Aric's scream echoed through the pit.
The stone wall held his hand like a living thing.
Heat surged through his palm, burning deep into bone. The glowing symbols crawled across the rock, spreading outward like fire chasing oil.
"Let go," Aric gasped.
The stone did not listen.
Above him, distant voices shouted.
"Magic surge!"
"Something's activating!"
"Seal the breach!"
Aric barely heard them.
The voice inside his skull returned, slow and heavy.
Amused.
"So fragile," it said.
Aric clenched his teeth. "Who… who are you?"
The ground trembled again.
Dust rained down from the ceiling of the pit. Cracks spread through the ancient stone like lightning frozen in rock.
"Not who," the voice replied.
"What."
Pain flared up Aric's arm. The glowing symbols had reached his wrist now, thin lines of molten gold crawling across his skin.
He tried to rip his hand free.
The stone tightened.
His heart pounded harder.
"I'm not staying here," Aric said through clenched teeth.
"Of course you are."
The voice chuckled.
A low sound. Ancient. Patient.
"You fell into my prison."
The floor beneath him shifted.
Aric stumbled as the rock began to move.
No.
Not move.
Open.
The glowing symbols split apart as if something beneath them was pushing upward.
Stone folded inward.
Dust exploded into the air.
Then darkness moved below.
Not shadow.
Something deeper.
Something alive.
Aric froze.
The pit had opened into a massive chamber far below the ruins. Ancient pillars stretched down into blackness. Broken chains thicker than castle gates lay scattered across the ground.
And in the center of it all...
Something enormous breathed.
The sound rolled through the chamber like thunder.
Aric swallowed.
"No one said there was something alive down here."
"They never knew," the voice replied.
Another breath echoed.
Slow.
Heavy.
Patient.
Aric's eyes struggled to adjust to the darkness.
Then he saw it.
Two massive shapes curved through the gloom.
Horns.
Ancient and jagged.
A head the size of a war carriage slowly lifted from the shadows.
Golden eyes opened.
The chamber filled with firelight.
Aric stopped breathing.
Dragon.
Not a statue.
Not bones.
A dragon.
Its scales were black as burnt iron, layered like armor forged by gods. Massive chains pierced its wings and neck, anchoring it to the stone.
Ancient runes glowed where the chains bit into flesh.
The creature studied him.
Unblinking.
Aric's knees almost buckled.
Dragons were extinct.
Everyone knew that.
Every book.
Every history.
Every legend.
The purge centuries ago had wiped them from the world.
Yet one stood here.
Alive.
Watching him.
"You're staring," the dragon said.
The voice inside Aric's head matched perfectly.
Aric swallowed.
"You're a dragon."
"Yes."
"That's impossible."
"Yes."
The dragon shifted slightly.
Chains groaned.
The entire chamber trembled.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
"You smell strange," the dragon continued.
Aric blinked. "What?"
The dragon lowered its massive head closer.
Golden eyes narrowed.
"Human," it said slowly. "But not quite."
Aric's heart skipped.
"I'm just human."
The dragon's nostrils flared.
"Liar."
Heat surged through the glowing symbols still crawling across Aric's arm.
He looked down.
The marks had spread to his elbow now.
Burning.
Alive.
"What did you do to me?" Aric demanded.
The dragon tilted its head slightly.
"I did nothing."
"Then why is this happening?"
"Because you bled."
Aric stared at the glowing symbols.
"My blood triggered the ruin?"
The dragon laughed.
The sound shook the chamber.
"No."
Its golden eyes gleamed.
"Your blood opened my prison."
Aric's stomach dropped.
Above the pit, distant alarms rang louder.
Mage signals.
Containment spells activating.
The Iron Phalanx was reacting.
"Your friends are frightened," the dragon said.
"They're not my friends."
The dragon studied him again.
Long.
Quiet.
Then it spoke softly.
"They threw you here to die."
Aric said nothing.
The dragon's voice deepened.
"Yet here you stand."
The chains shifted again as it leaned closer.
"Interesting."
Aric forced himself to breathe slowly.
If the dragon could reach him, he would already be dead.
Which meant one thing.
The chains still held.
"You're trapped," Aric said.
"Yes."
"Good."
The dragon laughed again.
"You think that protects you?"
Aric did not answer.
The dragon's gaze dropped to the glowing symbols on Aric's arm.
"They react to you," it said.
"Yeah. I noticed."
"You carry no magic."
"That's not news."
"Yet the runes awaken."
The dragon's eyes gleamed brighter.
"Do you know why?"
Aric shook his head.
The dragon's voice dropped to a whisper inside his skull.
"Because your blood is old."
A chill ran down Aric's spine.
"That makes no sense."
The dragon exhaled slowly.
Warm air rolled over him like desert wind.
"Your kind forgets everything," it murmured.
Aric looked up at the massive creature.
"What do you mean?"
The dragon's eyes narrowed.
"Humans did not kill all dragons."
Aric blinked.
"That's exactly what happened."
"No."
The dragon lifted one chained claw.
The runes burned brighter.
"Some of us were imprisoned."
The chains tightened.
"Buried."
The creature's voice darkened.
"Forgotten."
Silence filled the chamber.
Aric looked around at the ancient ruins.
At the broken pillars.
At the massive chains driven into the stone.
Someone had built this prison.
Someone powerful.
"You've been here a long time," Aric said.
"Yes."
"How long?"
"Long enough to hate your kind."
Aric exhaled slowly.
"That's fair."
The dragon blinked.
"You agree?"
"You'd hate us too if we locked you underground."
The dragon stared at him.
Then it laughed again.
A deep, rumbling sound.
"You are different from the others."
"Lucky me."
The dragon leaned even closer now.
Golden eyes burning.
"I will ask you a question."
Aric crossed his arms despite the pain.
"Fine."
"Why did they send you here?"
Aric hesitated.
Then answered honestly.
"I have no magic."
The dragon went still.
"None?"
"None."
The creature studied him carefully.
Then it spoke quietly.
"Impossible."
"Tell that to the Academy."
The dragon's gaze shifted to the glowing runes on Aric's arm again.
Then to the pit above.
Mage alarms echoed louder now.
Containment spells flared across the ruins.
"They are trying to seal this place again," the dragon said.
"Good."
"Good?"
Aric nodded.
"You stay trapped."
The dragon smiled.
A terrifying sight.
"You misunderstand."
The chains suddenly tightened.
Runes flared violently.
The dragon's voice deepened.
"They cannot seal this prison again."
Aric frowned.
"Why not?"
The dragon looked directly into his eyes.
"Because you opened it."
The glowing symbols on Aric's arm flared brighter.
Pain exploded through his body.
He dropped to one knee.
"What's happening?"
The dragon's voice echoed through the chamber.
"The prison requires a key."
Aric clenched his teeth.
"And that's me?"
"Yes."
The dragon's golden eyes gleamed.
"And keys can turn."
The runes burned white hot.
Aric screamed as power surged through his veins like molten metal.
Above the ruins, the mage alarms reached a screaming pitch.
Containment spells shattered one after another.
The dragon slowly spread its chained wings.
Stone cracked.
The prison trembled.
Then the dragon whispered into Aric's mind.
"Tell me, little human."
The chains snapped slightly.
Ancient magic cracked.
"Will you free me?"
The chamber shook violently.
And far above North Ashfall…
The Iron Phalanx began to panic.