Part 1 of 3 – Enter the Dragon's Realm
Time: Midnight
Location: Ashenwell Dormitories → Dreamfire Scape
The flamemark on Grim's chest pulsed like a heartbeat gone wrong.
He felt it before it began—before the walls shimmered and the world tilted sideways.
Sparks' voice flickered across his thoughts, quiet for once.
"Something's pulling you... and I don't like it."
"It's him," Grim muttered.
The flame grew brighter. Hotter. Then—everything turned to ash.
Elsewhere – A World of Living Flame
He stood on nothing.
A sea of fire rolled beneath his feet, suspended in a void that roared like thunder yet echoed with silence.
And there—above a platform forged from obsidian and old bones—stood Vortharion.
The Crimson Sovereign.
His massive wings were folded like molten armor. His scales were redblack obsidian, each rimmed with burning runes. His eyes—molten gold—were narrowed, not with concern... but with fury.
"You nearly lost." His voice shook the realm.
"I nearly died," Grim replied, stepping forward.
"Irrelevant. Flame is not defined by survival. Flame is defined by dominance. You are the last of my line—my legacy—and you fought like a child clinging to matches."
Grim clenched his fists. "Then train me. If you think I'm weak—make me stronger."
Vortharion didn't speak. He turned—and the world shifted.
A storm ripped across the void. Lightning forked through fire. Runes circled the air like living scars.
"This is a trial meant for storm dragons. Beasts born of deathlight and skyfire. You, boy, are unworthy of it..."
He looked back.
"...but you will endure it. Or die."
30 Days Inside – The Price of Flame
The dragon's wings lifted once, and Grim was launched into a new realm.
The fire became a maelstrom. Time unraveled.
"One minute out there... thirty days in here," Vortharion's voice echoed. "And no... you will not age. But you will break."
Sparks' image shimmered in beside him—uninvited.
"You're insane," she said. "You're letting a dragon with anger issues drag you into deathbytraining."
Grim grunted. "Go away, Sparks."
"Can't. Link's still active. Guess I get to watch you get roasted for a month. Fun."
First Challenge – Core Burn
The first thing Grim faced wasn't an enemy.
It was his own Ether core.
It began to split inside him.
His damaged Kindled core, fragile from Velthar, began to splinter—while another pulsing energy began to awaken inside. Raw. Untamed. Born from pain and survival instinct.
"You must develop a second core," Vortharion's voice said from nowhere. "Then you will force them to merge. Or be destroyed."
"You could've told me this earlier," Grim gasped through the agony.
"You are not here to be coddled. You are here to be reborn."
Sparks winced from a distance. "Yup. Definitely parenting through trauma. Classic dragon behavior."
Grim collapsed onto his knees as black flame and stormlight began to swirl around his arms.
His skin cracked. His breath came in ragged bursts.
The trial had only begun.
And the dragon... had no intention of helping him survive it.