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Chapter 28: Chapter 27 : Awakening - Part 3 «The heart of a dragon.» My eyes widened in disbelief. A dragon... not just any beast, but a mythical creature, one of the rulers of mana. Each of its spells was capable of altering the flow of the world, its mere presence enough to destroy the natural order. Feeling the pressure emanating from that heart was enough to confirm it: the power it contained was almost infinite. "How the hell did the Riesenhart family get their hands on this...?" As that question gnawed at me, the marquis strode steadily towards the pedestal. The echo of his boots resounding loudly in the hollow chamber made me nervous instantly. Every time he approached, the dragon’s heart beat slowly and deeply, with a strong vibration running through the floor and filtering through my legs to my chest. My breathing quickened without my noticing; every fibre of my being was synchronising with the dense, wild mana that permeated the room. That energy was pure, raw... and yet beautiful in its essence. —This is our family’s legacy, Daven —the marquis’s voice cut through the air—. Each generation... every son of House Riesenhart is granted the chance to awaken here, under the gaze of our ancestors. If you succeed, you will obtain a power that few in this world could even dream of. If you fail... —his steel eyes locked onto mine— ...you will pay the price with your life. A shiver ran down my spine. The marquis slid his hand inside his coat and pulled out a black dagger. Its blade reflected the rather disturbing violet light. It was no ordinary knife: something about its edge seemed to absorb the surrounding mana, almost as if it were hungry. —Your blood will be required —he said, turning to me, his cold gaze piercing me without hesitation—. Step forward. I hesitated for just a moment before advancing, stopping directly in front of the pedestal. Up close, the dragon’s heart was... overwhelming. Its surface was smooth, almost crystalline, and beneath it ran incandescent veins, pulsing like rivers of shadowy lava. Each beat released a pulse of mana that spread through the chamber, slamming against my body. When it reached my skin, it felt as if thousands of invisible needles pierced my flesh, stabbing through every fiber, every nerve. For an instant, I could swear that heart was draining my very life away. —Kneel —he ordered. I hesitated, doubting his intentions for a brief moment, but in the end, I obeyed. The cold floor sent a chill through my bones as my knees touched the stone. The marquis gripped the dagger and, without hesitation, cut across the surface of the dragon’s heart. A wet, heavy sound echoed through the hall, followed by a pulse louder than any before. The wound was barely a line, but it was enough for a violent surge of energy to erupt, shaking the air as if the roar of a beast had exploded all around us. A drop of blood welled up from the cut. Dark, thick, and yet luminous, like lava trapped in crystal. It fell into a small obsidian cup camouflaged within the pedestal, so subtle I had never noticed it until now, this close. —Drink it —the marquis said, his voice dry and devoid of emotion. I stared at the cup. The blood seemed alive, overflowing with mana so wild it felt like it was burning the very air around us. Its intensity was as if the dragon’s rage still lingered within it, waiting to be unleashed... or to claim a new host. I hesitated. My stomach clenched, and an instinctive voice in my mind screamed at me not to even consider it. That even I—someone who had once been a hero in another life—should not touch it carelessly. But the marquis was watching me with those steel eyes. That look forced me to choose. It was as if he demanded I make a decision. I had come this far; there was no time to hesitate. With trembling hands, I picked up the obsidian cup... The heat it radiated was unbearable; I felt as though the skin of my hands was tearing, as if I were holding metal heated to a glowing red. The veins in my arms bulged, and I could almost smell the faint scent of burning flesh. I clenched my teeth harder, forcing air into my lungs. Every part of my body screamed at me to drop it, to let that damned vessel fall and run... But the marquis’s steel gaze held me in place. I took a deep, slow breath and brought the cup to my lips. The moment the edge touched my mouth, an overwhelming surge of mana seeped into me, and my heart seemed to stop for a few seconds. Glup... Glup... 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚 The liquid slid down my throat like molten fire, tearing everything in its path. It wasn’t just hot... it was searing. I could feel my insides burning, as if a swarm of blades were carving their way into my stomach. I bent forward as my body trembled uncontrollably. And then... the mana erupted. An unstoppable wave coursed through my veins, spreading into every last cell. It felt as though my own body was a fragile vessel on the verge of shattering. Every muscle tensed, every joint cracked, and the whole world shrank into a whirlwind of heat, pain, and a force so untamed it threatened to destroy me. I clenched my fists so tightly that my nails pierced my palms, warm blood trickling between my fingers. Even so, I couldn’t contain the roar that burst from my throat, raw and broken, as if the pain had ripped my voice out by force. —Ghhrr... Aaaagh...! The sound echoed throughout the chamber, mingling with the violent beating of the dragon’s heart, its rhythm relentless like a war drum that moved only to the frequency of my suffering. And no matter how much my body writhed, I realised with horror that the real pain was only just beginning.