After what seemed like ages, Aeron’s eyes blink open. The bright light almost blinds him as he stumbled to his feet. But to his shock, his hands are untied. There's no execution ground. No crowd. No Supreme priest. No king Tharos. He stared around in confusion. The sky was unnaturally black. Large mountains than he had ever seen covered the landscape and an eerie silence surrounded him. Everything about this place looked worn with time. “Where am I?” He muttered to himself. “Am I dead?” Suddenly, a hot air hit his neck from behind, causing his hairs to stand on their ends. What was that? With slow, precautious steps, he turned around. The creature standing before him made him scuffle back in panic and terror. The large, golden, ancient eyes were each the size of a human head. The large scales on its skin were rock hard with age and the breath of its nostrils were as hot as the fire of hell itself. A dragon! Aeron opened his mouth to speak but no words f

Aeron pushed open the door of his family home and stepped inside. For a moment, nobody spoke. It looked like a ghost had walked in. His mother was the first to move. The moment she saw him standing there alive, relief flashed across her face. She had begun to believe that her son might never return from the execution ground even after being moments away from death. However, the relief did not last however. Her eyes slowly moved down to the tiny snake wrapped around Aeron’s wrist. His father noticed it too and his face contorted slowly. The man stared at the little creature for several second “What did you awaken?” Aeron looked at him calmly. “My Guardian Beast.” His father frowned, hoping there was more explanation. “I know that. But what is it?” “A snake.” Silence filled the room. His father looked at the snake again as though it offended him. “A snake?” His face hardened. “After five years?” Silence. “After five years of waiting?” his father continued, his voice was r

After leaving the gang behind, Aeron did not wait around for the old man to thank him, because whatever gratitude the man wanted to offer could wait, and he had already spent more than enough time in that part of the city.His thoughts remained fixed on what had happened earlier, particularly on the strange power that had surged through his body when Valeor allowed him to borrow a fraction of his strength. Even though the power had been terrifying enough to crush five men in moments, the pain that followed had been just as frightening, leaving every muscle in his body aching as though he had pushed himself far beyond his limits.Whatever Valeor truly was, Aeron knew one thing.He could not depend on that power carelessly.His body was not ready for it.With barely enough money to last him a few days, he headed toward the poorer side of Valerius, hoping to find somewhere cheap enough to sleep without wasting everything he had. He barely turned into a narrow street when a commotion ah

Ria watched the exchange in silence, her eyes moving between them as she began to understand that there was far more history between the three people standing before her than she had initially assumed.Cassius stepped forward.“Aeron.”Aeron turned toward him.“You seem to have forgotten who you’re speaking to.”A sneer formed at the corner of Aeron’s mouth. “Then remind me.”Cassius’s jaw tightened. The atmosphere changed instantly. He really wanted to deal with Aeron! Even Ria’s eyes sharpened. She clearly didn't tolerate disrespect. Cassius stared at Aeron for several seconds before a slow smile appeared on his face, and although the smile looked controlled, the tension in his fingers betrayed how deeply the casual dismissal had irritated him.“You survived one execution and suddenly believe you’re important.”“I didn’t say that,” Aeron hissed, feeling irritated. “You don’t need to.” Cassius glanced toward the arena. “If you’re determined to embarrass yourself, at least make it