Aren's hand hovered in the air.
Not shaking. Not frozen. Just… waiting.
The system screen floated between him and Nyreth, dark and still, as if it was holding its breath along with the rest of the world.
[Decision Required][Accept Hollow Crown or Reject]
Nyreth did not move. She did not rush him. She did not pressure him with words. She simply watched, her dull gold eyes steady, certain.
That certainty frightened Aren more than Drathos's violence ever had.
Kael shifted beside him. Aren felt the movement through the bond before he even saw it. Kael was tense, coiled, ready to react if Nyreth did anything sudden.
"Do not," Kael said quietly. "Whatever she is offering, it will cost more than the others."
Nyreth smiled faintly. "Everything costs something."
Seris stepped forward despite herself. "Aren, Hollow Crown dragons are not followers. They are finishers. They attach themselves to outcomes."
Aren looked at Seris. "Outcomes like what."
Seris hesitated. That hesitation was answer enough.
"Like conquest," Seris said finally. "Like extinction."
Nyreth tilted her head. "Such ugly words for necessary things."
The air around them felt wrong. Not heavy like before, but empty, like sound was being swallowed before it could fully exist.
The system flickered, but did not interrupt.
Aren lowered his hand slightly. "You said you want to stand beside the ending."
"Yes," Nyreth replied. "Not behind it. Not beneath it. Beside it."
"And if I reject you," Aren asked.
Nyreth shrugged. "Then I walk away. I wait. I return when the world bleeds enough to invite me back."
Kael swore under his breath.
"That is not a choice," Kael said. "That is a threat."
Nyreth looked at him calmly. "It is a promise."
Aren felt the pressure again. Not external. Internal. Something in him recognized Nyreth in the same way it recognized Virexa and Drathos, but this recognition was colder.
Sharper.
The system reacted at last.
[Caution][Hollow Crown Bloodline Carries Permanent Influence]
Aren exhaled slowly. "Influence over what."
The system did not answer.
Seris clenched her staff. "Aren, once you accept Hollow Crown, you cannot undo it. Their bond does not fade. It reshapes."
Nyreth nodded. "She is correct."
Aren laughed softly. "You are very honest for someone this dangerous."
"I am dangerous because I am honest," Nyreth replied.
The ground rumbled again, stronger now. Not close enough to interrupt, but close enough to remind them that time was not infinite.
Drathos spoke from where he stood aside. "Others are gathering," he said. "Not just challengers. Observers. Some will not wait for permission."
The system confirmed it.
[External Dragon Density Increasing][Conflict Probability Rising]
Kael looked at Aren, eyes burning. "You do not need her to survive this."
Aren looked back. "Do you believe that."
Kael hesitated.
That hesitation hurt more than any answer.
Aren closed his eyes for a moment. Images pressed against his thoughts. Chains in the sky. Dragons falling. Humans cheering. Silence written into history like it was mercy.
He opened his eyes.
"I will accept," Aren said.
Kael's breath caught. "Aren."
"But not blindly," Aren continued. He looked directly at Nyreth. "You will bind yourself under condition."
Nyreth's eyes sharpened. "You wish to bargain."
"Yes," Aren said. "You want inevitability. I want restraint."
The system reacted immediately.
[Conditional Bond Proposal Detected][Override Authority: Provisional]
Nyreth smiled, wider now. "Speak."
"You do not act without my command," Aren said. "Not directly. Not indirectly. You do not push events toward extinction without my consent."
Nyreth considered him. For the first time, her certainty wavered.
"That is against my nature," she said.
"So was kneeling," Aren replied.
Silence stretched.
The world seemed to lean closer.
Finally, Nyreth laughed softly. "Very well."
The system flared bright.
[Condition Accepted][Hollow Crown Bloodline: Aligned Under Restriction]
The moment the confirmation appeared, pain tore through Aren's chest. He gasped and dropped to one knee. It was not sharp pain. It was pressure, like something heavy settling deep inside him.
Nyreth staggered as well, her breath hitching. Dark lines spread briefly across her skin, then vanished.
"It is done," she said, voice steady again. "You carry the ending now."
Kael grabbed Aren's shoulder. "Aren."
"I am still here," Aren said through clenched teeth. "I think."
The system did not reassure him.
Instead, new text appeared.
[Bloodline Count: 4][Influence Threshold Approaching]
Seris went pale. "That is fast."
"It will only get faster," Nyreth said calmly. "They feel the pull."
As if summoned by her words, the sky split with sound. Multiple roars echoed at once, overlapping, clashing, some furious, some curious.
The horizon darkened with movement.
Aren pushed himself to his feet. His legs felt heavier than before, but they obeyed him.
"How many," Aren asked.
Drathos did not answer immediately. He was staring outward, jaw tight. "Too many to count easily."
The system confirmed it a moment later.
[Mass Dragon Convergence Detected][Estimated Arrival Time: Short]
Kael let out a slow breath. "So this is it."
"No," Aren said. "This is the beginning."
Nyreth glanced at him approvingly. "You are learning quickly."
Aren ignored her and turned to Seris and Halverin.
Halverin had been silent for a long time. Now he laughed softly. Not mocking. Tired.
"You have no idea what you just unleashed," Halverin said.
Aren met his gaze. "Then tell me."
Halverin's eyes hardened. "The system was not built to guide dragons. It was built to cage kings."
The system flickered sharply at that.
[Statement Flagged][Historical Data Suppressed]
Aren's jaw tightened. "Show me."
The system did not comply.
Instead, it displayed a new message.
[Authority Contest Detected]
Aren felt it immediately. Resistance. Not from dragons. From the system itself.
Seris whispered, "It is trying to protect its core."
Nyreth smiled. "Of course it is. You are replacing it."
Aren shook his head. "I do not want to replace anything."
Nyreth's smile faded slightly. "Intent does not change outcome."
The ground shook violently this time. Not one direction. All of them.
Figures began to appear at the edges of the ruined land. Dragons shifting into human forms. Humans with eyes glowing gold, red, silver, black. Some knelt immediately. Others stood tall, measuring.
And some looked furious.
The system flooded with alerts.
[New Bloodlines Detected][Multiple Intent Conflicts][Reclamation Load: Escalating]
Kael stepped closer to Aren, voice low. "Say the word."
Aren felt the bond pulse in response. Power waited there. Permission again.
He looked out at the gathering figures. At the world pressing in. At the future rushing toward him whether he wanted it or not.
"I will not rule by fear," Aren said. His voice carried farther than it should have. "And I will not repeat your war."
Some figures laughed.
Some knelt deeper.
Nyreth leaned close, her voice barely audible. "Then you will be tested harder than any before you."
The system reacted once more.
[Trial Imminent][Reclamation Phase Two Preparing]
Aren closed his eyes briefly.
When he opened them, the sky had darkened completely.
Not with clouds.
With wings.
And somewhere among the approaching crowd, a presence even Nyreth stiffened at.
The system displayed one final line, slower than all the others.
[Warning][Original Betrayer Detected]
Aren's heart sank.
Far in the distance, a figure stepped forward alone.
And the world seemed to recoil at their presence.