"Go ahead and pull the trigger, because if I survive this, I am tearing your world down block by block."The dark, abyssal light exploded outward from the platform, hitting the approaching guards like a physical wall. The heavy iron boots of the soldiers skidded backward across the broken marble, sparks flying as they groaned from the impact. The sudden pressure wave sent a freezing wind howling through the entire Sky Reach Arena, extinguishing the decorative fire braziers in an instant."Get away from him!" High Elder Ronald screamed from the high balcony, his voice cracking with panic. "The fool is destabilizing the entire array! Guards, cut him down!"Ethan collapsed entirely over the tiny creature, his vision flashing a blinding white as the dark energy sank through his skin. It felt like liquid ice pouring directly into his veins, freezing his lungs until he couldn't even draw a breath to scream. Beneath his palms, the little lizard let out a sharp, pathetic wheeze. Its tiny, tra

"I did not survive the arena just to let a vermin bleed me out in my own home."Ethan lunged before the wire could click the internal deadbolt upward. His fingers closed around the cold, heavy iron handle, pulling the door open with a sudden, violent yank. The structural recoil caught the intruder completely off guard. A hooded figure tumbled through the threshold, boots skidding against the wet floorboards as the storm outside unleashed a sudden gust of rain into the workshop."What the—" the assassin hissed, rolling backward instinctively to regain his balance."Silas, move!" Ethan roared, drawing his hunting dagger from his boot.Silas did not wait. The old blacksmith dove behind a towering stack of iron gears just as a dark, metallic blade flashed through the space where his head had been. The assassin recovered with frightening speed, his movements fluid and entirely silent."The Crest family does not leave loose ends, Vance," a low, muffled voice came from beneath the dark cowl.

"You are a ghost walking in a world of giants, Vance," Julian mocked, his hand sliding smoothly to the hilt of his tamer sword. "Did you really think you could crawl out of the gutter and dictate terms to me?"Ethan didn’t answer with words. He took a heavy, deliberate step forward, pulling a silver and gold signet ring from his pocket—the one he had stripped from the unconscious assassin back at the workshop—and tossed it onto the merchant's glass display counter. It slid across the smooth surface with a sharp, echoing clink."Look closely at the crest, Malek," Ethan rasped, his voice cutting through the thick smell of sulfur. "That belongs to a specialized clean-up unit under the Crest family’s direct payroll. Your elite buyers sent him to murder me in the dark. Right now, he is tied up in my workshop, singing about every illegal transaction, under-the-table bribe, and unregistered core that passes through this vault. If the City Guard arrives before I get what I came for, we all bu

"Do not look back, Solis. There is nothing left for us in those walls."The city guard sirens wailed like dying beasts behind them, their mechanical screeches muffled by the heavy downpour. Ethan sprinted through the outer perimeter of the collapsing black market district, his newly restored meridians pulsing with an unfamiliar, electric vitality. The catastrophic destruction of Malek’s vault had drawn every enforcer in the third district toward the pillar of light, leaving the southwestern drainage grates completely unguarded.Ethan scrambled through the massive, rusted iron bars of the storm drain, tumbling out into the muddy, jagged trenches that bordered the city. Without a second glance at the monolithic stone walls of Sky-Reach, he dove into the dark, tangled treeline of the Ashen Wilderness.By the time the sun began to peek through the suffocating canopy, the rain had stopped, replaced by a thick, sulfurous fog. The Ashen Wilderness was a graveyard of petrified trees and jagge

"Hold where you are! Nobody moves!"Asher Crest’s voice cut through the humid morning air like a shattered pane of glass. The elite guards instantly drew their heavy, ether-infused broadswords, their synchronized armor plating clanking together as they formed a crescent defensive wall around the registration desk.The crowded line of registering tamers erupted into panicked murmurs, stumbling backward to give the hooded figure a wide berth.Ethan didn't run. He stood perfectly still, his boots anchored to the stone platform. Beneath the heavy hem of his burlap cloak, he could feel Solis's body tensing, the dragon's claws lightly scraping the cobblestone as he prepared to manipulate gravity at a moment's notice."Well, well. Look what the storm dragged back into my city," Asher sneered, stepping down from the raised platform. He held the fist-sized crystal up, its violent, flashing crimson light reflecting off his pristine academy uniform. "The scanning array doesn't lie. An anomalous,