Chapter 28
The journey to the rookery was not one of silence — the air itself growled.
The further Keal walked, the more the ground trembled beneath his feet, as though the land feared the place he was heading.
At last, the black mountains parted, and he saw them.
A valley carved by time itself, ringed in ancient obsidian pillars. Seven colossal stones stood in a perfect circle, each one easily taller than any fortress tower. Upon each stone rested a dragon.
Not ordinary dragons.
These were relics from a forgotten age — the survivors of the war between the gods and the celestial beings. Every scale they bore was etched with scars of divine flame, each claw had raked the flesh of immortals.
Their eyes burned with the kind of arrogance only beings who had once fought gods could have.
At the center of them all, standing proudly atop the tallest stone, was their leader — a fire dragon whose molten eyes could melt mountains. His scales burned a deep crimson, and with every breath, waves of heat shimmered in the air.
If legend was to be believed, this dragon had once burned an entire celestial city to ash in a single day.
When Keal stepped into their circle, seven sets of draconic eyes turned toward him.
The leader's voice rumbled like a volcano. "A mortal king dares to stand before us… Did you come to kneel?"
Keal's smile was slight. "I came to make you kneel."
The valley erupted in a chorus of laughter — deep, terrifying, and filled with scorn.
Pride was the blood in their veins, and submission was not a word in their language.
Without warning, the leader struck first. His wings unfurled like a burning storm, and a column of fire roared toward Keal.
Keal didn't move.
The flames washed over him — and vanished, consumed by a swirling vortex of shadow and cosmic light that surrounded his body.
"If that's all," he said softly, "I'm disappointed."
The battle that followed was nothing short of chaos.
Seven dragons descended from their stones, the earth shattering under their weight. The sky turned crimson from the fire dragon's breath, storms formed from the storm dragon's wings, and the air froze where the frost dragon roared.
But Keal… Keal moved like inevitability itself.
Every claw swipe was met with a shattering burst of cosmic force. Every beam of flame, ice, or lightning was absorbed into the void around him. His eyes glowed — not with magic, but with the authority of a king whose will had bent an entire world to his command.
One by one, they fell — not slain, but humbled.
At the end, the fire dragon knelt first, his molten gaze locked with Keal's. In that moment, his colossal body began to glow, flames condensing, shrinking, twisting — until a tall, handsome man stood where the beast had been.
His hair was crimson like fresh blood in sunlight, his skin marked with black sigils that pulsed faintly, almost alive, wrapping around his torso and arms like a curse. His presence radiated heat, as though the air itself bent away from him.
"I am Veydras, Lord of Ash and Flame," he said, his voice still carrying the echo of his dragon form. "We fought you with all our strength. And you defeated us… with ease. From this day, I will serve you, King of the Dead World."
The others followed suit, each transforming into human form. Two men — one with storm-grey hair and eyes like a brewing tempest, the other with icy blue hair that seemed carved from frozen crystal. Four women — each distinct, beautiful, and dangerous, their eyes betraying the primal force still lurking beneath their skin.
"You will be my commanders," Keal declared. "From this day, your flames, storms, and shadows belong to me."
Veydras stepped forward, kneeling. "Then we will burn the worlds together."
They returned to the castle — and already the halls seemed smaller, as though the presence of the seven dragons was too vast to be contained within walls.
Yet Keal's thoughts were elsewhere.
The woman's warning still lingered.
The someone she spoke of… a figure who could be of great use to him.
Sitting upon his throne, Keal closed his eyes. The room dimmed as a strange light began to glow from within him — the Cosmic Eyes. The power of kingship and dominion merged with his own, stretching his vision beyond mountains, beyond oceans, beyond the very curve of the world.
He searched.
Through cities and ruins.
Through deserts and shadowed forests.
Through realms where mortals could not tread.
Somewhere, out there… the one he sought was moving. Waiting. Perhaps even watching him in return.
Keal's smile returned. "Found you."