Tyrant System: Rise of the Dragonblooded

The villa still smoked as Rin, a streak of white fire against the morning sky, arrived. The gates were shattered, bodies strewn across the courtyard. He landed in silence, armored boots crunching ash and stone underfoot.

Inside a half-destroyed bedroom, Selvara knelt beside her father, Varros. Varros was deathly pale, soaked in blood, his breaths weak and rattling. The pooling blood mingled with shattered glass and broken furniture. Selvara looked up, her face streaked with tears and soot. "Your Highness," she choked out, "He's still alive… barely…"

Rin approached slowly, then knelt. Varros's eyes opened just a crack. "Your… Highness…" he rasped.

"Rest," Rin said. "We'll save you."

Varros coughed a dry laugh, spraying blood. "No… listen…" His hand twitched upward towards Rin's chest, but didn't reach. Instead, his soul flickered,a faint red glow, invisible to Selvara, emerged from his heart. Rin blinked. A voice echoed in his mind:

> "This is the legacy of my bloodline,l created by my father, hidden in me, meant only for my heir. I pass it… to my grandchild. Guide him. Protect him."

>

Rin's eyes widened slightly. The soul fragment then entered Selvara's womb, vanishing. Selvara gasped. "Father!?" He smiled faintly at her, whispered something inaudible, and then died.

Rin closed Varros's eyes with a gloved hand. He stood, his wings spreading wide.

> "Selvara. Your father entrusted everything… to your child. From now on, you are to be protected above all else.">

She nodded, tears streaming.

In a shadowed forest clearing just beyond the villa, Dren waited, then dropped to one knee. "You should go now," Rin said flatly. "I'll come soon." Dren nodded and ran.

Rin donned his black armor. Then, he roared:

> "DREN! TRAITOR!">

His voice thundered through the valley. Nobles and soldiers from nearby patrols arrived moments later, drawn by the flames, the blood, the spectacle. They arrived just in time to see Dren, gasping and staggering through the trees, and Rin, descending from the skies with his white wings, eyes blazing.

The fight was brutal. Onlookers saw only raw fury,Rin smashing into Dren with a blast of flame and speed, white wings clashing against shadows. Dren fought back just enough to make it convincing. Swords clashed, trees exploded, and the ground cracked beneath their blows.

Rin shouted:

> "THIS is what Kaelion sends against me?! Assassins?! Murderers?!"

>

Dren shouted back, his voice shaking:

> "You're the monster! Nothing will belong to you!">

The final blow came with a burst of white flame from Rin's mouth, enhanced by his 59% blood purity and his dragon brand pulsing beneath his skin. Dren collapsed in a heap, alive but defeated. Rin stepped over him.

> "Tell your master," he said, loud enough for everyone to hear, "I will not break. For every dog he sends to me, I will kill him.">

Gasps and murmurs swept through the crowd. One noble whispered, "He fought a powerful individual… and won." Another added, "At this age? Alone?" A soldier knelt. Then another. Then more. Rin didn't acknowledge these " worms." they just kneel to anyone that is strong He was looking at his hand; it trembled slightly, energy coiling through his body. And then it happened.

[DING]

> Tyrant System: Evolution Triggered.

> Blood Purity: 60% achieved.

> New Ability Acquired: Tyrant's Echo.

Rin felt the change tear through him. His frame pulsed, his energy expanded. His wings shimmered with raw force. His white scales took on a faint sheen of gold, his aura thickening with dread and awe. The crowd didn't know what they were seeing, but they felt it: the pressure, the magnitude, the dominion. They bowed. Even the nobles who had hesitated,those once loyal to Kaelion,bowed their heads in silent fear.

Outside, chaos reigned. Dren was gone, having slipped away through the trees during the smoke and panic. Only a few loyal scouts had glimpsed his silhouette,fast, agile, wounded, but alive. Rin had staged the scene well: flames in the woods, claw marks on trees, a shattered patch of earth suggesting a massive battle. To everyone else, Rin had fought and wounded Dren, but the traitor had barely escaped. And that was the story that spread.

The nobles gathered around the ruined estate in awe. "Did you see it?" "He fought a strong ex-general and survived?" "He saved Varros's family…" "The Solas blood is awakening." One man muttered, "Kaelion's hands… are stained."

Rin stood before the crowd, eyes grim, armor streaked from the staged battle, but unbowed. He raised a hand to silence them.

> "Varros was ambushed. His life ended by betrayal. But before his death, he entrusted me with his legacy.">

> "His final words were for this nation,and for the child he now leaves behind.">

> "I will honor him. And I will make the traitors pay.">

The crowd erupted into cries of loyalty. They had seen power. They had seen grief. They had seen control. And they chose Rin.

In the far reaches of Kaelion's region, Dren knelt before Kaelion, bloodied and ash-covered. "I failed to kill him," he said. "But I killed Varros."

Kaelion's expression didn't change. "And Rin?"

"Fought me. Hurt me very badly. But… I barely managed to escape."

Kaelion nodded. "Good. Then everything proceeds. Rin will burn eventually. But let him play king for now."

Back in his chambers, Rin sat silently. The soul key now resided within him,dormant, warm, resonating faintly with Selvara's presence and the unborn child.

> It's done, Rin thought.

> Varros is gone. The army is mine. And now, the empire will begin to tilt.>