The sun had barely crested the horizon when Ethan awoke, drenched in sweat. The dreams had returned — the same haunting vision of dragons chained beneath crimson clouds, their roars echoing through an endless void. Each night, the voice of the Ancient One grew clearer, whispering:
"The chains are breaking… and so are you."
He sat up, clutching his chest. The dragon mark on his arm glowed faintly, pulsing like a heartbeat. The others were still asleep — Kael snoring against a rock, Lira curled up beside the campfire, and Seris meditating silently under the first rays of light. But peace wouldn't last long.
A sudden tremor rippled through the ground. Ethan's eyes widened — it wasn't just an earthquake. It was something alive.
Moments later…
From the canyon beyond their camp, the sound of thunderous wings filled the sky. A massive dragon — scales like molten gold and eyes that burned with ancient fury — descended in a storm of fire and ash.
Seris leapt to her feet. "That's no wild dragon… it's a Sentinel. One of the keepers of the old order!"
Kael drew his blade instantly, its silver edge catching the dawn light. "Then it's here for us."
The dragon's voice boomed like a living storm.
"Ethan Arclight… you defy destiny. You carry the mark of our extinction."
Ethan stepped forward, his aura flaring unconsciously. The others could feel it — the surge of raw, unstable dragon energy radiating from him. His connection to the sealed dragons was deepening… and becoming uncontrollable.
"I don't want your extinction," Ethan said. "I want your freedom. But I won't be your puppet!"
The Sentinel's eyes narrowed. Then came the fire.
A torrent of flame engulfed the camp, turning rock to glass and air to heat. Ethan threw up his arm — the mark exploded with light, and a shimmering blue barrier appeared, forged from his will and the dragons' power.
Seris shouted over the roaring flames, "You can't keep blocking! You have to merge with it!"
Ethan hesitated. The last time he had tried merging, he almost lost himself — his mind drowning in the instincts of a creature millions of years old. But now… he had no choice.
He closed his eyes.
The world around him vanished.
He was standing in the Spirit Nexus, surrounded by the spectral forms of his dragons — Azurefang, Emberveil, Frostrend, and the shadowy silhouette of the Fifth One, the dragon whose name was still sealed.
Azurefang spoke first, voice trembling like lightning through mist.
"You can't win alone, Ethan. Let us burn together — not as beast and tamer, but as one soul."
He extended his hand. Flames and frost twined around his arm. For a heartbeat, Ethan saw every memory, every roar, every death of the dragons that once ruled the skies. And then — he merged.
When his eyes opened again, he wasn't just Ethan.
He was something more.
His body was wreathed in azure fire. His irises glowed gold, slit like a dragon's. Wings of pure energy erupted from his back, spanning the camp. The Sentinel paused mid-attack — even it could feel the shift.
Kael whispered, "By the gods…"
Lira simply smiled. "He's finally done it."
Ethan raised his hand. The sky responded.
A storm of fire and lightning clashed against the Sentinel's blaze. The two titans collided — dragon against dragonbound. For minutes, the canyon became an inferno. Every roar, every strike, shook the heavens.
Finally, Ethan unleashed it — Draconic Ascension. A wave of spectral dragons burst from his aura, piercing through the Sentinel's chest. The ancient dragon screamed, its body fracturing into shards of golden light before vanishing into the wind.
Silence fell. Only Ethan remained, floating above the scorched earth, his energy flickering out slowly.
He landed on his knees, panting heavily. The dragon mark dimmed. His friends rushed to him.
Seris placed a hand on his shoulder. "You've just defeated a creature older than civilization itself. Do you realize what that means?"
Ethan looked up, eyes half-focused. "It means the old world's watching again. The balance is shifting."
Lira's voice was low, serious. "If a Sentinel found us… others will too."
Ethan nodded slowly. The wind carried with it the faint echo of laughter — not human, not dragon, but something else.
From the shadows of the canyon, a figure stepped out — cloaked in crimson, holding a staff tipped with a dragon fang. His eyes glimmered like liquid silver.
"Impressive, Dragonbound. But you've only unlocked the first chain."
Ethan's hand went to his sword, but his energy was drained. The figure tilted his head.
"The true war for the skies hasn't even begun. When the Seventh Seal breaks… you'll wish you had died here."
The man vanished into mist, leaving only the scent of burned ash.
Later that night
The camp was quiet again, though the air was heavy with unease. Ethan sat alone near the fire, staring at his hand. The mark on his arm had changed — now there were two rings glowing around it.
Lira approached quietly, wrapping a blanket over his shoulders. "You saved us again. But you're not smiling."
He exhaled. "Because I felt it, Lira. When I merged… I wasn't the only one inside. Something else… something ancient… was watching."
She frowned. "You mean the Ancient One?"
Ethan shook his head slowly. "No. Older."
A gust of cold wind blew through the canyon, and for a fleeting second, the fire dimmed — as if something vast and unseen had passed overhead.
Ethan looked up into the dark sky.
The stars above shimmered faintly — forming, for just an instant, the outline of a dragon's eye.
And it blinked.
To be continued...