The forest thinned as the cart approached a mountain pass. Jagged cliffs rose like the ribs of a sleeping beast, casting long shadows across the trail. Aetherion awaited beyond the ridge—an academy of misfits, monsters, and magic. Kael could feel it calling, like a heartbeat thrumming in his bones.
Beside him, Elira Vaelthorn adjusted the reins. She'd been silent for the past hour, the tension between them hanging thick in the air. Kael didn't mind. He needed the quiet to process everything.
He was dragon-blooded. Whatever that meant.
A system lived in his head, feeding him cryptic warnings and updates.
His body was changing—painfully, visibly.
And in less than 85 hours, he'd die if he couldn't complete something called a Binding Trial.
"You're scowling again," Elira said without looking at him.
"I'm thinking."
"You do that a lot."
He shot her a look. "And you talk like a tsundere knight with abandonment issues."
She smirked, but didn't reply.
The cart rolled through an arch of stone etched with glowing runes. The world beyond shifted. The sky deepened to a violet hue, and stars pulsed even in daylight. Mana hung thick in the air, visible as threads of golden mist that drifted like fireflies.
Kael felt it immediately—his body reacted, blood surging, heart racing.
**[Entering: Aetherion Domain.]
Status Effect: Draconic Resonance x2. Mutation Threshold: 78%.]**
"We're here," Elira said. "Welcome to Hell with homework."
They crested the ridge, and Kael's breath caught.
Aetherion spread out below them, carved into the side of a vast caldera. Waterfalls of glowing crystal flowed from cliffs into a lake shaped like a dragon's eye. Towers pierced the sky—some shaped like spears, others spirals of metal and bone. Bridges of light arched between floating islands. Giant statues loomed—one of a woman holding a burning egg, another of a serpent with twelve wings.
At the center stood the Binding Gate.
A colossal arc of obsidian and silver, pulsing with veins of red light. It stood at the threshold between the living world and something far deeper.
Kael felt a pressure build in his skull the moment he saw it.
Elira parked the cart near a stone platform. Dozens of other arrivals clustered around—beastkin in armor, mages in tattered robes, even a hulking golem being led on a chain. Some looked terrified. Others sneered.
"Newbloods," Elira muttered. "Keep your head down."
Too late.
A tall boy with white hair and a jeweled eyepatch swaggered over. His cloak bore the mark of House Dreikar—a stylized dragon skull.
"Well, well," he drawled. "If it isn't the mutt they dragged from the crater. Didn't think you'd survive."
Kael raised an eyebrow. "And you are...?"
The boy bowed mockingly. "Lazien Dreikar. First in line to inherit the Flame Throne. Also, your superior."
"Not sure what you're trying to inherit, but it sure isn't humility."
Gasps rippled from the surrounding students.
Lazien's smile faded. "You'll regret that."
Elira stepped between them. "Move along, Dreikar. Kael's under my charge."
Lazien snorted. "A mutt guarded by a mongrel. Cute. We'll see how long he lasts."
He turned and walked off, flanked by two girls with matching swords and no expressions.
Kael exhaled. "Friendly guy."
"You'll meet worse. Come on. We need to register you."
They passed through a series of gates manned by stone sentinels. Kael's blood burned each time he crossed a threshold. Runes lit up along his arms, searing into his skin like brands.
Finally, they reached the outer sanctum of the Binding Gate.
An older man with bark-like skin and eyes like molten sap stood waiting.
"Name?"
"Kael," he rasped.
The man sniffed the air. "Unsealed hybrid. Fire-tier anomaly. Blood signature: ???. Interesting."
He motioned to a glowing basin. "Place your hand in. The Gate must taste you."
Kael glanced at Elira.
"Go," she said. "If it doesn't kill you, it'll mark you."
Encouraging.
Kael stepped forward and plunged his hand into the basin.
Pain lanced up his arm. Images flashed—an ocean of stars, a war of dragons, a woman cradling an egg wrapped in chains.
[Binding Initiated.]
[Bloodline Registered: Dracovault Anomaly – 1/1.]
[Unlocking Pathway: Pyroclast Dominion.]
The air cracked. The basin shattered.
A mark bloomed across Kael's chest—a sigil resembling a dragon curled around an hourglass.
Gasps rippled through the onlookers.
The bark-skinned man stepped back. "The Gate has accepted you. You may live—if you pass your Trial."
Kael staggered back. Elira caught him.
"You okay?"
"Define okay," he wheezed.
"Still alive. That's enough."
She led him toward the next gate, where a woman in dark robes waited.
"Trialmaster Isshra," Elira said with a nod.
"Ah, the misborn. Welcome," the woman said, her voice echoing unnaturally. "Your first Trial begins tonight. You'll be tested in the Crucible of Flame."
"What kind of test?"
"Survival. You and the other initiates will be dropped into the Ember Maze. Only those who reach the heart may stabilize their blood."
Kael frowned. "And the others?"
"Burn."
Later that evening, Kael stood with a group of thirty others on a platform overlooking a glowing ravine. Elira had been barred from entering. She watched from above, arms crossed.
Isshra floated before them.
"The Ember Maze shifts constantly. Its walls are alive. Its guardians are older than the Gate. You must reach the Heart before sunrise. Those who fall... will feed the flame."
With a wave of her hand, the floor vanished.
Kael fell.
Heat wrapped around him. Lava rivers. Stone tunnels. Whispers.
He hit the ground hard and rolled.
The maze loomed ahead, its walls pulsing like lungs. Others landed nearby, scrambling to their feet. Screams echoed.
Kael stood. His body ached, but his mind was clear.
[Trial Commenced.]
[Time Remaining: 6 Hours 58 Minutes.]
[Objective: Reach the Heart of Flame. 1/30 slots available.]
Only one?
"Damn it," Kael muttered.
A girl landed beside him—fox ears twitching. She looked up, growled. "You better not get in my way, fire-boy."
He blinked. "Name?"
"Yue. Don't touch my tails."
With that, she sprinted into the maze.
Kael took a breath and followed.
The Ember Maze came alive around them.
Walls shifted. Lava poured. Creatures formed from molten stone rose to attack. Kael fought with instinct, fire responding to his will like a loyal beast. Claws. Blasts. Flame shields.
He turned a corner—and found Lazien waiting, smirking.
"Let's see what the last egg is really made of."
They clashed.
Magic roared. Fire met shadow. Blood flew.
Kael was outmatched—but something broke inside him. Something ancient.
[Draconic Awakening: Stage II – Partial Trigger.]
His skin glowed. Horns sprouted. Wings erupted.
He roared—and Lazien was hurled back.
Kael stood in the smoke, panting.
[Mutation Threshold: 92%. Collapse Imminent.]
He had to move. Fast.
The maze twisted again. A stair of flame formed ahead.
He climbed.
At the top: a chamber of fire. A heart pulsing with dragonlight.
He stepped forward—and the mark on his chest flared.
Pain. Clarity. Power.
[Blood Stabilized. Collapse Averted.]
[Title Unlocked: Flame-Born.]
He collapsed to his knees, gasping.
Voices rose behind him. Yue burst in next, bleeding.
"You beat me by seconds, bastard."
Kael laughed.
Then the world dimmed.
And the Binding Gate roared its approval.