The eye beneath the chamber wasn't just large—
It was impossible.
A golden slit pupil, wider than a street, stared up at them from the depths. Not glowing—burning, like molten brass seen through volcanic vents. Its gaze pressed into their bones, vibrating marrow, sinking into every instinct.
Kairon felt his fire recoil violently, shrinking into a tight coil in his center.
Fyrion stiffened beside him, every muscle pulled taut, frost crackling across his skin.
Arin…
Arin trembled, but his aura reacted differently.
It rose.
Not in fear.
Not even in recognition.
But in answer.
Gold light pulsed from his veins like the beat of a great heart syncing to another.
The chamber cracked again.
The floor split in a jagged line, widening, stone slabs falling into a void that wasn't just deep—it was endless. The eye lifted higher, revealing the ridge of a scaled brow thick as a mountain.
Fyrion swore under his breath. "The prison is failing. The proto-Sentinel was only the lock. The creature itself is the door."
"And we broke it," Kairon muttered.
"No," Fyrion corrected. "Arin broke it. His surge destabilized the runes."
Arin tried to speak, voice hoarse. "I… didn't mean to—"
"It doesn't matter," Kairon snapped. "We're getting out. Now."
But the ground had other plans.
A thunderous impact rippled through the chamber as a second claw punched upward through the cracked stone. Dust exploded into the air. Debris rained from the ceiling. One of the supporting pillars split down the middle, groaning.
The creature's voice—if it could be called a voice—rolled through the cavern like the grinding of a collapsing world.
"Draaahhh…kooon…"
Fyrion flinched. "It's learning to speak."
Kairon grabbed Arin's wrist. "Move. Move now."
But Arin didn't move.
He couldn't.
His feet were fused to the floor—gold aura anchoring them, swirling around his ankles like chained light.
Kairon's stomach dropped. "Arin—"
"I can't stop it!" Arin gasped, clutching his chest as the glow intensified. "It's pulling on my surge—feeding on it—"
The ancient eye widened, its pupil contracting to a razor-thin slit.
It was looking through Arin.
Not at him.
Kairon.
It recognized Kairon's dragon, too.
The creature inhaled again. The chamber's air rushed downward toward the fissure like a hurricane, pulling dust, heat, and every loose object into the abyss.
Kairon braced his legs and summoned fire, anchoring them both with a blast that melted stone into slag. "Fyrion! We need a way out!"
Fyrion was already scanning the walls, frost coating his hands. "The upper tunnels! The proto-Sentinel broke one open when I threw it—there!"
He dashed toward a slanted corridor half collapsed by debris.
Kairon tried dragging Arin—
But the anchor of golden aura held tight.
Arin cried out as another surge ripped through him, his back arching in pain. Light burst from his fingertips, splintering into wild arcs.
"Kairon—run—"
"Not happening!"
The creature beneath them shifted. The fissure widened. The chasm yawned like a mouth opening. A gust of ancient breath blew upward, almost knocking Kairon off his feet.
Fyrion froze at the tunnel entrance. "There's no time—leave him or we all die!"
Kairon didn't even turn. "Say that again and I melt your face off!"
Fyrion blinked, stunned. "You'd threaten me—now?"
"Absolutely!"
The ancient eye flared violently, and a shockwave tore through the chamber, shattering the last pillars. Chunks of ceiling collapsed. A massive slab of stone plummeted toward them—
Kairon shoved Arin aside and blasted upward, vaporizing the slab.
The explosion illuminated the cavern—
And revealed the creature's full silhouette beneath the floor.
A head the size of a cathedral.
A spine of jagged, luminous plates.
A body coiled like a serpent around the city's foundations.
Fyrion whispered, "No… that can't exist. Those were myths."
"What is it?!" Kairon shouted.
Fyrion's voice shook in a way Kairon had never heard.
"A Primordial."
Arin's breath hitched. "P—Primordial… as in… older than dragons…?"
"Older than life as you know it," Fyrion said. "Older than every clan combined."
The Primordial shifted again, the entire cavern trembling.
Arin's aura suddenly flared—blinding, wild.
Kairon turned sharply. "Arin?!"
Arin clutched his head, gasping. "It's—calling—my dragon—It knows we're here—It wants—"
The aura surged upward, spiraling around him like a golden cyclone.
Fyrion's eyes widened. "He's resonating with it."
"Meaning?" Kairon barked.
"Meaning," Fyrion said grimly, "that Arin is the only one triggering the seal—and the only one who can hold it back."
Arin fell to one knee, shaking uncontrollably. "I can feel it—it's trying to break through—Kairon—it's too big—we can't fight it—"
"You're not fighting it alone."
Kairon kneeled beside him, pressing his palm to Arin's back.
His fire surged outward—
And instantly collided with Arin's golden aura.
The two forces clashed violently, sending sparks spiraling across the room.
Arin screamed. "Kairon—stop—your fire—too much—!"
"No—listen!" Kairon steadied his grip. "Don't push the surge away. Shape it. Use my fire as a boundary."
"That's not how—draconic power—works—!"
"Nothing about us has worked normally so far!"
For a heartbeat, Arin hesitated.
Then—
His aura tilted.
Shifted.
Aligned.
Kairon felt it before he saw it—their energies locking together like interlocking gears. Arin's surge found structure. Kairon's flames found purpose.
Fyrion stared in shock. "They're synchronizing."
Kairon growled, "Arin—focus on the fissure. Contain it."
Arin, trembling, raised his hand toward the chasm.
A blast of golden light shot downward—
Not wild.
Not frantic.
Controlled.
It struck the edges of the fissure, forming a barrier of shimmering energy.
The Primordial's claw pushed against it—
The barrier held.
For a moment.
A heartbeat.
Then the claw pressed harder.
Cracks spiderwebbed across the barrier.
Arin nearly collapsed. "I—I can't—hold—"
Kairon fed more fire into him, teeth bared. "Yes. You. Can."
The barrier brightened, growing thicker—
Until the cracks stopped.
The Primordial paused—
Then slowly pulled its claw back.
The ancient eye narrowed, studying them with unsettling curiosity.
The seal wasn't restored
—but it was stalled.
Fyrion exhaled shakily. "He bought us time. Seconds. Maybe minutes."
Arin sagged against Kairon, sweat dripping down his temples. "I can't do that again."
"You won't need to," Kairon said firmly. "We're getting you out."
But behind them
the sound of dripping echoed.
No—
not dripping.
Footsteps.
Kairon spun around.
Through the smoke-filled far corridor stepped a figure—
Tall.
Armored in black.
Face hidden beneath a porcelain mask.
The same elite group that nearly killed Kairon on the surface.
But this one radiated more power. More authority.
Fyrion tensed. "The Clans sent a Warden."
The Warden's voice echoed through the chamber, cold and distorted.
"You've caused enough chaos for one night. Both dragons come with me."
Kairon stepped in front of Arin instantly.
"No."
The Warden raised a hand.
Dozens of sigil-blades materialized in the air—thin, shimmering constructs of mana, each humming with lethal intent.
Arin tried to stand but nearly fell. Kairon caught him.
Fyrion hissed. "He's after both of you—your bond is making you high-value prey."
Arin weakly lifted his head. "We—we need to move… the seal won't—last—"
The fissure beneath them trembled again.
The Primordial stirred.
The Warden snapped his fingers.
The sigil-blades launched.
Kairon ignited instantly, shielding Arin with a wall of dragonfire. Sparks sprayed across the stone as the blades struck the flame barrier.
Fyrion leaped forward, frost-armored, slamming into the Warden with all the force of a diving comet.
The collision shook the chamber.
Kairon shoved Arin toward the opening tunnel. "Go!"
Arin shook his head. "I won't leave you—"
"Then stay behind me—but MOVE!"
They ran.
Behind them, the Primordial's groan rose again.
The seal cracked further.
And as they escaped into the tunnel, the chamber collapsed behind them—
But not before Kairon heard the Primordial speak a word in a tongue so ancient it scraped across reality.
A word aimed directly at Arin.
"Chiiild…"
Arin flinched violently, nearly stumbling.
Kairon caught him. "Arin—what did it say?"
Arin's eyes were wide, shimmering gold.
"It said," he whispered, voice shaking, "that I'm its heir"