2026-07-14 20:50:35No cheers or applause followed after the instructor declared the winner. The arena remained eerily silent as dozens of stunned faces stared at Eryx and his creature.
The instructor slowly withdrew his hand from Cael’s Stoneback, his brows knitted together as he took another glance at the exhausted beast once again.
Weak breathing, a shrunken body and yet there wasn’t even a single serious wound on it.
“Strange,” he muttered inaudibly.
He had witnessed countless dragon duels over the years but never one like this. Cael ran his hand across the scales of his dragon, panic replacing the confidence and arrogance he had once displayed moments ago.
“Get up…” he whispered, patting the creature’s neck.
The dragon tried but it’s front legs trembled before giving way beneath its weight.
“No…” Cael shook his head frantically, he looked toward Eryx with disbelief and rage. “You cheated!”
“I… I don’t even know what happened,” Eryx replied.
That only made Carl more angrier. He instantly stood up.
“And you expect me to believe that?! Your… thing has done something to my dragon and you want to say you have nothing to do with it?!”
Just as he was about to the charge forward—
“ENOUGH!”
The instructor’s sharp voice stopped him in his tracks. His gaze swept across the students.
“The duel is over and the rest of today’s matches are postponed till further notice.”
Murmurs spread through the training grounds.
“Postponed?”
“Why?”
“Has that ever happened before?”
The instructor ignored every question. “Return to your dormitories immediately.”
No one dared argue.
Even as they walked away, countless eyes continued drifting toward Eryx and the creature quietly sitting beside him. Some were curious, others looked fearful and some looked disgusted.
They all believed that Eryx had somehow managed to cheat. Eryx remained standing until the arena had nearly emptied, only then did he lower his eyes to his body.
Nearly all his bruises had disappeared. He no longer felt the ache in his ribs or body at all.
It was like… it was never there.
He looked over at his dragon with bewilderment.
“What did you do?”
The creature merely blinked, staring back at him with its empty, black eyes.
…
That evening.
The heavy wooden doors of the Academy Council Chamber closed with a deep thud. Around the circular table sat several senior instructors and Elders, their expressions were solemn.
The instructor from the training grounds stood before them. “You had requested my report.”
One of the elders seated at the head of the table folded his hands. “Tell us everything.”
The instructor took a slow breath. “That creature had repeated a Stoneback without exercising any strength or speed.”
He paused for a beat, staring at the others.
“It fed.”
They all drew in a breath, exchanging glances with one another.
“It bit the opposing dragon and… drained it,” the instructor added.
Several instructors frowned.
“Drained?”
“The Stoneback suffered no broken bones, no internal injuries and almost no blood loss. But its strength…” his voice lowered slightly. “It simply disappeared.”
Silence settled over the council once more. Most of them were amused, others seemed unsettled by the revelation. Finally, the elder spoke again.
“So, the records were indeed correct. That wasn’t mana absorption…”
The old man slowly rose from his chair and walked towards the window overlooking the Academy grounds, his long red cape sweeping the floor behind him.
“It was esssense. Do not kill the boy… not yet. Watch him and his creature for whatever emerged from the Abyss has only just begun to awaken.”
The others exchanged glances.
“What if it’s more dangerous than we thought?”
The old man’s eyes peered deep into the darkness, inhaling a sharp breath.
“When that time comes, we shall know what to do.”I'm
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10
No cheers or applause followed after the instructor declared the winner. The arena remained eerily silent as dozens of stunned faces stared at Eryx and his creature. The instructor slowly withdrew his hand from Cael’s Stoneback, his brows knitted together as he took another glance at the exhausted beast once again. Weak breathing, a shrunken body and yet there wasn’t even a single serious wound on it. “Strange,” he muttered inaudibly. He had witnessed countless dragon duels over the years but never one like this. Cael ran his hand across the scales of his dragon, panic replacing the confidence and arrogance he had once displayed moments ago. “Get up…” he whispered, patting the creature’s neck.The dragon tried but it’s front legs trembled before giving way beneath its weight. “No…” Cael shook his head frantically, he looked toward Eryx with disbelief and rage. “You cheated!”“I… I don’t even know what happened,” Eryx replied. That only made Carl more angrier. He instantly stood
9
The impact sent Eryx sliding across the training grounds before crashing into a stone pillar at the edge of the arena. Pain instantly surged in his body, his body squeezing in discomfort as he struggled to take in breaths.Across the arena, laughter erupted instantly. “Sill of me to have thought that he would last longer than one hit.”“I have seen children put up better fights than him and his ridiculous excuse of a dragon, Ha-ha!”Cael rolled his shoulders lazily, feeling a deep sense of pride and accomplishment. “I was expecting at least a little… entertainment.”His Stoneback Dragon stomped forward with slow, crushing steps. It’s heavy steps shooked the earth beneath it. Every breath it released came out a rings of hot steam.The instructor nodded approvingly.“Excellent balance,” he commented. “Your dragon’s physical foundation is solid.”Cael smirked at the comment and gave a respectful nod. Everyone thought the battle was over and the instructor was just about to announce him
8
Eryx stood in the doorway of his assigned room, his heart sinking as he stared at the crumpled space he was to call home.It was a narrow space between two stone walls; a single pile of damp straw was to be his bed, the air smelled of cattle poop. There was no lamp in the room as well.Eryx sighed as he slumped on his bed of straw. He was still grateful to have the luxury to have a place to lay his head; he didn’t have a trunk for his belongings because he had no belongings.The black veins on his arm were swirling back and forth. He had left his dragon in the pit; at least it seemed to be in a better position than he was.He closed his eyes, trying to ignore the crawling hunger in his stomach and the words that seemed to be etched into his mind.‘GROW!’He turned to the other side, his brows pinched. How was he supposed to grow in a place that was set on burying him?…The next morning, the candidates stood on the training grounds with their dragons. The beasts looked magnificent as
7
‘Flames—Dead bodies scattered around—The feel of the blood-soaked soil under my feet as I walked along the field.The smell of death all round me—In the middle of it all stood a black, majestic-looking dragon staring deep into my soul, reading my deepest thoughts and secrets.If felt oddly familiar.“Mine—!”A deep, dark voice echoed through the blood-red sky as the ground shook.Then suddenly, the atmosphere began to darken, and the heat of flames turned into a biting cold that made my skin crawl.’…Eryx bolted upright, his breath caught up in his throat as beads of sweat streamed down his face. The majestic dragon in his dream was gone, and the unmistakable smell of blood was replaced by the stench of mold and stagnant water.He looked around, his brows furrowing. He wasn’t in the courtyard of the Academy; he was on a thin, rotting straw mat in a room made of stone and a metal bar caging him in.What’s going on?Where was he?“Finally awake,” a voice sounded from the outside.Er
6
The laughter that had once echoed in the courtyard soon vanished as the ground rumbled and shook for a second time, making the crowd scramble for safety. A few of the candidates who had mocked Eryx stumbled over their feet in panic.Eryx turned around, staring at the scene before him, his confusion mirroring others.At the center of the courtyard, the Rite platform split open. An uneven rift ripped through the marble, spreading to the Elder’s altar with a lightning speed.From the dark, dusty earth, something rose.It was an egg.But it resembled a tombstone. Black, wrapped in heavy, rusted chains. Ancient inscriptions were written all over it, glowing blue as it shone brightly under the sunlight.“The seal!” one of the elders shrieked, his face a look of pure terror. “It wasn’t supposed to wake! Not for another century!”“Call the guardians!” another yelled, his voice cracking. “Seal it back! Push it down before the seal breaks!”The elders scrambled towards the egg, surrounding it a
5
“Well, it wasn’t that hard was it?” Caleb said, folding back the signed paper and putting it in his pocket and left with Leo.Victor went to his room while Clara returned to her work. Only Neri stayed with Eryx, she stared at him with pity.“You shouldn’t have signed it, Eryx,” she muttered.Eryx smiled weakly, rubbing her cheeks. His younger sister cared so much about him than the others. “Neri, thank you for standing up for me, but I had to do this. After all, now I can proudly say I have contributed to the growth of this family with the compensation money.”Neri frowned at Eryx’s humorless joke. “This isn’t funny and this isn’t fair.”Her voice dropped as well as her eyes and then in that moment, she took off one of her bracelets and wore it on his hand.“For Goodluck,” she managed to smile, looking up at him as tears streamed down her face. “Promise me you will come back. Promise me you will stay alive.”Eryx swallowed hard. There was no way he could promise such, he was a weakli
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