[Volume One] The Awakening of the Dragon Soul Volume One: Prologue

The sky was shrouded in gloom, thunder rolling incessantly. Countless hexagram arrays spun in midair; four dragons, with wings as vast as clouds hanging from the heavens, gathered together, each channeling their power to forge the shackles of sealing upon the black dragon, Calendis.

“Calendis, you have tampered with the laws that govern the world’s order—do you acknowledge your guilt?” roared the fire dragon Aesrag, its wings ablaze with sacred crimson flames, the brightest light in the pitch-black night.

“The world was never meant to be perfect. Our creations, too, should bear flaws,” Calendis sneered, its black wings eclipsing half the sky.

“To ascend to the ranks of the Five Divine Dragons of Creation, you dared steal the power of the thunder dragon!” Every word uttered by the wind dragon Atwotan tore the surrounding air asunder.

“A world where all beings are equal is dull indeed. Only power can define rank and hierarchy, the lofty and the lowly, the noble and the base!” Calendis continued to chuckle darkly.

“As a dragon god, to harbor such ambition is an unforgivable sin!” The imperial dragon Friluca waved her sand-like golden wings, releasing formidable and profound earth elemental power to reinforce the chains binding the black dragon.

“Sin? How fascinating!” Calendis laughed, “Scatter it across every corner of the world, and it shall bloom into the most unique flowers!”

“Enough!” Aesrag bellowed, sending his sacred crimson fire surging along the sealing chains until it engulfed Calendis.

“Hahaha—” Calendis laughed wildly, “You, who once stood as my equals, now must exhaust your strength to seal me away. How utterly ridiculous!”

“You!” Atwotan shouted, his power suddenly surging to its peak, causing the sealing chains to tremble in the air. Friluca, seeing this, pushed her power to the utmost to stabilize the shackles.

“Fellow dragons, Calendis has lost his original heart. Persuasion is futile. We must seal him swiftly and restore light to the world!” The water dragon Kasinthita spread her vast wings, as if the sky itself had been pierced, and torrential rain poured ceaselessly.

“Kasinthita! We are twin siblings, our blood thicker than water, yet now you stand against me!” Calendis mocked.

“Brother, there is no need for words. We parted ways long ago; the past is but smoke, light as clouds and wind,” Kasinthita gathered her power to the fullest.

“Calendis! Be buried in the abyss forever!” Aesrag roared, his crimson flames piercing the night.

The four powers pressed upon Calendis, whose body writhed in resistance as he howled, “I—Calendis—will one day return to this world and rewrite its history!”

The ancient battle of the dragon gods: the black dragon Calendis was sealed by the combined might of the four dragons, entombed forever in the abyss. After the fierce conflict, the world was shattered, splitting into the terrestrial realm and the aerial domain. Rain fell upon the terrestrial realm for years; seventy percent of the surface was transformed into ocean, the remaining thirty percent became land. Countless floating islands formed the aerial domain. The four dragon gods, drained by the sealing of Calendis, had their souls shattered and scattered across every corner of this world, and thus was born the first ray of light in this world—

Aslant!

Tens of thousands of years later.

The Road of Bones.

Countless black-clad figures surrounded a young man.

“Samael! As one of the Seven Sins, you dare betray the Sect and steal the power of the water dragon Kasinthita!” the leading woman shouted.

Her purple hair was long, her scales hard and her teeth sharp. She held a scythe wrought from a skull, her voice intimidating all who heard it.

“Hahaha, the so-called Seven Sins, the so-called Sect—they’re nothing but puppets bound by power,” the young man’s smile seemed utterly out of place amidst the tense atmosphere.

“Nonsense!” the woman barked, brandishing her scythe at him. “Today, I shall represent the Sect to end your life right here!”

“Leviathan, when will you let go of your jealousy?” the young man shook his head. “Your mother’s last wish was for you to become an exceptional summoner, not to pursue power and fall to—”

“Silence! Do not mention my mother!” Leviathan seethed, leading the black-clad figures in a charge toward the young man.

“Leviathan, you are no longer my match,” he smiled, unmoving. “And besides, I have an ally!”

“What?” Leviathan was startled, but before she could react, a blade sliced through her from behind, and something vital seemed to be drawn from the depths of her soul.

She turned to see the black-clad attacker behind her smiling faintly. In an instant, the other black-clad figures cried out in agony and fell dead to the ground.

“Who... who are you?!” Leviathan’s eyes filled with fear. “You wield the Sword of Lament—Wandering!”

Before her words finished, she was struck again and again, her soul seemingly torn from her body.

The blade unseen is the most deadly.

The Sword of Lament—Wandering was forged by Calendis’ own craftsman Lament, the strongest evil artifact, of which there were two: the Sword of Lament—Wandering and the Blade of Lament—Wandering, both invisible weapons. The sword could extract souls, the blade could release them. When united, they could destroy the world.

This ancient evil artifact was lost to history, but now, as it reappeared and fell under someone’s control, who could this mysterious person be?

“Who else?” The figure behind tore off his black cloak, revealing a weathered visage. “I am Aslant’s foremost swordsman—Liang Bu Ban!”

“It’s... it’s you!” Leviathan trembled, a hint of cold laughter in her voice. “I never expected the righteous swordsman to collude with the Seven Sins and wield an ancient evil artifact.”

“A weapon is neither good nor evil; it is the heart of its wielder that gives it meaning,” Liang Bu Ban smiled gently.

“Besides, we are old acquaintances,” he gestured to the young man. “He infiltrated the Sect to work with me—an inside and outside collaboration—to disrupt your plans!”

“Samael! You truly are a traitor!” Leviathan sneered, glaring fiercely at the young man.

“That’s not quite right.” The young man, who had been watching, smiled. His body and features began to change, aging into a weathered old man.

“Samael was my name in the past, and betrayal belonged to the past as well. Now, I am called Mr. Shen, walking my own path and making my own choices.”

“...”

Leviathan opened her mouth to speak, but suddenly her gaze lost all light. She collapsed, and soon black-red blood pooled on the ground.

“Her soul has been emptied,” Liang Bu Ban explained.

“She was once an innocent child. Now, at last, she can reunite with her mother in another pure land,” Mr. Shen smiled, crouched beside Leviathan, closed her eyes gently with his right hand, and softly whispered:

“Good night.”