The first scream tore through Ashveil City before dawn, sharp enough to cut through the silence lingering over the sleeping streets.Nobody reacted the way outsiders would have expected.People did not run in panic. No one rushed toward shelter. The citizens of Ashveil had lived beside monsters for generations, and fear had slowly become part of daily life.Somewhere beyond the eastern walls, another beast had escaped containment. Its roar rolled across the city like distant thunder, rattling windows and shaking flocks of black iron-feathered birds from the rooftops.Moments later, warning bells echoed across the outer districts while massive blue barrier sigils ignited above the walls. Armored tamers sprinted toward the breach atop armored wolf beasts, their weapons glowing beneath the dim morning sky.Even so, the city refused to slow down.Today was different.Today was the Day of Summoning.The excitement flooding Ashveil completely overshadowed the danger outside its walls. Befor

By sunrise, the entire city knew Jesse Fletcher as the boy who bonded with the cursed defect.The rumors spread faster than wildfire.Servants whispered about him in noble estates before breakfast. Merchants repeated distorted versions of the story in crowded marketplaces. Even the outer districts buzzed with fear after witnesses described the golden chains that had torn across the heavens during the pact ceremony.Some claimed Jesse had summoned a demon. Others believed he had awakened a forgotten calamity buried beneath Ashveil itself.By morning, one detail remained consistent in every version of the story: The slum orphan had become a disaster.Jesse realized that the moment he stepped outside his apartment building, a rotten fruit struck the wall beside his head and exploded into pulp.“Monster lover!” Another piece of trash flew from across the alley.“You should’ve let the priests kill it!” People standing near the market stalls backed away immediately when they saw the small b

Someone powerful had started watching Jesse, and that was far more dangerous than mockery.The realization settled over him the morning after the duel.Ashveil Beast Academy no longer looked at him with simple disgust or fear. Now, people watched him carefully. Students stopped talking whenever he passed. Instructors whispered behind closed doors.Even the academy guards stationed near the dormitory halls seemed unusually tense whenever Noxaris walked nearby. Fear had changed shape.Before, they wanted Jesse gone because he embarrassed them. Now, they feared what he might becomeJesse noticed it immediately while crossing the academy courtyard. Conversations died around him. Several noble students stepped aside instinctively when Noxaris limped beside him, its golden eye half-open beneath the morning light. Though the creature still looked weak, something about it had changed after the duel.Its cracked scales no longer looked as dull. Faint black-gold patterns now flickered beneath t

For the first time in his life, Jesse Fletcher learned that his parents had been murdered.Rain hammered the ruined battlefield with relentless force while the revelation echoed through his mind like a blade carving through flesh. Every breath became heavier. Every heartbeat sounded louder. The storm around him suddenly felt distant compared to the violence erupting inside his chest. “That bloodline still exists?” the masked assassin whispered.The man stood several feet away, completely frozen, staring at Jesse as though he had witnessed a ghost rise from the grave.Jesse pressed one trembling hand against the deep wound across his side as blood slipped between his fingers. Beside him, Noxaris growled low in its throat, its massive body positioned protectively in front of him. Weak shadow flames flickered around the beast’s cracked black scales, casting violent flashes of gold and darkness across the shattered ruins. The other executioners immediately noticed the hesitation. “What ar