The air in the dungeon was thick with mold and old blood. Iron rusted in layers along the bars of each cell, and the smell of rot clung to every stone like a second skin. Somewhere in the dark, a man screamed. Another coughed up something wet, then silence again.
Cassian sat hunched against the wall, his arms wrapped around his knees, shivering not from cold—but from the echoing voice in his mind.
"He who kneels shall rise. He who bleeds shall reign."
The voice had returned.
A low, ancient whisper threaded with ash and flame. It didn't speak in full sentences, just fragmented thoughts. Sometimes it laughed—low, cruel, knowing. And sometimes it growled his name like it had been waiting centuries just to say it aloud.
He had thought he was going mad. But then, the system appeared again. A flicker, a breath in his head, invisible to the world.
[Sovereign System: Seed Synchronization 34%]Milestone: Betrayal Ignition - AchievedPath Alignment: UndeterminedWarning: Entity Proximity IncreasingNote: Mental fortitude required. Fragmented interaction possible.
"Fragmented interaction?" he muttered. "With what?"
"With me, child."
Cassian jolted. Not in his head this time. It was… outside. Inside. Around him. The flame in his soul flickered. The cell's shadows stretched strangely, as if something moved behind the walls.
And then—he saw it.
In the corner of the room, where the darkness was thickest, something stirred. Not a figure, not flesh, but… a shape made of embers and smoke. Like a man who had burned for a thousand years and refused to die.
"You are weak," the voice said. "But you carry my spark. That makes you mine."
Cassian's throat dried. "Who are you?"
"I am the Sovereign of Cinders. The Ashlord. The last King who dared to defy the Divine Flame. And you… you will finish what I began."
Cassian stood slowly. "I don't want to be your puppet."
"Puppet? No. You are the knife. The throne. The flame that refuses to die. But first, you must survive."
A loud bang echoed from above. Footsteps.
Voices. "That's the one. Open his cell."
Guards.
Cassian's heart pounded as keys jingled and the lock turned. The door swung open with a groan, and three armored men stepped in—faces shadowed by helms, black sigils across their chests.
"Time to meet the Warden," one of them grunted.
They hauled Cassian to his feet. He didn't resist. His mind was already somewhere else—on the embers still glowing in the corner. On the words that refused to leave him.
"Rule. Or be ruled."
The walk to the Warden's chambers was long and brutal. They made sure he felt every stair. One shoved him face-first into a pillar. Another laughed and spat on his back.
But Cassian didn't fight back.
Not yet.
The throne inside him—it was watching. Weighing. Waiting.
The Warden's chamber was cleaner than the rest of the prison. Polished floors, books lining a grand shelf, and a fireplace that crackled gently. A strange juxtaposition to the screams they'd passed on the way in.
Behind the desk sat Warden Halric Vos—a towering man with silver hair and eyes that looked like dead marble.
"So this is the rat who thought he could rebel," Vos said without looking up from a scroll. "The bastard of House Vale."
Cassian stared at him, lips trembling—but not from fear.
From rage.
Vos finally looked up. "You should've died with your father. Mercy was the mistake."
He stood, drawing a ceremonial blade from a sheath at his side and pointing it at Cassian's chest.
"You are nothing."
Cassian lowered his eyes.
And smiled.
[Milestone: Humiliation - Achieved][Seed Resonance +4%][New Trait Awakened: Emberborn Resolve]
—Trait: Emberborn Resolve→ Strength increases temporarily when emotions are suppressed.→ +10% resistance to pain and fear.→ Burn potential rises with each humiliation endured.
Cassian's eyes flickered with something new. Not tears. Not shame.
But fire.
Vos saw it—and stepped back.
Too late.
Cassian lunged.
Not with fists, but with his voice.
"You'll regret this, Vos."
A whisper. A curse. But it felt real. Power clung to every syllable like smoke from a dying pyre.
[Skill: Sovereign's Voice – Fragmented Activation]→ Effect: Nearby enemies experience hesitation or mild paralysis. Duration: 1.2 seconds. Cooldown: 6 hours.
Vos flinched. Just for a second. But it was enough.
Cassian smiled, even as the guards slammed him to the floor again. Even as the pain blurred his vision.
Because the voice in his mind was laughing again.
And Cassian knew—
This was only the beginning.