Chapter 26
The tunnel stretched deep into the mountain.
Kael walked ahead, holding a torch he had taken from the palace wall. The flame flickered against the rough stone, casting long shadows that crawled along the walls with every step they took.
Behind them, the distant sounds of battle still echoed faintly through the mountain.
Somewhere far above, a dragon roared.
The sound was distant now, but it still made Ariana's chest tighten.
She slowed.
Kael noticed immediately.
"You're thinking about them."
Ariana looked back into the darkness of the tunnel behind them.
"They're still fighting."
Kael didn't pretend otherwise.
"Yeah."
Ariana wrapped her arms around herself.
"We just left them there."
Kael stopped walking and turned toward her. His voice wasn't harsh, but it carried a quiet firmness.
"They told us to leave."
"That doesn't make it easier."
"No," Kael admitted.
"It doesn't."
For a moment they stood there in silence.
The mountain felt strangely quiet compared to the chaos above.
Then Kael turned and started walking again.
"Come on," he said.
"We can't stop now."
Ariana nodded and followed him.
The deeper they went, the colder the air became. The rough stone walls slowly began to change.
At first it was subtle.
Small marks in the rock that almost looked natural.
But the farther they walked, the clearer those marks became.
They weren't random.
They were carvings.
Ariana slowed again and ran her fingers lightly along one of them as she walked.
"These weren't made recently."
Kael lifted the torch closer to the wall.
The firelight revealed long curved lines carved into the stone.
Some looked like wings.
Others formed strange symbols she didn't recognize.
"Definitely old," Kael said.
Ariana tilted her head as she studied the carvings.
"Older than the city?"
Kael shrugged.
"Wouldn't surprise me."
They continued deeper.
The tunnel curved gently downward.
Then suddenly,
the narrow passage widened.
Both of them slowed.
The tunnel opened into a massive chamber.
Ariana stopped completely.
"Wow."
The ceiling rose high above them, disappearing into darkness. Thick stone pillars lined the enormous room, each one carved with dragons spiraling upward along the columns.
Kael let out a low whistle.
"Well."
He slowly turned in a circle, taking in everything around them.
"That's impressive."
The place felt ancient.
Not abandoned exactly.
Just…
quiet.
Like it had been waiting.
Ariana stepped farther into the chamber.
Golden lines ran through the stone floor and walls, glowing faintly like veins beneath the rock.
Kael noticed them too.
"Okay," he said.
"Now it's getting interesting."
Ariana followed the glowing lines with her eyes.
They spread across the chamber like a giant pattern.
And every line led toward the same place.
The center of the room.
Something stood there.
A throne.
It was made from gold and dark stone, larger than any throne Ariana had ever seen. Strange symbols covered its surface, glowing faintly in the dim light.
Kael raised the torch slightly.
"Well."
He glanced at Ariana.
"Someone important used to sit there."
Ariana walked slowly toward it.
Each step felt strangely heavy.
The air near the throne felt different.
Warmer.
Her heartbeat quickened.
Kael followed close behind her.
"You feel that?" he asked.
Ariana nodded.
"Yeah."
The closer she got, the stronger the feeling became.
It wasn't painful.
But it wasn't normal either.
It felt…
familiar.
Like something inside her recognized this place.
She stopped at the base of the throne.
For a moment she simply stared at it.
Then she slowly lifted her hand.
Kael reacted immediately.
"Hold on—"
But Ariana's fingers had already touched the edge of the throne.
The reaction was instant.
Golden light burst across the chamber.
Kael jumped back.
"Whoa!"
The glowing lines across the floor ignited like rivers of light, spreading outward in every direction. Symbols carved into the walls began to glow one after another.
The dragon statues shimmered in the light.
Ariana gasped softly.
Suddenly,
images flooded her mind.
Dragons flying across endless skies.
Mountains older than anything she had ever seen.
A woman standing before hundreds of dragons.
Golden light surrounded her like wings.
The dragons bowed their heads.
Not in fear.
In loyalty.
Ariana pulled her hand away quickly.
The vision vanished.
The chamber returned to its quiet glow.
She stumbled slightly.
Kael grabbed her arm before she could fall.
"Easy."
His eyes searched her face.
"What happened?"
Ariana took a slow breath.
"I saw something."
"What kind of something?"
"Memories… maybe."
Kael frowned.
"Your memories?"
Ariana shook her head.
"I don't think so."
She turned slowly and looked back at the throne.
"The dragons."
"What about them?"
"They weren't following the Dragon King."
Kael raised an eyebrow.
"Then who?"
Ariana hesitated.
Then she answered quietly.
"The Sovereign."
Kael crossed his arms.
"You mean the Fifth Blood."
Ariana nodded slowly.
"Yeah."
She looked around the chamber again.
At the dragon statues.
At the glowing carvings.
At the throne waiting silently in the center of the room.
"I think this place belonged to them."
Kael glanced at the throne.
"Which means…"
His eyes shifted back to Ariana.
"…this place was built for you."
Ariana didn't answer.
The golden light beneath the throne pulsed softly.
Slow.
Steady.
Almost like a heartbeat.
Far above the mountain, the distant roar of the battle shook the ceiling again.
Kael glanced upward.
"They're still fighting."
Ariana nodded.
But her eyes stayed on the throne.
Something deep inside her felt different now.
Something that had been quiet for a long time.
Something that was finally waking up.
Then—
a low sound echoed through the chamber.
Kael froze.
"Did you hear that?"
Ariana had.
It sounded like stone grinding against stone.
A deep rumble rolled through the chamber.
The golden lines across the floor suddenly brightened.
Then the floor beneath the throne began to shift.
Heavy stone plates slowly slid apart.
Dust drifted down from the ceiling.
Kael stepped back.
"Okay," he said slowly.
"That's new."
The opening beneath the throne grew wider.
Darkness yawned beneath it.
Something was rising.
Ariana's heart pounded.
"What is that?"
The golden light in the chamber intensified.
The dragon statues began to glow brighter.
Then,
a voice echoed softly through the room.
Ancient.
Deep.
Powerful.
"After thousands of years…"
The voice paused.
As if studying her.
Then it spoke again.
"The Fifth Blood has finally returned."
Kael blinked.
"Did that throne just talk?"
Ariana didn't answer.
Because the stone platform beneath the throne had fully opened now.
And something enormous was rising from the darkness below.
Golden scales appeared first.
Then a massive eye opened.
And the dragon beneath the sanctuary looked directly at her.