Srijan_Pandey_8761

In the Golden Dragon Nation, your destiny is decided at sixteen by a single injection. For dirt-poor miner ** Zane Voidcrest**, the annual Awakening Day is his only chance to escape a life buried in coal and despair. But when the serum unlocks a forbidden bond with a primordial beast—a shadow-wolf with the voice of a forgotten god—Kael becomes a fugitive. Branded a “corrupted” threat by the Elite, hunted by jealous rivals like the pyrokinetic aristocrat **Zane Ashgrave**, and haunted by his wolf’s insatiable hunger for chaos, Kael must master his power before the Nation’s enemies strike.  

Monsters claw at the borders. Rebellions simmer in the slums. And the Primal Beasts, long thought extinct, are waking. To survive, Kael will forge alliances with outcast mages, rebel factions, and creatures of myth. But as he uncovers the dark truth behind the Elite’s “benevolent” rule, he realizes the real war isn’t between humans and monsters—it’s between those who chain the world… and those who dare to break it.

Ascendant Beasts : The Voidcrest Prophecy

Zane's hands trembled as shadows coiled around his fingers like living smoke. The cold, alien power from the black orb pulsed through him, leaving jagged black marks crawling up his arms. Across the cavern, Darian Ashgrave writhed on the ground, his body engulfed in unstable black flames that ate at his skin. His laughter was raw and broken, more scream than sound.

"Look at you," Darian spat, his voice warped by pain. "You're not a hero. You're just another freak!"

Vyrthax, the star-furred wolf, snarled. "End him, Zane! His death will feed the Heart and make you stronger!"

Thalia stepped between Zane and Darian, her thorn shield raised. "Don't do it! If you kill him, you're no better than the Elite!"

Before Zane could respond, the ground shuddered. A deep, rhythmic pounding echoed from below the cavern floor, growing louder with each beat.

"What is that?" Zane asked, his voice tight.

"The Heart of the Deeprealm," Vyrthax said, his glowing eyes narrowing. "It stirs. And it hungers."

The pounding intensified. Cracks spiderwebbed across the cavern walls as the sound morphed into a voice in Zane's mind—low, ancient, and impossibly vast.

**Join me**, it boomed. **Together, we will remake this world.**

Boots clattered on stone. Mayor Cyrus Ashgrave strode into the cavern, flanked by Elite mages in gilded robes. But instead of attacking, they dropped to their knees, bowing their heads to Zane.

"The prophecy is fulfilled," the Mayor said, his voice trembling with awe. "You are the Voidchosen, Zane—the bridge between humans and Primals! With the Heart's power, we will create a new order. No more lies. No more suffering. Join us."

Darian staggered to his feet, his body still burning. "Father… what are you saying? You're siding with *him*?"

The Mayor ignored his son, his gaze fixed on Zane. "Control the Heart. Lead us. Or let it destroy us all."

Thalia grabbed Zane's arm. "This is a trap! They just want to use you!"

Vyrthax growled, his starry fur bristling. "The Elite have always been liars. They fear the Heart because they cannot control it. But *you* can."

Darian screamed. The black flames around him surged, melting the flesh from his hands. "I'M the heir!" he roared, his voice distorted and guttural. "Not you, Father! Not this worthless coal-crawler!"

He lunged at Zane, a blade of black fire forming in his grip. Thalia's thorn whip lashed out, tangling around Darian's legs and yanking him off balance.

Vyrthax leaped at Darian, but the flames seared the wolf's pelt, forcing him back with a pained yelp. "Kill him now!" Vyrthax snarled in Zane's mind.

Zane raised his shadow-wreathed hand, power crackling at his fingertips—but froze. Behind the madness in Darian's glowing eyes, he saw fear. The same fear Zane had carried every day in the mines. The fear of being nothing.

The ground split open with a thunderous roar. A yawning chasm tore through the cavern floor, revealing an abyss of swirling darkness. At its core floated a massive, lidless eye—the Heart of the Deeprealm. Its gaze locked onto Zane, and the voice in his mind swelled.

**You are mine. Claim your destiny.**

The Mayor's mages began chanting, their voices rising in a eerie hymn. Thalia's relic—the cloth scrap from her brother—disintegrated in her hands, its threads dissolving into shadows that snaked toward Zane's blackened veins.

"No!" Thalia cried. "Your brother died to keep the Heart sealed! This relic was the key—and now you're destroying it!"

Zane's head spun. The wolf's growls, Thalia's pleas, and the Heart's voice collided in his mind.

Darian collapsed, his body crumbling to ash. "Just… make it stop," he choked.

Zane stared into the abyss. The Heart's eye stared back, promising power, vengeance, and oblivion.

Chapter 4: The Heart’s Gambit