Warmth pressed around him—dense, alive, endless.
Every breath he drew came back twice—once from his lungs, once from something older that breathed with him.
The dark wasn't empty; it was watching.
A voice slid through it, slow and amused.
"Mortal blood. Draconic soul. The echo of my sin."
The words struck through his mind like molten metal.
Then, quieter, reflective:
". Regret forged into flesh. I tried to forget what sorrow felt like — and here you are to remind me."
Two eyes opened in the dark—vertical slits of molten gold. They watched him, steady and predatory. Behind them, something vast shifted, too graceful for weight, too proud for silence. A silhouette half made of smoke, half of fire; its posture reeked of command.
Kael's heart raced until he could hear his pulse in his ears. "Who are you?"
"The rightful owner of what you're pretending to wield."
He flinched at the mockery, heat crawling under his skin. The air shimmered with laughter.
"I could take it back now," the voice continued, tone almost casual, "but then you'd die, and I'd be bored again. I've had enough centuries of boredom to last eternities."
The warmth grew, suffocating and intimate, like hands pressing against his ribs.
"You carry my flame, hatchling — a seed of what once built suns. Your body wasn't meant for it; your mother slowed the burn so you wouldn't detonate at birth. Admirable. I felt the veil she wove around you — fragile, stubborn, human."
Kael's jaw clenched. "What did she do?"
"She slowed the awakening," the voice said, faintly amused. "Clever, though her methods were quaint. Humans always think sacrifice is a form of competence. A little life force here, a little hope there. Typical solution — bleed on the problem until it quietens."
The words hit him harder than any flame could. His voice trembled. "You talk like you know me."
"Know you? — disillusioned , mortal, brat. You are just your mother's little experiment with mercy."
"She saved me...."
"She spent herself. Saving is too generous a word.
"His breath hitched. The glow of those eyes shifted, brightening in what felt like satisfaction.
"She looked at the storm and tried to whisper it back to sleep. Brave. Futile. I almost respected the attempt."
"Almost?"
"Respect is for equals. She merely earned a pause."
Laughter followed, rich and resonant, shaking the air. Kael's heart hammered so hard his vision pulsed with it.
"Once, the world knelt when I breathed," the voice mused. "Now my breath sits in a child's chest. I suppose irony is the gods' favourite joke."
"Then get out of me," Kael snapped.
"And abandon my flame to a boy who can barely stand? You'd ruin the might of a legacy whose very name made worlds shiver from fear and reverence."
Anger flushed his veins. "You're enjoying this."
"Immensely. It's been ages since anyone looked at me and lived long enough to argue."
The laughter rolled through him like thunder beneath the skin. He pressed his palms to his chest, half expecting it to split open.
"You're not ready to command the flame seed," the voice said. "Let it grow. Feed it with mana- other flames , not emotion. Rage will make it bloom too soon, and then you end."
He tried to steady his breath. "You sound like you care."
"I care about existing. If you die, my existence thins. I've no interest in eternities of loneliness again."
The gold light softened; for a heartbeat, he sensed something almost human in the tone."You weep. You doubt. You think the world owes you gentleness. Mortals—always soft in the wrong places."
Kael managed a weak laugh. "And dragons destroyed themselves with pride."
The air pulsed with quiet amusement.
"Touché. Perhaps you inherited the tongue before the scales."
The heat shifted closer, brushing his skin like breath.
"When your mother burned," the voice asked, "did you curse me?"
"I didn't know you existed. Well except for the dreams"
"You will. Every time you hate, every time you love too much, you'll hear me breathing in your ribs."
A tremor shivered down his spine. He whispered, "What are you?"
"Grief welded to arrogance until it screamed. When that scream burned the sky, I tore myself apart. You are what remained of the noise. My continuation. My punishment. Choose the word that hurts less."
"You speak like you were a god."
"No, whelp. I am a crown without kingdom. The Codex holds reason. The seed holds strength. I hold what keeps sanity from rotting—pride, rage, grief. Emotion pretending to rule wisdom."
The shadow leaned closer, heat folding around him like smoke."Imagine wisdom severed from knowledge, trapped in a furnace that remembers emotion too well. That's the creature speaking to you."
A strange ache filled Kael's chest—pity or fear, he couldn't tell."Then what do you want from me?"
"Balance. And silence. Preferably both."
He gritted his teeth. "I'm not your puppet."
"No. You're my gamble. The first mortal to touch this fire and live. Let's see how long the novelty lasts."
Pain licked his ribs. He drew in air that burned on the way down. The voice chuckled low.
"Power always kills something brat. Question is, what do you let it kill next—your guilt or your potential?"
Kael's hand shook against his chest. "You think you can torment me."
"This is instruction. Every time you fight me, your core learns. The Codex watches, recording, silent. One day it will open, and then you'll understand value of what you've stolen."
"you mean what I inherited," he rasped.
"Inheritance implies permission."
The heat trembled, then steadied, pulsing with his heartbeat.
"Listen well. Until you can balance mana and core, I moderate the flame. If I withdraw, it devours you. If you overreach, it devours you. So behave. Your mother burned her lifeforce for you .Atleast she enough respect to restrain your foolishness."
He managed a hollow laugh. "What happens if I don't?"
"Then I inherit your corpse. Try not to."The arrogance carried a note of dry amusement that almost made him smile.
"You have potential," it added. "Untrained, unworthy, but potential. Grow the seed slowly. Patience builds strength; impulse breeds cinders."
Kael wiped sweat from his brow. "You sound almost human."
"That's the insult that hurts most."
The darkness throbbed with warmth."I lost everything that made sense—knowledge, memory, restraint. I ripped the Codex from myself before madness swallowed me. What remains is emotion given hunger: resentment, grief, hatred, pride. That's what anchored inside you."
His voice softened without meaning to. "Then I'm carrying your madness."
"Partially. I kept insanity on purpose—it's the only proof I'm still sentient."A sound halfway between a sigh and a laugh left him.
"You're impossible."
"And you're breathing wrong," the voice mocked. "My flame despises hesitation. It is not a toy or your slave. It demands total authority ,respect - A wielder worthy enough to command it .Try again."
He obeyed. The next breath burned—but steadied."Better. At least you didn't faint this time. Progress."
"You talk like you're teaching me."
"Teaching? No. I'm lowering expectations."
The heat receded just a little, like a tide dragging away.
"Defiance suits you. Keep it polished; you'll need it. The world won't tremble for you, but it might trip once or twice."
Kael almost smiled. He hated that the voice .
"Don't die, little vessel," it murmured. "I haven't finished laughing at you yet."
The darkness began to fold inward. The eyes stayed for a moment longer."Remember this place. Only our bloodline can walk it. You may return when you bleed enough of me."
"Why would I come back?" Kael questioned.
"Because questions breed faster than fear."The voice lingered, its edge softening into something almost respectful."I have time, hatchling. Someone else doesn't. You can come again."
"Give my regard to the woman who refused to kneel."
The warmth ebbed, leaving silence that throbbed like a fading heartbeat.
Cold air slammed into him. Kael jerked upright, coughing. dirt coated his tongue. His chest glowed faintly beneath torn fabric, then dimmed.
Near the ruins of the hearth, a figure sat — light shaped like memory, trembling like a candle in a breeze. Her outline wavered, faint and familiar.
"Mother…"The word escaped as a breath more than sound.
The figure brightened once, answering like a candle's last flare, and the fire in his chest echoed in time.