The Unrivaled Holder: Rise of the Dragon Monarch

Darkness was all I could see. That was all I could feel.

The pain that had once threatened to tear my body apart was gone.

Instead, I found myself floating in an endless void.

A strange, weightless sensation surrounded me, as if I no longer had a physical form.

"Where... am I?"

My voice echoed, yet there was no one to answer me.

But then—A soft light shimmered before me. At first, it was faint. A glimmer in the void.

Then it expanded—growing larger, brighter—until it engulfed me.

And suddenly—I was no longer in the darkness.

I stood on a vast ethereal plain, bathed in silver and gold light.

The sky above was a swirling mix of blue and violet energy, like a never-ending aurora stretching across infinity.

Wisps of transparent figures drifted through the space—souls.

Some whispered softly. Others simply floated aimlessly, fading into the horizon.

A realm of the departed.

Before I could process where I was, a presence appeared in front of me.

A woman—her form translucent, glowing with a faint golden light.

She had long flowing hair that shimmered like the night sky, and her eyes held the weight of eternity.

I couldn't move and I couldn't breathe.

She wasn't just some wandering soul—She was something more.

Then, her lips parted. "You…" she whispered, her voice gentle yet sorrowful.

"You are the one I've been waiting for."

"Who are you?" I asked, stepping forward cautiously.

The woman gazed at me for a long moment before finally answering.

"I have no name… not anymore."

Her words carried the weight of loss.

She reached out a hand, but it phased through me, as if I were nothing more than an illusion.

"I do not have much time." Her voice grew firmer. "I need your help."

I frowned. "Help? With what?"

Her glowing form flickered—like something was struggling to pull her away.

Then she spoke—And her words sent a chill down my spine.

"In the distant future… calamity will fall upon Norkiya."

The air around us trembled.

Her golden eyes darkened with sorrow. "And that calamity will not simply threaten the land…"

She took a deep breath before finishing. "It will target my loved ones. My children." A sense of dread settled in my chest.

I opened my mouth to ask what she meant, but before I could—She continued, her voice almost breaking. "My children… are the dragons who reside in Norkiya."

A calamity specifically hunting them?

I clenched my fists. "What kind of calamity?"

Her glowing form flickered again, this time more violently. "It is waking up."

The space around us shuddered. "For hundred of years, we sealed it away… locking it in a prison so that it may never harm this world again."

Her golden light dimmed as she spoke, as if the memory itself brought her pain. "But the seal we placed upon it… is weakening."

My breath hitched. "Once the seal is completely destroyed…"

She looked at me with pleading eyes. "It will descend upon Norkiya… and the first ones to suffer will be the dragons."

The space around us trembled even more, as if the very fabric of this realm was collapsing.

I stepped forward, my voice firm. "How do we stop it?"

She smiled sadly. "That, I cannot say. But…"

Her form began to dissolve, scattering into golden light. "You will understand… when the time comes."

Before I could say anything, she suddenly reached forward—this time, her hand didn't phase through me. It rested lightly against my chest.

I felt warmth. A soothing energy poured into me, mending every torn muscle, every shattered bone. I gasped as the pain from my battle with Zarathorak faded.

Her golden light brightened once more, and she spoke her final words:

"Gather them all. You are the only one capable of doing it."

I felt my heart pound. "Gather who? The dragons? Who should I gather?! Please tell me!"

She smiled softly. "The ones who are bound to fate… the ones who will stand against the calamity."

Her form flickered one last time—But just before she vanished, she uttered something far more cryptic.

A phrase that embedded itself into my very soul:

"He who rivals monarchs shall bear the burden of an empire, for the weight of countless souls will rest upon his shoulders."

Her voice echoed in the emptiness.

"That is the path you walk. That is the destiny you cannot escape. May the will of eternity watch over you, Monarch of all Dragons."

And then—She was gone.

The world around me shattered and suddenly, I was falling back into darkness.

Back into my dying body. Back into reality.

A sharp gasp escaped my lips as my eyes shot open. I'm alive.

The cold, jagged stone beneath me felt more real than anything I had just experienced. My body—once broken and on the verge of death—was now whole, renewed with an energy I could barely comprehend.

My breathing was ragged as I slowly pushed myself up, my mind still reeling from what had just transpired.

The golden glow of her presence had vanished, leaving only the weight of her words echoing in my soul.

As my vision cleared, the first thing I saw was Fafnir and Ingi kneeling beside me, their expressions a mixture of relief and shock.

"Craig…?" Fafnir's voice was hesitant.

I could see his clenched fists, the tension in his stance—he had truly believed I was gone.

Ingi exhaled, his eyes scanning me carefully. "Impossible…" he muttered under his breath. "Your wounds… they were beyond healing. Even with our magic, you should not have—"

I raised a hand to silence him. My body no longer ached, no longer screamed in agony. Every fiber of my being felt... reborn.

But something was different. Something had changed within me.

Fafnir narrowed his eyes. "What the hell happened?!"

The silence that followed my awakening was heavy.

Fafnir was the first to break it. His voice was sharp, demanding.

"What happened?"

I took a deep breath, steadying myself. "You're not going to believe this..."

And so, I told them everything.

I spoke about the realm of souls, the unknown woman, and the calamity that was beginning to stir. I told them about how its seal was breaking, about how it would target dragons first, and about her plea for help.

I could see Fafnir trying to process it all, his brows furrowed. He crossed his arms, clearly skeptical, but he didn't interrupt me.

But Ingi? His reaction was different.

As soon as I mentioned the seal breaking, his expression darkened. His golden eyes shadowed beneath his bangs, fists slowly clenching.

He knew. He knew something.

Zarathorak, who had been silent behind them, remained still, listening with a calculating gaze.

Fafnir finally spoke. "So let me get this straight… Some mysterious soul-woman tells you a calamity is coming, and then bam, she heals you and disappears?" His voice was thick with doubt.

I exhaled. "It wasn't just a random spirit, Fafnir. She—" I hesitated.

Her presence… the way she spoke, the way she looked at me… there was something familiar about her, even though I had never seen her before.

Fafnir scoffed. "Alright, then who the hell was she?"

Before I could answer—A deep voice cut through the air.

"Djinn."

We all turned to Ingi. His face was unreadable, his fists trembling at his sides.

Fafnir narrowed his eyes. "What?"

Ingi finally looked up, his gaze sharp and unwavering. "The woman Craig described," he said in a low voice. "I know who she is."

A pause.

Then his next words shook us. "That was my partner, and their mother."

Silence.

For the first time, I saw Fafnir freeze. Even Zarathorak's piercing eyes widened slightly.

"...What?!" Fafnir's voice came out hoarse.