Chapter 92: Time to Start The Work.
Vandelion’s gaze darkened like storm clouds rolling over a scorched battlefield.
"It’s all because of the people of this city," he said flatly, his voice devoid of any warmth. "The fools of Drakemire have gone senile—they’re meddling with forces they shouldn’t even whisper about. Now, even the dragons have been stirred from their ancient dens."
A silence settled over the group like the hush after a funeral dirge. The room itself seemed to hold its breath, shadows dancing across old stone as torchlight flickered along the walls.
Ethan frowned, brows knitting together. "What do you mean, Grandmaster? Can you elaborate?"
Daniel crossed his arms, his stance tense, jaw set like a man preparing for battle. "Yeah. I don’t get half of what you’re implying. Sounds like something big—and if we’re part of it, we need the full picture."
Vandelion let out a long, slow breath, a sound like wind stirring through the bones of a battlefield long forgotten.
He stepped toward a nearby column, resting a weathered hand against its cold stone surface. His gauntlet made a faint scrape against the worn etchings carved there decades ago.
It was as if he were grounding himself—bracing against memories no one else in the room could see.
"I arrived with Sir Kellan and a small scout unit two days before the main delegation," he began, voice heavy with burden. "It was meant to be routine—a diplomatic courtesy. Nothing more than formality. But as soon as we entered the lower city, I sensed it. The mana in the air—it’s... wrong. Like something ancient’s been awakened, or worse, unsealed."
He turned to face them. His eyes, a deep, unsettling gray, seemed to glint in the firelight—sharp, calculating, as if they could cut through the veil of illusion itself.
"We found markings. Strange, circular glyphs etched into stone—burned in with a magic that doesn’t belong to any known school. Not divine, not arcane. Closer to blood rites. Crude, yet terrifyingly deliberate. They weren’t made in haste. These were ceremonial."
Reyna’s brows rose in alarm. "Blood magic? In a city guarded by dragonkind? That’s bold. And reckless."