Chapter 5: The Void Imprint
The massive Grand Hall, still decorated with banners for the aborted coronation, was silent save for the low, precise voices of the investigators. **Damien**, having shed his $6'9''$ transformation, stood in the center, his grief masked by sharp concentration.
The primary investigators were **Tenya** and **Rexus**. Tenya, representing the continent of Charles, wore pristine white, her focus on the magical residue. Rexus, Valerian's chief mage, wore dark black, his concern centered on the violation of his late master's technology.
Tenya ran a crystal rod over the area where Carter had stood. The rod remained inert.
"There is no standard teleportation mana signature," Tenya announced, her brow furrowed. "Nothing residual to track. Whatever happened, it did not utilize any of the six known magical elements."
Rexus knelt beside the empty box—Valerian's priceless teleportation device—which lay inert on the marble floor. He didn't touch it, instead hovering his hand over the scorched wood.
"The box itself is singed," Rexus reported, his voice tight with professional horror. "But not by fire or lightning. It's a deep, cold burn—the imprint of a **dark energy**." He looked up at Damien. "King, this wasn't the boy's affinity for light or dark magic. It was that other power you sensed in him. The one you told us about in the brief. The black electricity."
Damien stepped forward, looking down at the scarred spot on the floor. "The energy of my father. I felt it. It consumed the energy of Valerian's device and expelled the boy."
I knew this but rexus! I only wanted your confirmation. My brother's technology is the only thing I can trust.
"Expelled him where?" Tenya demanded, frustrated. "Valerian's device was designed only for planetary travel. A standard failure would have meant instant disintegration or a local misfire—a flash across the continent, perhaps. To consume the artifact and achieve a long-range jump... it would require the power of a **True Dragon**."
Rexus nodded gravely. "Worse, the object he was holding was fundamentally linked to the vast, hidden network of Valerian's old technology. If that black energy signature interacted with the device, it may have imprinted itself on the entire grid. We may have a trail, but it will lead to the most remote, unknown sectors of the cosmos—the places Valerian never fully charted before his disappearance."
Damien closed his eyes, his regret palpable. He had given Carter the gift not only as an honor but as a hidden tool to control his emotions. He had, instead, launched a volatile weapon into the galaxy.
"Begin the sweep, Rexus," Damien commanded, his voice shaking with renewed resolve. "Search every corner of the charted and uncharted universe. That energy is a signature of our lineage. If it touched Valerian's grid, we will find its destination."
The twins, **Jordan and Cornell**, who had been watching from a bench, quietly approached.
"Grandfather," Jordan whispered. "Is Carter really... gone?"
Damien put a massive hand on each boy's shoulder. "No. That power doesn't just disappear. It simply **relocates**. We are going to find your brother, and when we do, we will discover exactly what force resides in that human boy."
The task was impossible: search the entire universe for a minuscule energy signature that only a True Dragon should possess. Yet, the fate of the Drakain Empire, and perhaps the universe, now depended on finding the exiled human shadow.