Chapter 154: The Ancient Seal
The stone door exploded outward.
Fragments of ancient rock tore through the air.
"Shield!"
Darius’ command thundered across the valley.
The Black Dragon immediately locked their shields together.
Stone crashed against the formation.
Several soldiers stumbled backward, but none broke rank.
Kael raised his arm.
Ice spread across his forearm instinctively, forming a protective layer as fragments struck the ground around him.
Then silence fell.
The ruins stood motionless.
Dust drifted through the air.
Something moved beneath the broken doorway.
Grom tightened his grip on his spear.
"Something is coming."
Darius raised his sword.
"Hold formation."
The creature that had guarded the ruins stepped backward.
It wasn’t attacking.
It was watching.
Waiting.
Kael looked at it.
"You knew this would happen."
The ancient creature didn’t answer.
Its eyes remained fixed upon the ruins.
Then a voice emerged from the darkness beneath the shattered stone.
A deep, distorted sound.
Not quite a roar.
Not quite a voice.
"Who has broken the seal?"
The soldiers froze.
Kael’s heart began beating faster.
The system appeared.
Unknown Entity Detected
Analysis: Incomplete
Ancient Mana Signature: Extreme
Warning
Do not approach.
Kael stared at the notification.
The system rarely gave direct warnings.
That alone was enough to make him cautious.
A black mist began spilling from the entrance.
It crawled along the ground.
Where it touched the grass...
The grass withered.
Where it touched the stones...
Cracks appeared.
Darius immediately noticed.
"Back!"
The Black Dragon retreated several steps.
Grom looked at the mist.
"That is not ordinary magic."
Kael nodded.
"I know."
The ancient creature suddenly roared.
"Seal it!"
Kael looked at him.
"You can stop it?"
"I guarded this place for centuries."
The creature’s voice trembled.
"I was never meant to fight what lies beneath."
Kael’s eyes narrowed.
"Then what is it?"
The creature stared at him.
"A fragment."
"A fragment of what?"
The creature hesitated.
Then—
"The First War."
Kael went still.
The First War.
The ancient conflict between humanity and the true dragons.
The same war that had shaped the earliest history of the Empire.
The same era from which almost every record had vanished.
Kael stepped closer.
"What happened here?"
The creature shook its head.
"Not here."
It looked toward the ruins.
"Beneath here."
Another tremor shook the valley.
The black mist suddenly pulled inward.
The ground cracked.
A massive hand emerged from beneath the ruins.
Stone shattered around it.
The soldiers raised their weapons.
Darius shouted.
"Nobody attacks!"
The hand disappeared again.
Kael stared.
"What was that?"
The creature answered quietly.
"A prisoner."
Kael frowned.
"Who imprisoned it?"
"The old ones."
"The dragons?"
The creature looked at him.
"Some."
Kael’s eyes narrowed.
"Some?"
Before the creature could answer—
The ancient ruins began glowing.
Runes appeared across the broken walls.
Hundreds.
Then thousands.
Kael recognized several symbols.
They were similar to the runes he had seen inside the Hall of Oaths.
His expression changed.
"The Empire knows about this."
The creature turned toward him.
"Your Empire?"
Kael nodded.
"Yes."
The creature gave a bitter laugh.
"Then your empire has forgotten more than I feared."
Darius stepped beside Kael.
"My lord."
Kael looked at him.
"We need to withdraw."
Kael nodded.
"Agreed."
Darius turned toward the soldiers.
"Fall back!"
The Black Dragon began moving.
But before they could reach the forest—
The valley shook violently.
The river changed direction.
Trees collapsed.
The ground beneath them split open.
Kael lost his footing.
"Kael!"
Darius grabbed his arm.
Grom seized Kael’s other side.
The crack widened.
Then—
A tremendous force erupted from beneath the ruins.
The Black Dragon was thrown backward.
Kael crashed against the ground.
His vision blurred.
For several seconds, he heard nothing.
Then his hearing returned.
Soldiers shouting.
Metal clanging.
Darius is calling orders.
Grom roaring.
Kael pushed himself upright.
The creature stood between the Black Dragon and the ruins.
Its body was glowing.
Ancient symbols covered its scales.
It was preparing to fight.
Kael looked at it.
"You can’t hold it."
The creature didn’t turn.
"I know."
"Then come with us."
"No."
Kael stared.
"Why?"
The creature’s eyes remained fixed upon the ruins.
"Because if I leave..."
Its voice became quiet.
"...it follows."
Kael looked toward the ruins.
The black mist had disappeared.
The broken doorway was now completely open.
And inside...
There was a staircase.
Descending.
Deep beneath the earth.
Kael felt something.
Not fear.
Recognition.
His Ice Power reacted.
A thin layer of frost formed beneath his feet.
The system appeared again.
Unknown Energy Resonance Detected
User’s elemental affinity responding to ancient source.
Ice Affinity: Increasing
Blood Affinity: Increasing
Kael stared at the notification.
"Why is my power reacting?"
The ancient creature finally looked at him.
"Because you carry something that should not exist."
Kael’s eyes narrowed.
"What?"
The creature studied him for several moments.
Then whispered:
"An inheritance."
Kael stepped forward.
"What inheritance?"
The creature didn’t answer.
Instead, it looked toward the soldiers.
"Take your men."
Kael shook his head.
"I’m not leaving without knowing what happened."
Darius immediately spoke.
"My lord."
Kael looked at him.
Darius lowered his voice.
"We have wounded soldiers."
Kael looked toward the Black Dragon.
Several men were being helped back onto their feet.
The scout who had been injured earlier was being treated by one of the healers.
Kael’s expression hardened.
Darius was right.
They had come to investigate.
Not to die here.
Kael looked back toward the ancient creature.
"Can you keep it sealed?"
"For a time."
"How long?"
The creature’s expression darkened.
"Perhaps days."
Kael frowned.
"Days?"
"Perhaps less."
Kael looked toward Darius.
"We withdraw."
Darius nodded.
"Yes, my lord."
The Black Dragon began retreating.
But Kael stopped.
He looked back toward the ruins one final time.
The ancient creature stood alone before the entrance.
Kael called out.
"What’s your name?"
The creature stared at him.
For the first time, its expression softened.
"I have had many."
Kael waited.
"But the name given to me before the First War..."
It paused.
"Azerion."
Kael repeated the name quietly.
"Azerion."
Azerion nodded.
"Remember it."
Then the ancient creature turned back toward the ruins.
Kael walked away.
Hours later, the Black Dragon finally reached the observation camp.
The wounded were treated.
The scouts were accounted for.
No one had died.
Darius gathered the soldiers.
"You fought well."
The Black Dragon stood silently.
Grom looked toward Kael.
"What now?"
Kael stared toward the distant valley.
"We return to Blackwood."
Grom frowned.
"And the ruins?"
Kael’s eyes hardened.
"We don’t tell anyone about them yet."
Darius understood immediately.
"The Empire?"
"Not yet."
"The Emperor?"
Kael remained silent.
Darius studied his expression.
"You think someone in the Empire already knows."
Kael nodded.
"And if they do..."
He looked toward the horizon.
"...I want to know why they never told us."
That night, Kael sat alone inside his chamber.
The system appeared before him.
Historical Information Updated
First War Era — Fragmentary Record
Ancient Dragon Energy — Confirmed
Unknown Sealed Entity — Active
Ancient Guardian—Azerion
Kael stared at the name.
Then another notification appeared.
Warning
The seal beneath the western valley is deteriorating.
Estimated stability: 6 days.
Kael’s eyes widened.
Six days.
He slowly stood.
The western valley wasn’t simply another piece of land waiting to be settled.
It was hiding something.
Something old.
Something connected to the First War.
And somehow...
His own powers were responding to it.
Kael looked toward the dark window.
"Six days."
His expression hardened.
"Then I have six days to find out what I’m dealing with."