Chapter 24: Ashes of a Forgotten City
The Dragon Inheritance Realm pulsed faintly, its light waning like the last flickers of a dying star.
The glowing rivers dimmed to pale ribbons of silver, the once vibrant floating islands crumbling and drifting apart like ancient leaves caught in a final breeze.
Jin stood still, chest rising and falling with slow, deliberate breaths.
Beneath his skin, dragon runes shimmered occasionally—ghostly sigils that danced like fireflies before fading into shadow.
The new skill, [Dragon Soul Resonance], hovered just beyond reach—its full power still locked, awaiting his awakening.
The trial was over.
But its weight remained heavy.
"Is it done?" Lana's voice was soft, almost reverent, as she watched the last translucent dragon spiral upward, dissolving into mist.
Jin nodded, his gaze distant. "The legacy is complete. What remains now… is mine to shape."
Behind him, the stone platform where he had collapsed cracked open with a low groan.
Within, suspended in liquid starlight, hovered a dark silver orb the size of a human heart.
[Reward: Dragon Core Fragment – Acquired]
He reached out and grasped it.
The orb melted into his chest, flooding his body with a surge of raw energy.
Pain blossomed like wildfire—skin burning, bones creaking as if protesting the sudden influx.
But Jin stood firm, grounding himself against the storm within.
When the light finally dimmed, the cavern walls trembled violently, like an ancient beast taking its final breath.
"We have to go!" Arielle shouted, grabbing Sarah's hand.
The four fled through the glowing corridor, Jin trailing behind, every step a mountain to climb.
His muscles ached with the dense new power coursing through him; each motion was a battle of will.
Behind them, massive stone doors slammed shut, sealing the Dragon Inheritance Realm forever.
As the final sliver of light vanished, Jin glanced back once more.
The ruins of the dragon clan—silent now, echoing with a legacy reborn through him—were swallowed by darkness.
The Journey South
The path from the dragon inheritance to the land promised by Jin's father was unmarked on any map.
It lay in the borderlands—a forgotten stretch where only the brave or desperate dared venture.
For half a month, the group traveled on foot and by spirit beasts, crossing hills, ravines, and forests where qi thinned and twisted into wild chaos.
Jin did not train much during the journey.
He could not.
The sheer density of his newfound power made even the simplest movements exhausting.
His muscles ached constantly.
Even sitting cracked the earth beneath him.
Arielle and Sarah noticed.
The three women silently shared the burden—carrying supplies, setting up camp, warding off spirit beasts that prowled in the shadows.
Jin felt humbled but never ashamed.
He had walked the path of rebirth.
He would earn every ounce of strength with grit and patience.
The Forgotten Land
They arrived as the sun dipped low, casting long, mournful shadows over a scarred land.
What lay before them was no field or village.
It was a wound.
A broken, barren land of ash-gray soil and gnarled roots.
Silent.
Only the wind moved—a dry, hollow breath whispering of death and decay.
"Is… this it?" Sarah asked, stepping forward cautiously.
A crumbling stone road stretched ahead, fractured and overgrown.
A rusted signpost leaned crookedly, the faded letters barely readable:
"Valeria – Land of Thorns and Flame."
Arielle squinted, recalling history.
"This city… was a last line of defense during the Great Beast Horde siege years ago."
Lana's expression darkened.
"My kingdom sent troops here. Few ever returned."
They walked the shattered road in silence.
Broken flagstones crunched beneath their boots.
The city's bones lay scattered—walls crumbled inward, guard towers toppled.
Trees clawed their way through shattered stone.
Half-buried armor and rusted blades littered the outskirts—a graveyard of a desperate final stand.
The Manor of Memories
At the heart of this ruined city stood a manor.
Once grand, now tragic.
Twin wings arched outward like open arms, embracing a courtyard blanketed with weeds and cracked tiles.
Statues of warriors and dragons lined the perimeter, but most were broken—necks snapped, limbs missing.
Vines wrapped around the walls like scars, creeping over collapsed balconies and sunken awnings.
The main doors—once polished mahogany—hung ajar.
One split down the middle.
The other bore claw marks the size of a man's head.
Inside, dust ruled.
Paintings faded to ghostly smudges.
The grand chandelier lay shattered on cracked marble floors.
Long, shadowed hallways stretched into gloom.
Their silence was broken only by creaking wood and the flutter of birds nesting in forgotten rafters.
The roof leaked.
A tree had taken root through the western chamber, its branches clawing skyward like fingers reclaiming their domain.
Yet beneath the ruin, a stubborn dignity endured.
The foundations remained strong.
The walls, though stained and cracked, held their shape.
Protective arrays etched faintly into stone pillars pulsed faintly—remnants of forgotten magic.
Lana stepped forward, fingertips grazing a support beam.
"It's damaged… but not broken."
"We can fix this," Arielle said, brushing dust from a toppled table.
Sarah kicked at a fleeing rat, grinning.
"Once we chase out the rodents and ghosts, anyway."
A New Beginning
Jin stood silent in the courtyard, feeling the weight of the place settle deep in his bones.
Here, in this half-dead city abandoned by history, he felt a stirring—not despair, but purpose.
This land was like him.
Discarded.
Overlooked.
Left to die.
And like him, it would rise again.
That night, they lit a fire in the central hall.
Smoke escaped through broken rafters as the four huddled close, sharing dried meat and herbs Sarah carefully prepared.
Jin sat quietly.
His aura suppressed.
Limbs heavy with dense power.
But something in the silence—the stubborn survival of this place—resonated with him.
Lana leaned against his side.
"We can rebuild. We will."
Arielle nodded.
"It won't be easy. But nothing about your path has been."
Sarah smiled softly.
"Maybe this was never just a ruin. Maybe it's waiting for the right hands to restore it."
Jin stared into the fire, golden embers flickering fiercely.
"Yes," he said.
"We'll make this our home. Our fortress."
A place to grow.
A place to rise.
A place to prepare.
Because fate hadn't forgotten him.
And soon, the world wouldn't either.
System Update
[LEVEL] 11 (+2)
[EXP] 5700 / 6000
[Magic Power] 1450 (+200)
[Strength] 70 (+10)
[Vitality] 40 (+5)
[Agility] 40 (+6)
[Bloodline Awakening]
Dragon Bloodline: 37% (Resonance deepening)
Blood Demon Bloodline: 8% (Surging with fury and raw force)
[Elemental Insights]
Ice, Wind, Fire, Earth
[New Skills Acquired]
Dragon Soul Resonance (Incomplete)
Blood Devour Sutra
Fury Skill (Enhanced)
Dragon's Vein Resonance
[Tyrant Body Progress]
Silver Stage, Level 2
Combat Stage: Blood Refining Stage – Vein Tempering Level 2
[Title Earned]
Guardian of the Dragon Flame
[Inventory Updated]
Dragon Core Fragment (Absorbed)
Jin rose from the flickering firelight, the weight of his new path settling heavily on his broad shoulders.
The ashes of the forgotten city were cold now—but from them, a new fire would rise.
A fire that would burn through darkness, unyielding and eternal.