Kane didn't slow down.
He dragged Aren through the secured hallway, past layered barriers and reinforced doors, moving with the urgency of someone who knew something was very, very wrong.
Aren kept pace easily, but his mind churned.
The vision in the chamber…
The crackling chains…
The dragon's whisper—
"Our bond… grows."
No matter how he tried to steady his breathing, the presence lingered like a second heartbeat under his skin.
Kane finally stopped in a small, sealed antechamber and turned sharply.
"What happened back there?" he demanded. "Something responded to your power—something deep underground. You felt it."
Aren hesitated.
Should he say the truth?
That an ancient beast was whispering in his mind?
Before he could answer—
The lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then the walls trembled as a low rumble echoed upward.
Kane's hand immediately went to his weapon.
"…It's happening again."
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
The tremor grew.
Aren felt pressure push against his chest—
like invisible hands squeezing the air around him.
The presence below pulsed.
Not calling this time.
Testing.
The ground shook.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
The security lights flashed red.
Aren staggered, a flash of pain ripping through his mind—
Chains.
A cavern.
A massive shape shifting beneath stone.
A single violet eye staring directly at him.
"You are not ready…
but I will not wait."
Aren gasped.
Pressure crushed into his skull, drowning out everything else.
"Aren?!" Kane grabbed his shoulders. "Fight it! Stay conscious!"
Aren clutched his head. "It's—breaking through—"
The floor cracked beneath his feet.
A pulse of void energy burst outward, rippling through the walls like a living shadow. Runes flickered weakly, overwhelmed by Aren's surge.
Kane's eyes widened.
"Aren—stop unleashing mana! You're destabilizing the entire—"
Aren wasn't doing it.
It was being drawn out of him.
Siphoned.
Pulled.
Kane's voice grew faint.
"Aren!!"
The world spun—
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Aren found himself standing in a vast, silent cavern.
Not real.
Not physical.
A mindscape made of void.
Black stone floated in fragments.
Violet cracks streaked the sky.
Chains—massive, ancient, engraved with runes older than language—snaked across the ground in every direction.
At the center, bound by dozens of layers of shimmering restraints…
lay a colossal dragon.
Scales of obsidian.
Eyes of violet flame.
Horns curved like twisted blades.
It lifted its head.
When it spoke, its voice rolled through Aren's bones.
"Void-bearer…
you have finally reached me."
Aren steadied himself.
"What are you?"
The dragon chuckled, echoing like breaking mountains.
"I am the first born of the Void.
The sealed king beneath this city.
The reason humanity survived the Demon Apocalypse…
and the reason it may fall again."
Aren swallowed.
"Why me?"
The dragon leaned forward, chains groaning.
"Because your evolution is limitless.
Because your existence disrupts the system itself.
Because you are the only vessel capable of freeing me."
Aren froze.
So that was it.
It didn't want to help him.
It wanted to use him.
"Why are you chained?"
"Because the world fears what it cannot control."
A spike of pain drove into Aren's skull as the dragon's aura intensified.
"Break these chains, Void-bearer…
and I will show you true power."
Aren gritted his teeth.
"No."
The cavern shook.
The dragon's eyes narrowed.
"You refuse?"
"I'm not your puppet."
The dragon's voice dropped to a cold whisper.
"…Not yet."
The chains tightened.
The cavern shattered.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Aren's eyes snapped open.
He was back in the antechamber, lying against the wall.
Kane knelt beside him, gripping his arm.
"You're awake—finally. What happened? Your mana spiked so high the entire floor almost collapsed!"
Aren pushed himself up slowly.
His heartbeat was still uneven.
"I'm fine."
Kane stared at him.
"You're lying. You saw something."
Aren didn't speak.
He couldn't tell Kane the truth—not yet.
Not until he understood what the dragon wanted.
Kane exhaled, frustrated but relieved.
"Listen. Whatever is down there… it's escalating. The Council is already analyzing the mana spike. We don't have much time before they interfere."
Aren nodded.
He knew.
He felt the dragon even now—
waiting beneath the city.
Watching.
Kane stood.
"You need rest. Tomorrow, we resume training. But Aren…"
Aren looked up.
Kane's expression was deadly serious.
"Whatever that thing is… it wants you for a reason.
And people who want power—either fear it, or try to control it."
Aren slowly clenched his fist.
Controlled?
Feared?
He didn't want either.
He needed strength—fast.
Not to free the dragon.
But to face it.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Deep underground, the chained dragon opened its eye again.
Cracks spread another inch across the bindings.
Its whisper slithered through the ancient stone.
"Defy me now…
but soon, Void-bearer…
you will come willingly."