A violent storm consumed the Black Hollow canyon.

Rain crashed against jagged cliffs.

Thunder roared across the mountains.

And beneath the endless darkness—

thousands of enemy soldiers charged through the narrow valley.

War banners whipped violently in the wind.

Cavalry thundered across the soaked ground.

Because ahead of the entire army—

a child was running alone.

Ten years old.

Barefoot against the sharp black stone.

Thin from hunger.

Wearing torn ragged clothes soaked by rain and mud.

His bruised face remained hidden beneath tangled dark hair.

Yet despite the storm—

despite the cavalry—

despite the thousands chasing him—

the boy never slowed down.

“DON’T LET HIM ESCAPE!”

The enemy general pointed his sword forward furiously.

Archers fired through the rain.

But the child suddenly vanished sideways.

Dark afterimages flickered across the canyon walls.

The soldiers froze in confusion.

Because the boy’s movements no longer looked human.

Phantom Shadow Footwork.

The child sprinted across cliffs and broken rocks faster than galloping horses.

One second he appeared ahead of the army—

the next he flashed across the canyon walls like a ghost.

Enemy cavalry crashed into each other trying to follow him.

The storm blurred with motion and lightning.

Still—

the boy kept leading them deeper into the valley.

Farther.

Farther.

Until the canyon narrowed completely.

Then—

the child suddenly leaped upward.

He landed silently atop a towering stone pillar above the battlefield.

And for the first time—

he stopped running.

The soldiers below laughed triumphantly.

“He trapped himself!”

But then the ground began glowing.

One crimson symbol ignited beneath the mud.

Then another.

Then dozens more.

Massive glowing patterns spread beneath the entire valley floor.

The enemy general’s smile disappeared.

“What… is this?”

Too late.

The child slowly raised one hand.

And the hidden formation activated.

BOOOOM.

Massive walls of crimson-black energy erupted around the trapped army.

The canyon shook violently.

Horses screamed in terror.

The ground split apart beneath thousands of soldiers as dark energy spiraled upward into the storm clouds.

The army slammed desperately against the glowing walls—

but nothing escaped.

Lightning illuminated the terrified battlefield.

The child stared down silently from above the valley.

Rain streamed across his face.

Then he spoke only two words.

“Too late.”

The magical formation burned brighter.

The trapped army screamed helplessly below.

And atop the stone pillar beneath the raging storm—

the barefoot boy stood motionless,

watching an entire army vanish inside the glowing crimson seal.

But the child’s eyes never showed victory.

Only exhaustion.

And grief.

Because this was never supposed to happen.

Far beyond the canyon—

hidden behind collapsing fortress walls—

the last survivors of Ashkar waited in silence.

Women clutched crying children inside underground shelters.

Old soldiers tightened bloody bandages around shattered armor.

The wounded filled every corridor beneath the ruined capital.

And inside the deepest chamber beneath the fortress—

Queen Seraphine slowly opened her eyes.

The moment the crimson light exploded across the horizon—

every candle inside the underground hall extinguished simultaneously.

The queen’s face turned pale.

“No…”

Beside her, an elderly royal mage suddenly stood in horror.

“He activated it.”

The queen staggered forward.

“He promised me he wouldn’t.”

Thunder shook dust from the ceiling above them.

Far away—

another explosion echoed through the mountains.

The old mage whispered shakily,

“The Crimson Abyss Formation consumes everything inside it.”

The queen looked toward the distant canyon.

“But that includes the one standing at its center…”

Silence filled the chamber.

And for the first time since the war began—

fear overtook everyone inside the underground refuge.

Because they finally understood what the child had truly done.

He had not trapped the enemy army.

He had sacrificed himself with them.

…

Back inside Black Hollow—

the formation intensified.

Dark energy spiraled upward like a giant storm vortex swallowing the sky itself.

Thousands of soldiers screamed as the canyon floor collapsed beneath them.

Armor melted.

Weapons shattered.

Horses disintegrated into ash-like fragments of crimson light.

The enemy general tried desperately to force his warhorse through the glowing barrier.

But the moment his blade touched the wall—

BOOOOM.

His entire arm exploded into blood.

The general collapsed screaming into the mud.

“No! NO! STOP THIS!”

Above him—

the child remained perfectly still atop the stone pillar.

Rain poured across his small body.

Blood slowly dripped from the corner of his mouth.

Because activating the forbidden formation was destroying him too.

Crimson cracks had begun spreading beneath the skin of his arms.

Like burning fractures of light.

The child lowered his gaze silently.

His breathing trembled.

Memories flashed through his mind.

A freezing alleyway.

Starvation.

Chains.

The sound of nobles laughing while soldiers beat him in the streets.

Then—

another memory.

Warm hands wrapping cloth around his wounds.

Queen Seraphine kneeling beside him years ago.

“You’re safe now.”

The boy’s lips trembled slightly.

Safe.

He had almost forgotten what that word felt like.

Lightning illuminated the battlefield again.

The formation continued consuming the canyon.

But suddenly—

the child sensed something.

His eyes widened slightly.

No…

Impossible.

Then—

a deep vibration shook the stone pillar beneath his feet.

THOOOOM.

The trapped soldiers froze in terror.

Because something enormous was moving beneath the canyon.

Again.

THOOOOM.

Cracks spread violently across the valley walls.

The enemy general looked around in horror.

“What now?!”

Then the mountain exploded.

BOOOOOOOM.

An enormous black-scaled creature erupted from beneath the canyon floor itself.

Thousands of tons of rock blasted into the storm sky.

Soldiers were thrown screaming across the battlefield.

And from the center of the destruction—

a gigantic dragon slowly rose into the rain.

Its scales looked like obsidian forged from darkness.

Massive crimson eyes burned beneath the storm clouds.

Chains wrapped around parts of its ancient body.

Broken prison chains.

The entire battlefield fell silent.

Even the trapped army stopped screaming.

Because every kingdom on the continent knew the ancient legends.

Black dragons were extinct.

Destroyed during the Dragon Wars centuries ago.

Yet one now towered above the canyon itself.

The dragon slowly lifted its massive head.

Then its glowing eyes locked directly onto the child atop the stone pillar.

And for the first time—

the boy looked afraid.

Not of death.

Not of the army.

But of the creature staring at him.

The dragon opened its mouth slowly.

And spoke.

“…You finally returned.”

The entire battlefield froze.

Because dragons were never supposed to speak the human tongue.

The child’s face turned pale.

Rain streamed down his cheeks.

“I didn’t come back,” he whispered weakly.

The dragon’s eyes narrowed.

“You carry his blood.”

The boy clenched his fists painfully.

“Don’t say that.”

Far beneath them—

the enemy general suddenly began laughing hysterically.

A desperate laugh.

A broken laugh.

“Good… GOOD!”

He pointed upward madly.

“The beast will kill you all!”

But the dragon never even looked at him.

Its ancient gaze remained fixed only on the child.

Then suddenly—

the dragon lowered its giant head.

And bowed.

Every soldier inside the canyon stopped breathing.

The king’s elite army…

the same army that had slaughtered entire nations…

watched in horror as an ancient black dragon bowed before a starving barefoot child.

The dragon’s deep voice echoed through the storm.

“He lives.”

The child’s expression broke completely.

“No…”

“He lives,” the dragon repeated.

Tears mixed with rain across the boy’s face.

“That’s impossible.”

Because the boy remembered watching him die.

…

Five years earlier—

the kingdom of Ashkar had burned beneath civil war.

The boy had not been called “boy” back then.

He had a name.

Ash.

Prince Ash Vaelor.

The youngest son of the royal bloodline.

The forgotten prince.

And beside him during those burning nights—

stood his older brother.

Crown Prince Kael.

The strongest warrior in the kingdom.

The one person who had protected Ash from the cruelty of the royal court.

But during the betrayal of Black Hollow—

Kael had remained behind to hold the canyon against invading armies.

Ash had watched the entire mountain collapse around him.

Nobody could survive that.

Nobody.

Yet now—

the dragon slowly lifted one chained claw.

And resting inside its massive palm—

hung a broken silver pendant.

Kael’s pendant.

Ash staggered backward in shock.

The dragon spoke softly.

“He sealed himself beneath the mountain… to protect me.”

Ash’s knees nearly gave out.

For years—

he believed his brother died abandoned and alone.

But the truth was worse.

Kael had sacrificed himself to imprison the dragon beneath Black Hollow.

Not to kill it.

To protect it.

The dragon’s massive eyes lowered.

“He believed one day… you would return.”

Ash stared silently through the storm.

Then suddenly—

another voice echoed across the canyon.

Cold.

Cruel.

Familiar.

“And he was right.”

The child froze.

Because that voice belonged to someone impossible.

A figure slowly emerged from the collapsing crimson formation below.

The enemy general.

But his appearance had changed completely.

Dark crimson veins now spread across his face.

The magical seal should have killed him.

Instead—

the formation’s energy twisted violently around his body.

The old general smiled horribly.

“You really thought this army came for Ashkar?”

Ash’s expression darkened.

The general slowly removed his helmet.

And the child’s blood turned cold.

Because beneath the rain stood someone he recognized.

General Rowan.

The same royal commander who betrayed the kingdom years ago.

The man responsible for Kael’s supposed death.

“You…”

Rowan grinned.

“You were always the dangerous one, little prince.”

The dragon growled thunderously.

The mountains trembled.

But Rowan only laughed louder.

“Perfect.”

He spread his arms toward the crimson storm swirling overhead.

“Do you understand now?”

“The formation was never your trap.”

Ash’s eyes widened slightly.

Rowan pointed upward.

“You activated exactly what I needed.”

Suddenly—

the crimson vortex above the canyon changed direction.

Instead of consuming the battlefield—

the energy began flowing directly toward Rowan himself.

The old general screamed in triumph as dark power exploded around him.

“I searched twenty years for this formation!”

The dragon roared violently.

“STOP HIM!”

Too late.

The canyon exploded again.

Massive pillars of crimson energy erupted into the sky.

Rowan’s body transformed grotesquely beneath the storm.

Armor shattered apart.

Shadow-like wings burst from his back.

Dark energy consumed the battlefield itself.

The surviving soldiers screamed in horror as Rowan drained their life force instantly.

Thousands collapsed dead within seconds.

Ash stared in disbelief.

“He used his own army…”

The dragon’s voice rumbled furiously.

“He was feeding the formation.”

Rowan slowly rose into the storm sky above the canyon.

No longer human.

Something worse.

His eyes burned completely crimson.

“At last…”

Lightning exploded behind him.

“The power to kill dragons.”

Then Rowan extended one hand downward.

BOOOOOOM.

A gigantic wave of crimson destruction slammed toward the dragon and the child.

The dragon immediately shielded Ash beneath one enormous wing.

The impact shattered cliffs apart.

Entire sections of the canyon collapsed into darkness.

Ash coughed violently beneath the debris.

The dragon growled painfully.

Its black scales were burning.

Burning.

Ash stared upward in horror.

Dragon scales were nearly indestructible.

Yet Rowan’s power was tearing through them.

The transformed warlord descended slowly from the sky.

Rain evaporated around his body.

“You see now?” Rowan smiled coldly.

“Your brother failed.”

The dragon snarled.

“Kael stopped you once.”

Rowan’s face twisted with hatred.

“Yes.”

Lightning illuminated his monstrous expression.

“That foolish prince destroyed everything.”

Memories flashed through Ash’s mind again.

Kael standing alone inside Black Hollow years ago.

The collapsing mountain.

The dragon imprisoned beneath stone.

Suddenly—

Ash understood.

Kael never fought the dragon.

He fought Rowan.

And he sealed both the dragon and the formation beneath the mountain to stop this exact moment from happening.

But now—

Ash had accidentally released it all again.

Rowan slowly raised one clawed hand toward the child.

“Fortunately… you finished what your brother started.”

Dark energy gathered violently around him.

The dragon immediately stepped protectively in front of Ash.

But Ash suddenly grabbed one of the broken chains hanging from the dragon’s body.

His eyes narrowed.

“No.”

The dragon glanced downward.

Ash slowly stood despite the blood pouring from his arms.

“He didn’t fail.”

The storm intensified violently around the canyon.

Ash’s breathing slowed.

Then—

he pulled the chain free completely.

CLANG.

Ancient glowing symbols suddenly ignited across the dragon’s body.

The dragon’s eyes widened.

“You remember the seal?”

Ash nodded weakly.

Because Kael taught it to him long ago.

A forbidden bond between dragon and royal blood.

A power thought lost forever.

Rowan’s expression changed for the first time.

Fear.

Ash placed one trembling hand against the dragon’s scales.

And whispered,

“Rise.”

BOOOOOOOOM.

The heavens exploded.

Black flames erupted across the dragon’s body.

The broken chains vaporized instantly.

Massive wings unfolded completely for the first time in centuries.

The storm itself spiraled around the awakened creature.

Rowan screamed furiously.

“Impossible!”

But the dragon’s voice now shook the entire mountain range.

“The Dragon King has awakened.”

Its crimson eyes ignited brighter than the formation itself.

Ash climbed slowly onto the dragon’s back.

Tiny.

Broken.

Barefoot.

Yet beneath the storm clouds—

he looked like something ancient.

Something the world had forgotten.

The last prince of Ashkar.

Rowan unleashed another devastating wave of crimson destruction.

But this time—

the dragon moved.

Instantly.

The gigantic black creature vanished into shadows.

BOOOOM.

Rowan’s attack obliterated empty air.

Then suddenly—

the dragon reappeared directly behind him.

Too fast.

Far too fast.

The dragon’s claws tore through Rowan’s transformed body.

The warlord screamed as black flames exploded across the sky.

But Rowan refused to die.

Dark energy erupted wildly from his wounds.

“You cannot stop this!”

The crimson storm above the canyon began collapsing downward.

Unstable.

Violent.

The formation was breaking apart.

And if it exploded—

the entire kingdom of Ashkar would vanish.

The dragon growled urgently.

“The seal is collapsing!”

Ash looked upward at the spiraling storm.

Then realization struck him.

The formation needed a core.

A living anchor.

That was why Rowan survived.

And if Rowan died—

the unstable formation would detonate instantly.

Ash’s face slowly changed.

The dragon noticed immediately.

“No.”

Ash looked toward the creature sadly.

“It’s the only way.”

“You cannot survive replacing the core.”

Ash smiled weakly.

“I know.”

The dragon roared furiously.

“You are all he has left!”

Ash froze.

For the first time—

he understood what the dragon truly meant.

Kael was alive.

Somewhere beneath the ruins of Black Hollow.

Still alive after all these years.

And Ash had finally found him again—

only to lose everything now.

Tears mixed with rain across the child’s face.

“I’m tired,” he whispered.

The dragon lowered its head painfully.

Ash stared toward the collapsing crimson sky.

Then—

another voice echoed weakly through the storm.

“Ash…”

The child’s eyes widened.

Impossible.

Far below the shattered canyon—

a figure slowly emerged from the ruins.

Tall.

Wounded.

Covered in dust and blood.

Silver hair soaked by rain.

And hanging around his neck—

a broken pendant chain.

Ash stopped breathing.

“…Kael?”

The older prince collapsed to one knee.

But he smiled anyway.

“You got bigger.”

Ash ran.

Without thinking.

Without fear.

The child leaped from the dragon’s back directly into the collapsing battlefield below.

“Ash!” the dragon roared.

But the boy sprinted through fire and debris toward his brother.

Toward the one person he thought he lost forever.

Kael barely had time to stand before the child slammed into him.

The older prince wrapped trembling arms around his little brother instantly.

For several seconds—

neither of them spoke.

Because neither believed the other was real.

Kael finally laughed weakly through tears.

“You’re still reckless.”

Ash buried his face against his brother’s chest.

“You idiot… you idiot…”

Kael held him tighter.

Above them—

the crimson storm continued collapsing.

Rowan slowly rose again through the destruction.

His body was breaking apart now.

Unstable.

But his hatred remained.

“If I die…” he growled,

“EVERYTHING DIES WITH ME!”

The sky cracked apart.

The formation began imploding completely.

The dragon roared.

“MOVE!”

But Kael suddenly looked upward calmly.

Then—

he smiled strangely.

“No,” he whispered.

Ash looked up in confusion.

“What?”

Kael touched the child’s forehead gently.

“The formation always needed royal blood.”

Ash’s eyes widened slowly.

Then horror struck him.

“No…”

Kael smiled sadly.

“I never survived the seal, Ash.”

The child froze completely.

Rain passed through Kael’s body slightly.

Transparent.

Fading.

“I became part of the formation years ago.”

Ash’s breathing shattered.

“No no no—”

Kael pulled him closer.

“I stayed alive long enough to wait for you.”

Tears streamed uncontrollably down Ash’s face now.

“You can’t leave again…”

Kael looked toward the dragon one final time.

“Protect him.”

Then the older prince stood slowly beneath the collapsing storm.

Golden light began spreading across his fading body.

Rowan screamed in horror.

“What are you doing?!”

Kael smiled.

“Ending this.”

The entire sky exploded with light.

A second formation suddenly appeared above the canyon—

golden instead of crimson.

The true royal seal of Ashkar.

Rowan tried to escape.

Too late.

Golden chains erupted from the heavens and wrapped around the warlord instantly.

“NOOOOO!”

The dragon shielded Ash as blinding light consumed the canyon completely.

Thunder vanished.

Rain vanished.

Sound itself disappeared.

And within the endless golden light—

Kael looked back one final time.

Smiling peacefully.

Then he vanished.

The royal formation sealed shut.

And the storm ended instantly.

…

Silence.

Soft sunlight slowly broke through the clouds above Black Hollow.

The canyon was gone.

The battlefield was gone.

Only quiet mountains remained beneath the morning sky.

Ash slowly opened his eyes.

The dragon rested nearby silently.

No crimson storm remained.

No enemy army.

Nothing.

The war was over.

Ash stared upward numbly.

Then—

something warm touched his hand.

He looked down.

A silver pendant.

Kael’s pendant.

And carved into the metal—

freshly glowing beneath the sunlight—

were two words.

“Live freely.”

Ash broke completely.

The child collapsed into tears beneath the quiet morning sky while the dragon lowered its massive head beside him silently.

For the first time in years—

the kingdom no longer needed sacrifices.

No more wars.

No more seals.

No more lonely princes trapped beneath mountains.

Only peace.

And far beyond Black Hollow—

the bells of Ashkar finally rang again beneath the rising sun.