The thing in the darkness below us wasn't just massive—it was wrong. Every instinct I'd developed over twenty-three years of surviving on the streets screamed at me to run, but there was nowhere to go. We were standing on a floating platform in the middle of nothing, and that thing was rising toward us like a nightmare given form.
"Ryze," I managed through gritted teeth, "please tell me you have a plan."
"I always have a plan." He grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the edge of the platform. "The plan is: don't die."
"That's not a plan! That's barely even advice!"
The creature's roar shook the crystalline platform beneath our feet, sending hairline cracks spreading across its surface. I caught a glimpse of what was rising from the depths—something that looked like a cross between a giant octopus and a black hole, with tentacles that seemed to absorb light itself.
[REALM DEVOURER CLASSIFICATION: VOID HORROR]
[THREAT LEVEL: EXTREME]
[HOST SURVIVAL RECOMMENDATION: IMMEDIATE EVACUATION]
[DRAGON BLOODLINE RESONANCE: DETECTED]
That last message made my blood run cold. "It can sense me?"
"Your bloodline is like a beacon to creatures like that," Ryze shouted over the increasing roar. "The stronger you become, the more they'll be drawn to you. Consider it motivation to get stronger faster."
"Great. So I'm basically a walking target."
"Welcome to being a dragon heir, kid."
The platform shuddered again, and I could see the void horror's tentacles reaching up toward us, each one easily as thick as a subway car. The tips were lined with what looked like mouths, and each mouth was filled with teeth that seemed to bend reality around them.
"Jump!" Ryze yelled.
"Jump where?!" I looked around wildly. The nearest platform was at least fifty feet away, suspended in empty space. "I can't make that distance!"
"You can't. But I can carry you." Before I could protest, he grabbed me around the waist and leaped.
For a terrifying moment, we were falling through the void. The void horror's tentacles whipped past us, missing by inches. I could smell something like ozone and decay, and the system was going crazy in my head:
[WARNING: VOID EXPOSURE DETECTED]
[DRAGON BLOODLINE PROTECTING HOST]
[INTEGRATION ACCELERATING]
[AWAKENING POINTS +1]
Then Ryze's feet hit solid crystal, and we rolled across another platform. This one was larger than the first, with strange symbols carved into its surface that seemed to pulse with their own inner light.
"What is this place?" I gasped, pushing myself to my feet.
"The Nexus. Think of it as a subway system connecting all seven realms." Ryze was already moving toward what looked like a doorway made of swirling energy. "These platforms are waypoints. Usually, they're safe. Usually being the key word."
Behind us, the void horror let out another roar of frustration. It was too large to follow us onto the platform, but I could see it circling below like a shark waiting for us to fall back into its territory.
"How did you know it was down there?"
"I didn't." Ryze's expression was grim. "Void horrors aren't supposed to be able to enter the Nexus. The barriers between realms should keep them out."
"Should?"
"Someone's been breaking the rules." He gestured toward the energy doorway. "That's our exit to Realm Two. We need to move before—"
The platform lurched violently, nearly throwing me off my feet. Cracks were spreading across the crystal surface, and the symbols were flicke ring like dying light bulbs.
[NEXUS STABILITY: CRITICAL]
[PLATFORM INTEGRITY: 23% AND FALLING]
[RECOMMENDATION: IMMEDIATE DEPARTURE]
"The void horror is destabilizing the platform," Ryze said, his voice tight with concern. "If it collapses while we're still here—"
"We become monster food. Got it." I ran for the doorway, but stopped just short of the swirling energy. "Wait. How do I know you're not leading me into a trap? I don't know anything about you, and an hour ago I was sweeping stairs."
Ryze turned to face me, and for a moment, his storm-cloud eyes showed something that might have been respect. "Smart question. Here's your answer: if I wanted you dead, I wouldn't need to trick you. You're untrained, weak, and completely out of your depth."
"Thanks for the pep talk."
"But," he continued, "you're also the last dragon heir. That makes you either the key to saving the seven realms, or the catalyst for their destruction. And right now, with void horrors somehow breaching the Nexus, I need you to become the former."
The platform shuddered again, and this time I could hear the crystal actually cracking.
"Fine. But if you get me killed, I'm haunting you."
"Deal."
I stepped through the energy doorway, and reality turned inside out.
The sensation was like being shot through a straw while someone played a symphony with my nerve endings. Colors that didn't have names flashed past my eyes, and I could taste sounds and hear textures. Just when I thought my brain was going to leak out of my ears, everything snapped back into focus.
I was standing in a forest.
But not just any forest. The trees were easily a hundred feet tall, with trunks so wide that ten people holding hands couldn't wrap around them. The leaves were silver and seemed to chime softly in the breeze, creating a sound like distant bells. Above the canopy, I could see three moons hanging in a twilight sky that shifted between purple and gold.
"Welcome to Realm Two," Ryze said, stepping out of the energy portal behind me. "The Cultivation Realm."
"It's..." I struggled for words. "It's beautiful."
"It's also incredibly dangerous. Everything here is designed to make you stronger or kill you in the attempt." He started walking along what might have been a path, though it was hard to tell with the silvery grass reaching up to my knees. "The spiritual energy here is much denser than in Realm One. Your dragon bloodline should start responding to it soon."
As if summoned by his words, I felt a stirring in my chest. The warm thrum that had settled there after touching the dragon fragment was getting stronger, like a heartbeat that wasn't quite synced with my own.
[SPIRITUAL ENERGY DETECTED]
[DRAGON BLOODLINE RESPONDING]
[ABSORPTION RATE: MINIMAL]
[AWAKENING POINTS +1]
[CURRENT TOTAL: 2]
"I can feel it," I said, surprised. "The energy. It's everywhere."
"That's your dragon heritage. Most humans can't sense spiritual energy at all without years of training." Ryze glanced back at me. "You're absorbing it automatically, though at a very basic level. With proper training, you'll be able to draw it in actively, store it, and use it to enhance your abilities."
"What kind of abilities?"
"Enhanced strength, speed, reflexes. Eventually, you'll be able to manipulate elements, fly, maybe even shift into dragon form—though that's advanced stuff. We're talking years of training."
The path ahead opened into a clearing where a small building sat nestled between the massive trees. It looked like someone had taken a traditional Japanese temple and crossed it with a log cabin. Warm light spilled from the windows, and I could smell something cooking that made my stomach growl.
"Home sweet home," Ryze said. "At least temporarily."
"This is where you live?"
"One of many places. I have... interests... in all seven realms." He pushed open the door and gestured for me to enter. "But this is where your real education begins."
The interior was more spacious than it looked from outside, with a main room that served as kitchen, dining area, and living space. Bookshelves lined the walls, filled with volumes that seemed to be written in languages I didn't recognize. A fire crackled in a stone hearth, and the smell of cooking food was even stronger here.
"Sit," Ryze said, pointing to a cushion near a low table. "Eat. Then we'll talk about what comes next."
I settled onto the cushion as he ladled what looked like stew into a wooden bowl. The first spoonful was the best thing I'd ever tasted—rich, complex, with flavors that seemed to change as I chewed.
"This is incredible. What is it?"
"Essence stew. The meat comes from spiritual beasts that live in these forests. Eating it will help your body adapt to the higher spiritual energy levels." He sat across from me with his own bowl. "You'll need all the help you can get."
"Why? What's coming?"
Ryze's expression grew serious. "The void horror we encountered? That wasn't random. Someone is actively destabilizing the barriers between realms, and they're doing it for a reason."
"What reason?"
"To weaken the prison holding the dragons." He leaned forward. "The question is: are they trying to free the dragons, or are they trying to make sure the dragons can never be freed?"
[SYSTEM ANALYSIS: NEW OBJECTIVE DETECTED]
[PRIMARY GOAL: SURVIVE TRAINING]
[SECONDARY GOAL: INVESTIGATE REALM DESTABILIZATION]
[WARNING: HOSTILE FORCES SEEKING DRAGON HEIR]
[ESTIMATED TIME UNTIL DISCOVERY: 72 HOURS]
I nearly choked on my stew. "Seventy-two hours? Until what discovery?"
"The system is giving you a timeline," Ryze said, reading my expression. "Which means someone is actively hunting you."
Before I could respond, a sound echoed through the forest outside. It was like the void horror's roar but different—more focused, more intelligent. And it was getting closer.
Ryze was on his feet instantly, moving toward a cabinet filled with what looked like weapons. "Change of plans. Your training starts now."
"I don't know how to fight!"
"Then you'd better learn fast." He tossed me something that looked like a short sword made of crystallized moonlight. "Because whoever's coming isn't here to talk."
The roar came again, much closer this time. Through the window, I could see shapes moving between the silver trees—shapes that definitely weren't human.
[HOSTILE ENTITIES DETECTED]
[RECOMMENDATION: PREPARE FOR COMBAT]
[DRAGON INSTINCTS: AWAKENING]
Something primal stirred in my chest, and for the first time since this whole nightmare began, I felt a flicker of something that wasn't fear.
It was hunger. The hunger to fight back.
What was happening to me?