Not peaceful.
Not calm.
Silent in the way battlefields became silent after something impossible happened.
Cracked stone covered the shattered combat grounds of Eryndor Royal Academy. Mana barriers flickered overhead like dying stars, unstable after the complete collapse of the simulation field.
Students stood frozen across the upper viewing platforms.
Some couldn't move.
Others couldn't breathe.
Because at the center of the destruction—
Zeal Greyhound stood motionless while black scales spread slowly across parts of his arm, shoulder, and neck.
Not armor.
Not mana.
Something alive.
Something ancient.
The air around him distorted unnaturally, as though reality itself struggled to recognize his existence.
Several meters away, Lucius Lockwood remained standing with lightning still crackling around his body. Yet for the first time since entering the academy—
Lucius looked uncertain.
Not afraid.
But cautious.
And that alone terrified the students watching.
Kyle Gale slowly pushed himself up from broken stone nearby, coughing dust from his lungs.
"…Okay," he muttered weakly, "this school officially sucks."
Nobody laughed.
Because deep beneath the arena—
something moved.
BOOOOOOM.
The entire academy trembled violently.
Students screamed as more cracks spread across the arena floor.
Instructor Vael appeared instantly between Zeal and the collapsing sections of the battlefield.
"Iron Domain."
Massive metallic walls erupted upward around the arena, sealing the outer edges with heavy defensive formations.
Emergency runes ignited across the academy sky.
Red.
Danger-class alerts.
Vael's expression darkened.
"…Everyone evacuate immediately."
Panic exploded across the arena stands.
Students rushed toward the exits while instructors activated protective barriers around them.
But Zeal barely noticed any of it.
Because the black pulse inside him had become unbearable.
THUMP.
THUMP.
THUMP.
Every heartbeat felt connected to the thing below the academy.
Calling him.
Recognizing him.
Waiting.
Zeal clenched his hand slightly.
The scales spread farther across his arm.
Kyle noticed instantly.
"…Zeal?"
No response.
Chloe Ashfield stepped closer carefully, smoke drifting protectively around her body.
Her expression had lost its usual calm composure.
"…His authority is destabilizing."
Lucius narrowed his eyes immediately.
"That isn't authority."
Chloe looked toward him.
Lucius kept his eyes on Zeal.
"…It's existence pressure."
The surrounding instructors stiffened.
Authority pressure came from mana.
Existence pressure came from beings powerful enough to naturally distort reality itself.
And no first-year student should possess it.
Another violent tremor shook the academy.
BOOOOOOM.
Then—
the arena floor shattered.
A massive section collapsed inward into endless darkness below.
Everyone froze.
Because what existed beneath the academy was not underground earth.
It was something far deeper.
Ancient.
Hidden.
Sealed.
And inside that darkness—
two gigantic golden eyes slowly opened.
Students screamed.
Several collapsed immediately from the pressure.
Instructors activated defensive spells without hesitation.
Kyle stumbled backward.
"…Nope."
Chloe's smoke expanded instantly around her.
Lucius tightened his stance.
Even Instructor Vael's composure cracked slightly.
Because the thing beneath the academy was enormous.
Only its eyes were visible.
Watching.
Ancient beyond comprehension.
And its gaze never left Zeal.
Then the creature spoke.
Not aloud.
Inside everyone's mind.
"The vessel has awakened."
Silence consumed the arena.
Some students covered their ears despite hearing nothing physically.
Others fell unconscious entirely.
Zeal stared downward into the abyss.
And for the first time—
he understood something terrifying.
The creature had not awakened because of him.
It had been waiting for him.
Vael immediately raised his hand.
"All suppression units prepare containment formation!"
Dozens of runic chains erupted downward into the abyss below.
The gigantic eyes shifted upward slightly.
Unimpressed.
Then—
CRACK.
The mana chains shattered instantly.
Like glass.
Panic spread among the instructors.
"That's impossible!"
"Those are Sovereign-Class restraints!"
"It destroyed them without moving!"
The creature's gaze slowly returned to Zeal.
Then something changed.
The scales on Zeal's arm began glowing faintly gold.
The creature immediately responded.
The pressure in the arena shifted.
Less hostile.
More reverent.
Lucius noticed first.
"…It's bowing."
Kyle blinked.
"…WHAT DO YOU MEAN BOWING?!"
And then everyone saw it.
The massive eyes lowered slightly toward Zeal.
Like a king acknowledging another king.
The arena fell completely silent again.
Even Vael could not speak immediately.
Because nothing in recorded history should have been capable of forcing an ancient Rift creature into submission.
Especially not a student.
Especially not Zeal.
The creature's voice echoed again.
"Incomplete Monarch."
The words struck Zeal like lightning.
Images flashed violently through his mind.
A black throne beneath endless storms.
Dragons flying across shattered skies.
Entire kingdoms burning beneath shadows.
And himself—
standing at the center of it all.
Older.
Covered in black scale armor.
Golden eyes staring across a dying world.
Then the vision vanished.
Zeal staggered backward.
Kyle caught him immediately.
"HEY! Stay with us!"
Zeal's breathing grew uneven.
"…I saw something."
Chloe stepped closer.
"What did you see?"
Zeal slowly looked toward the abyss.
"…Memories."
Lucius frowned.
"…Your memories?"
Zeal shook his head slightly.
"I don't think they're mine."
That answer chilled everyone nearby.
Another tremor shook the arena.
This time stronger.
The creature beneath the academy finally began emerging further.
Stone exploded apart across the arena floor.
A gigantic claw covered in black-gold scales gripped the edge of the abyss.
The moment it touched the surface—
every mana formation in the academy flickered violently.
Instructor Vael's expression hardened.
"…Impossible."
One academy official shouted from above.
"The suppression barriers are failing!"
Another yelled back.
"No—something is overriding them!"
Zeal felt it too.
The academy's mana systems were destabilizing around him.
As though the world itself could not decide which authority held dominance.
The academy's—
or his.
The creature's claw tightened against the shattered stone.
Then its voice returned again.
Stronger this time.
"Return."
Another vision slammed into Zeal's mind.
A battlefield beneath a black sky.
Cities burning.
Chains breaking.
Dragons roaring across collapsing heavens.
And himself—
sitting upon a throne made of broken restraints.
A ruler surrounded by destruction.
The vision shattered instantly.
Zeal staggered again.
Kyle tightened his grip on him.
"ZEAL!"
The creature beneath the academy slowly raised more of its body upward.
A horned silhouette emerged from the darkness.
Ancient.
Massive.
Terrifying.
Students panicked completely now.
Some instructors forcibly teleported students out of the arena.
Because what was rising below them was not a Rift Echo.
Not a projection.
Not even a normal Rift beast.
It felt older than the kingdom itself.
And its eyes never left Zeal.
Lucius' lightning erupted violently around him.
CRACK—BOOM.
"If that thing fully emerges," Lucius said coldly, "everyone here dies."
Vael immediately responded.
"All combat units prepare final containment!"
Chloe looked toward Zeal.
"…Why isn't it attacking?"
Nobody answered immediately.
Then the creature spoke aloud.
Its voice shook the academy itself.
"The Monarch returns."
The black pulse inside Zeal exploded.
BOOOOOOM.
Dark pressure burst outward from his body instinctively.
The creature immediately stopped moving.
Like it had received an order.
Silence returned.
Kyle stared at Zeal in disbelief.
"…You just controlled it."
Zeal looked down at his own scaled hands.
Half his upper body was transforming now.
His right eye flickered gold.
"I didn't mean to."
But deep down—
something inside him had answered naturally.
Instinctively.
As though commanding creatures like this was normal for him.
Lucius slowly lowered his lightning.
"…So that's why the system can't classify you."
Chloe looked toward him.
Lucius kept staring at Zeal.
"Because he doesn't belong inside it."
Those words echoed heavily across the ruined arena.
And far beneath the academy—
more golden eyes slowly began opening in the darkness.
Not one.
Not two.
Dozens.
Watching.
Waiting.
Recognizing.
Instructor Vael's face finally lost all remaining composure.
"…Seal the academy immediately."
Emergency bells rang across Eryndor Royal Academy.
Students were evacuated.
Barriers activated.
Combat divisions mobilized.
But none of it mattered anymore.
Because beneath the academy—
something ancient had awakened.
And it knew Zeal's name.
🐉 END OF CHAPTER 10
Not peaceful.
Not calm.
Silent in the way battlefields became silent after something impossible happened.
Cracked stone covered the shattered combat grounds of Eryndor Royal Academy. Mana barriers flickered overhead like dying stars, unstable after the complete collapse of the simulation field.
Students stood frozen across the upper viewing platforms.
Some couldn't move.
Others couldn't breathe.
Because at the center of the destruction—
Zeal Greyhound stood motionless while black scales spread slowly across parts of his arm, shoulder, and neck.
Not armor.
Not mana.
Something alive.
Something ancient.
The air around him distorted unnaturally, as though reality itself struggled to recognize his existence.
Several meters away, Lucius Lockwood remained standing with lightning still crackling around his body. Yet for the first time since entering the academy—
Lucius looked uncertain.
Not afraid.
But cautious.
And that alone terrified the students watching.
Kyle Gale slowly pushed himself up from broken stone nearby, coughing dust from his lungs.
"…Okay," he muttered weakly, "this school officially sucks."
Nobody laughed.
Because deep beneath the arena—
something moved.
BOOOOOOM.
The entire academy trembled violently.
Students screamed as more cracks spread across the arena floor.
Instructor Vael appeared instantly between Zeal and the collapsing sections of the battlefield.
"Iron Domain."
Massive metallic walls erupted upward around the arena, sealing the outer edges with heavy defensive formations.
Emergency runes ignited across the academy sky.
Red.
Danger-class alerts.
Vael's expression darkened.
"…Everyone evacuate immediately."
Panic exploded across the arena stands.
Students rushed toward the exits while instructors activated protective barriers around them.
But Zeal barely noticed any of it.
Because the black pulse inside him had become unbearable.
THUMP.
THUMP.
THUMP.
Every heartbeat felt connected to the thing below the academy.
Calling him.
Recognizing him.
Waiting.
Zeal clenched his hand slightly.
The scales spread farther across his arm.
Kyle noticed instantly.
"…Zeal?"
No response.
Chloe Ashfield stepped closer carefully, smoke drifting protectively around her body.
Her expression had lost its usual calm composure.
"…His authority is destabilizing."
Lucius narrowed his eyes immediately.
"That isn't authority."
Chloe looked toward him.
Lucius kept his eyes on Zeal.
"…It's existence pressure."
The surrounding instructors stiffened.
Authority pressure came from mana.
Existence pressure came from beings powerful enough to naturally distort reality itself.
And no first-year student should possess it.
Another violent tremor shook the academy.
BOOOOOOM.
Then—
the arena floor shattered.
A massive section collapsed inward into endless darkness below.
Everyone froze.
Because what existed beneath the academy was not underground earth.
It was something far deeper.
Ancient.
Hidden.
Sealed.
And inside that darkness—
two gigantic golden eyes slowly opened.
Students screamed.
Several collapsed immediately from the pressure.
Instructors activated defensive spells without hesitation.
Kyle stumbled backward.
"…Nope."
Chloe's smoke expanded instantly around her.
Lucius tightened his stance.
Even Instructor Vael's composure cracked slightly.
Because the thing beneath the academy was enormous.
Only its eyes were visible.
Watching.
Ancient beyond comprehension.
And its gaze never left Zeal.
Then the creature spoke.
Not aloud.
Inside everyone's mind.
"The vessel has awakened."
Silence consumed the arena.
Some students covered their ears despite hearing nothing physically.
Others fell unconscious entirely.
Zeal stared downward into the abyss.
And for the first time—
he understood something terrifying.
The creature had not awakened because of him.
It had been waiting for him.
Vael immediately raised his hand.
"All suppression units prepare containment formation!"
Dozens of runic chains erupted downward into the abyss below.
The gigantic eyes shifted upward slightly.
Unimpressed.
Then—
CRACK.
The mana chains shattered instantly.
Like glass.
Panic spread among the instructors.
"That's impossible!"
"Those are Sovereign-Class restraints!"
"It destroyed them without moving!"
The creature's gaze slowly returned to Zeal.
Then something changed.
The scales on Zeal's arm began glowing faintly gold.
The creature immediately responded.
The pressure in the arena shifted.
Less hostile.
More reverent.
Lucius noticed first.
"…It's bowing."
Kyle blinked.
"…WHAT DO YOU MEAN BOWING?!"
And then everyone saw it.
The massive eyes lowered slightly toward Zeal.
Like a king acknowledging another king.
The arena fell completely silent again.
Even Vael could not speak immediately.
Because nothing in recorded history should have been capable of forcing an ancient Rift creature into submission.
Especially not a student.
Especially not Zeal.
The creature's voice echoed again.
"Incomplete Monarch."
The words struck Zeal like lightning.
Images flashed violently through his mind.
A black throne beneath endless storms.
Dragons flying across shattered skies.
Entire kingdoms burning beneath shadows.
And himself—
standing at the center of it all.
Older.
Covered in black scale armor.
Golden eyes staring across a dying world.
Then the vision vanished.
Zeal staggered backward.
Kyle caught him immediately.
"HEY! Stay with us!"
Zeal's breathing grew uneven.
"…I saw something."
Chloe stepped closer.
"What did you see?"
Zeal slowly looked toward the abyss.
"…Memories."
Lucius frowned.
"…Your memories?"
Zeal shook his head slightly.
"I don't think they're mine."
That answer chilled everyone nearby.
Another tremor shook the arena.
This time stronger.
The creature beneath the academy finally began emerging further.
Stone exploded apart across the arena floor.
A gigantic claw covered in black-gold scales gripped the edge of the abyss.
The moment it touched the surface—
every mana formation in the academy flickered violently.
Instructor Vael's expression hardened.
"…Impossible."
One academy official shouted from above.
"The suppression barriers are failing!"
Another yelled back.
"No—something is overriding them!"
Zeal felt it too.
The academy's mana systems were destabilizing around him.
As though the world itself could not decide which authority held dominance.
The academy's—
or his.
The creature's claw tightened against the shattered stone.
Then its voice returned again.
Stronger this time.
"Return."
Another vision slammed into Zeal's mind.
A battlefield beneath a black sky.
Cities burning.
Chains breaking.
Dragons roaring across collapsing heavens.
And himself—
sitting upon a throne made of broken restraints.
A ruler surrounded by destruction.
The vision shattered instantly.
Zeal staggered again.
Kyle tightened his grip on him.
"ZEAL!"
The creature beneath the academy slowly raised more of its body upward.
A horned silhouette emerged from the darkness.
Ancient.
Massive.
Terrifying.
Students panicked completely now.
Some instructors forcibly teleported students out of the arena.
Because what was rising below them was not a Rift Echo.
Not a projection.
Not even a normal Rift beast.
It felt older than the kingdom itself.
And its eyes never left Zeal.
Lucius' lightning erupted violently around him.
CRACK—BOOM.
"If that thing fully emerges," Lucius said coldly, "everyone here dies."
Vael immediately responded.
"All combat units prepare final containment!"
Chloe looked toward Zeal.
"…Why isn't it attacking?"
Nobody answered immediately.
Then the creature spoke aloud.
Its voice shook the academy itself.
"The Monarch returns."
The black pulse inside Zeal exploded.
BOOOOOOM.
Dark pressure burst outward from his body instinctively.
The creature immediately stopped moving.
Like it had received an order.
Silence returned.
Kyle stared at Zeal in disbelief.
"…You just controlled it."
Zeal looked down at his own scaled hands.
Half his upper body was transforming now.
His right eye flickered gold.
"I didn't mean to."
But deep down—
something inside him had answered naturally.
Instinctively.
As though commanding creatures like this was normal for him.
Lucius slowly lowered his lightning.
"…So that's why the system can't classify you."
Chloe looked toward him.
Lucius kept staring at Zeal.
"Because he doesn't belong inside it."
Those words echoed heavily across the ruined arena.
And far beneath the academy—
more golden eyes slowly began opening in the darkness.
Not one.
Not two.
Dozens.
Watching.
Waiting.
Recognizing.
Instructor Vael's face finally lost all remaining composure.
"…Seal the academy immediately."
Emergency bells rang across Eryndor Royal Academy.
Students were evacuated.
Barriers activated.
Combat divisions mobilized.
But none of it mattered anymore.
Because beneath the academy—
something ancient had awakened.
And it knew Zeal's name.
🐉 END OF CHAPTER 10