As Lee made his way to meet Kris, his body still trembled from the lingering fear. He couldn't stop shivering, the weight of Kaelen's will pressing heavily on him.
Arriving at the dining hall, Lee found Kris already seated, waiting. The younger brother looked up, his gaze sharp, and spoke with an air of authority.
"Sit, Kaelen."
Lee lowered himself into the chair, watching Kris carefully.
"It seems Father has already prepared your letter of recommendation," Kris continued. "So, I'll grant you anything you desire within this continent."
Lee's mind raced. This was an opportunity—one he couldn't afford to waste. But then, a memory surfaced. Kaelen had once longed for something his family possessed—an ancient treasure tied to the dragons. A weapon of immense power.
Without hesitation, Lee spoke.
"The Dragon Scythe, Drakmor. I want it."
Kris arched an eyebrow. "Hmm… You could have asked for much more. Fame, wealth, even the family insignia."
Lee's gaze remained cold, unwavering. "I don't care about any of that. I just need to get stronger."
For a moment, silence hung in the air. Then Kris laughed.
It started as a chuckle, but quickly grew into a manic, uncontrollable fit of amusement that echoed through the dining hall. Lee watched, unsettled. Was Kris losing his mind?
Finally, Kris wiped a tear from his eye, placing a hand over his face as his laughter faded into a smirk.
"Fine. I might just give you what you want." Kris leaned forward, his golden eyes gleaming with excitement. "But you'd better prove yourself first, Kaelen. Soon, I want to face you in battle—with everything you have."
Lee thought to himself: If I truly want to destroy this family, I won't need to defeat only the headmaster. I'll need to surpass the strongest being on this continent. A man who could raze nations for amusement.
Kris Virell.
Lee clenched his fists. "Then, in the near future, when I become stronger, I will return—to take your title as the strongest, Kris."
Kris smirked, his golden eyes glinting. "Yes… I like that determination of yours, brother."
As Kris stood to leave, he glanced back. "The weapon will be delivered to you tonight."
The moment Lee stepped out of the room, the suffocating tension melted away. He exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair.
"What kind of mess… have I gotten myself into?"
That night, while waiting for his weapon, Lee sat in meditation, trying to understand the dragon heart Kaelen had left him.
The heart absorbed mana from the air, storing it within—but Lee couldn't use spells. Then what was its purpose? Did he need to meet certain conditions? Absorb a specific amount of mana?
A knock at the door pulled him from his thoughts.
A maid stepped in, bowing politely. "Lord Kris sent me to deliver a gift."
Lee glanced at her before nodding. "Leave it on the desk. I'll open it later."
She bowed again before exiting, leaving Lee alone once more.
Standing up, Lee walked over to the desk and reached for the case. With a deep breath, he opened it. His eyes immediately locked on the weapon inside.
A dark, double-sided scythe lay before him. Drakmor.
It wasn't just a weapon—it was a relic. Forged from the fang of the Dragon God himself, this scythe was beyond human reach—something no mortal should wield. And yet, now it rested in Lee's hands.
The moment his fingers wrapped around the hilt, a voice thundered through his mind.
"How dare thee touch a relic that not even dragons would dare lay hands upon!"
A suffocating aura erupted around him, dark and ominous.
A towering figure materialized before him—its curved horns and grin sending a chill down Lee's spine. In an instant, its hand shot forward, gripping Lee's throat with inhuman strength.
Lee gasped, struggling against the force constricting his breath. His vision blurred. What is happening?!
Then—
A sudden presence.
Kaelen.
The original owner of this body appeared before Lee, his expression unreadable. Without hesitation, Kaelen grasped Drakmor's arm, squeezing it with terrifying force.
The figure flinched.
"And who are you?" The being's gaze shifted to Kaelen, its voice laced with intrigue. "You are this body's owner, yet you do not belong in your own flesh."
It leaned in, inspecting Kaelen closely.
"You carry the blood of dragons, but that alone does not grant you the right to wield me. I am Drakmor—born of the Dragon God himself. And you… are unworthy."
Drakmor's arm exploded into fragments of shadow and mist, releasing its grip on Lee's throat. Lee gasped for air, staggering backward as his lungs burned.
The ominous figure chuckled, unfazed.
"It seems your mental barrier is quite strong, human. But do not underestimate me."
Its eyes gleamed with an ancient fury.
"I am one with the Dragon God. And you? You are nothing but a mere human. See the sheer difference in our existence."
Kaelen, standing firm, remained unfazed. Slowly, he raised his hand, palm open.
Then, he uttered something—words lost to the world, unheard by any.
But the air itself trembled.
I̸̤̭̝̋̽͗̋͊̊͋͗̄̌͒͐͂͆̈́̌̚ͅ ̴̨̢̨̡̤̝̻̖̻̺̲̤̥͍͈̈̃̒̉͆̐͗̓̂̉̓w̶̛̻̤͔̯͓̣̫͔̼̰̟̮̹͚͓̭̓̆̈̃̂͌̄́͂͌͛̆͠͝ḧ̴̖̰̮̦̬̣̬̺̮̯̳͎̤̝̈́͆ȯ̵̧̡̬̹̥͍̰̝̟͉̞͕̹̽ ̴͍͕͒̓͆ḧ̴̛͇͔̻́̃̆͗͐̆͘ả̴̉̃͑̈́͜͝͝͠s̶̡͍͍͙̖̮̺̳̰̐͗́̉̽̚͝ ̷̘͖͔̬͖͈̟̝͐̎̑̈́̏̒́̓̒͐̐̐̿̽t̶̼̬̣̫͙̟̞͉̑r̷̡̪̙̩̗̰̹̥̥̥̝̞͇͚̼͈̄̄̇̆̍̇̿͛͌͂͂́͆̌͝a̸̪̼̭̼̱͓̪̮͚̲̬͙̳͉͖͈̟͗̿̇͑̒̀̉̔̇͋̈̍͂n̴̩̟̉̕s̴͕̈́̅͂͗̌̀͑̾̑͌̑̎c̶̛̮̥̜̖̹̿̊͛̈́̾̀̾͘ͅȅ̷̢̨̳͙̖͇͚̳͔̲̥͉̖͜͝n̷̛̹̭̗̙̱̮̺̤͙̪̐͛͑̍̀̒̌̾̒̉͜d̸̞͊͒̒e̵͍͓̩̺͙̰̮͕̓̀̄ḑ̸̢̲̰̠͔̜̰̻͙̭͎̫̬̤̰̮̎̋̓͆̉̇̐́̀̀̽̉̿̅̕͠͠ ̷̧̥̭͖͉̤̠̞̘͙̻̰͎̯͊̏͒͋͑͐͑͆̉̃͒̎̍̑̎͜͝ḩ̵͇̑̔̀̃̎ͅȩ̷̨̬͔̪͓̙̱̱͉̦͍̱̠̘̎̓̑̃̉͐̊̒̓̊ḽ̸̡̞̣̯͕̬̼̘͙̫͇̳͐͗ļ̶̼̖̳̯̲̬̻̻̺̭͎̮̮̲̜̈́̓̇,̸̡̡̦͈̩̞̣̹͖̆͆̓̎̂́̆̋̀͝ ̵̡̰͚̳̱͖͎̤̅̀́̔̎̈́̿̇͐̅̚y̷͓͖̖͔͚͕͑̍̆̚o̶̳͛̀͜ͅu̵̡̼͉͍̙̟̣̯͎̭̰̔̃̄͋̾ͅ ̷̡̨̨̧̝͕̲͙̩̼͓̫̩͑͜ͅs̷̡̝̘̞͎̥͈̰̼̫̟̙͙̉͊̅̓̅ḩ̵̢̢̧̖̯͓̱͇͚̼́̄͛̐̒ä̶̡͈̪̮̺̥̥̈̋̀̂̆ļ̴̛̫͇͍͍̺̌̔̀̎͑̀͗̐͝l̷̨̞̤̳̭̤͙̼̱͓͑̈́͑̍͜ ̶̢̨̯̦̺̮̯̞̝̙̝̋̆̓̋̚͠b̸̝̺̫̦͖͉̝̖͉̖̪͔̍̽̔̌̓͛̊̿̐̐̈͗̏͂͆͜͝͠ȩ̸̡̨̙͔̱̬͔̥̦̜͕͔͂̂́̄̈͑̋̇͛̔̾̈̕͘͠͠ ̸̨̖̺̓̑̊̂̀̏̆̋̏ȩ̶̡̛̲̖͖͎̹̘́̂̐̅̈́̀̚͘̚ͅr̵͉̭̖̟͔̭̍̔̀͒̄ą̴̘̳̤̓̎̐͛̓̚ṣ̶̢͉̯͉̱͇̦̺̭͈̜̰̔͋͜͝͝͝͝ě̵̢̨̼̻̦̰̞̘̘͇͚̘̺̰̩̜̎̌̆̃͂͌͐̿̍̀̕͝͝d̵̡̡̡̯͇̹̥͓̥̺̑̈́͛̄̇̓͑͒͒̔̋͌͐͘͝ͅ.̴̧̨͕̪̯͓̹̦̗̓̆̌̿̈̔̋̔́̽̍̑͋̅͛͘͝
Opening his eyes once more, Lee was back in reality. His vision blurred, blood trickling from his ears, a sharp, stabbing pain coursing through his head. It felt as though he were burning alive in an unforgiving fire. Lee got up, his thoughts racing, but the one that replayed over and over in his mind was:
Who is Kaelen?