The ground shook harder this time. Not like a warning, but like a decision had already been made. Cracks spread outward in three directions, each one carrying a different pressure, a different intent.
Aren stood still at the center.
Kael stayed close, his jaw tight. Virexa shifted her stance, ready to move if things went wrong. Seris stepped back slightly, her eyes never leaving Aren.
Drathos moved aside fully. "They will not wait their turn," he said. "That is deliberate."
The system confirmed it.
[Simultaneous Challenges Confirmed][Priority Override: Disabled]
Aren exhaled slowly. "So they want to overwhelm me."
"Yes," Virexa said. "To see if you break."
The first challenger emerged from the ground to the left. A dragon with pale stone colored scales and glowing blue cracks along its body. Cold air followed it, frost forming instantly where it stepped.
The second came from the sky. Sleek, winged, silver scaled, moving in tight circles before landing lightly. Its eyes were sharp and calculating.
The third did not transform at all.
A woman walked forward from the shadows between broken stones. Her hair was black, her eyes dull gold. No aura flared around her, but the pressure she carried was the heaviest of all.
Aren felt his chest tighten.
The system reacted in quick succession.
[Challenger Identified][Name: Korrin][Bloodline: Frost Spine][Intent: Dominance]
[Challenger Identified][Name: Sael][Bloodline: Sky Veil][Intent: Elimination]
[Challenger Identified][Name: Nyreth][Bloodline: Hollow Crown][Intent: Claim]
Kael whispered, "That last one feels wrong."
Seris nodded. "Hollow Crown dragons specialize in control. Not force."
Nyreth smiled faintly. "I specialize in endings."
Korrin roared, frost spilling from his mouth. "Enough talk."
Sael lifted one hand. "Let us see what the king does when pressed."
Aren felt the system strain.
[Authority Load Increasing][Cognitive Stability Holding]
"I do not want to fight all of you," Aren said.
Nyreth tilted her head. "That was never your choice."
They attacked at the same time.
Korrin slammed both fists into the ground. A wave of ice rushed toward Aren, sharp and fast. Sael vanished from sight, the air screaming where he moved. Nyreth raised her hand calmly, fingers curling slightly.
Kael shouted, "Aren."
Aren did not move.
He focused.
Not on power. Not on fear.
On permission.
The system flickered violently.
[Authority Focused]
The ice stopped inches from Aren's feet. Not shattered. Not melted. It simply froze in place.
Sael reappeared mid strike, suspended in the air as if caught in invisible threads. His eyes widened in shock.
Nyreth's hand trembled.
"You are already learning," she said softly.
Aren turned his head toward her. "I am done being tested."
The pressure around Nyreth shifted. She took a step back for the first time.
Korrin snarled and forced his way forward, ice cracking under unseen weight. "Do not kneel," he roared. "Break him."
Aren looked at Korrin.
"Enough," Aren said.
The word did not echo.
It settled.
Korrin's roar cut off mid sound. His knees buckled. Frost exploded outward as he hit the ground hard.
The system responded instantly.
[Submission Detected][Frost Spine Bloodline: Pending]
Sael struggled against the invisible hold, wings straining. "Release me."
Aren looked up at him. "Why should I."
Sael's jaw tightened. "Because if you do not, others will fear you."
Aren met his gaze. "They already do."
The invisible pressure tightened.
Sael's wings folded against his will. His head lowered.
The system flashed.
[Sky Veil Bloodline: Aligned]
Only Nyreth remained standing.
She smiled wider now. "Two submissions. One still undecided."
Kael growled softly. "Back away from him."
Nyreth ignored him. She looked only at Aren.
"You do not rule by fear," she said. "You rule by inevitability."
Aren felt the bond pulse sharply. Something about her words cut too close.
"What do you want," Aren asked.
Nyreth stepped closer. The air around her felt empty, hollow. "I want to stand beside the ending."
The system reacted differently this time.
[Unclear Intent Detected][Warning: Non Standard Submission]
Seris moved forward sharply. "Aren, be careful."
Nyreth stopped an arm's length away. "If you reject me, I will leave. But others like me will not."
Aren looked at her. "And if I accept you."
Nyreth's eyes darkened. "Then you accept what comes after victory."
Aren felt a chill.
The system offered no guidance.
No suggestion.
Only silence.
Kael whispered, "You do not have to decide now."
Nyreth shook her head. "Yes, he does."
The ground trembled again. Far away, another roar echoed. Louder than the others.
The system finally responded.
[Decision Required][Accept Hollow Crown or Reject]
Aren stared at the words.
He had faced force. He had faced fear.
This was different.
He looked at Nyreth.
"What happens if I accept you," Aren asked.
Nyreth smiled.
"The war stops pretending."
The roar echoed again, closer now.
Aren felt the world leaning forward, waiting.
He reached out.
And the system did not stop him.