The old arena master froze in terror.

Because only one war hammer in Ashkar history carried the Mark of Varkuun.

A weapon forged for the Dragon Kings before the First Collapse.

Then suddenly—

the massive arena gates behind the child began opening by themselves.

And something enormous growled from the darkness inside the coliseum.

The sound shook the entire arena.

Not like an animal.

Not like a beast.

Something older.

Something that sounded like mountains grinding together beneath the earth.

RRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOM.

The nobles immediately stepped backward from the arena walls.

Rain poured harder across the battlefield while torches flickered violently in the wind.

The boy remained motionless.

The burning hammer rested silently on his shoulder while crimson light pulsed beneath the ancient runes.

One soldier whispered nervously:

“What… is inside there?”

Nobody answered.

Because deep beyond the opening gates—

two enormous golden eyes slowly appeared in the darkness.

The crowd gasped instantly.

Then chains began dragging across stone.

CLAAAAANG.

CLAAAAANG.

CLAAAAANG.

Each step made the arena floor tremble.

The child finally looked upward.

And for the first time—

fear appeared in his eyes.

Not fear for himself.

Fear of recognition.

The old arena master staggered backward through the rain.

“No…”

His voice trembled violently.

“That creature died during the Dragon Wars…”

Then—

the monster emerged.

The entire coliseum erupted into screaming chaos.

A gigantic black creature stepped from the darkness beneath the arena.

Twice the height of the gates themselves.

Covered in scarred obsidian scales.

Massive iron chains wrapped around its body like prison bindings.

One broken horn curved above its skull while glowing crimson fire leaked slowly from its mouth.

A chained dragon.

Alive.

The soldiers immediately raised spears in panic.

Nobles stumbled over each other trying to flee the walls.

Because every child in Ashkar grew up hearing the same story.

The Dragon Kings were extinct.

All dragons were dead.

Yet the monster standing inside the rain-covered arena was unmistakable.

Ancient.

Terrifying.

And furious.

The dragon slowly lifted its head toward the storm clouds.

Then released a roar so violent the arena towers cracked apart.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOM.

Stone exploded from the walls.

Windows shattered across the coliseum.

Hundreds collapsed covering their ears in agony.

The soldiers holding the front line immediately turned to run.

The dragon suddenly lunged forward.

WHOOOOM.

Its chains snapped tight.

The entire arena floor ripped apart beneath its claws.

One knight screamed as the creature’s tail smashed through a stone pillar beside him.

Another soldier was thrown screaming across the mud by the shockwave alone.

Chaos consumed the battlefield instantly.

But through all the screaming—

the dragon never looked at the soldiers.

Never looked at the nobles.

Its burning golden eyes remained fixed only on the boy holding the hammer.

The child slowly lowered the weapon from his shoulder.

Rain dripped from his wet black hair.

His breathing became uneven.

Because memories were returning.

Fragments.

Fire.

Ash.

A woman screaming.

A massive burning palace collapsing beneath crimson skies.

And a voice.

A deep voice speaking beside him long ago.

“When the hammer awakens…”

“…the last gate will open.”

The boy suddenly grabbed his head in pain.

The hammer pulsed brighter instantly.

The dragon reacted at once.

It stopped struggling.

Stopped roaring.

The entire arena slowly fell silent as the gigantic creature lowered its enormous head toward the child.

The soldiers stared in disbelief.

Then—

the dragon knelt.

The entire kingdom froze.

One noble whispered:

“That’s impossible…”

But the old arena master had already fallen to his knees in terror.

Because he finally understood.

The hammer had not awakened for the boy.

The dragon had.

Rain crashed across the arena while silence spread through the battlefield like a living thing.

Then suddenly—

horns echoed across the upper fortress walls.

Enemy horns.

The arena commander looked upward in horror.

Black banners had appeared beyond the outer cliffs of Ashkar.

Hundreds.

No—

thousands.

An invading army.

The western gates of the capital exploded moments later.

BOOOOOOOM.

Smoke erupted into the sky.

People screamed across the city beyond the arena walls.

The old arena master’s face turned pale.

“The kingdom shield…”

His voice cracked.

“It’s gone.”

The nobles looked confused.

Then the old man pointed directly toward the dragon.

“For twenty years… that creature powered the barrier protecting Ashkar.”

The realization hit instantly.

The dragon had been imprisoned beneath the arena.

Used.

Drained.

Enslaved to protect the very kingdom that murdered its own kind.

And now—

the chains were weakening.

The barrier around Ashkar had fallen.

War had arrived.

The arena commander drew his sword furiously.

“Kill the beast before it escapes!”

Dozens of soldiers rushed forward immediately.

The dragon roared.

But before either side could move—

the boy stepped between them.

“STOP!”

The battlefield froze again.

Rain poured heavily around the child while crimson light continued spreading across the hammer.

The commander stared at him in disbelief.

“That monster will destroy us all!”

The boy looked toward the chained dragon.

Its golden eyes met his silently.

Then something impossible happened.

The child heard a voice inside his mind.

Not words exactly.

Feelings.

Pain.

Loneliness.

Centuries of imprisonment.

And beneath all of it—

recognition.

The dragon knew him.

The boy staggered backward slightly.

More memories flashed violently through his head.

A warm hand touching his hair.

A woman whispering softly beside firelight.

“You must survive, Ash.”

Then another memory.

A massive black dragon flying across crimson clouds.

And sitting in front of its horns—

a little boy laughing.

His own laughter.

The child’s eyes widened.

“No…”

The commander suddenly pointed his blade toward the dragon.

“ARCHERS!”

Hundreds of soldiers raised crossbows instantly from the arena walls.

The dragon lifted its head weakly.

Still chained.

Still exhausted.

The boy looked around desperately.

“If you attack it—”

“FIRE!”

The sky exploded with arrows.

Then—

the hammer awakened completely.

BOOOOOOOOOOM.

Crimson fire erupted outward from the weapon in a gigantic circular shockwave.

The arrows disintegrated midair instantly.

Every torch around the arena burst apart.

The soldiers were hurled backward across the stone walls.

And beneath the screaming storm clouds above—

a massive crimson symbol ignited across the arena floor.

The Mark of Varkuun.

Ancient runes spread outward beneath the child’s feet like burning rivers.

The dragon stared at the glowing symbol silently.

Then slowly—

it lowered its head beside the boy.

Not as a servant.

As family.

The old arena master finally whispered the truth.

“The last Dragon Prince…”

The nobles gasped.

Because everyone knew the ancient prophecy.

The bloodline of the Dragon Kings had supposedly been exterminated after the First Collapse.

Every royal child executed.

Every dragon slaughtered.

Yet standing before them—

covered in mud and rain—

was the final survivor.

Ash himself looked horrified by the revelation.

Because suddenly everything made sense.

Why cursed relics never harmed him.

Why strange beasts obeyed him.

Why the hammer awakened in his hands.

And why the dragon looked at him with sorrow instead of rage.

The commander screamed furiously:

“LIES!”

He charged directly toward the boy with his sword raised high.

The dragon reacted instantly.

But before the creature could move—

Ash stepped forward first.

WHOOOOOOM.

The hammer swung once.

The commander’s sword shattered into molten fragments midair.

The shockwave blasted the armored man violently backward across the arena.

He crashed through a stone wall and disappeared beneath collapsing rubble.

Silence followed.

The invading horns beyond the city walls grew louder.

Closer.

The dragon slowly turned toward the burning capital outside the arena.

Ash looked at the terrified civilians surrounding the battlefield.

Children crying.

People trapped beneath falling stone.

Smoke rising across Ashkar.

Then he looked back toward the chained dragon.

“You protected them…”

The creature closed its eyes slowly.

Even after centuries of torture—

it had continued defending the kingdom.

Ash tightened his grip around the hammer.

Then stepped toward the chains.

The old arena master screamed instantly:

“No!”

“If you free it, the nobles will never stop hunting you!”

Ash looked at the terrified crowd silently.

Then at the wounded dragon.

And finally toward the burning city.

“They already hunted me.”

The hammer ignited brighter.

WHOOOOOOOOOM.

The child swung downward.

The ancient chains exploded apart instantly.

The dragon roared as massive sections of iron shattered across the arena floor.

For one terrifying moment—

everyone expected destruction.

Revenge.

Mass slaughter.

But the dragon did none of those things.

Instead—

the gigantic creature slowly spread its wings.

And shielded the civilians from falling debris as the arena towers began collapsing from the invasion outside.

The people stared upward in shock.

The dragon they feared…

was protecting them.

Ash climbed slowly onto the creature’s neck.

Rain and crimson fire spiraled around them together.

Then the dragon launched upward.

BOOOOOOOOM.

The entire arena exploded beneath the force of its wings.

Thousands looked upward screaming as the black dragon soared across the storm sky above Ashkar for the first time in centuries.

And beyond the burning city walls—

an entire enemy army froze in terror.

Because legends were flying again.

The invading army of Norvak had already breached the outer districts.

Houses burned.

Soldiers slaughtered civilians through the streets.

Siege towers crashed against the inner walls while war drums thundered through the storm.

Then shadows suddenly swallowed the battlefield.

The enemy soldiers looked upward.

And saw death descending from the clouds.

The dragon crashed into the battlefield like a falling mountain.

BOOOOOOOOOM.

Entire siege towers exploded apart instantly.

Fire blasted across the ground in gigantic waves.

Enemy cavalry scattered in panic while soldiers screamed beneath collapsing walls.

Ash stood atop the dragon’s neck gripping the glowing hammer tightly.

For the first time in his life—

he stopped running.

The enemy general pointed upward in horror.

“Kill the rider!”

Ballista bolts launched toward the sky.

Ash raised the hammer.

Crimson energy erupted outward.

The bolts vaporized midair.

Then the dragon roared again.

A shockwave blasted across the battlefield so violently that entire enemy formations collapsed instantly.

Hope exploded through Ashkar.

The civilians began cheering.

Soldiers who had nearly surrendered picked up weapons again.

Because the impossible had happened.

The kingdom thought abandoned by the gods—

had found its protector.

But high above the battlefield—

something else watched from the storm clouds.

And Ash suddenly felt it.

A presence.

Ancient.

Familiar.

The dragon beneath him growled uneasily.

Then lightning illuminated the clouds above.

Revealing another dragon.

Larger.

Covered in silver scars.

Its eyes glowed blue instead of gold.

And riding atop its back—

stood a man wearing black royal armor.

The battlefield froze instantly.

The old arena master looked upward in horror from the city below.

“No…”

The armored rider removed his helmet slowly.

Ash stopped breathing.

Because the man looked exactly like him.

Older.

But unmistakable.

The rider’s voice echoed across the storm.

“My brother.”

The world seemed to stop.

Ash stared upward speechless.

The dragon rider descended slowly toward the battlefield.

The silver dragon landed atop the burning walls while enemy soldiers immediately knelt before him.

Not an invader.

Their king.

The armored man looked toward Ash silently.

Then smiled sadly.

“You survived.”

Ash’s voice trembled.

“You’re… alive?”

The man stepped down from the dragon.

“I searched for you for ten years.”

The battlefield remained completely silent.

Even the war itself seemed frozen around them.

Ash looked confused.

“But they said the Dragon Kings were dead.”

“They lied.”

The older brother’s eyes darkened.

“The nobles of Ashkar betrayed our family during the First Collapse.”

More memories slammed violently into Ash’s mind.

Fire consuming palace halls.

Dragons screaming in agony.

Royal guards murdering children.

Their mother pushing Ash into hidden tunnels while flames swallowed the throne room.

“Run…”

Her final words echoed clearly now.

“Find your brother…”

Ash nearly dropped the hammer.

The older brother looked toward the city coldly.

“They enslaved our dragons.”

“They slaughtered our bloodline.”

“And now they call us monsters.”

The silver dragon growled deeply beside him.

Ash looked toward the terrified civilians behind the broken walls.

Children.

Families.

People just trying to survive.

Then back toward his brother.

“You invaded the city.”

“To end the kingdom that murdered us.”

Ash’s grip tightened around the hammer.

The battlefield trembled with tension.

Because everyone suddenly realized the horrifying truth.

The final battle of Ashkar was not between kingdoms.

It was between brothers.

Rain crashed violently between them.

The older brother slowly drew a black sword from his side.

“I did not come to kill you, Ash.”

“I came to bring you home.”

The dragon beneath Ash growled uncertainly.

Ash looked toward the burning city again.

Then at the soldiers kneeling fearfully below.

The nobles had lied.

The kingdom had betrayed his family.

Everything he suffered traced back to Ashkar.

Yet—

the innocent people here were not responsible.

A little girl cried beside collapsed rubble nearby.

A wounded soldier shielded strangers despite his injuries.

The dragon itself had protected civilians instead of seeking revenge.

Ash finally understood.

Power did not decide monsters.

Choices did.

The older brother raised his sword slowly.

“Choose.”

Behind him—

the enemy army waited silently.

Behind Ash—

the kingdom trembled in fear.

The storm intensified above them.

Then—

Ash lowered the hammer.

The battlefield gasped.

His brother’s expression softened slightly.

Until Ash spoke.

“I won’t let either side destroy the other.”

Silence.

Then the older brother laughed quietly.

A sad laugh.

“You sound exactly like mother.”

His sword lowered slightly.

But suddenly—

an arrow flew from the city walls.

Straight toward the older brother’s back.

Ash’s eyes widened.

“LOOK OUT!”

The silver dragon roared instantly.

But too late.

The arrow pierced directly through the older brother’s chest.

The battlefield erupted in horror.

Ash turned toward the walls.

The arena commander.

Alive.

Bleeding heavily beneath broken armor.

Holding another crossbow.

“You traitorous monsters…”

He fired again.

Ash moved instantly.

WHOOOOOOOM.

The hammer smashed the second bolt apart midair.

But the damage was already done.

The older brother collapsed slowly from the dragon’s back.

Ash caught him before he hit the ground.

Blood spread rapidly across the black armor.

The older brother smiled weakly.

“…still too slow.”

Ash shook violently.

“No…”

The older brother grabbed Ash’s arm tightly.

“There’s… something you must know…”

Lightning illuminated the battlefield again.

And the older brother finally revealed the final truth.

“The prophecy was never about destroying kingdoms…”

He coughed blood painfully.

“It was about ending the dragons forever.”

Ash froze.

Then suddenly—

the crimson runes across the hammer changed.

The dragon beneath him screamed in agony.

Its scales began glowing violently.

The silver dragon roared in terror as ancient symbols ignited across the sky itself.

The older brother whispered desperately:

“The hammer was never a weapon…”

“It’s a prison key.”

The battlefield descended into chaos.

Because beneath Ashkar—

something far worse than dragons had been sleeping.

And Ash had just awakened it.