Consciousness returned slowly.
Not peacefully.
Heavily.
The first thing I felt was heat.
It moved beneath my skin in steady waves, slow and immense, like something ancient sleeping within my veins. Every breath carried weight now. Every heartbeat echoed with unnatural clarity.
Then came sound.
Wind outside the manor windows.
Distant steel clashing somewhere within the lower training grounds.
The pulse of mana flowing through the Ashford estate itself.
I frowned slightly.
Had it always been this loud?
My eyes opened.
Morning light spilled across the ceiling of my chamber while the curtains near the balcony shifted beneath the cold Elarion breeze.
For several seconds, I remained still.
Then memory returned.
The Bloodline Pool.
The voice.
The pressure.
The primordial lineage.
I sat upright immediately.
The bed creaked beneath me.
No—
that wasn't right.
The wood had cracked.
I looked down silently.
Thin fractures spread across the bedframe beneath my hands.
"…Right."
That explained the strange feeling.
Strength.
Not ordinary enhancement.
Not mana reinforcement.
My body itself had changed.
A knock sounded at the door.
"My lord?"
Balthas.
"You may enter."
The door opened carefully.
Then he froze.
Completely.
His usually unreadable expression shifted ever so slightly before he lowered his head.
"You have awakened."
"…How long?"
"Five days, my lord."
Five?
I blinked once.
That explained why my body felt both rested and starving at the same time.
Balthas remained strangely tense.
His eyes kept drifting upward before quickly lowering again.
Odd.
I rose from the bed slowly.
The instant my feet touched the floor—
CRACK.
The reinforced stone beneath me fractured faintly.
Balthas did not react outwardly.
Professionals truly were terrifying.
I approached the mirror near the far wall.
Then paused.
Ah.
So that was why he stared.
My appearance had changed.
Not dramatically.
Enough.
My red hair had grown longer, falling past my shoulders now with several uneven strands framing my face. My physique had sharpened considerably as well. Leaner. More defined.
Predatory.
Even my posture looked different somehow.j
Then there were my eyes.
Gold.
Brighter than before.
Not glowing exactly.
Burning.
I stared silently at my reflection for several moments.
The bloodline had integrated more deeply than expected.
And the strangest part—
was the feeling accompanying it.
Pride.
Not emotional arrogance.
Instinct.
Natural superiority.
Like some ancient part of my mind genuinely struggled to see others as equals.
Yet suppressing it felt oddly natural.
Balthas cleared his throat carefully behind me.
"Lord Kaelith instructed that you report to the dining hall immediately after waking."
i hardly faced him before replying
"Let my father know that i will be with him in a moment."
Balthas bowed.
"At once."
He vanished almost instantly.
Efficient as always.
I glanced toward the mirror one final time before leaving the room.
The reflection smiled slightly before I did.
That was mildly concerning.
The Ashford estate was already alive by the time I entered the upper halls.
Servants moved quickly through the corridors while distant mana lamps dimmed beneath the rising sun outside. Knights rotated shifts along the inner pathways with practiced precision.
And every single person I passed reacted.
Some lowered their heads faster than usual.
Others stepped aside instinctively.
A few simply froze.
The bloodline pressure.
Even suppressed, it leaked unconsciously now.
I could feel it.
A faint draconic weight pressing against the atmosphere around me.
By the time I reached the dining hall, several servants near the entrance already looked nervous.
I stepped inside.
The room fell silent.
Lucien looked up first.
Then grinned.
"Well damn."
Selene blinked repeatedly.
"Astaroso?"
Ceal slowly lowered his coffee.
Father remained seated at the head of the table reviewing documents as though nothing had changed.
Naturally.
I walked calmly toward the table while servants hurried to prepare additional dishes.
Selene stood immediately.
"You were asleep for five whole days!"
"So I've been told."
"You also look completely different."
"That too."
Lucien kept looking at me with a grin on his face
I sat across from him calmly.
The atmosphere shifted subtly the moment our eyes met.
I could feel it.
It was the same feeling he always gave off when ever he wanted to fight someone, but didnt want to say it out.
In response, something within me straightened proudly.
Not threatened.
Acknowledging.
Ceal adjusted his glasses while observing me carefully.
"The personality adaptation appears stronger than expected."
"I heard that."
"You were meant to."
Selene sat down slowly while still staring at me.
"…Your aura feels heavier now."
Father finally spoke without looking up from his documents.
"dragon bloodlines naturally affect temperament."
Lucien smirked.
"So basically he's arrogant now."
I leaned back slightly.
"Confidence and arrogance are separated by results."
The entire table went quiet.
Then Lucien burst into laughter loud enough to shake the glasses.
"HE REALLY CHANGED."
Selene pointed accusingly at me.
"You never talked like this before."
"Then perhaps I was limiting myself unnecessarily."
Ceal took another sip of coffee.
"…The bloodline integration may have amplified dominant subconscious traits."
I looked toward him calmly.
"So you're saying I was always superior."
Lucien slammed his hand against the table laughing.
Selene looked at me with a face that said, seriously?.
Father remained completely unfazed.
Breakfast finally arrived.
Several servants placed plates before me cautiously before retreating faster than necessary.
The moment I tasted the food—
I frowned.
Lucien noticed immediately.
"Oh no."
Selene blinked.
"What?"
"He hates the food now."
"I do not hate it."
"You made a face."
"The seasoning balance is lacking."
One of the chefs in the distance looked personally attacked.
Selene stared at me.
"You literally used to eat burnt training rations without complaining."
"I possessed lower standards."
Lucien looked moments away from dying from laughter.
Even Ceal's mouth twitched slightly.
Father calmly folded another document.
Lucien pointed at me laughing.
I ignored him.
Mostly because the hunger was becoming absurd.
Five days of unconscious bloodline synchronization apparently consumed enormous energy reserves.
Several empty plates later, Lucien finally leaned back while staring openly at me again.
"You feel different."
The humor in his voice lessened slightly.
I met his gaze.
"So do you."
Silence settled briefly between us.
The Fenrir bloodline inside Lucien had always felt violent.
Savage.
But now I sensed something deeper beneath it.
Endless battle instinct.
The hunger to clash against stronger opponents.
And right now—
that instinct was focused entirely on me.
Lucien released a small amount of mana deliberately.
Not enough to attack.
Enough to provoke.
The atmosphere shifted instantly.
Golden flames flickered unconsciously across my fingertips in response.
Lucien grinned.
The pressure within the room deepened.
Selene sighed immediately.
"Please don't."
"Relax," Lucien said casually. "We're talking."
"Your version of talking destroys buildings."
"Only weak buildings."
I exhaled slowly.
The dragon bloodline responded instantly.
Heat spread through the room.
Not explosive.
Oppressive.
The chandeliers above us trembled faintly.
Lucien's grin sharpened.
Then deliberately—
he leaned forward.
"So," he said, "you think becoming part dragon suddenly puts you above everyone?"
Ah.
There it was.
A challenge.
Direct and simple.
I met his gaze calmly.
"Above everyone?"
Golden mana flickered softly around my body.
"No."
The pressure intensified.
"Just above you."
Silence.
Pure silence.
Then—
CRACK.
The table split beneath Lucien's hand.
Mana exploded outward from him violently.
The Fenrir bloodline surged beneath his skin while his golden eyes sharpened into something distinctly inhuman.
Now that—
that felt familiar.
Lucien slowly stood.
The air around him distorted faintly beneath sheer pressure.
Selene ran and hid behind father.
"Why are all of you insane…"
Ceal calmly activated a defensive barrier around his coffee.
Lucien rolled his shoulders once.
"You've been awake for ten minutes and already started talking like Father."
"Hardly."
I rose slowly from my seat.
The room heated immediately.
Golden flames wrapped loosely around my arms while draconic mana spread through the hall in heavy waves.
Several windows cracked.
Lucien laughed softly.
His sword slid partially from its sheath.
The instant the blade appeared—
the pressure doubled.
mana roared through the dining hall like a storm barely held together by human skin.
My bloodline reacted instinctively.
Not defensively.
Dominantly.
The dragon within me refused to yield space.
The floor beneath us shattered.
Servants fled instantly.
Lucien tilted his head slightly.
"Hit me."
A dangerous request.
The smile forming across my face felt unfamiliar.
Sharper.
Prouder.
"As you wish."
Instead of my gauntlets—
my hand moved toward the weapon resting beside my chair.
Lucien's grin widened instantly.
"Oh?"
I slowly drew the blade.
SHHHK.
Black steel emerged inch by inch beneath the dining hall lights.
Then—
golden flames erupted across its edge.
FWOOOM.
Heat flooded the room instantly.
The sword itself was broad yet elegant, forged for power rather than speed. Crimson lines glowed faintly along the dark metal while dragon mana coiled around the blade like living fire.
Lucien laughed softly.
"Now that suits you."
I lowered the flaming sword calmly beside me.
The dragon bloodline pulsed proudly in response.
Then I moved.
BOOOOM.
The floor detonated beneath my step as I crossed the distance instantly.
Lucien's grin widened savagely.
CLAAAAANG.
Sword met sword.
The impact blasted through the dining hall like thunder.
Shockwaves shattered every remaining window instantly.
Lucien slid backward several meters before stabilizing himself.
Then lunged forward .
Fast.
Far faster than before.
His blade carved toward my throat—
I tilted sideways avoiding the strike before driving my own sword upward toward his ribs.
Lucien blocked instantly.
Steel screamed.
Then his knee slammed into my stomach hard enough to empty my lungs.
Pain exploded through my body.
I retaliated immediately.
Golden flames erupted across my blade point-blank.
BOOOOOM.
The explosion swallowed us both.
The dining hall shook violently.
Smoke spread outward.
For a brief moment—
silence.
Then Lucien walked from the flames laughing.
Actually laughing.
Parts of his sleeves had burned away while scorch marks spread across his arms.
"same trick as last time , no new moves little dragon boy"
Blood trickled faintly from the corner of my mouth.
I wiped it away slowly.
And smiled.
Because despite the pain—
despite the chaos—
this felt real.
Not scripted.
Not predetermined.
Just two brothers trying to overpower one another through sheer will.
Lucien rolled his neck once before raising his sword again.
The Fenrir bloodline howled beneath his skin now.
Hungry.
Violent.
Excited.
"Again."
I raised my own blade.
Golden flames coiled harder around the steel.
The dragon inside me stirred proudly.
Then—
everything stopped.
Absolute pressure descended upon the hall instantly.
Not mana.
Authority.
The flames vanished.
Lucien's aura halted.
Even the air itself felt frozen.
Father slowly lowered the document within his hands.
Silence consumed the dining hall.
"One breakfast."
Quiet.
Controlled.
Terrifying.
Lucien immediately looked away.
"In fairness—"
"You have none."
Silence again.
Father rose slowly from his chair.
The pressure deepened further.
Even my bloodline instincts quieted immediately.
Not submission.
Recognition.
Apex dominance.
Kaelith Draven Ashford glanced between us calmly.
Then, faintly—
very faintly—
amusement crossed his expression.
"You appear energetic this morning."
I straightened slightly.
Father turned toward the servants.
"Prepare the family arena."
The nearby staff visibly panicked.
Selene looked exhausted already.
Ceal finally looked genuinely interested.
And Lucien—
Lucien looked delighted.
Good.
Because the dragon within me had already accepted the challenge.
The family arena awaited.