The Forgotten One’s voice echoed.
"I am okay with you."
Azareen froze.
The obsidian throne pulsed with silent nace, and the being within Lin—the one forgotten by ti—turned its gaze toward her.
Azareen’s soul trembled with fear.
"I didn’t kill you when you entered his body in the ruins. But to think you dared to undermine him, to even risk his life."
His tone didn’t rise. It didn’t need to.
He raised two fingers.
A dark, glowing symbol burst into being, swirling with forbidden runes. It shot forward like a spear and embedded itself into Azareen’s forehead in a flash of black fire.
"This is your first and last warning."
His voice cut deeper than any blade.
"Try to manipulate him again or risk his life, and I will erase you without hesitation."
Azareen staggered back, but her legs refused to move. The weight of his presence bound her in place.
"You’re alive for now because you are useful to ."
His voice dropped lower, colder, until it was more felt than heard, rumbling through the marrow of her bones.
"You entered this body. You opened yourself to his soul. Prepare for what will co, since you don’t know this body belongs to the Noctarine clan."
Azareen tried to speak without looking into his eyes.
"Who are they?"
"Just be ready for the curse."
He snapped his fingers.
Reality shattered.
Darkness surged inward, swallowing everything.
Azareen collapsed.
She gasped.
Her eyes flew open. Her heart pounded as her vision settled.
What curse was he referring to?
Lin sat before her, silently watching with mild confusion. He tilted his head slightly, as if wondering whether she had gone mad.
She flinched.
The mory of that voice still clung to her skin like ash.
Was she awake? Was she still inside the soul realm?
Her breath ca ragged and fast. She forced herself to breathe, to regain control.
Then, slowly, carefully, she sat upright.
"I will help you grow," she said, her voice steadier now. "You carry the mark of Vasthera. I will awaken its potential."
Days passed.
Training resud—and it grew harder with each passing day.
Under Elenius, Lin studied the core techniques of the serpent clans: how to move with precision, how to coil, strike, and vanish, how to bend his body with mana like a second spine.
Under Azareen, he delved into the secrets of Vasthera, mastering every forbidden technique she revealed.
His muscles grew leaner, harder. His reflexes sharpened. His gaze turned colder, more focused.
And his blood... began to rember what it once was.
The Forgotten One stayed silent, but its shadow never left.
Every movent Lin made, every breath he took, brimd with energy.
His absorption rate surged, like a black hole pulling in everything.
Each drop of mana inside him darkened.
Still, he trained.
A week later, Lin stood quietly outside the southern gate, Elenius by his side.
The skies above were clear, but the air thrumd with tension.
They were waiting.
Oriliana and the other three princesses were expected to arrive any mont.
Oriliana looked sick and carried herself heavily.
That was the reason she hadn’t bothered him this week. The pregnancy was taking effect.
To my advantage, I should use it wisely.
I still didn’t know what to do about that child.
Lin’s gaze remained still, but his thoughts wandered.
The curse still bound his heart, Oriliana’s mark tying him to her will.
He rembered his goal. He couldn’t afford to be soft
And now, as her return drew near, one thought pulsed through his mind:
If it’s just one carriage—and they take the mountain path—
I can end it clean.
But if there’s more than one...
The plan fails before it starts.
Wait for the steepest point.
Climb onto the roof.
One solid kick to tilt the weight.
A single wheel slips—gravity takes over.
They fall.
And I strike at full power, mid-air, before they even hit the ground.
Quick. Precise. Fatal.
But... Elenius worries .
That healing ability of his could ruin everything.
And the three princesses—I still don’t know what they can do.
Too many unknowns.
Too many risks.
If there’s a second carriage, I’ll be exposed. Surrounded.
Dead before I land.
Oralina interrupted everyone’s thoughts and whistled, loud and sharp.
Then, she sang:
O Crimson Fla in Serpent’s Eye,
Awaken now beneath the sky.
From ancient crypt and sacred dust,
Arise in oath, in blood, in trust.
The White Queen waits on throne of fla,
And we must ride in honor’s na.
Our clan stands threatened, shadows rise,
As stars fall silent in the skies.
You who bore us through war and woe,
Through fire’s breath and moonlight’s glow,
Co forth again, O fang and scale,
Let no wind halt, let no heart pale.
By scar of soul and mark of kin,
Fly swift, fly proud, let path begin.
Heed the cry from blood once sworn,
And carry us through fate reborn.
I summon you,
Servant of the Crimson-Eyed Serpent.
A large white snake with crimson eyes erged, its body shimring like moonlit marble—vast enough to crush trees beneath its coils.
Lin instinctively stepped back.
Damn. My escape plan had failed before I could even try.
Even the princesses, cloaked in pride, felt the weight of dread.
One glance from that serpent planted terror like a blade into every soul nearby.
Oralina caught Lin’s arm and leapt gracefully onto the serpent’s back.
Lin was stunned.
His mind couldn’t process it all.
Elenius and the others followed in silence.
She pulled Lin in front of her, wrapping her arms tightly around his torso.
Then she gave a gesture.
With a blinding surge of motion, the serpent bolted into the forest—
streaking like a sacred arrow toward the realm of the White Dragon Queen.
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