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

The abyss swallowed him, cold and silent. No air. No light. Just the crushing weight of the Heart's gaze. The lidless eye loomed closer, its pupil a vortex of swirling shadows.

**You resist me**, the Heart's voice thundered, shaking his bones. **Why?**

"I don't want to lose myself," Zane shouted into the void.

Images flashed—Zane's mother coughing in their smoke-filled hut. Darian's body dissolving to ash. Thalia screaming his name as the cavern collapsed.

**You fear power, yet crave it. You hate the Elite, yet envy them. You are human. Weak. Let me erase your frailty.**

The vortex spiraled tighter, pulling Zane toward the eye. Shadows slithered into his mouth, his nose, his wounds. His veins burned black.

Thalia stared into the chasm, her hands still clutching the air where Zane had stood. The Mayor's mages chanted louder, their voices merging into a drone that made her skull ache.

Vyrthax limped to her side, his starry fur matted with blood. "He's gone. The Heart has him."

"No," Thalia snapped. "We're getting him back."

The wolf's glowing eyes narrowed. **"We?"**

Before she could reply, the Mayor seized her arm. "Enough theatrics, girl. The Voidchosen serves a greater purpose now. Stand aside, or join your brother in the grave."

Thalia wrenched free. "You killed him! You killed *all* of them—the Primals, your own son—"

The Mayor backhanded her. She stumbled, tasting blood.

Vyrthax lunged, but the mages hurled chains of golden light, pinning the wolf down. "Pathetic creature," the Mayor sneered. "You'll both watch as the Heart remakes the world. Starting with *him*."

His skin was marble-white, cracked with glowing violet veins. Shadows coiled around him like a crown, and his eyes—empty, twin voids—locked onto Thalia.

Thalia ran, debris raining around her. The Mayor's mages scattered as Zane—*no, the Heart*—ripped through the cavern, shadows devouring everything.

Vyrthax staggered to her side, the golden chains shattered. **"The Heart has consumed him. He is lost."**

"No," Thalia said, clutching the wolf's fur. "You're bonded to him. Help me pull him back!"

The wolf hesitated. **"There is… another way. Bond with *me*. Share my strength. But the price—"**

Vyrthax's teeth sank into her wrist. Pain seared her veins, followed by a rush of cold clarity.

She heard whispers—the Primals' voices, buried in stone and soil. Felt their anger, their sorrow. Saw the Elite's lies woven into the Awakening serum.

And she saw Zane, trapped in the Heart's grip, screaming silently.

**"You see the truth now,"** Vyrthax said, his voice softer. **"Save him. Or kill him."**

The Mayor stood atop a crumbling ledge, his arms spread as shadows swirled around Zane. "Magnificent! The Voidchosen will lead my army—humans merged with Primal essence. Invincible. Unstoppable. We will burn the Golden Dragon Nation to ash!"

Zane's head tilted, his void-eyes blank.

Thalia stepped forward, her new power humming in her blood. "He's not your weapon."

The Mayor laughed. "And what will you do, girl? Fight me with weeds and *hope*?"

She slammed her palm to the ground.

Vines erupted—not thorns, but thick, pulsing tendrils of blackened wood. They coiled around the Mayor's legs, yanking him into the chasm. His scream echoed, then faded.

Zane hovered above the abyss, shadows writhing.

"Zane!" Thalia shouted. "Fight it!"

For a heartbeat, his void-eyes flickered—amber, human.

The shadows swallowed him again.

Chapter 5: Throne of Shadows