A man stood beneath the shadow of the noble castle, wrapped in a dark robe that moved like a silent wave in the wind. At his side rested a blade in its holder, not worn as decoration but carried like a promise, sharp and patient, waiting for the moment it would be needed. His presence was immense, as if he carried the weight of a thousand battles in his body and the authority of a million men in his gaze. He did not look like an ordinary traveler or a common warrior. He looked like someone who had already been tested by fate and had not broken.
His eyes lifted slowly toward the great castle above him. The towers rose high into the sky, proud and unreachable, crowned with stone banners and cold elegance. From below, the castle seemed to touch the clouds, a place of power, wealth, and ancient command. Yet the man did not shrink beneath its size. He stared upward with a calm, unreadable expression, as if he were measuring the entire noble world from the ground and deciding whether it deserved to continue standing.
His name was Katozo.
That name carried a dangerous weight, spoken with caution by those who knew the tales behind it. Katozo was not simply a warrior. He was one of the strongest dragon summoners ever known, a man whose power reached beyond human limits and into the ancient, fearsome bond between mortals and dragons. Where others begged for mercy, he commanded storms. Where others trembled before fire, he called fire to kneel before him. The air around him seemed heavy with unseen power, as though some enormous beast beyond the horizon was waiting for his call.
There was something royal and terrifying in the way he stood. He did not need a crown to look noble. He did not need attendants to look important. His silence alone was enough to make people step back. His robe marked him as a figure of mystery, his blade marked him as a figure of death, and his gaze toward the castle marked him as someone whose story was not yet finished.
He looked up at the noble castle as if he already knew that before the sun set, the world above those walls would remember his name.