the last sovereign of infinity

There was an old saying that Lucien had never heard before and yet somehow knew by heart.

When dragons bow, kingdoms fall.

He wasn't entirely certain where the saying came from.

That, admittedly, had become a recurring problem.

His memories no longer felt like memories. They were fragments. Echoes scattered across an ocean of darkness, surfacing only when they pleased and vanishing before he could understand them.

At the moment, however, he had considerably more immediate concerns.

Namely, the fact that an ancient dragon large enough to cast a shadow across a mountain range was currently staring at him.

This was generally considered problematic.

The eastern hall had descended into complete chaos.

"The barriers have collapsed!"

"Impossible! They were reinforced by three Grand Magi!"

"The mana density in the western region has increased by four hundred percent!"

Lucien quietly observed the panic unfolding around him.

People were shouting.

Several servants had fainted.

The royal envoy appeared to be reconsidering his career choices.

Only three individuals remained calm.

Cassian Arkanis.

The Last Witness.

And, rather disturbingly, Seraphina.

The silver-haired girl continued to stare at the distant dragon with an expression Lucien couldn't decipher.

"You knew," he said quietly.

Her gaze shifted toward him.

"Yes."

Interesting.

"You knew there was a Dragon King."

"No."

"Then what did you know?"

She was silent for several moments.

"I knew that if you ever returned..." Her voice softened. "...he would come."

Lucien's eye twitched.

There was that word again.

Returned.

Everyone seemed remarkably convinced that he had once been someone important.

Personally, he remained unconvinced.

"Master."

"Yes?"

"Was I important?"

The Last Witness nearly choked on his tea.

"I'm sorry?"

"Important."

Lucien gestured vaguely toward the mountain-sized dragon currently rearranging the political landscape of the kingdom through its mere existence.

"On a scale of one to ten."

The old man stared at him.

"Lucien."

"Yes?"

"The Dragon King just bowed to you."

"That doesn't answer the question."

The Last Witness slowly lowered his teacup.

"You once punched a hole through reality because someone interrupted your afternoon nap."

Silence.

"...What?"

"In your defense, you were very tired."

Lucien decided not to dignify that statement with a response.

Instead, he turned his attention back toward the dragon.

Even from this distance, he could feel it.

The connection.

It wasn't merely his bloodline reacting.

It was recognition.

An ancient bond stretching across lifetimes.

And somehow...

He knew the dragon was lonely.

The realization caught him off guard.

"Strange, isn't it?"

Lucien glanced toward Seraphina.

"What is?"

"Missing someone for so long that you forget what their voice sounds like."

The words struck with uncomfortable accuracy.

"I wouldn't know."

"Wouldn't you?"

For a brief moment, her eyes seemed impossibly old.

"Sometimes I think that's the cruelest part."

"What is?"

"Remembering alone."

The room suddenly felt very quiet.

Dangerous.

This conversation was dangerous.

Fortunately, Cassian chose that moment to intervene.

"Enough."

The Lord of House Arkanis rose from his chair.

"Steward Elias."

"Yes, my Lord?"

"Prepare the estate for lockdown."

Several elders looked horrified.

"My Lord, surely that's unnecessary!"

"Unnecessary?" Cassian's voice was calm. "There is currently an ancient dragon observing my son from beyond the mountains."

When he put it that way...

"Additionally," Cassian continued, "inform the Crown that House Arkanis will not be receiving visitors for the foreseeable future."

"The Crown may object."

"They are welcome to."

The discussion ended there.

Lucien was beginning to appreciate his father.

There was something refreshing about a man whose solution to political complications was simply refusing to acknowledge them.

Outside, the Dragon King released another low rumble.

The sound wasn't threatening.

If anything, it sounded impatient.

"He has always hated waiting."

Lucien blinked.

"Master?"

"Not me."

The voice was different.

Deeper.

Older.

It echoed directly within his mind.

"You."

The Dragon King's laughter shook the heavens.

"At last."

Several people in the room suddenly turned toward him.

Apparently, he'd spoken aloud.

"Lucien?" Cassian asked carefully.

"He can hear me."

Silence.

"Who?" Aiden asked.

Lucien pointed toward the mountain-sized dragon.

"The dragon."

The room somehow became even quieter.

"Of course he can," the Last Witness said dryly. "That would be considerably less concerning if he couldn't."

"The old fool still lives."

"I heard that," the Last Witness snapped.

"Good."

Lucien paused.

"Can you hear him?"

"No."

"Can anyone?"

"No."

Interesting.

"So only I can communicate with him."

"Naturally."

The Dragon King's voice carried a hint of amusement.

"You are my king."

There was that word again.

"I don't recall agreeing to that arrangement."

"No."

The dragon sounded almost fond.

"You never did."

That...

Raised questions.

"Then why?"

For several moments, the Dragon King remained silent.

When he finally spoke, there was something strangely melancholic in his voice.

"Because when all the stars had gone dark and even the gods had abandoned us..."

The dragon's enormous eyes narrowed.

"You stayed."

A memory surfaced.

Broken.

Incomplete.

An endless battlefield.

Dragons falling from the sky.

A man standing alone before an army of light.

"Go."

"We will not abandon you."

"That wasn't a request."

Pain exploded behind Lucien's eyes.

He staggered.

Strong hands caught him before he could fall.

Cassian.

"You've been doing that a lot lately."

Lucien blinked.

"My apologies."

His father studied him for a moment before quietly asking, "What did it say?"

The truth.

He considered lying.

Then again, explaining that an ancient dragon considered him its king was unlikely to improve the situation.

"It called me..." He hesitated. "Its king."

Silence.

Aiden dropped the glass he was holding.

Seraphina closed her eyes.

The Last Witness began laughing.

"Of course it did."

Cassian, to his credit, remained outwardly calm.

"Inconvenient."

Lucien stared.

"Inconvenient?"

"There are political implications."

That was perhaps the most noble response imaginable.

Before Lucien could comment, the Dragon King spoke once more.

"Come to me."

The words carried an unmistakable sense of urgency.

"Why?"

"Because time is running out."

Lucien frowned.

"For what?"

The Dragon King was silent for several seconds.

"The Door has opened."

Somewhere within the Infinite Mindscape, the single broken chain rattled.

Lucien felt his blood run cold.

"What do you know about the door?"

"More than I wish to."

"Then explain."

The dragon released a low, weary sigh.

"Long ago, before the first stars were born, there were two kings."

The Last Witness suddenly stood.

"No."

"Yes."

"Now is not the time."

"There is no longer time to waste, old friend."

Old friend?

Lucien immediately filed that information away for later.

"The first king created."

The Dragon King's voice echoed across his soul.

"The second destroyed."

Silence.

"And I was...?"

"Both."

Lucien stopped breathing.

"What?"

"That is why the universe fears your name."

No.

No, absolutely not.

He refused.

There had to be a misunderstanding.

"I think you've mistaken me for someone else."

The Dragon King laughed.

The sound carried enough affection to make Lucien deeply uncomfortable.

"You always say that."

Somewhere in the distance, thunder rolled across the heavens.

The sky above the western mountains had begun to change.

Dark clouds gathered around the Dragon King's massive form.

And behind those clouds...

Something moved.

At first, Lucien thought it was another dragon.

Then he realized his mistake.

It was a hand.

A colossal hand made of darkness, reaching down from a crack in the sky itself.

Every instinct within him screamed.

Run.

Hide.

Fight.

The Dragon King's expression changed instantly.

For the first time since their conversation began, Lucien saw genuine fury in those ancient eyes.

"It found you."

The words were little more than a growl.

"What found me?"

The Dragon King slowly spread his wings.

And for the first time in the history of House Arkanis...

Every dragon in the world roared at once.

"The thing beyond the Door."

The hand continued descending.

Reality cracked around it.

And deep within the Infinite Mindscape, something behind the black door began to laugh.

The sound was unmistakable.

It was his voice.

And for reasons he couldn't explain, Lucien suddenly knew one terrible truth.

Whatever waited beyond that door...

Had been waiting for him to remember.

And it was running out of patience.