TALES OF THE SERPENT TAMER

Chapter 7 — The Eye Above the Storm

The sky attacked first. The colossal crimson eye that had opened within the darkness suddenly narrowed, and every monster in the swarm screamed simultaneously. The sound was unlike anything Harold had ever heard.

Thousands of creatures cried out in terror at the same moment, creating a horrifying chorus that rolled across the mountains and forests like a living wave. Birds dropped dead from the sky. Nearby trees bent violently under an invisible pressure. Even the rain seemed to hesitate before continuing its descent.

Then the monsters started falling. Harold stared upward in disbelief. Hundreds of winged creatures plummeted from the sky as though their strings had been cut. Massive drakes, razor-wing hawks, storm vultures, and creatures he could not even name dropped helplessly through the clouds. None of them was injured. None of them was dead.

They were simply unconscious. The crimson eye had looked at them. That alone had been enough. Harold felt a knot tighten inside his stomach. What kind of creature could accomplish something so absurd? The answer stood nearby. Aria's face had become unusually pale.

The transformed execution beast looked equally disturbed. Even Nyros had fallen silent again. That frightened Harold more than the monster itself. Because every time Nyros became quiet, something terrible followed. The gigantic shadow moved behind the clouds.

The mountains trembled. Several distant peaks cracked apart as though some invisible giant had struck them from above. Elder Mordain watched the horizon with a look Harold had never seen before.Despair.Pure despair. The elder no longer looked like a proud tribal leader. He looked like a man witnessing the return of a nightmare.

"The Sky Tyrant..." Mordain whispered. Harold immediately turned toward him."The Second Catastrophe?"The elder nodded slowly. Rainwater ran down his scarred face."Long ago, entire nations disappeared when they migrated."The statement sent a chill through Harold's body.Migrated.Not attacked.Not hunted. Migrated.

The casual nature of the word somehow made everything worse. The implication was terrifying. Entire civilisations had been destroyed accidentally. Simply because they happened to exist where the creature wanted to travel. The transformed execution beast released a low growl."It shouldn't be awake."Aria crossed her arms. Her golden eyes remained fixed on the storm above."It sensed him."

The words landed heavily. Harold already knew who she meant: me. The realisation made his chest tighten. Every strange event seemed connected to him. The monsters recognise him. The Lost Heir title.The awakening creatures.The shattered seals. It all pointed toward the same uncomfortable truth. Something about Harold Ethel was changing the world. And he had no idea why.

The uncertainty frustrated him. His entire life, people had hidden things from him. His tribe.His family. Now Nyros and Aria were doing the same. Everyone seemed to know pieces of a story that Harold himself had never been allowed to hear. The thought ignited something inside him.Anger.Not explosive anger.The quiet kind.The dangerous kind.

The kind that grew slowly over the years. Harold suddenly turned toward Nyros."No."The serpent immediately sensed the shift."What?"No more secrets."Aria raised an eyebrow. The transformed execution beast looked surprised. Even Elder Mordain glanced over. Harold ignored them all. His attention remained focused entirely on the black sword.

"I am tired of everyone deciding what I should and shouldn't know."His voice remained calm. Yet there was steel beneath the words."You told me I was weak."Nyros remained silent."You told me I asked too many questions."Still silence. Harold's grip tightened around the sword."But people are trying to kill me because of things connected to you."

The statement hung heavily in the air. Rain continued falling. Thunder rolled across the distant mountains. Harold refused to back down."So tell me the truth."For several moments, Nyros said nothing. Then the serpent sighed. The sound carried an exhaustion Harold had never heard before."Do you truly want to know?"

The question felt strange. Almost reluctant. Harold nodded."Yes."Nyros became quiet again. When he finally spoke, his voice sounded different.Older.Sadder."Very well."The storm intensified overhead. Lightning flashed through the clouds. The crimson eye continued watching from above. And beneath that terrible gaze, Nyros began speaking.

"Before kingdoms existed..."Harold listened carefully."There was an age known as the First World."Aria's expression darkened. The transformed execution beast lowered its head respectfully. Even Elder Mordain seemed unwilling to interrupt."The world belonged to neither humans nor monsters."Nyros continued."Both races existed, but neither ruled."

The serpent's voice carried distant memories. Ancient ones."There were seven beings."Harold immediately thought of the Seven Catastrophes. Nyros confirmed it.

"Seven creatures so powerful that the world itself bent around them."The air grew colder."Mountains formed where they slept."Harold swallowed."Seas changed course when they moved."

The scale sounded absurd.Impossible.Yet nobody present looked sceptical. That frightened him."Those seven beings became known as the First Sovereigns."Lightning illuminated the forest. For a brief moment, Harold noticed something strange. Aria looked guilty. The observation lingered in his mind. Then Nyros continued.

"We protected the world."The statement surprised him. Protected? That wasn't what Mordain had implied. It wasn't what Aria had accused him of. Nyros seemed to anticipate the confusion."For a time."The last words carried obvious regret. Harold's heartbeat quickened."What happened?"The serpent laughed bitterly."The same thing that always happens."His voice became colder."Humans wanted more."

Mordain frowned immediately. Aria rolled her eyes. Neither reaction escaped Harold's notice. Clearly, the story was more complicated than Nyros wanted to admit. Then the serpent revealed something unexpected."And so did we."The admission caught Harold off guard.Honesty.Genuine honesty. For the first time, Nyros sounded like someone confessing rather than explaining.

"We became arrogant."The storm rumbled above."We stopped seeing ourselves as guardians."Harold already knew where this was heading. The realisation settled heavily inside his chest."We started seeing ourselves as gods."

Nobody spoke. The silence felt different this time. Not empty.Reflective.Nyros continued."The world burned."His voice softened."Millions died."Harold stared at the sword. For the first time, he truly understood the weight Nyros carried. The serpent wasn't merely ancient. He was responsible.

The realisation complicated everything. Because, despite the horrifying revelation, Harold couldn't reconcile it with the creature who had saved his life repeatedly. People weren't simple. Perhaps ancient beings weren't either. Then Aria spoke."You left out the most important part."Nyros groaned. The reaction almost seemed human."What now?"Aria's golden eyes narrowed."You started the war."

The accusation struck like lightning. Harold's gaze snapped toward the sword. Nyros immediately protested."Technically, "You started it."That depends on interpretation."You shattered a continent."The forest fell silent. Harold blinked."What?"Even Nyros sounded embarrassed."It was one time."Harold stared. The transformed execution beast buried its face in one giant hand. Aria looked genuinely annoyed.

The moment was so absurd that Harold almost forgot the gigantic catastrophe looming overhead.Almost.Then the sky exploded. A roar descended from the clouds. The sound shattered trees. Mountains trembled. Every monster within hundreds of miles immediately fled. Harold looked upward.

The shadow was descending.Slowly.Deliberately.The creature had finally decided to reveal itself. Clouds parted. The sight stole Harold's breath. The Sky Tyrant wasn't a dragon. Nor was it a bird. It resembled both and neither. Its body stretched for hundreds of feet. Silver scales covered enormous wings. Ancient runes glowed beneath its skin.

And its single crimson eye dominated the centre of its face. One eye.Only one. Yet somehow it felt more terrifying than a thousand. The creature descended lower. The pressure intensified. Several hunters collapsed unconscious. Others began bleeding from their noses.

The transformed execution beast dropped to one knee. Aria grimaced. Even she appeared affected. Only Harold remained standing. The realisation came gradually. Then all at once. Everyone noticed. Mordain stared. Aria frowned. Nyros became thoughtful. The Sky Tyrant itself paused. Because the pressure wasn't affecting Harold.Not at all.

The colossal creature studied him carefully. Then something impossible happened.  The Second Catastrophe bowed. The movement was subtle compared to its size. Yet unmistakable. The creature lowered its massive head.Respectfully.Just as the transformed execution beast had done. Shock rippled through the battlefield. Harold's pulse thundered.

"What is happening?"No one answered immediately. Because no one seemed to know. Then the Sky Tyrant spoke. Its voice echoed directly inside every mind present. Not through sound.Through thought. The sensation felt deeply unnatural."The blood remains."

Harold froze. The same phrase again.The blood.The Lost Heir. The connection grew harder to ignore. The Sky Tyrant's eye narrowed."The throne stands empty."Aria's expression changed instantly.Fear.Genuine fear. Nyros sounded alarmed."The throne?"The giant creature continued."The Sovereign Throne."

The words hit Nyros harder than expected. Harold felt it through their connection.Shock.Disbelief.And beneath both...Hope.Then the Sky Tyrant revealed something that changed everything."The other five have awakened."The forest became very quiet. Not because no one wanted to speak.Because no one knew how.Five more.Five more catastrophes.Five more ancient sovereigns.Five more beings capable of destroying nations. Harold's stomach sank. The Sky Tyrant's eye remained fixed on him.

"They are coming."The creature slowly spread its wings. The movement generated hurricane-force winds. Trees bent. Debris scattered. Clouds twisted. And then came the final revelation. The one that turned everyone's blood cold.Including Nyros'."Not to kill you."Harold's pulse quickened. The Sky Tyrant's crimson eye glowed brighter.

"To claim you."A distant roar echoed from beyond the western mountains. Another answered from the north. A third emerged from somewhere deep beneath the ocean. The sounds came from impossibly far away. Yet every person present heard them clearly. Because those roars carried power.Intent.Purpose.Six ancient sovereigns had awakened.

And all of them were moving toward Harold Ethel. Whether as allies...Or enemies...Nobody knew. This chapter deepens Harold's central emotional struggle (being kept in the dark about his identity), humanises Nyros by revealing regret and flaws, expands the mythology of the Seven Sovereigns, and escalates the mystery by introducing the Sovereign Throne and the revelation that all remaining Catastrophes are converging on Harold.