DRAGON EMPEROR

CHAPTER 5 The Heir of Ash and Flame

“The Dragon Emperor has returned.”The Lich King’s voice rolled across the ruined fortress like the tolling of a funeral bell. For several terrifying seconds, nobody moved.

Rain continued falling through burning towers while crimson fire illuminated the shattered courtyard, yet the battlefield itself seemed trapped beneath the weight of those words. Knights stared at Henry with widening fear. The surviving dark mages looked horrified. Even the abyss demons hesitated now, their crimson eyes fixed upon the orphaned boy standing amid melting stone and dragonfire.

Henry’s chest rose unevenly. The flames around him still burned violently, but something inside him had changed after destroying the demon warrior. His senses felt unnaturally sharp. He could hear distant screams from the eastern battlements. He could hear the crackling fire spreading through the fortress walls.

Worse still…He could hear heartbeats. Hundreds of them. Every living soldier nearby sounded painfully loud to him now. The realisation unsettled him deeply.

Sir Gareth slowly pushed himself upright through broken rubble, one hand pressed against the blood soaking his armour. Despite his injuries, the older knight’s attention remained fixed on Henry. Not with fear.With concern.“Henry,” Gareth called carefully, “you need to calm the power inside you.”

Henry tried answering, but the words caught in his throat. The crimson flames reacted to his emotions now. Every surge of fear or anger caused the dragonfire surrounding his body to intensify. The ground beneath him had already blackened from the unbearable heat radiating off his skin.

Nearby soldiers instinctively backed farther away. Henry noticed. Of course, he noticed. The distance hurt more than he expected. All his life, people looked down on him because he lacked power. Now they feared him because he possessed too much of it.

Loneliness followed him either way. The dragon bound atop the ruined battlements shifted painfully against its chains. Black corruption had spread across nearly half its body now, and every breath escaping its jaws carried traces of dark mist.

Yet despite its suffering, the ancient creature continued watching Henry.The dragon’s voice echoed faintly inside his mind once more.“Do not lose yourself to the flames…”

Henry clenched his fists.“How am I supposed to stop this?” he whispered internally.

No answer came immediately. Above the battlefield, the abyss portals continued churning violently while more undead soldiers clawed their way from ruined stone. The fortress defenders were exhausted now. Their formation had nearly collapsed entirely.

Blackthorn Fortress was dying. And everyone knew it. Kael Durham staggered toward Sir Gareth with blood running down one side of his face. His armour had been shattered during the earlier fighting, yet he still gripped his sword tightly. The noble apprentice glanced toward Henry uneasily.“That thing…” Kael muttered under his breath. “Is he even human anymore?”

Henry heard every word clearly. The enhanced senses forced unwanted conversations into his ears constantly now. Sir Gareth shot Kael a sharp glare. “Watch your tongue.”I’m only saying what everyone else is thinking,” Kael snapped back. “Look at him!”

Henry looked away before Gareth could respond. Because part of him wondered the same thing. The Lich King slowly descended from the shattered battlements into the courtyard below. Frost spread outward beneath every step of his armoured boots while undead soldiers instinctively parted around him. Soulrender rested across the undead king’s shoulder. The ancient blade radiated death so intensely that wounded soldiers nearby collapsed, gasping for breath.

The Lich King stopped several yards from Henry.“You awaken faster than expected,” the undead ruler said calmly. Henry forced himself to meet the creature’s hollow gaze.“What are you talking about?”

The blue flames inside the Lich King’s eyes flickered slightly.“The Dragon Heart does not merely grant power,” he explained. “It devours weakness. Emotion. Humanity.”Those words tightened something painfully inside Henry’s chest. Because he had already felt it happening. Every battle made violence easier. Every moment of rage strengthened the flames. And deep within himself, an ancient instinct kept whispering the same terrible truth:

Power deserved obedience. The thought horrified him. Sir Gareth stepped protectively forward again despite his injuries.“Do not listen to him, Henry.”The Lich King ignored the knight entirely.“You fear what you are becoming,” the undead monarch continued. “That fear will either save you… or destroy this world.”

Before Henry could answer, the hooded dark mage suddenly dropped to one knee beside the Lich King. “My king,” the mage said urgently, “the seal beneath the mountain is destabilising.”Henry frowned.“The seal?”

The Lich King finally turned his gaze toward the mountains surrounding Blackthorn Fortress. For the first time since arriving, genuine emotion entered the undead ruler’s voice.Regret.“There are things buried beneath this fortress,” he said quietly, “that should never awaken.”

The mountain shook violently again. This time, everyone felt it. Massive cracks spread through the courtyard while distant roaring echoed from deep underground. Several fortress towers partially collapsed as terrified soldiers struggled to maintain their footing.

Then Henry felt it. Another presence.Ancient.Enormous.Sleeping beneath the mountain. His Dragon Heart reacted instantly. Crimson flames spiralled higher around him while unfamiliar symbols briefly appeared across the air itself. The dragon bound in chains growled weakly.“It senses you…”

Henry stared toward the trembling ground.“What’s beneath us?”

No one answered immediately. Then the Lich King spoke words that sent chills across the battlefield.“The last prison of the Dragon Gods.”The world seemed to stop. Even the storm above the fortress quieted briefly beneath the weight of those words.

Henry’s heartbeat quickened painfully. Dragon Gods. Plural. he barely understood the Dragon Heart awakening inside him, yet now the undead king spoke of imprisoned gods beneath the mountain itself. Kael looked visibly shaken. “That’s impossible. The Dragon Gods are myths.”

“Most myths are born from truth,” the Lich King replied coldly.

A sudden scream echoed from the western breach. Everyone turned sharply. One of the abyss demons had seized a wounded knight by the throat while dark tendrils crawled across the soldier’s armour. The man screamed in agony as his body twisted unnaturally. Then his eyes turned completely black. The transformed knight attacked the nearest soldiers instantly.

Chaos erupted again.“Corruption spreading!” someone shouted desperately. They’re turning living soldiers into abyss spawn!”Panic surged through the remaining defenders. Unlike the undead, these corrupted victims retained fragments of their former combat skills. Knights suddenly found themselves battling former comrades while more demons poured through the widening portals above.

Sir Gareth cursed under his breath.“We can’t hold much longer.”The hooded mage looked toward Henry with renewed excitement.“The Dragon Heart is accelerating the collapse exactly as the prophecy foretold.”

Henry’s eyes narrowed sharply.“What prophecy?”The mage smiled beneath his hood.“When the heir of dragons awakens beneath the burning mountain, the gates between worlds shall open once more.”

Before Henry could demand answers, the ground exploded nearby. A massive claw burst through the courtyard stone. Soldiers screamed and scattered as something enormous forced its way upward from beneath the fortress itself. Ancient black scales emerged through collapsing rock while molten crimson light poured from below.

The imprisoned presence was awakening. The dragon chained above the battlefield roared in alarm.“No…”Even the Lich King’s expression darkened.“That prison should have remained sealed longer.”Another claw emerged.

Then a massive golden eye opened beneath the shattered courtyard. Henry froze. The eye looked directly at him. And smiled. The mountain erupted. Stone exploded skyward as a colossal dragon head burst through the ruins beneath Blackthorn Fortress. Ancient chains wrapped around its body, each one covered in glowing divine runes, yet despite the restraints, the creature’s sheer size dwarfed everything around it.

Its scales were black as midnight. Its eyes burned gold. And unlike the wounded dragon above…This creature radiated something infinitely more terrifying.Authority.The abyss demons immediately retreated several steps. Even the undead hesitated. The ancient dragon studied Henry silently before speaking in a voice that shook the heavens themselves.“At last,” it said.

Henry could barely breathe. Every instinct inside him screamed simultaneouslyRun.Bow.Fight.Submit.The pressure radiating from the dragon overwhelmed his senses entirely. Sir Gareth fell to one knee under the force.

Kael struggled desperately just to remain standing. Even the Lich King tightened his grip upon Soulrender. The chained dragon lowered its enormous head closer toward Henry.“You carry his blood,” the ancient creature said softly.

Henry forced himself to speak despite the crushing pressure.“Who are you?”The dragon’s golden eyes narrowed slightly.“I was once called Varethion,” it answered. “First among the Dragon Gods.”

The entire battlefield fell into stunned silence. Dragon God. Not a dragon.A god. Henry’s mind reeled. The ancient creature slowly examined him before something almost resembling disappointment crossed its expression.“You are weak.”

The words struck harder than any weapon. Anger flickered instantly through Henry’s chest.“I didn’t ask for any of this.”No,” Varethion agreed quietly. “But destiny rarely asks permission.”The Dragon God suddenly turned its gaze toward the abyss portals overhead. Hatred burned within its golden eyes.“The abyss moves sooner than expected.”The Lich King stepped forward at last.

“You would know better than anyone, old friend.”Henry’s breath caught. Old friend? The Dragon God stared at the undead monarch silently. Then something horrifying happened. Varethion laughed.“You survived,” the Dragon God said. The Lich King’s hollow eyes burned brighter.

“Barely.”Henry looked between them in confusion.

The dragon…And the Lich King…Knew each other.Not as enemies.As allies. Before Henry could process the revelation, the Dragon God spoke words that shattered everything Henry thought he understood.“The world betrayed us both.”