The Mythic Defect

CHAPTER 3 The Name That Shattered Heaven

The heavens did not crack quietly. The moment the name “Azhareth” left the chained beast’s mouth, a deafening explosion thundered across Ashveil City with enough force to shake towers, collapse windows, and silence every living creature within the Grand Summoning Plaza. Dark clouds twisted violently above the arena.

Golden lightning erupted through the sky like enormous veins spreading across the firmament itself, illuminating the city beneath flashes of blinding radiance. The pressure descending from above became so overwhelming that thousands of spectators collapsed instinctively to their knees.

Even the spirit beasts throughout the arena reacted in terror. Wolves whimpered. Serpents coiled tightly against the ground. Winged beasts crashed from the air as though the heavens themselves had suddenly become forbidden territory. At the centre of the destruction, Drake stood frozen inside the blazing Pact Formation Circle while ancient symbols spiralled around his body. Pain surged through every nerve he possessed.

It felt as though something enormous was forcing itself into existence through his soul. The chains embedded in Azhareth’s body began glowing brighter. Then they started breaking. One by one. The sound echoed across the arena like the tolling of an ancient bell. Grand Elder Varis’s composure finally shattered.

“Stop the pact immediately!” he roared. Six spirit gates exploded open behind him. Massive beasts emerged from swirling energy circles high above the plaza. A crimson thunder hawk spread wings large enough to eclipse entire buildings. A silver-furred war lion landed atop the arena wall with a roar powerful enough to fracture stone. Behind them came two armoured drakes and a serpent wreathed in black flames.

The crowd erupted into panic. “S-Saint-ranked beasts…”“The Grand Elder summoned four at once! He’s serious about killing them!”

Drake barely heard any of it. His vision had begun distorting strangely. Golden light flooded his surroundings while unfamiliar whispers echoed through his mind. For brief moments, he saw flashes of things that should not exist.

Burning kingdoms.Endless oceans filled with colossal corpses.A gigantic black dragon wrapped around a shattered moon. Then the visions vanished. Drake nearly lost his balance as blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. “Azhareth…” he muttered internally. “What’s happening to me?”

The creature’s voice sounded weaker now, though it still carried that same ancient weight.“The pact is forcing our souls into synchronisation,” it replied. “Your body was not prepared.” “That would’ve been useful to know earlier.”

A faint sound resembling amusement echoed inside Drake’s mind.“You still chose this.”Before Drake could answer, an enormous burst of killing intent crashed over the altar. Varis had moved. The elderly elder descended from above like a meteor wrapped in crimson spirit energy, his beasts following close behind him. The sheer force of his presence split apart the arena floor as he raised one glowing hand toward Drake.

“Break the pact!” Varis thundered. The crimson thunder hawk attacked first. Lightning exploded downward. The blast illuminated the entire arena in violent white light as destruction surged directly toward Drake and Azhareth.

Gasps erupted throughout the crowd. Many spectators looked away instinctively, unable to bear witnessing what they believed would become a public execution. But the attack never landed. Azhareth slowly raised his head.

That single motion caused the atmosphere itself to change. The golden eyes of the chained beast narrowed slightly, and suddenly the descending lightning froze in midair. The entire arena fell into stunned silence. The lightning remained suspended above Drake like a painting trapped in time. Even Varis’s expression shifted.“That’s impossible…”

Azhareth’s voice echoed softly through Drake’s mind.“Pathetic imitation.”Then the lightning turned. The massive bolt twisted violently before shooting back toward the crimson thunderhawk at twice its original speed. The hawk shrieked in terror. The explosion that followed shook the entire city. Flames erupted across the northern side of the arena as the enormous beast crashed through multiple stone walls before disappearing beneath rubble.

The crowd exploded into chaos.“No way…”“It reflected the attack!”“That wasn’t a reflection,” one priest whispered in horror. “It commanded the lightning itself…”

Drake stared at Azhareth in disbelief. The chained beast looked exhausted again after the attack. Cracks had spread further across its scales, and blood slowly dripped from the wounds around its chains. Yet despite its condition, the creature still radiated overwhelming authority. Not strength.Authority.The difference unsettled Drake deeply.

Spirit beasts became stronger through evolution and rank progression. But Azhareth felt fundamentally different. The other beasts feared him instinctively, as though his existence stood above natural law itself. Varis clearly realised the same thing. His expression darkened further while the remaining summoned beasts positioned themselves around the altar.

“We cannot allow this creature to leave alive,” the elder declared. Several noble leaders nearby hesitated.“Grand Elder,” one of them said carefully, “the entire city is watching…”

Varis’s gaze turned icy.“And if we fail to stop it,” he replied coldly, “the entire kingdom may cease to exist.”Those words sent another wave of fear through the arena. Drake narrowed his eyes. He was beginning to understand something terrifying.

These people already knew about Azhareth.Or at least fragments of the truth. Before he could think further, another sharp pain exploded through his chest. Drake dropped to one knee. The glowing pact symbol beneath him intensified violently. Azhareth suddenly turned toward him.“You are destabilising.”

Drake clenched his teeth. “I noticed.” “The synchronisation is incomplete,” Azhareth continued. “Your soul is rejecting the pressure of my existence.”Drake almost laughed bitterly despite the pain tearing through him.“Your existence really sounds inconvenient.”

This time, the creature’s amusement became clearer. Then its tone shifted.“Listen carefully,” Azhareth said. For the first time, genuine seriousness entered the ancient beast’s voice. “If the synchronisation collapses now, your heart will stop.”

Drake’s breathing faltered. Around them, battle preparations continued escalating across the arena, but Drake’s focus narrowed completely.“You’re saying I’m dying?”You were dying the moment you accepted me.”

That answer sent a strange silence through Drake’s thoughts. Not fear.Not regret.Only exhaustion. His entire life had already been a slow struggle against people stronger than him. Hunger, humiliation, beatings, and isolation, he had survived them all through sheer stubbornness alone.

And now fate had finally offered him something extraordinary. Unfortunately, that extraordinary thing might kill him within minutes.“How do I stabilise it?” Drake asked. Azhareth stared at him for several seconds. Then the beast answered quietly.“You must willingly accept me.”

Drake frowned immediately. “I already formed the pact.”No,” Azhareth replied. “You accepted my survival. Not what I truly am.”

Before Drake could ask further, the world around him suddenly changed. Darkness swallowed his vision again. The arena vanished entirely. Drake found himself standing inside an endless black void beneath a sky filled with shattered stars. Ancient chains stretched endlessly across the darkness around him. At the centre of the void stood Azhareth.

But not the weakened form from the altar. This version towered over mountains. Massive black wings eclipsed entire continents while golden flames burned across colossal scales. Thousands of broken chains wrapped around its body like prison walls.

Drake’s breath caught in his throat. The sheer size of the creature destroyed human comprehension.“You…” he whispered.

“This,” Azhareth said calmly, “is what they feared.”Its golden eyes opened fully. Entire storms formed within them. Then Drake saw the corpses. Godlike creatures surrounded Azhareth across the endless void. Some resembled dragons larger than kingdoms. Others looked almost human, wrapped in celestial armour and divine light. All of them were dead. Drake felt cold terror crawl through his chest.“You killed them?”

Azhareth remained silent for several moments. Then: “They tried to erase me.”The void trembled violently. Suddenly, Drake saw another vision. Humans kneeling before burning cities. Armies slaughtering chained beasts.

Children dragged away by priests wearing the same symbols as the Temple of Beasts. A war.An ancient war.And standing above it all…Azhareth.Not as a destroyer.But as something imprisoned. Drake’s expression slowly changed.“You weren’t sealed because you were evil,” he realised quietly.

The ancient beast stared at him.“No,” Azhareth replied. Its voice became colder.“I was sealed because humanity feared losing control.”The visions vanished instantly. Drake stumbled back into reality inside the arena.

His heartbeat pounded violently now. Something had changed. The pain inside his chest lessened slightly. The synchronisation was stabilising. Because for the first time since meeting Azhareth, Drake no longer saw the creature as a monster. He saw something abandoned.Hunted.Buried alive beneath history.Much like himself. High above the arena, Varis’s voice thundered again.“Enough!”

The remaining Saint-ranked beasts attacked simultaneously. The silver war lion roared while the armoured drakes unleashed torrents of spirit fire toward the altar. Black flames from the serpent twisted across the arena like living storms.

The combined pressure became catastrophic. Spectators fled in panic. Entire sections of the arena collapsed beneath the overwhelming force. Lyra struggled desperately against the crowd while searching for Drake through the chaos.“Drake!”

Meanwhile, Lucien Ashthorn watched from above with pale disbelief. This was no longer humiliation. This was a catastrophe. And somehow, the boy he once mocked stood at the centre of it all. Drake slowly rose to his feet.

The pact symbol burned brightly across his right arm now. Azhareth looked toward him.“You still have time to run,” the beast said quietly. Drake stared at the destruction surrounding them. The nobles wanted him dead.

The temple wanted Azhareth erased. Even if he escaped today, the entire kingdom would hunt him forever. His old life no longer existed. Slowly, Drake exhaled. Then he looked directly at the incoming Saint beasts.“No,” he said calmly.

Golden light flickered in his eyes.“I think I’m done running.”For the first time since awakening beneath the altar…Azhareth smiled. And above Ashveil City, something ancient began waking beneath the earth.