His breaths become slower with each minute. There is no ether coming from him. Not like he can use it in this state. His mangled body is now scorched black. He will be dead soon.

  “Man is perfection. When he bleeds, it's in war. He is a conqueror. A merciless force that humbles even the strongest of races.” I murmur out one of the oldest speeches. I read somewhere that it's what the Grand Governor Talusk Rao said when Pluto was turned into a prison world for rebels. Some say it was that speech that led to humanity’s venture to other galaxies outside the Milky Way. Some say he was the beginning of human pride and ego.

  Devon looks at me. It's a strong look. One with hatred as the core emotion. He is only fifteen, but his body has been enhanced so many times. When I was given one dose of calcium, he was given ten. When I was injected with proteins to aid muscle growth. He was given three times the dose.

  I can’t blame him for what he has become. I can only blame the program.

  [The Second Law of the Crow has been invoked]

  The second law?

  [The Law of Compassion]

  As I had guessed. The laws of the crow have to do with what the dragons believe in. The first law was to test my heart. I think. The Monarch wanted to see if I would run despite being the weaker one here. The second law was to see if I have compassion or am merciless.

  I have conquered those two. What is the third? Nico will be dead in a few if I do not figure this out.

  “Do not look at me like that. You killed me minutes ago. If I hadn’t been an undying, then you would’ve been the one in this position.”

  He doesn’t say anything. He’s ashamed I am right. Though he does manage to groan out something. “You think your freedom is here? Wait until you find out how much pressure you will receive from the Churches of the Human gods. The Darkest Night showed me what is possible with the power of a Monarch.”

  “Really? What did he show you?”

  His eyes sparkle. He hisses out one more word. “Paradise. True neverending Paradise.”

  When he says that, a new feeling falls over me. My body grows alert suddenly as though this feels has always meant trouble. The shadows grow sharper. And from them, specifically Devon’s shadow, something grows out. It appears as a thick black smoke that growls instantly when it notices me.

  As soon as I make the first step, a system message appears.

  [The Third Law of the Crow has been invoked. The Law of Balance. Light should exist alongside Shadow. That is why the demon Isis has made its way back into this reality. Upon their awakening, a new bloodline of demons will be born. And therefore, a new bloodline of good shall rise to battle it.

  I close the window and face the black smoke hovering over Devon. The terrible emotions coming from it are something entirely different. There is no doubt about it, this is the seed of Chaos.

  Devon doesn’t react to it. That could mean two things. One: he can’t see it. Two: it has made itself invisible to him.

  I take the first guess and make my first step forward. I walk past them, pretending I haven't seen or sensed it at all.

  As I continue, I feel its gaze stay on me until I make it to the next chamber.

  The expansive room is mostly empty with no signs of life except mine. The walls have been carved with images of massive beasts with wings and lizard-like bodies. They tell a story of the dragons with intricate images that make it easier for me understand.

  Under each picture are writings in Dragonic Tongue.

  ‘From the Eternal Fire, they were born. The first firebreathers.’

  The firebreathers. Just like in the stories.

  I walk farther, ignoring the stories being told by the walls. I do not care about the walls. I care for what’s at the end of the room.

  Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

  After making it to the end, a dimensional door appears. The system chimes.

  [Would you like to enter?]

  “Yes.” My caution is gone. This place. This place feels safe enough for me. Therefore, I step foward and everything else disappears. The grand area of the castle is plunged away and transformed into a simple outdoor tea area. There’s a garden, a beautiful one with clean water and flowers I’ve never seen in the flower database.

  Each one is colorful, bright, and grows up to my knees as they reach for the artificial sun in this area.

  “You made it.”

  Someone speaks. I shift my gaze to the man standing in the tea area. I’m pretty sure he wasn’t there a moment ago. At first glance, his appearance is very human. But then you notice the red eyes, the long silver hair, and the curving horns crowning just above his ears.

  I don’t quiver at his sight. My whole tells me that everything is alright, and my mind obeys.

  “What is this place?”

  “The Garden of Oum.” He speaks with balanced authority and calmness. “This is what it looks like in the stories. Would you like to join me in a game of go?” he points at the table, and the board with black and white stones manifests on the surface. “It's a fun Earth game. Perhaps even my favorite.”

  “I do not know how to play Go.”

  He radiates an unfathomable amount of star ether. It's pure. Pure enough to break the sky if he wanted to. There’s no doubt about it, the man standing before me is the dragon monarch himself. “Then I will teach you.”

  I join him, and the game begins. He doesn’t say anything when he moves the first piece against the nine-by-nine board. None of this makes sense. I’ve never played Go. Or even heard of it.

  But I chose white, and he plays first. He gently moves the first piece forward. Tuk. The sound feels final and peaceful at the same time. He doesn’t say a word after playing that. I don’t expect him to.

  I study the board like it's a puzzle missing its picture. Corners, edges, center. Then, after a minute or two of thinking, I place my stone in the opposite corner, not because I understand, but because symmetry feels right.

  “Do you know what the meaning of Monarch is?” he asks while moving his piece.

  “I know the textbook meaning. But the Monarchs you’re talking about are still news to me.”

  Following his play, I copied his play and attempted to mirror it in my own way. I extend because it feels like breathing room, and I connect the stones because isolation feels wrong.

  Meanwhile, he builds effortlessly. His black stones bloom across the board like ink dropped into water.

  “Then why bother coming here if you do not know what a monarch is?”

  “Because it is the one shot I’ve got if I ever want a real existence.”

  He stops midway through the game and spares a moment to look. “You’re being honest with me, why?” he raises an eyebrow. Certainly, he thought I was going to beat around the point. “Why not tell me that you are doing this for the greater good?”

  I knew he was testing me from the very start. This game is meant to see how I think. And somehow, if I lied, he would’ve found out through the board.

  “The greater good is shit, lord Dragon Monarch. And you know it because you chose not to return, and now the Darkest Night is out there trying to kill someone I may or may not care about.”

  He leaned back and laughed heartily. “Bold as ever. You’re a silverblood indeed.”

  Hearing that sort of makes my stomach turn.“I am an imitation of a silverblood.”

  “Well, if that’s the case, then you are the perfect imitation. Please know that if anyone other than a silverblood marked with the blood of a dragon tried to acquire this power, I would kill them.”

  The sudden tone shift caught me off guard.

  “Why?”

  “Because power belongs to higher beings. After reading your mind, I believe the universe has entered the darkest age. This… interface. The Nexus System? Who made it? It never existed in my time or in my world.”

  “The Nexus is a connection. It links many realms and brings them together.” Once again, I use the textbook description. I was born too late to care about what its purpose was or who created it. “Through it, man was given access to the light, beginning the rise of the human empire and its spread across the galaxy.”

  Interesting. Do you think humans are the enemy?”

  I scoff at his questions. My thoughts on humans over the last fifteen years haven’t changed at all. In fact, after coming here, those thoughts have become clearer. “I believe they’re monsters. They’re the demons of this realm.”

  “You don’t believe in humanity’s vision?”

  “I am not human enough to believe in it. I’ve killed two of my siblings today. If they had been mindless beings, maybe my hands wouldn’t have shaken when I raised my sword. Or I wouldn’t have cried when I killed Dan while he begged for his life.” I almost cry. “He was a brother. Sasha was my sister. I pretended not to care about them because of Adam, but I found myself feeling the biggest heartbreak when they died. If they wanted perfect clones, I think they should’ve made us hollow. Killing them would’ve been much easier if I were hollow.”

  “And Nico?”

  “Nico wants whatever you are going to give me. He let me enter because he somehow knew you would lead me here.”

  When I started traveling with Nico, I realized a few things.

  One: His fighting style was too perfect. Two, he was always prepared as though he already knew what was ahead. Three: No scientist in Bloodhaul has it in them to help out a clone. The people there despise us so much that we’re better off dead.

  “And if he didn’t know, it was within his realm of possibility. I do not know his motive, but I can’t die, and I can’t let him have this power.”

  The dragon monarch looked at me. He must’ve known since he peeped into my mind.

  “Do you feel betrayed?”

  “No.” I shake my head. “He just wants to survive. We both want the same thing. "I stare directly at him and let him know how I feel. "And you’re the only one who can grant it.”