Then he smirked.
"Interesting. Perhaps you'll survive after all."
But from the shadows of the arena balcony, another pair of eyes watched him — cold and golden.
Arcthera, the Seer who had tried to bind him.
She murmured into a crystal communicator,
"The vessel is stabilizing. Begin phase two of the Emperor's plan."
Her reflection flickered — revealing not a human, but scales beneath her skin.
A dragon hybrid.
And not a loyal one.
7. The Night of Whispers
That night, Rayzen stood alone on the academy's rooftop, the silver shard Lyanna had given him held tightly in his hand.
The moon rose — blood-red.
He crushed the shard.
A pulse of energy rippled through the air — and a shadowy portal opened silently behind him.
From within, cloaked figures stepped out — their symbols shaped like broken crowns and shattered wings.
A woman's voice emerged from the darkness:
"Welcome, heir. We've been waiting."
Rayzen turned — Daemonos' spectral form flickering faintly behind him.
"Who are you?" he asked.
The woman removed her hood — eyes glowing faint gold.
"I am Selene Aethra, daughter of the true dragonblood line… and your cousin."
Rayzen froze.
Selene smiled faintly, pain flickering in her gaze.
"The Empire thinks it can control you.
But together… we'll burn the throne to ash."
Daemonos' deep laughter filled the night.
"So the storm finally finds its lightning."
Rayzen looked at Selene — and then at the burning city beneath them.
The Empire had caged him.
Now he would break their world.
"Then let the rebellion begin."