Chapter 1: The Awakening of Eron

The night sky above the village of Gharon was different—darker than usual. There was a strange stillness in the air, and the usual sounds of the forest seemed to have faded into an eerie silence. Eron, standing at the edge of a rocky cliff, stared out into the abyss of stars. The wind whipped through his dark hair, and though the world seemed calm, he felt the storm building inside him.

For weeks, he had been plagued by strange dreams—visions of fire, dragons, and destruction. But they weren't just nightmares; they felt too real. Each night, he would wake up drenched in sweat, heart pounding, as if he had been fighting a battle in another realm. It wasn't the first time he had experienced something like this, but the intensity had grown stronger, more frequent, and now, the dreams had begun spilling over into his waking hours.

"What's happening to me?" Eron muttered to himself, gripping the edge of the rock. His hand burned with the energy pulsing through his veins—energy he couldn't control.

The wind shifted, and from behind him came a familiar voice.

"Eron."

He turned to see Lina, his older sister, walking toward him. Her expression was calm, though her red eyes, the telltale sign of their Demon race, held a glimmer of concern. Lina had always been strong—stronger than him in both mind and body. Ever since their parents died in a raid led by Hunters when Eron was a child, Lina had taken on the role of protector. But now, Eron knew she couldn't protect him from what was coming.

"I knew I'd find you out here." Lina stopped beside him, looking out over the dark valley below. "You've been on edge all week."

Eron sighed. "I can't help it, Lina. The dreams—they're getting worse. I feel like something is… inside me. Something I don't understand. It's like I'm fighting to keep it from taking over."

Lina glanced at him, her expression unreadable. "The power inside you isn't something you can ignore forever. You're different, Eron. We've always known that. You can't keep running from it."

Eron clenched his fists. "But I don't even know what 'it' is. I've trained, I've fought, but this—this is something else. Something darker."

Before Lina could respond, a low rumble echoed through the air. The ground beneath them trembled slightly, and in the distance, the sky began to churn. Dark clouds swirled together, spiraling like a vortex, and a deep, resonating roar split the air.

Eron's heart raced. "What the hell is that?"

Lina's face paled, and her hand instinctively reached for the sword strapped to her back. "It's happening."

"What's happening?" Eron demanded, his voice rising in panic.

Lina's gaze remained fixed on the sky, where the clouds had begun to part, revealing a glowing red light. "The awakening. It's starting."

Before Eron could ask what she meant, the red light intensified, and from within the eye of the storm, a massive shape began to materialize. A monstrous figure, wreathed in flames and lightning, descended from the sky. It was a creature unlike anything Eron had ever seen—towering, with wings that stretched wide across the heavens and scales that shimmered with molten gold. Its eyes, glowing like twin suns, locked onto Eron, as if recognizing him.

"What… is that?" Eron whispered, his voice barely audible over the deafening roar of the beast.

Lina stepped in front of him, her hand raised defensively. "It's a Dragon Drake. One of the ancient ones."

Eron's blood ran cold. Dragon Drakes were the stuff of legends—beasts said to be older than the world itself, creatures of immense power and destruction. They had been gone for centuries, their existence fading into myth. But standing before them now, towering and real, was proof that the legends were true.

The Drake let out another roar, shaking the very earth beneath their feet. Eron felt the energy inside him surge in response, stronger than ever before. His vision blurred as a sharp pain shot through his chest. He fell to his knees, gasping for air.

Lina knelt beside him, panic in her eyes. "Eron, you have to control it! Focus!"

But Eron couldn't. The power was overwhelming, burning through him like fire. He clutched his head, trying to block out the roar of the Drake, but it was no use. His blood felt like it was boiling, and his body shook violently as if something inside him was trying to break free.

Suddenly, a voice—deep, ancient, and commanding—echoed in his mind.

"You are not yet ready, but destiny does not wait. You are the last heir of the Dragon Drakes. Awaken, or be consumed."

Eron's eyes snapped open, glowing with an eerie golden light. His body convulsed as a wave of energy surged through him, and for a moment, he felt as if he were no longer in control of his own body. His vision filled with images—ancient battles, dragons soaring through the skies, and a cataclysmic war that had been long forgotten by time.

Lina watched in horror as Eron's body began to change. His muscles tensed, his skin glowing with a faint golden hue, and his once black hair turned silver. The mark of the Dragon Drakes appeared on his chest, burning brightly against his skin.

"No…" Lina whispered. "Not now…"

Before she could react, the ground shook violently as a group of figures appeared from the shadows—Hunters. Clad in dark armor and wielding weapons glowing with cursed energy, they had come for Eron. Their leader, a tall figure with a cruel smile, stepped forward, his eyes fixed on the boy.

"The prophecy has come to pass," the Hunter leader said, his voice dripping with malice. "The last of the Dragon Drakes has awakened. We cannot allow him to live."

Lina drew her sword, her crimson eyes blazing with fury. "You'll have to go through me first."

The Hunters moved as one, attacking with lethal precision. Lina met them head-on, her blade flashing through the night as she fought to protect her brother. But the Hunters were skilled, their cursed weapons cutting through the air with deadly intent. Lina was strong, but even she couldn't hold them off forever.

Eron, still struggling to control the power surging through him, staggered to his feet. His vision was clouded, but he could see Lina fighting desperately against the onslaught. He had to help her—he couldn't let her die because of him.

The Dragon Drake above them roared once more, its eyes burning with ancient fury. "You are my chosen, Eron. Embrace your power, or you will perish."

Eron's heart pounded in his chest as he felt the power building again, stronger than before. He didn't know what was happening to him, but he knew one thing: if he didn't fight, both he and Lina would die.

With a surge of determination, Eron raised his hand, and the energy within him exploded outward. Golden flames erupted from his body, and in an instant, he felt a connection to the Dragon Drake above—a connection to something far greater than himself.

The Hunters, sensing the shift in power, hesitated. Their leader snarled in frustration. "Kill him now, before he fully awakens!"

But it was too late. Eron, his body now fully engulfed in golden light, let out a roar of his own, and the ground beneath him cracked and shattered. With a single motion, he unleashed a wave of energy that blasted the Hunters back, sending them crashing into the trees.

Lina, panting and bloodied, looked at her brother in disbelief. "Eron… what have you done?"

Eron didn't answer. He was still trying to process what had just happened. The power—the raw, unimaginable power—was coursing through him, and for the first time in his life, he wasn't afraid of it.

The Dragon Drake descended from the sky, landing with a thunderous crash. Its massive form loomed over them, and its fiery eyes locked onto Eron.

"You have only just begun to understand your potential," the Drake said, its voice echoing in Eron's mind. "But there is much more you must learn. There are others like you, hidden throughout the world. You must find them, for only together can you stand against the darkness that is coming."

Eron swallowed hard, his mind spinning. "What darkness? What are you talking about?"

The Drake's eyes flared. "An ancient evil is stirring. One that even the Dragon Drakes could not defeat. It has waited for centuries, biding its time, and now it seeks to rise again. You are the last hope, Eron. You, and the others like you."

Lina staggered to her feet, wiping blood from her mouth. "We don't have time for riddles. Eron, we need to go. Now."

The Drake nodded slowly. "Go, but know this: your journey has only just begun. The fate of this world rests on your shoulders, Eron. Do not fail."

With that, the Dragon Drake spread its wings and took to the sky, disappearing into the clouds. The storm that had gathered above began to dissipate, leaving the valley in an eerie calm. The heavy tension that had filled the air moments before seemed to lift, but Eron's heart still pounded in his chest. His body felt both drained and supercharged, as if every nerve was humming with an energy he didn't fully understand.

Lina grabbed his arm, pulling him back toward the forest. "We need to move before more Hunters come. That blast will have alerted them to where we are."

Eron stumbled but caught his balance. "Lina, what just happened? That… thing, the Dragon Drake… why was it talking to me?"

Lina's jaw tightened as she sheathed her sword, her eyes scanning the treeline for any more threats. "It's more complicated than you think. There's a lot you don't know, Eron. Things I didn't want to tell you until the time was right. But now… it seems like we're out of time."

Eron stopped, forcing Lina to turn back and face him. "What do you mean? You knew something about this all along?"

Lina hesitated, her red eyes flickering with something between guilt and fear. "I've always known you were special, Eron. But I didn't know how special until recently. The Hunters—" she paused, her hand clenched tightly around the hilt of her sword, "—they've been after people like you for generations. Those with Drake blood."

"Drake blood?" Eron shook his head, confused. "I thought we were Demons."

"We are," Lina said, her voice soft. "But our bloodline isn't pure Demon. Our ancestors had a pact with the Dragon Drakes. Long ago, before they vanished, a few of our kind intermingled with them. That's why you've always felt different, why you've always had those dreams. It's your Drake blood calling to you."

Eron's mind reeled, trying to process the information. He had always known there was something off about him—something that set him apart from even his own kind—but this revelation was almost too much to handle. "So I'm not just a Demon. I'm part Dragon Drake?"

Lina nodded grimly. "Yes. And that makes you a target."

A target. Eron's stomach churned. It all started to make sense now—the Hunters, the strange powers, the visions. But it also left him with a thousand more questions. Why was he the last heir? What was the darkness the Dragon Drake had warned him about? And who were the others he was supposed to find?

Before he could ask more, a branch snapped in the woods nearby. Both Eron and Lina whipped around, eyes narrowing as they scanned the dense forest.

"We need to keep moving," Lina whispered, her body tense. "Hunters travel in packs. If there are more out here, we won't stand a chance if we stay."

Eron nodded, his senses now heightened from the power still lingering in his veins. The world around him seemed sharper, clearer. Every rustle of the leaves, every faint shift of the wind—he could feel it all, as if the energy of the earth was flowing through him.

They moved swiftly through the forest, the trees towering above them like ancient sentinels. The village of Gharon, their home, was now a distant memory, lost in the chaos of the awakening. Eron glanced at Lina as they ran, her face set in a grim determination.

"How long have the Hunters been after me?" he asked, his voice low.

"They've known about you for years," Lina said, not breaking her stride. "Ever since you started showing signs of power. I've been keeping them off your trail, hiding you as best I could, but it was only a matter of time before they found us."

Eron's chest tightened with guilt. Lina had been protecting him all this time, while he had been blind to the danger that surrounded them.

"I'm sorry," he muttered.

Lina shot him a quick glance. "Don't apologize. This isn't your fault. You didn't ask for this. But now that you've awakened, things are going to get much harder."

The forest suddenly opened up into a wide clearing. In the center stood the ruins of an ancient temple, its stone walls crumbling with age. Eron slowed as they approached, sensing something strange about the place. The air was thick with a kind of energy he couldn't explain, but it felt… familiar.

Lina stopped at the entrance to the ruins, turning to face Eron. "We'll be safe here for the night. These ruins are old, older than even the Hunters know. It's a sacred place for those like us. They won't be able to track us while we're inside."

Eron raised an eyebrow. "Sacred to who?"

"To the Dragon Drakes," Lina said quietly, her gaze drifting over the crumbling stone pillars. "This is where they once communed with those they deemed worthy. The energy here—it's connected to them, to you."

Eron swallowed, feeling a strange pull toward the temple. The power within him responded to the ancient energy in the air, thrumming in sync with it. He stepped inside, feeling the weight of history press down on him.

The interior of the temple was vast, with towering columns and faded murals depicting dragons soaring through the skies, locked in battle with monstrous foes. The floor was cracked and overgrown with vines, but the atmosphere was charged with power, as if the very walls held memories of a time long forgotten.

Lina led him to a small alcove where they could rest for the night. As they sat, the tension between them hung heavy in the air.

"Lina," Eron began hesitantly, "what did that Dragon Drake mean when it said I had to find others like me?"

Lina sighed, leaning back against the wall. "There are others out there, Eron. Other descendants of the Dragon Drakes, just like you. They're scattered across the world, hidden from the Hunters. Some don't even know what they are. But if what the Drake said is true, they're in danger too. You'll need to find them before the Hunters do."

Eron's heart sank. It felt like an impossible task. He didn't even know where to begin. "How am I supposed to find them? I can barely control my own power."

"You'll learn," Lina said firmly. "The Dragon Drake awakened your abilities, but now it's up to you to master them. The power is already inside you, Eron. You just need to figure out how to use it."

Eron looked down at his hands, still glowing faintly from the residual energy. He had never felt more lost, more uncertain about his place in the world. But as he sat there, in the ruins of the temple, surrounded by the echoes of his ancestors, he knew one thing for sure—he couldn't run from this. Not anymore.

"I don't have a choice, do I?" Eron asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Lina smiled sadly. "No. You don't."

Silence fell between them as the night wore on. Outside, the wind howled through the trees, and the faint glow of the moon filtered through the cracks in the temple walls. Eron sat in the darkness, his mind racing with thoughts of what was to come.

The weight of his destiny pressed down on him, but for the first time, he felt a spark of resolve. He didn't fully understand what was happening to him, and the road ahead was shrouded in uncertainty, but one thing was clear—he couldn't do this alone.

He would find the others. He would learn to control the power within him. And when the time came, he would face the darkness that was rising.

For now, though, he would rest. Tomorrow, the journey would begin.