Chapter 235: The Day That Died

The marble platform tilted beneath Kane’s feet. He stumbled, clutching the boy tighter as golden clouds turned sickly gray overhead.

"What’s happening?"

"The realm is falling apart." The dragon’s voice came small against Kane’s shoulder. "This is the day the Black Dragon clan died."

Kane’s blood went cold.

"How do you know that?"

Crimson eyes lifted, ancient, despite the child’s face wearing them.

"Because this isn’t your dream." A bitter smile touched too-young features. "It’s mine."

Kane’s grip loosened. "That doesn’t make sense. You weren’t even born. You’re still—"

"An egg. I know." The dragon pulled back, small hands gripping Kane’s arms. "But maybe dragons inherit memories."

Kane opened his mouth, searching for comfort, for logic, for anything—

"I relive this day." The dragon’s gaze drifted toward the crumbling horizon where dragons fell from the sky in sheets of flame. "Every day. While I’m trapped in the shell."

Another tremor split the platform. Cracks spider-webbed across marble inlaid with jade that now wept crimson.

"What do you mean, every day?"

"Time moves differently for the unborn." The boy’s voice remained eerily calm despite screams echoing from distant towers.

"Especially when the egg shouldn’t exist. "Especially when the egg shouldn’t exist, considering that its parents are already gone."

Kane’s throat closed.

The dragon watched towers collapse with eyes too knowing, too tired for someone who’d never drawn breath.

Kane pulled the small dragon closer, anchoring him against the chaos consuming their shared dream.

"I’m sorry." The words scraped raw. "I’m so sorry you’ve been trapped like this, seeing this nightmare over and over."

The boy’s chin trembled.

"But I’m getting you out." Kane brushed dark hair from those crimson eyes. "I promise. Your fox daddy is going to hatch you properly, no matter what it takes."

"Fox daddy?"

Despite everything crumbling around them, the dragon’s expression brightened—fragile hope flickering across features too small to carry such ancient grief.

Kane managed a smile. "Yeah. You’ve got two fathers now. One dragon, one fox. And we’re both taking responsibility for you."

The marble beneath them lurched sideways.

Kane caught himself, steadying the dragon against his chest as another tower collapsed in sheets of crimson flame.

"But right now, I need to wake up." Kane gripped those small shoulders, forcing the boy to meet his gaze. "Something’s wrong. Cyrus is moving, doing something big while I’m stuck here dreaming."

The dragon’s expression fell.

"I don’t know how to let you wake up."

Kane’s stomach dropped. "What do you mean?"

"It wasn’t me who locked you in the dream." Crimson eyes shimmered with tears. "I just found you here. This place was already built around you when I projected myself looking for help."

Kane’s hands tightened reflexively on those thin shoulders.

"Then who—"

"Dragon Father."

The words hit like physical blows.

Kane jerked back, denial rising hot and immediate. "No. Cyrus wouldn’t—"

"He sealed you in sleep before he left." The dragon’s voice remained gentle despite the accusation. "To protect you. That’s what the magic tastes like—protection wrapped around control."

Kane’s chest constricted.

The villa. Cyrus carrying him to bed. That deliberate touch against Kane’s temple, crimson energy flooding through him.

Not soothing Kane’s pain.

Trapping him.

"Where did he go?"

The dragon flinched at Kane’s tone—flat, cold, dangerous.

"To confront the creature sealed under the volcano." Those small hands gripped Kane’s wrists.

Kane’s hands tightened on those small shoulders.

"How do you know about the creature?" His voice sharpened. "That can’t be an inherited memory. You weren’t even there."

The dragon’s crimson eyes met his without flinching.

"Dragon Father talked to me before he left."

Kane’s breath caught. "Cyrus spoke to you?"

"He said that he had business to handle. That he’d return before morning." The boy’s expression turned thoughtful, ancient wisdom flickering across childish features. "He didn’t specify what his business was, but I could sense his fear through the shell. And his determination."

"And you just... figured out the rest?"

"That’s right." A small shrug, too knowing.

Kane stared.

This tiny creature—still unhatched, still trapped in an egg—possessed perception that rivaled Cyrus’s strategic mind.

"You’re scary smart for someone who’s never breathed air."

The dragon’s expression brightened, its gap-toothed smile returning. "Really?"

"Really." Kane ruffled dark hair, feeling oddly proud. "What else do you know?"

Crimson eyes gleamed with mischief.

"You talk in your sleep. A lot. Last night you told Dragon Father his scales were ’ridiculously hot’ and asked if he’d let you lick them."

Heat exploded across Kane’s face.

"I did not—"

"You also mumbled something about wanting to climb him like a tree during sparring practice." The dragon tilted his head innocently. "What does that mean?"

"Okay, no." Kane pressed both hands over the boy’s mouth, mortification burning through him. "Not those kinds of things. I meant about the situation. The creature."

The dragon’s shoulders shook with silent laughter behind Kane’s palms.

Kane dropped his hands, glaring.

"You’re enjoying this far too much."

"Maybe." The mischief faded, replaced by something older and sadder. "But I do know about the beast."

The marble beneath them cracked wider, golden clouds overhead bleeding darker.

Kane’s stomach dropped.

"What is it?"

Crimson eyes lifted, reflecting burning towers and falling dragons.

The boy’s eyes met his, burning with inherited memories and terrible knowledge.

"Something that should have died with the rest of the Black Dragon clan."

The marble platform groaned beneath them, cracks splintering outward in jagged lines.

"I don’t understand." Kane gripped the boy’s shoulders. "What do you mean, something that should have died—"

"Maybe it’s best if you see for yourself." Small fingers wrapped around Kane’s wrist with surprising strength. "Come on."

The dragon tugged Kane forward, navigating crumbling pathways with ease.

Kane stumbled after him, boots finding purchase on stone that dissolved seconds after each step.

Around them, the Spirit Realm burned.

Dragons fell from ashen skies in sheets of crimson flame. Marble towers collapsed into rubble. Screams echoed from every direction, layered and endless.

The boy didn’t flinch. Didn’t look up.

Just kept pulling Kane through chaos, wearing his face like a familiar coat.

"Where are we going?"

"The Dragon Palace." Crimson eyes flicked back, ancient and knowing. "Where it all started."