The return journey from the mountains ended te at night.

  By the time Karnan and the knights reached the capital, most of the city was asleep.

  Only the pace torches burned along the outer walls.

  Guards opened the gates quietly.

  No cheering crowds this time.

  No chanting.

  Just silence and the distant sound of wind moving through the streets.

  Karnan dismounted slowly.

  His body felt tired.

  Not from wounds.

  But from the constant tension of the journey.

  The ambush.

  The adaptive wolves.

  The strange system message.

  Everything had left his mind restless.

  Serelis stopped beside him before heading toward the pace.

  "You should rest," she said.

  Her eyes studied him carefully.

  "The trial awakened more than just your Dragon Mark."

  Karnan nodded slightly.

  "I noticed."

  Serelis gave a faint smile.

  "I'm sure you did."

  Then she turned and disappeared into the castle corridors.

  The knights dismissed themselves soon after.

  Within minutes, Karnan stood alone in the quiet courtyard.

  Above him, the sky was clear.

  Thousands of stars filled the darkness.

  For a moment he simply stood there.

  Breathing.

  Letting the silence settle.

  Then he walked toward the guest chamber the pace had given him.

  The room was simple.

  Stone walls.

  A wooden table.

  A single bed near the window.

  Not very different from his old apartment.

  That thought made him pause.

  The memory of his real world still felt close.

  Too close.

  He sat on the edge of the bed.

  Radiant Sync appeared again.

  Radiant Sync: 11%Radiant Affinity: 3%

  The numbers were slowly rising.

  Without training.

  Without effort.

  Something inside him was developing on its own.

  That fact bothered him.

  He y down and closed his eyes.

  Just to rest for a moment.

  Just to clear his thoughts.

  But the moment sleep took him—

  Everything changed.

  He stood in darkness.

  No walls.

  No ground.

  Just endless bck space stretching in every direction.

  Karnan looked around.

  His body felt normal.

  But the air here felt... different.

  Heavy.

  Ancient.

  Then he noticed something ahead.

  Two lights floating in the darkness.

  One red.

  One gold.

  They burned like small suns.

  As he stepped closer, the red light expanded.

  Fmes spread outward.

  Forming massive wings.

  Cws.

  A long scaled body.

  A dragon.

  Not made of flesh.

  But made of crimson fire.

  Its eyes opened slowly.

  Ancient intelligence stared down at him.

  "So..."

  The dragon's voice echoed through the void.

  "...you finally arrived."

  Karnan remained calm.

  Even though the creature before him was enormous.

  "You're the voice."

  The dragon tilted its head slightly.

  "Yes."

  Its eyes narrowed.

  "But you..."

  "...are strange."

  Karnan crossed his arms slightly.

  "I've heard that a lot recently."

  The dragon circled him slowly.

  Its fming body moved through the darkness like living fire.

  "You carry my fme."

  It gestured toward the red light.

  "The Crimson Mark."

  Then its gaze shifted toward the golden light floating nearby.

  "And something foreign."

  The golden radiance pulsed softly.

  Calm.

  Warm.

  Different from the aggressive dragon fire.

  Karnan looked at both lights.

  "So that's what the dragon spirit meant."

  The dragon stopped moving.

  Its eyes focused on the golden radiance.

  "I do not know this power."

  That statement carried weight.

  This creature clearly represented ancient dragon consciousness.

  And even it didn't recognize the golden fme.

  Karnan studied the two lights.

  The crimson fme felt fierce.

  Wild.

  Powerful.

  The golden radiance felt steady.

  Controlled.

  Almost peaceful.

  Two completely different energies.

  The dragon spoke again.

  "Your body holds both."

  Karnan nodded.

  "So it seems."

  The dragon's wings spread slightly.

  "That should not be possible."

  The red fme flickered violently.

  "Dragon fire consumes all other power."

  Its gaze returned to the golden radiance.

  "Yet this one remains."

  The golden light pulsed again.

  Quiet.

  Stable.

  Almost like it was ignoring the dragon entirely.

  Karnan stepped closer to it.

  Warmth spread across his hand.

  Comforting.

  Familiar.

  The dragon's voice became more serious.

  "You must understand something, human."

  Karnan looked back.

  The dragon lowered its massive head.

  "Two suns cannot burn in one sky."

  The words echoed through the darkness.

  Karnan frowned slightly.

  "What happens if they try?"

  The dragon's eyes glowed brighter.

  "One will destroy the other."

  The crimson fmes around the dragon grew stronger.

  "And if neither yields..."

  The dragon paused.

  "Then the sky itself burns."

  Silence followed.

  Karnan looked at the two lights again.

  Crimson fme.

  Golden radiance.

  Both pulsing inside the same space.

  Inside him.

  Two sources of power.

  Two ancient forces.

  And according to the dragon—

  They were not meant to coexist.

  Karnan turned back to the dragon.

  "So eventually they'll fight."

  The dragon didn't hesitate.

  "Yes."

  Simple.

  Direct.

  Inevitable.

  Karnan sighed quietly.

  "Great."

  The dragon studied him again.

  "You do not fear this?"

  Karnan shrugged slightly.

  "I fear a lot of things."

  "But panic doesn't solve problems."

  The dragon seemed amused.

  "A strategist."

  Karnan didn't deny it.

  "If two powers are inside me..."

  "...then I'll figure out how to control them."

  The dragon watched him carefully.

  Then it ughed.

  A deep rumbling sound that shook the void.

  "Interesting human."

  Its fming wings folded slowly.

  "Perhaps that is why you were chosen."

  Karnan frowned.

  "Chosen by who?"

  The dragon didn't answer.

  Instead the darkness around them began dissolving.

  The dream was ending.

  But before everything disappeared—

  The dragon spoke once more.

  "Remember this."

  The crimson fmes burned brighter.

  "Power attracts power."

  "And the stronger you become..."

  "...the more ancient things will awaken."

  The golden radiance pulsed again.

  Bright.

  Calm.

  Unshaken.

  Then the void colpsed.

  Karnan woke suddenly.

  Morning light filled the room.

  His chest felt warm.

  Radiant Sync flickered again.

  Radiant Sync: 12%Radiant Affinity: 4%

  The numbers had changed.

  The dream hadn't been just a dream.

  He sat up slowly.

  Looking at his hands.

  Two fmes.

  Two powers.

  One body.

  And somewhere deep inside—

  Two ancient forces were already watching each other.

  Waiting for the day when one of them would finally rise.

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