Episode 20 — The Emperor's Memory
The tunnels shook violently.
Stone crashed from above.
Blue crystal rivers burst through the walls.
The Temple of Seven Kings was dying.
Kai clung tightly to Nyrax's neck as they raced through collapsing corridors.
Behind them—
Golden light and crimson darkness exploded repeatedly.
Solaryn was still fighting.
Still holding back the Void King.
But not for long.
BOOOOOOM!
A shockwave ripped through the temple.
Entire tunnels collapsed.
The floor cracked beneath Nyrax's claws.
The young dragon leaped across the chasm just before the stone bridge disappeared.
"Kai!"
A familiar voice echoed ahead.
Commander Vaelor.
Seraphine.
Several surviving Dragon Riders.
They had found another entrance into the ancient ruins.
Seraphine rushed forward.
"You're alive!"
Then she noticed Nyrax.
Or rather—
The blue fire now glowing around him.
His appearance had changed.
The Heart of Winter pulsed brighter than ever.
Blue crystal patterns spread across his black scales.
Ancient runes appeared beneath his skin.
His eyes glowed with an unnatural brilliance.
Vaelor immediately recognized it.
"The awakening has started."
Kai frowned.
"What awakening?"
Before Vaelor could answer—
Nyrax suddenly stopped moving.
The dragon froze.
His eyes widened.
Then he collapsed.
"NYRAX!"
Kai ran toward him.
The dragon wasn't injured.
He wasn't dying.
He was remembering.
THE MEMORY
Darkness surrounded him.
Not Kai.
Not Nyrax.
Someone else.
Someone ancient.
A colossal dragon stood atop a mountain of crystal.
Black scales.
Blue crystal fire.
A crown of living light.
The Dragon Emperor.
Thousands of dragons filled the sky around him.
The Seven Dragon Kings stood beside him.
Aurelion.
Solaryn.
Frost Tyrant.
And the others.
An empire unlike anything the modern world could imagine.
Floating cities.
Dragon temples.
Kingdoms in the clouds.
Crystal oceans.
Ancient wonders lost to history.
This was the First Age.
The Age of Dragons.
Then the sky darkened.
A crack appeared in reality itself.
The Firstborn arrived.
Not one.
Many.
Gigantic beings made from living darkness.
Cosmic horrors from beyond the world.
Entire continents burned.
Oceans boiled.
Mountains disappeared.
The Dragon Emperor fought them.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Until only one remained.
The strongest.
The Void King.
The memory shifted.
The final battle.
The Dragon Emperor and the Void King stood upon a shattered world.
Everything around them had already been destroyed.
The Emperor was wounded.
Exhausted.
Bleeding crystal fire.
The Void King laughed.
"You cannot win."
The Emperor looked toward the sky.
Toward the stars.
Toward the future.
Then he smiled.
"No."
"I can."
The Emperor raised both wings.
Blue crystal fire erupted across the universe.
The Seven Dragon Kings joined him.
Together they created a seal.
A prison beyond reality.
The Void King screamed.
The Firstborn was dragged into the void.
But there was a price.
The Emperor himself was pulled inside.
The prison closed.
Darkness followed.
Then one final voice echoed through eternity.
Aurelion.
"Sleep, brother."
"When the world needs you again..."
"You will return."
PRESENT DAY
Nyrax's eyes opened.
Blue light exploded outward.
BOOOOOOM!
The cavern shook.
Ancient runes illuminated every wall.
Kai stepped backward.
Nyrax looked different.
Older.
Wiser.
Ancient.
Not physically.
But spiritually.
The dragon slowly stood.
And spoke.
For the first time.
Not through emotions.
Not through the bond.
With words.
Actual words.
"Kai."
Silence.
Every Dragon Rider froze.
Seraphine nearly dropped her sword.
Vaelor stared in disbelief.
Kai couldn't breathe.
"Nyrax?"
The dragon nodded.
Then smiled.
"I remember."
At that exact moment—
A roar echoed from behind them.
The Void King.
The temple wall exploded inward.
CRAAAAASH!
The monster had broken through.
And this time—
May you like
It wasn't hunting Kai.
It was hunting the Dragon Emperor.
