Morning sunlight streamed through the curtains, flooding Ragnar's room with a warm golden glow. The faint scent of fresh air drifted in from the open window, carrying the sound of birds chirping across the estate gardens.
It was peaceful almost too peaceful for someone like him.
Ragnar groaned softly, stretching as he sat up. His hair was a mess, and his steel-gray eyes were still half-shut.
"Oh yeah… I've got that whole advancing thing today," he muttered, rubbing his face.
He shuffled to the bathroom, brushed his teeth, took a shower, and got dressed in his usual dark, loose shirt and light trousers. When he stepped back into his room, the house was quiet too quiet.
"Vincent's probably drowning in work again," he sighed, slipping his pendant on. "And Merlin and Lilly are out shopping… so that just leaves me and the staff."
A knock echoed through his room.
"Come in," Ragnar said, his voice calm but faintly tired.
The door opened to reveal a young maid with light brown hair tied in a neat bun. She bowed politely, balancing a small box in her hands.
"Young Master, I've brought all the items you requested."
Ragnar turned, his face lighting up slightly. "Thanks, Annie. You're a lifesaver."
She smiled softly. "It's my pleasure, sir. Though… if you don't mind me asking what exactly do you need a stone figure of the Flame Goddess, flowers, candles, and fur from a giant wolf for?"
Ragnar scratched the back of his neck. "I'm… going to pray. Trying to advance."
Annie blinked. "Pray? You mean to the gods? But—" her eyes widened slightly, "I thought you didn't believe in them, Young Master?"
He looked down, his expression tightening. "I don't," he said flatly. "But if swallowing my hatred is the price for getting stronger… then so be it."
She hesitated, seeing the flicker of bitterness in his eyes. "…I hope it goes well, sir."
He nodded faintly. "Yeah. Me too."
---
Ragnar carried the box down the hall until he found an empty room one the servants rarely entered. Dust floated in the still air, the silence almost sacred.
He set the box down and began preparing the altar.
The stone statue of the Flame Goddess a tall woman carved with wings of fire stood proudly at the center. He lit two candles, one on each side, their orange light dancing across her face. Flower petals circled the base, faintly glowing from the mana within them.
Finally, Ragnar took out the fur of the giant wolf coarse and silver-gray and held it tightly between his hands.
He knelt before the statue, closing his eyes. The room grew warmer, the air trembling slightly with mana.
Then, in a calm but low voice, he began to pray.
"Oh Goddess of Flames… who rules over the elements of nature,
You who first granted us mana to shape our destinies,
You who watches the rise and fall of men and flame alike…
I come seeking strength strength to stand against the limits of this world.
I offer this fur, symbol of a beast's might, as proof of my will."
The flames of the candles flared higher, burning with an unnatural blue hue. The statue's eyes began to glow faintly, and the wolf's fur in his hands ignited but the fire didn't hurt. It felt warm, almost alive, swirling around his arms in streams of gold and red.
A soft, feminine whisper echoed faintly through the room, like a voice carried by the wind.
"Your heart burns with resolve, child loved by mana. Speak your desire…"
Ragnar hesitated. The power was real. He could feel it responding to him. But before he could finish his plea, something twisted inside him.
A sharp pain shot through his chest like his very soul was being pulled in two.
Then a voice not heard, but felt—spoke from deep within him. Cold, venomous, ancient.
"You dare kneel to that false flame?"
Ragnar's hand trembled. "What… what is this—"
"You call for her help? After what they've done to us? To YOU! Why Dragonic!?"
The warmth of the Goddess's light turned searing. His vision blurred as the glowing fire warped into a violent storm of red and black.
"You do not need help from a filthy woman like her."
The words tore themselves from Ragnar's throat before he could stop them. His voice sounded deeper, distorted like something else was speaking through him.
The instant the words left his mouth, the statue cracked down the center. The light vanished.
Then—
BOOM.
A violent wave of mana exploded outward, slamming Ragnar against the far wall. Cracks spread across the marble floor. The candles extinguished. Smoke filled the room.
He groaned, coughing as he pushed himself up. "What… what the hell was that? Why did I say that?"
Before he could move, a cold, invisible hand pressed against his chest. His heartbeat stuttered. His breath caught.
He could feel it that thing gripping his heart like a predator holding prey.
There was no voice this time, but its message was clear:
Try that again, and I'll crush it.
Ragnar gasped, dropping to one knee. His chest burned with freezing pain, black veins spreading faintly across his collarbone before fading.
He stayed still for several long seconds, trembling, then finally whispered through gritted teeth:
"…Guess I can't get stronger that way."
He stood slowly, fists clenched.
"This thing inside me… it hates them. The gods."
He turned toward the shattered altar, his eyes narrowing, the faint blue glow flickering behind his irises.
"For the first time, it reacted."
He took one last look at the broken statue.
"Fine then," he muttered. "If the gods won't lend me strength… I'll find another way."
But in all honesty Ragnar never truly believed that this was going to work because one of the requirements for a prayer is pray with all your heart but Ragnar can't with this inside of him. And finding another way to get stronger is easier said than done.
Ragnar went to his room and sat down
"I've been trying to ignore this for a long time now but I can't keep doing it any longer who are this things inside of me?"
He started thinking long and hard trying to gather his thoughts
"First growing up I've always had this thing inside of me making me hate the gods amd not able to advance"
He thought back
"Then there was that giant eye that knocked me out during the entrance exams"
"Then finally there was those two godlike beings that look like an older version of me and my little sister"
He thought for a while and he couldn't find a single connection between them and why they are inside of him he can't even talk to them
"Well the only thing they have in common is that I don't know their names and they keep calling me 'Dragonic' and I don't know why"
He was about to give up but he remembered something important
"I've got it how could I be so stupid, the thing that makes me hate the gods, the giant eye and one of the godlike being that looks like an older version of me they all have the same voice"
"Yes they all have that dark,deep and commanding voice meaning I don't have four beings inside of me I only have two there the ones I saw in the black sea"
"But the question is... what do they want with me it's not like their making me stronger or making do anything to dangerous and mystical?"
No matter how much Ragnar thought about it he couldn't find the reason so he pushed the thought to the back of his mind mind he'll come back to it when he has more information about the matter.