Elder Solryn's voice wasn't loud.
But it carried.
Clear.
Absolute.
"…Enough."
The Patriarch paused.
For a moment, it seemed he would continue.
The blue lightning surrounding him still crackled, and the pressure of his domain remained heavy in the air.
Then—
He stepped back.
Not out of weakness.
Not out of fear.
By choice.
He allowed Solryn to pass.
That alone spoke volumes.
A Patriarch who commanded nineteen elders had just yielded the space before him to a single man.
And none of the others questioned it.
Solryn approached me slowly.
His expression was calm.
A gentle smile rested on his face.
Not mocking.
Not testing.
Respectful.
Behind him, confusion spread among the elders.
Even Caelion seemed unable to understand what was happening.
A moment ago, Solryn had warned the Patriarch against making a mistake.
Now—
He was walking toward me as though approaching someone of extraordinary importance.
I didn't understand it.
And judging by the expressions around us, neither did most of the people watching.
Solryn stopped before me.
Then—
He bowed.
Not deeply.
But enough.
Enough to show respect.
"…May this humble one ask…"
His voice softened.
"…the name of this Sovereign?"
Silence.
Absolute silence.
My mind stalled.
What?
The elders froze.
The Patriarch's eyes widened slightly.
Even the air seemed uncertain.
A Sovereign?
Was he addressing me?
The spectators behind the elders began murmuring again.
Confusion spread through the crowd, threatening to become an uproar.
Then the Patriarch glanced in their direction.
One look.
That was all it took.
The spectators scattered.
Within seconds, the courtyard was nearly empty.
I barely noticed.
My attention remained fixed on Solryn.
What is this man talking about?
I opened my mouth.
Instinctively, I prepared to answer as I always did.
I'm Velzahar.
Simple.
Straightforward.
Nothing more.
But—
Something snapped.
My vision blurred.
For an instant, the world seemed to lose its shape.
Then everything sharpened.
Too sharply.
The elders.
The Patriarch.
Solryn.
I could see them all with a clarity that felt unnatural, as though something ancient had opened its eyes inside me and begun examining the world.
My pupils changed.
Their familiar shape split, becoming beastlike.
Ancient.
Predatory.
My body remained still.
Yet something within me stirred.
Not the anger that had overtaken me during my battle with the avatar.
Not the hunger that had followed my transformation.
Something deeper.
Something that had been there long before either of them.
Then—
A voice spoke.
Not from my mouth.
Not through my thoughts.
It came from my very being.
From the deepest part of my blood.
"I am Velzahar…"
The air trembled.
The words continued.
"…The Burning Roar of the Heavens."
Space distorted.
A pressure descended upon the courtyard.
Not the crushing pressure of a powerful cultivator.
Something different.
Something that did not need to force the world to acknowledge its existence.
The world simply did.
"…Sovereign of the Azure Flame."
The final words echoed.
Not as sound.
As law.
For one impossible instant—
Reality itself seemed to recognize the declaration.
The elders reacted immediately.
Every one of them bowed.
Even Caelion lowered his head, his expression frozen between shock and disbelief.
Their bodies moved before their minds could understand why.
Instinct overrode reason.
The Patriarch stood motionless, his eyes widened just enough to betray what his composure could not conceal.
The authority that had filled the courtyard moments earlier had vanished.
Not because someone had defeated him.
But because something had momentarily placed the entire gathering beneath a different order.
Only Solryn remained upright.
He didn't bow.
He didn't retreat.
He simply watched me.
Smiling.
As though he had been waiting for this exact moment.
Seconds passed.
Then—
The pressure disappeared.
My vision cleared.
My pupils returned to normal.
The world settled back into place.
I blinked.
Once.
Twice.
Then looked around.
The elders were straightening.
Some wore expressions of disbelief.
Others looked as though they had just witnessed something that should not have been possible.
The Patriarch said nothing.
Caelion remained silent.
And Solryn—
He was still smiling.
I lowered my gaze to my hands.
Then raised it again.
"…What was that?"
My voice came out low.
Uncertain.
For once, I had no clever response.
No immediate conclusion.
Whatever had just spoken through me, I hadn't consciously commanded it.
I hadn't even understood what it was saying until the words had already left my being.
System…
You're explaining that later.
No response.
I narrowed my eyes.
I'm serious.
Still nothing.
Unbelievable.
I looked back at Solryn.
He observed me quietly, his expression unreadable.
Then he raised one hand slightly.
A simple gesture.
A silent command.
"Leave us."
The elders hesitated.
Their gazes moved between Solryn and me.
Even the Patriarch lingered.
His eyes remained fixed on me, searching for an explanation that I couldn't provide.
For a moment, I thought he might refuse.
Then—
He turned.
One by one, the elders followed.
Caelion was among the last to leave.
Before disappearing from view, he glanced back at me.
There were questions in his eyes.
Questions he hadn't asked.
Questions I couldn't answer.
Then he was gone.
The courtyard fell silent.
Only Solryn and I remained.
He turned toward me.
"You are confused."
I stared at him.
Then nodded.
"…Yes."
"Good."
I blinked.
Good?
That answer threw me off more than I wanted to admit.
Solryn chuckled softly.
"Understanding something you don't understand is a dangerous habit. Recognizing your ignorance is the beginning of correcting it."
He turned away.
"Come."
"Where?"
"Somewhere we may find an answer."
He began walking.
I followed.
I had far too many questions to refuse.
We left the courtyard and rose into the air.
The wind swept past us as we moved across the clan grounds.
Fast.
Silent.
Below us, buildings and training facilities blurred into streaks of color.
No words were exchanged.
Not because there was nothing to say.
But because neither of us yet knew which question deserved to be asked first.
Two minutes later—
We arrived.
The Elder Hall.
A structure separated from the surrounding buildings.
Isolated.
Important.
Its exterior was covered in intricate carvings.
Ancient beasts coiled around pillars, their forms intertwined with symbols I couldn't identify.
Runes pulsed faintly across the walls.
Not decorative.
Alive with power.
I slowed as we approached.
Something about the building felt different from the rest of the clan.
Older.
As though it had been built to preserve something rather than simply serve those who entered it.
Solryn stepped forward.
He retrieved an elder token and pressed it against the massive doors.
SWISH—
The runes brightened.
A deep vibration passed through the structure.
Then the doors began to open.
Slowly.
Heavily.
"Follow me."
I stepped inside.
And paused.
The interior was breathtaking.
Vast.
Refined.
Countless carvings covered the walls and pillars, layered with runes that hummed with restrained power.
The ceiling rose far above us, its surface decorated with enormous beast patterns.
Every detail seemed deliberate.
Every symbol seemed to belong to a history I had never learned.
"…Take your time," Solryn said calmly.
I gave a slight nod.
But kept moving.
We walked along a long carpet of crimson and gold.
Beast patterns had been woven into its surface.
Dragons.
Tigers.
Ancient creatures whose forms I couldn't fully recognize.
They seemed to face the same direction.
Toward the center of the hall.
We followed their gaze.
At the far end stood rows of seats.
Far more than the number of elders I knew.
And above them all—
One elevated seat.
The Patriarch's throne.
My gaze lingered on it briefly before returning to Solryn.
He wasn't looking at the seats.
He was looking down.
At the floor.
His smile faded into quiet concentration.
Then—
"…Found it."
He bent down and pulled aside part of the carpet.
Beneath it—
A circular seal.
Perfectly concealed.
Its surface was covered in intricate markings, arranged in layers that seemed to spiral toward a dark center.
I stepped closer.
The markings looked unfamiliar.
Yet something about them stirred a faint sensation deep within my blood.
Not recognition.
Not quite.
More like the distant echo of something I should have known.
I crouched slightly.
"…What is this?"
Solryn shook his head.
"I do not know."
I glanced at him.
"You brought me here without knowing what it is?"
"I brought you here because I know what it might be."
He paused.
His eyes settled on the seal.
"This mark has existed beneath the Elder Hall for longer than our records can establish. No one has managed to open it."
"Not even you?"
"Not even me."
He said it without embarrassment.
Without frustration.
As though accepting the limits of his knowledge were perfectly natural.
Then he looked at me.
"But I know this."
His expression grew serious.
"The one it is meant for…"
He paused.
"…will know how to open it."
I stared at the seal.
Then at him.
And you believe that person is me?
Solryn didn't answer.
He didn't need to.
The way he had bowed before me in the courtyard had already made his suspicion clear.
I looked down again.
For several seconds, I studied the markings.
I could force energy into it.
Try a technique.
Search for a mechanism.
But something told me that would be pointless.
If this seal had resisted every elder who had tried to open it, brute force wasn't the answer.
I extended my hand.
"…Then let's try."
A small cut formed across my fingertip.
Blood gathered.
One drop fell.
The instant it touched the seal—
Everything changed.
Crimson lines spread across the surface.
Not randomly.
They moved with purpose, branching outward like a living network.
The markings ignited one after another.
The entire circular seal trembled.
Solryn's eyes widened slightly.
He remained silent.
The crimson light grew brighter.
Then—
CRACK.
A thin fracture appeared across the center.
Another followed.
Then another.
Within moments, the entire seal was covered in glowing cracks.
It didn't explode.
It didn't resist.
It simply began to disintegrate.
The markings broke apart into countless crimson particles.
They rose into the air.
Flickered.
And vanished.
Dust.
Gone.
Beneath the seal—
A hollow space remained.
Dark.
Silent.
I leaned forward.
There was no staircase.
No visible mechanism.
No light coming from below.
Just an opening leading into darkness.
Solryn didn't stop me.
He didn't tell me to wait.
He simply watched.
I activated my eyes.
Blue light filled my vision.
The darkness shifted, but I couldn't see enough to determine what lay beneath.
I glanced at Solryn.
He gave a slight nod.
That was all.
I stepped toward the opening.
Then jumped.
Darkness swallowed me.
For a moment—
Nothing.
No sound.
No sensation.
Only the strange feeling of falling through a space that seemed to have no end.
Then—
Light.
Blinding light.
I raised an arm instinctively.
My vision adjusted slowly.
And what I saw—
Was not darkness.
Not ruins.
Not a hidden chamber.
It was—
A world.