Soul of the Dragon Emperor Reincarnated to destroy

DRAGON AWEKENS

James stared at the message until the words blurred. Emily read over his shoulder.

"How?" Emily asked. "You just imprisoned her hours ago. The Nine Nether God Prison is supposed to be inescapable."

"Supposed to be." James crumpled the paper. The runner flinched at the violence in the gesture. "Take me there. Now."

They rode through Dragon Nation's capital as dawn broke. People were still celebrating in the streets, tearing down Lucas's propaganda, burning his effigies. They cheered when they saw James. He barely noticed.

The Nine Nether God Prison sat at the city's edge, built into a cliff face. Ancient seals covered the entrance, designed to contain even Dragon Lord cultivators. As they approached, James saw bodies. Guards torn apart, scattered like broken dolls.

Marcus met them at the entrance. He'd arrived ahead of them, already examining the carnage.

"Ten guards," Marcus said without preamble. "All dead within minutes of her imprisonment. Whatever killed them was fast and strong."

"Vivian couldn't have done this alone," James said. "She was barely conscious when we locked her up."

"She wasn't alone." Marcus pointed to tracks in the blood. "Three other people. Large. Trained. They knew exactly where to go."

James entered the prison. The cells descended in levels, each one deeper and more secure than the last. They'd put Vivian in the lowest level, surrounded by seals that should have drained her power.

The seals were intact. The cell door was open.

"She unlocked it from the inside," Marcus said, studying the mechanism. "Without breaking the seals. That's impossible unless—" He stopped.

"Unless what?"

"Unless she had help from someone who understood the prison's design." Marcus's face darkened. "James. Who built this prison?"

The answer hit like a fist. "Davis did. Twenty years ago."

"And who would know Davis's techniques better than anyone?"

"Vivian." James's power flared, cracking the stone beneath his feet. "She helped him build it. Of course she'd know how to escape."

Emily had been examining the cell. "There's writing here. On the wall."

They looked. More words in blood, fresher than the message the runner had delivered.

You took everything from me. I'll take everything from you. But not today. Today, I run. Today, I prepare. When we meet again, you'll understand what true power means.

"She's planning something," Emily said. "Something bigger than revenge."

James knew she was right. Vivian wasn't stupid. She'd ruled Dragon Nation for twenty years through cunning as much as power. She wouldn't waste her freedom on a direct attack.

"Where would she go?" James asked Marcus.

"Depends what she wants. Resources? Allies? Power?" Marcus paused. "Wait. The Dragon Soul. You have Davis's original fragment. Lucas had the stolen piece. What happened to it when you killed him?"

James's eyes widened. In the chaos of the fight, he hadn't thought about it. "It should have dispersed. Returned to the world's natural energy."

"Should have." Marcus met his gaze. "But what if someone collected it first?"

They raced back to the arena. The building was empty now, abandoned except for scavengers picking through the rubble. James went to where Lucas had died.

Nothing remained but ash. But the ash was arranged in a pattern. Someone had sifted through it, searching for something specific.

"She took it," James said. "Vivian took the stolen Dragon Soul fragment."

"That makes her as dangerous as Lucas was," Marcus said. "Maybe more. She understands the power better than he did."

Emily was looking at something else. "James. Come here."

She'd found tracks leading away from the arena. Fresh. Leading east.

"The eastern territories," Marcus said. "The wilderness beyond Dragon Nation's borders. If she reaches the lawless zones, we'll never find her."

"Then we stop her before she gets there." James started running.

They grabbed horses from a nearby stable, leaving payment the owner wouldn't see until he returned from the celebrations. The three of them rode hard toward the eastern gates.

Dragon Nation's eastern border was marked by a massive wall, built after the Great War to keep out raiders. Guard towers dotted its length, each one manned by soldiers who answered to Lucas.

Or who had answered to Lucas. Now they answered to no one.

The gate was open. A dozen guards lay dead, killed by the same precise strikes that had killed the prison guards.

"She has an army," Emily said, staring at the bodies. "She must have been planning this for weeks. Months maybe."

"Longer." Marcus dismounted, studying the scene. "Some of these men died from techniques I recognize. These aren't common fighters. They're trained assassins."

James remembered Vivian's words in the arena. I have information. About your real family. About Davis's bloodline.

She'd been stalling. Buying time for her accomplices to prepare the escape. James had been a fool to let her live.

They rode through the gate into the wilderness beyond. The eastern territories were untamed land, ruled by bandits and rogue cultivators. Dragon Nation had tried to conquer them once. Davis had led that campaign, pushing the borders back. After his death, Lucas had abandoned the effort.

The tracks led deeper into the wilderness. Away from established roads, into forests that grew denser with each mile.

"We're being led," Marcus said after an hour. "This is too obvious."

"I know." James didn't slow down. "But what choice do we have?"

They rode until noon, following tracks that never wavered. Then the forest opened into a clearing.

Fifty men waited there. All armed. All wearing the insignia of Lucas's elite guards.

At their center stood Vivian.

She looked different. The desperation was gone, replaced by cold confidence. The stolen Dragon Soul fragment pulsed at her throat, embedded in a crystalline pendant.

"You came quickly," Vivian said. "I thought you'd waste at least a day securing the capital."

James dismounted. "Where are you going?"

"Away. Beyond your reach. Dragon Nation is yours now, James. Or should I call you Davis?" She smiled. "I wonder, which one are you really? The boy who wanted to save his sister? Or the warrior who wants revenge for his murdered family?"

"Both."

"Impossible. You're splitting yourself in two. Eventually, you'll have to choose. And when you do, you'll become weak." She gestured to her guards. "Kill them. But leave James alive. I want him to watch."

The guards attacked.