Between Emberash and Nightflare

Asheron held the tiny creature that had just emerged from its egg with utmost care, as if the world ought to welcome it with the softness of cotton, not the roar of a beast. The shell was still damp, warm to the touch, as if its spirit hadn't fully departed from its former home.

Asheron lifted his gaze toward his father and asked:

"Father, what does Imbrash mean?"

The king smiled—a rare expression on his face—then spoke in a voice trembling with pride he could barely contain:

"Imbrash, or the Golden Pillar, is a sign... a sign that you've inherited one of the five original Phoenix Souls, my son."

He paused for a moment, his eyes tracing the high ceiling of the throne hall, as if chasing the echo of a memory long lost in time.

"And opposite to that stands Nightflare, the Shadow Mist," he continued, his tone growing harder. "It represents those who have inherited one of the five original Dragon Souls."

The leopard resting near the king tensed, sensing the shift in his master's mood at the mention of Nightflare.

Before Asheron could ask another question,

the doors burst open with a loud crash that echoed through the grand hall.

"Have you lost your mind?! How dare you enter like this?!" one of the guards shouted.

The king's brows drew together the moment he saw **Ethan** enter, as though he had sensed bad news before a word was spoken.

"**Ethan**? What's happened?" the king asked, sitting up straighter.

**Volcanis Ethan** was one of the king's closest advisors. No one had ever seen the mark of his soul. His posture was rigid, his steps firm, but a tension clung to his face like mist before a storm.

A nobleman of House Volcanis, its firstborn, and the heir to its legacy.

He bowed slightly.

"My lord, I deeply apologize for the intrusion... but something urgent has occurred—something you must hear at once," he said, running his fingers along an old book tucked into a leather pocket.

He whispered something in the king's ear that made the king's expression change completely.

"Where did this happen?" the king asked, his voice tense.

"In one of the villages in the eastern valley of the kingdom," **Ethan** replied.

Everyone in the hall felt the gravity of the moment, judging by the king's reaction.

Very few things could provoke such a response from him.

"I'm sorry, Asheron, but I must leave now."

"That's all right, Father," Asheron replied, a trace of sorrow showing on his face.

The king didn't seem to notice… or perhaps he pretended not to notice the unusual look in his son's eyes.

"All right then—rest for a while until the preparations are done for your power to be revealed."

The king left after saying that, and the gathered audience bowed as he descended from his throne, heading toward the door.

The spotted leopard followed him.