Before the world could whisper its panic, before emissaries could scramble toward Stoneveil with pleas and bribes—
Zaxton left.
Not with an army.
Not with banners.
Just Korrin at his side and a storm behind his eyes.
His destination: The Don Imperial City.
---
A RETURN TO ROOTS
The Don Empire had once ruled the entire First Realm.
Now, it was fractured. The Imperial City stood like a memory — golden towers dulled by politics, halls once sacred now echoing with suspicion.
But things had changed.
The former Emperor had died under mysterious circumstances during the Warlord Rebellions.
Now the throne was occupied by Emperor Auren IX — seventeen years old, brilliant, untested, and already watched by a court of jackals.
When Zaxton arrived at the city gates, riding no carriage, wearing no crest...
The sky bent slightly.
Stars shimmered midday.
The guards let him pass without question.
---
TWO BOYS AND A DYING EMPIRE
In the Throne Hall, amidst a sea of nobles and skeptics, Zaxton kneeled for no one. He simply looked Auren in the eye.
And Auren—dressed in robes too big, bearing the crown too soon—smiled like a man who recognized destiny.
AUREN IX
"You've built a city from ashes.
Tamed beasts.
Broken a Second Realm monster."
He stepped down from his throne.
AUREN (cont.)
"Tell me, Zaxton of Stoneveil—
Will you stand with the Empire?
Or eclipse it?"
The chamber held its breath.
Zaxton drew his blade. Turned it. And offered the hilt.
ZAXTON
"I was born Don.
I rise Don.
And I will fight for Don… until it rules the skies again."
The hall erupted.
Some cheered. Some panicked. One noble fainted.
But every enemy of the Empire, watching through their spies and mirrors, felt it—
The Empire of Don had just become a living storm.
---
THE WORLD RESPONDS
Across the realm:
The Emerald Sects of the West immediately sent a peace envoy, offering celestial crystals and rare beast eggs.
The Skywell Monarchy burned all previous pacts with the Loc Empire, declaring neutrality.
The Glacial Fangs, proud and cold-blooded, began urgent internal council meetings. Their spies reported two truths: Zaxton had ascended. And he had pledged.
Even the Loc Empire, still licking its wounds, sealed six border gates overnight.
But not all knelt.
In hidden chambers across the realm, coalitions of fear began to form. Some spoke of Zaxton as an omen. Others called him a false star—one that would burn the heavens too.
---
A PRIVATE MEETING
That night, Zaxton stood alone with Emperor Auren in the Moon Garden.
AUREN
"You're stronger than I'll ever be.
And one day, they'll try to turn us against each other."
Zaxton stared up at the stars.
ZAXTON
"Then we make sure we never give them the chance."
He turned, and the celestial glyphs on his back shimmered faintly.
ZAXTON
"Don gave me nothing.
But I will give it everything.
And together—"
He paused.
"—we'll burn away the rot."
The Empire Beneath the Stars
Year One: The Shadow Census
Zaxton took no title.
He had no seat on the court.
And yet, within weeks, every noble whispered his name before speaking, and every corrupt official had sudden trouble sleeping.
His first move wasn't grand. It was quiet.
He sent Mara—recovered and sharper than ever—to compile a secret document. A list.
Not of enemies.
Of rot.
Bribes taken. Decrees delayed. Disappearances uninvestigated. Cultivation permits sold in the black.
By year's end, Zaxton had built a map—not of cities, but of decay.
And then he moved.
In one night, thirty-two arrests.
In one week, four noble houses stripped of titles.
In one month, the black market's spine broken in three cities.
And he did it all without drawing a blade.
---
Year Two: The Ghost Trials
Of course, the court resisted.
They called him a thug. A foreigner. A threat.
So Zaxton gave them what they wanted: a public investigation. Trials.
But they were unlike anything the nobles expected.
He held them in the old arena of Iridane.
Every noble on trial was allowed to bring proof of innocence.
Every accuser had to present testimony under oath—with a truthweaver watching.
Some nobles walked free.
Others did not walk out at all.
The people watched. And for the first time in a generation, they believed the system could bend toward justice again.
The trials ended with a new council of magistrates—handpicked by Emperor Auren, vetted by Zaxton, and sworn before the stars.
---
Year Three: The Celestial Army Reform
Zaxton turned his eyes to the Empire's forces next.
Half were ceremonial. A quarter were corrupt.
The rest? Undermanned, undertrained, unprepared.
So he did what no one expected.
He disbanded every existing formation.
In their place:
The Iron Comets, fast-response cavalry using beast-sprint formations.
The Astral Guard, stationed in every major city—part protector, part moral compass.
The Dawn Circle, an elite unit trained in tactics, spirit-beast fusion, and starbound discipline, inspired by the Ironsworn.
He also revived something long thought lost: the Celestial Banner Ceremony—where all captains must present their hearts to the stars and have their loyalty tested by astral fire.
Only one man died.
He was also the head of Don's former military treasury.
---
Year Four: The Great Integration
Zaxton knew strength could not come from Don alone.
So he opened the gates—cautiously, strategically.
Stoneveil was formally annexed into the Don Empire, but with full autonomous rites. The Beast Taming Academy was expanded, with branches in three cities. The cultivation system was standardized across the empire: Sun Level, Moon Level, Planetary Stage, Starbound, Celestial Orbit.
New schools. New paths. And access for orphans, commoners, and outlanders.
He created the Stellarnet—a network of high-speed messengers using spirit beasts bred for flight and focus. For the first time in a century, communication across the empire took hours, not days.
And the people began to whisper something strange.
Not fearfully.
But reverently.
"Zaxton the Starborn."
"Our Hidden Emperor."
---
Year Five: The Securing of the Throne
Whispers of rebellion.
Exiled nobles plotting in far provinces.
A failed assassination attempt on Emperor Auren—disguised as a gift from a rival kingdom.
Zaxton responded with surgical fury.
He tracked the cell leaders himself.
He erased entire insurgent networks within a moon cycle.
And when the dust cleared, he made a rare public appearance in the Imperial Square.
Standing beside Auren, he made a simple declaration:
> "Don is not what it was.
Don is not what it pretended to be.
Don is what we make it.
And I will burn the stars themselves
to protect it."
---
By the End of Five Years…
The Empire's borders were secure.
Its army modernized.
Its corruption exiled or executed.
And its Emperor respected not just for the crown—but for who stood beside him.
And yet—
Zaxton never claimed land.
Never wore medals.
Never accepted praise.
He simply looked east again.
Because something was stirring.
The stars began to tremble once more.
And a storm was gathering beyond the known realms.