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

**Novel Title:** *"Ascendant Beasts: The Voidcrest Prophecy"*

**Chapter 7: The Fractured Bond**

Zane knelt in the smoldering ruins of Grimhollow, his body trembling as violet light pulsed from his eyes. The Primal Core's energy surged through him, a tempest of clashing wills—*human* and *Heart*. Inside his mind, two voices warred:

"You are mine," the Heart growled, its tone volcanic. "The Core delays the inevitable."

"Fight it, Zane!" His own voice, fragile but defiant, echoed from memories of his mother's laughter and Thalia's stubborn grin.

Outside, the Grand Marshal's Sundial hummed louder, its beams slicing the sky. "Finish the abomination!" Kaelon Voss ordered, reloading his Primal-fang spear.

Thalia lunged in front of Zane, the Core glowing in her hands. "Stand down! He's still in there!"

"Move, girl, or join him," the Grand Marshal snarled.

Vyrthax's growl cut through the chaos.

Thalia hesitated, then shattered the Primal Core against the ground. A shockwave of light erupted, freezing the Sundial's beams mid-air. In the stillness, the antlered Keeper materialized, her milky eyes reflecting galaxies.

"The Sundial is a distraction," she intoned. **"The true enemy comes—the Devourer of Stars. It seeks to finish what it began millennia ago. The Elite's betrayal of the Primals left us vulnerable. Only unity can stop it."

"Unity?" Thalia spat. "The Elite are killing us!"

"The Core was a beacon. The Devourer draws near. You must choose: save your friend or use its power to reignite the First Pact."

Within Zane's mind, the Heart's void twisted into a labyrinth of memories and shadows. He stumbled past visions: his mother's skeletal hands clutching a miner's pick, Darian's hollow scream as flames consumed him, Thalia's tears in the cavern.

The Heart manifested as a colossal serpent of smoke and stars. "You cling to weak, fleeting bonds. Let go. Embrace oblivion."

"No," Zane whispered, clutching a flickering image of Thalia's relic. "They're why I fight."

The serpent recoiled as the relic's glow intensified. "What is this?!"

"A promise," Zane said, stepping forward. "To protect, not destroy."

The Sundial's gears groaned, resuming their lethal spin. Thalia stared at the frozen Core fragments, then at Zane—his body flickering between violet light and suffocating shadows.

Vyrthax nudged her. **"The wolf chooses the pack. But the pack must survive."**

Thalia's hands shook. She turned to the Keeper. "Is there another way?"

**"All magic demands sacrifice. Even hope."**

With a scream of grief, Thalia slammed the Core's largest shard into the Sundial's mechanism. Light exploded, vaporizing the machine—and with it, the Elite's weapon.

The Grand Marshal roared. "You've doomed us all!"

As the Sundial crumbled, the sky cracked. A fissure of infinite blackness split the clouds, and a tendril of liquid shadow slithered through—slick, silent, and ravenous.

Zane's eyes snapped open, violet fading to amber. "Thalia… it's here."

The Keeper bowed her head. **"The First Pact is broken. The Devourer has come."**