My Trash Talent Is Actually OP!

The rooftop started to clear after that.

Tay was the first to move. He shoved his hands deep into his pockets and gave Asher a lazy salute.

"I'm heading out," he said. "I need sleep before my face falls off."

Emma rolled her eyes at him but didn't argue. She brushed her hair back behind her ear and walked over to Asher.

"You'll be alright?" she asked, voice low.

Asher nodded, even though his body ached and his head felt like it was stuffed with sand.

"I'll manage."

Emma hesitated for a second like she wanted to say more. But then she just smiled a little and turned away, following Tay down the stairs.

Nova lingered.

She didn't say anything at first, just watched Asher with a hard look, like she was measuring something inside him.

Then she moved, grabbing Cinder by the arm. The girl didn't fight, but she didn't look happy either.

"Come on," Nova said. "You're staying with us tonight."

Cinder glared up at her but didn't pull away. She looked back at Asher once, her eyes still burning with something fierce and bitter more of guilt then a little hate, before Nova dragged her along.

Nova shot Asher a look before leaving, a look that said, We're watching her. Don't worry.

Asher gave her a tired nod.

Finally, only he and Sinnett were left on the rooftop.

The wind picked up, tugging at their clothes and scattering the leftover ashes into the night.

Sinnett stepped closer, and whispered

"Come on," he said. "There's a cemetery about a block from your house."

Asher stiffened a little.

"Now?" he asked.

"You need them," Sinnett said simply. "And it's better to raise them while your connection to Zero is fresh. You're in the right... space."

Asher didn't feel like he was in any kind of good space. He felt like a truck had run him over, backed up, and hit him again for good measure.

Still, he knew Sinnett was right.

He tucked the cloth of ashes tighter into his jacket and followed him down the stairs.

---

The streets were quiet.

It was late, close to midnight and the whole city seemed to be holding its breath. Even the streetlights looked dimmer than usual, their yellow light pooling weakly on the cracked sidewalks.

Asher limped along, his muscles were still sore, his mind racing faster than he could keep up with.

Zero walked behind them like a shadow, silent and steady.

She didn't make a sound. No footsteps, no breathing, nothing. If Asher didn't keep glancing back to check, he might have forgotten she was even there.

They passed a few broken buildings, an old store with shattered windows, and a rusted-out car that had been sitting in the same spot so long it had moss growing inside.

The cemetery wasn't hard to find.

It was surrounded by a low, crumbling stone wall, and the iron gate hung half-open, squeaking softly when the wind hit it.

Asher hesitated at the entrance, it was the same cemetery but then it felt strange for no reason.

He wasn't scared exactly, but something about stepping into a place meant for the dead while carrying the ashes of a lost soul felt... heavy.

Especially after knowing there was someone who steals souls on the loose and the unknown information he hadn't gotten about the dragons and the cemetery they were buried it.

Or why it was behind his house.

Sinnett didn't wait for him.

He pushed through the gate and walked inside without a glance back.

Asher swallowed and followed.

The cemetery was old.

Most of the graves were just worn stones, the names carved into them faded or completely gone. Weeds had eaten most of the paths, and broken statues leaned sideways, half-swallowed by dirt.

The moon hung low in the sky, casting long shadows between the graves.

Sinnett led him deeper where Asher and Nova hadn't gone, weaving between the stones with a sure step, until they reached a clearing near the center, north of the ivy tree.

There, a giant oak tree stood, its roots twisting around several cracked tombstones.

"This spot will do," Sinnett said.

Asher looked around.

It didn't feel different from the rest of the cemetery, still broken, still forgotten,but there was something in the air here.

Sinnett turned to him, serious.

"You need to open yourself up to them," he said. "Same way you did with Zero. But this time... don't wait. Call to them."

Asher frowned.

"How?" he asked. "What if they're gone? What if there's nothing left?"

Sinnett smiled slightly. Just a small tug at the corner of his mouth.

"They're not gone," he said. "You're their anchor now. Just reach."

Asher wasn't sure how to 'just reach,' but he knew better than to argue at this point.

He took a breath, closed his eyes, and focused.

At first, there was nothing.

Just the cold air against his skin, the distant sound of a dog barking somewhere far away.

But then, he felt it, like a small voice or a finger reaching out to him.

Soon there were dozens of them, thin, fragile strands connecting him to something he couldn't quite name, if he was to name it he would call it a hole.

Memories flashed through him, quick images.

A dragon soaring over a burning field.

A knight kneeling before a massive golden beast.

Claws striking stone. Wings slicing through the storm, sixteen winged people, with all different kinds of wings but they were faceless, except the two blue eyed ones that he assumed were Nova and Zero

It all rushed into him at once, making him stagger.

Zero moved forward, placing a steady hand on his back, grounding him.

"You're alright," she said into his mind, her voice came as a soft echo. "We are here."

Asher grit his teeth and pushed forward.

He let the blood drip again from his palm after applying pressure, letting it hit the dirt beneath the old oak tree.

Then ground trembled,like an earthquake, but it was softer, the closest thing to a pulse in the wrist.

The earth cracked open at the base of the tree.

And from the cracks, smoke began to rise, thick black smoke.

Then they materialised into different shapes, large, normal sized, horns, massive wings, tails.

Dozens of them.

Each one looked different. Some were sleek and black as night; others were shimmering silver or deep crimson. Some had scales like armor; others looked like living shadows.

They circled above the tree, low and slow, watching Asher with glowing amber eyes.

None of them spoke.

But he felt their questions anyway.

Who calls?

Who dares?

Who binds?

And most of all, the desire for revenge.

He took a deep breath.

"My name is Asher Morgan," he said aloud. "I call you back. I bind you to me... if you will have me as your master."

'If not you remain dead either way.' he said to himself, despite his anxiousness but he knew without him they would remain dead.

For a moment, everything was silent.

Even the wind seemed to stop.

Then, one by one, the dragons began to lower themselves toward him.

They moved carefully, reverently, as if this moment meant as much to them as it did to him.

The first dragon, a massive beast with jagged black scales and eyes like burning coals, knelt before him.

The others followed.

"Name them," Sinnett said from the corner who stood, unaffected by what was going on. It was safe to say, he wasn't even intimidated by their presence.

Asher blinked.

"What?"

"Name them," Sinnett repeated. "Give them names, or they will fade again."

Asher's heart hammered in his chest.

He looked at the first dragon.

He didn't know where the words came from, but they rose in his mind without hesitation.

"Varyn," he said.

The dragon lowered its head further, accepting the name like a crown.

Asher moved down the line.

Each dragon solidified more, their forms growing clearer, more real.

By the time he finished naming the last one, a slender dragon with scales like glass, the clearing was full of life.

It didn't feel like a cemetery anymore.

Asher staggered back, his strength almost completely drained.

Zero caught him before he hit the ground, steadying him with surprising gentleness.

Sinnett nodded in approval.

"You've done well," he said. "Although this is still small."

Asher just rolled his eyes, and turned to his new soldiers, he was too tired to even think or say anything.

He looked up at the dragons, who were slowly fading into the shadows around the cemetery, waiting for his call when he needed them.

Till they vanished completely and the red system screen appeared, as usual.

[Congratulations, First Dragon Awakening complete]

[To unlock full potential the following are required ]

[Two souls and the blood of a living dragon]

Asher just sighed, it was the same requirement only that it added the blood of a dragon now.

And that would the stressful, especially when he had to think of who to kill to do that, even if it was wrong.

Sinnett patted him on the shoulder, before helping him stand.

"Come on," he said. "Let's get you home and get the others."

"What others?"

"First to thirteenth seated dragons idiot."