Chapter 20
Chapter 20
The Abyssal stepped back.
It was only a single movement, a slight shift of its massive form, but it was enough to quiet the entire terrace. A creature built to kill Sovereigns, a monster that had just thrown the Dragon King across the sky as if it weighed nothing, was retreating. For a moment, no one moved. Even the dragons above seemed to hesitate, their wings slowing as the battlefield adjusted around something none of them expected.
Ariana’s heart pounded as she watched Kael rise slowly from the ruins of the broken pillar. Dust slid from his shoulders, and fragments of stone fell around his boots, but he did not seem to notice any of it. Something about him had changed.
The air around him felt heavier, charged with pressure like a storm waiting to break. It pressed outward, subtle but undeniable, forcing everything nearby to react. Even the smoke drifting through the terrace seemed to shift away from him.
His eyes were no longer gold.
They were white, steady and unreadable, not glowing, not flickering, but holding something deeper. Something older.
Ariana felt it the moment she looked at him. The bond between them surged sharply, strong enough to steal her breath. It wasn’t just connection anymore. It felt like something had awakened inside that bond, something that did not belong to either of them alone.
“Kael she said, her voice unsteady.
He didn’t respond.
His focus remained locked on the Abyssal.
For the first time since it arrived, the creature hesitated. Its silver eyes flickered, not with anger, not with hunger, but with something closer to uncertainty.
Beside her, the man in black and gold spoke under his breath, his voice tight. “That power p>
Ariana turned to him quickly. “What is it p>
He swallowed before answering, his gaze still fixed on Kael. “That is the blood of the First Alpha p>
She frowned, confusion and unease mixing in her chest. “The what p>
Wind tore across the terrace as fire flashed through the sky, but he continued, his voice steady despite everything around them. “Before wolf packs, before Alphas ruled territories, there was only one. The first wolf king. The one who stood beside the original Sovereign p>
Ariana’s chest tightened. “You’re saying Kael is p>
“Yes,” the man said quietly. “His bloodline comes from the first wolf ever created p>
The words settled heavily in her mind, but she barely had time to process them.
Kael stepped forward.
The stone beneath his feet cracked instantly, the fractures spreading outward like something inside him was too much for the ground to hold. The Abyssal reacted, its wings spreading as darkness poured from them, thick and suffocating, but it still did not attack.
It waited.
High above, Malrec’s voice cut through the battlefield, calm but sharp. “What have you done p>
His silver gaze locked onto Kael, narrowing slightly. “That bloodline should have died centuries ago p>
Kael gave a faint smile, cold and deliberate. “Looks like someone missed one p>
The Abyssal roared and lunged.
Shadow spilled from its jaws as its claw came crashing down with devastating force, fast enough to shatter stone and tear through steel.
Kael did not move.
He raised his hand and caught it.
The impact shook the entire terrace. Stone cracked beneath him, and a shockwave rippled outward through the air, sending loose debris flying. Ariana’s breath caught as Kael’s grip tightened, stopping the creature’s momentum completely.
For a second, everything froze.
Then Kael pushed.
The Abyssal was forced backward, its massive body dragged across the terrace before he threw it with brutal force. It slammed into the palace wall, sending stone exploding outward, and for the first time since the battle began, even the dragons above seemed to pause.
Ariana stared, unable to look away.
That shouldn’t have been possible.
The Dragon King’s voice echoed in her mind, heavy and certain.
The Wolf King awakens.
She frowned despite everything, her thoughts struggling to catch up. “Wolf King p>
The man beside her nodded slowly, his voice quieter now. “When the First Alpha’s blood awakens, he becomes more than an Alpha p>
Across the terrace, Kael moved again.
His form shifted, but this time it was different. It wasn’t the same transformation she had seen before. The wolf that emerged was larger, darker, and far more powerful. Its fur bristled like shadow given form, and its white eyes burned with something ancient and unyielding.
It did not hesitate.
It launched forward.
The impact when Kael’s wolf collided with the Abyssal shattered what remained of the terrace. Pillars cracked, stone broke apart, and the two creatures crashed through the structure with overwhelming force. Kael’s movements were relentless, each strike carrying weight that forced the Abyssal backward again and again.
For the first time, the creature struggled.
It wasn’t winning anymore.
Ariana felt it clearly. Through the bond, through the air, through everything.
Kael was overpowering it.
But something else had changed.
High above them, Malrec was no longer watching the fight.
He raised both hands slowly.
The runes across the fortress flared brighter, their crimson light intensifying until it stained the sky itself. The air shifted immediately, turning heavier, darker, wrong in a way that went beyond anything Ariana had felt before.
Her chest tightened sharply.
“No she whispered.
Kael’s wolf slowed.
The Abyssal stopped struggling.
The battlefield shifted again.
The sky tore open.
Not violently, not like an explosion or a strike, but slowly, unnaturally, as if something on the other side was forcing it apart. Darkness poured through the裂 in the clouds, deeper than shadow, heavier than anything that should exist in this world.
The Dragon King roared sharply in warning.
But it was already too late.
The tear widened, stretching across the sky as something massive moved behind it. Its presence pressed against the world itself, suffocating and immense.
Every instinct in Ariana’s body screamed at once.
Cold fear settled deep in her chest, heavier than anything she had felt before.
“What is it?” she asked, her voice barely steady.
The answer came slowly, heavy with dread, echoing through her mind.
That gate leads to the prison.
Ariana’s throat tightened. “What prison p>
The presence beyond the sky pressed closer, heavier with every second, until it felt like the world itself might break under its weight. Ariana’s breath caught as the pressure settled deep in her chest, leaving no room to think, no room to move.
Then the answer came. Not in explanation. Not in detail. Just a name.
Augustus.