Chapter 1: Rebirth in the Abyss
Darkness.
Endless.
It wasn't silence it was a scream without sound, a void that devoured light itself.
"So… this is death?"
The voice echoed, weak and distant. His human mind tried to recall who he was a name, a face, a memory but everything dissolved like ash in stormfire. All that remained was the pain of betrayal and the sting of cold steel that had ended his mortal life.
Yet in this endless abyss, something ancient stirred.
A heartbeat.
BOOM.
Then another. Louder. Stronger. Each pulse tore through the void like thunder.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
The abyss shook as blood black and molten began to flow through veins that did not yet exist. Fire ignited in the dark. Wings formed from burning shadow and cosmic flame. The nothingness bent and screamed as a colossal dragon's body took shape, crowned with horns that pierced the heavens of the void.
A single word echoed through creation the birthright of chaos itself.
"RISE."
Flames erupted. Stars exploded. The void split apart as his form solidified scales that shimmered between crimson and obsidian, claws that could tear dimensions, and eyes that burned like twin suns of destruction.
His mortal soul merged with the ancient spirit that had slumbered since the dawn of time.
He had died as a man... and awoken as something more.
"I am not human anymore…"
His voice was deeper now, shaking the abyss. Each breath ignited entire galaxies.
"I… am Draven. The First Demonic Dragon."
His roar erupted, tearing through creation. From the farthest stars to the heart of heaven, gods trembled as the Crimson Sovereign returned.
But amid the flames, a figure appeared soft and radiant, like a fallen star. She stepped through the chaos unharmed, her white wings charred black, her beauty both divine and sinful.
"So… you've finally awoken, my king."
Draven's gaze turned to her eyes glowing like molten chaos.
"Lilithia…" he growled, recognizing her presence instantly.
The Fallen Goddess once worshipped as the deity of purity, now his first and most loyal servant. Her lips curved into a smile, dark and seductive.
"You slept longer this time," she whispered, her hand caressing the side of his snout, unafraid of the heat or his power. "The gods believed you were gone forever."
"The gods…" Draven rumbled, his eyes narrowing. "They should have destroyed my essence completely. They failed."
"They always do," she said softly. "Because even they cannot kill what was born before them."
The abyss quaked again as Draven's massive form began to shrink, folding his divine energy into a humanoid shape tall, broad-shouldered, with silver hair streaked in crimson and eyes that blazed with demonic divinity. Black flames wrapped around him, forming a regal coat lined with scales and gold.
Lilithia looked up at him her heart both fearful and devoted.
"Welcome back, my king."
Draven raised his hand, fingers tracing the air as crimson fire carved symbols into existence runes of power older than language itself.
"I have returned," he declared, his voice echoing through the void like a storm. "And this time… the gods will kneel."
Lilithia's smile deepened, her wings folding behind her as she knelt before him.
"Then let us begin again… the reign of the Crimson Sovereign."
His eyes gleamed cold, brilliant, unstoppable.
The abyss itself bowed to him.
The First Demonic Dragon had risen once more.