Tyrant System: Rise of the Dragonblooded

The factory shrieked, a sound that sliced through the air and jolted Rin and Kaelion into action. Giants just moments ago, they were now like soldiers, charging back into the heart of the chaos. There could only be one explanation: someone was after the bomb.

The interior was cloaked in an even deeper gloom. Every screen, once a beacon of light, was now a blank canvas of black. The floor still trembled, a faint tremor beneath their feet. Kaelion's eyes narrowed, a prickle of unease crawling up his spine. Something was terribly wrong.

They burst into the core chamber simultaneously, only to be stopped dead in their tracks. Two figures stood before the Soul Bomb: Selvara. And Orien.

Kaelion's mouth fell open. "How…?" He hadn't seen them enter. No one had gotten past them. A cold dread seeped into him. Had he lost?

Rin stood beside him, just as bewildered. His gaze lingered on Selvara,her rigid posture, her unreadable face. Something was off. He reached inward, a familiar instinct, trying to activate the dragon wing bloodline within Orien and Selvara.

Nothing.

They were untouched. Or worse,out of reach.

Rin's expression hardened. Orien looked older, ten, maybe twenty years, his features strained and tired, aged far beyond what should have been possible in the short time since they last met. This isn't right.

Kaelion glanced at Rin, the mirrored confusion confirming it: this wasn't his trick.

Selvara took a step forward, her voice unnervingly calm. "I'm finally alone with the two of you," she said, her words a chilling pronouncement. "My father's killer. My brother's killer."

Rin blinked. "Honey, what are you talking about? This isn't the place to joke...."

"FUCK YOU!" she screamed, her voice cracking. "You piece of fucking shit. Just shut up. You snake." Her eyes blazed, looking at Rin as if he'd plunged a knife into her heart. "I thought I could start over. I thought we had something real. I thought you cared about me. And my family… my family gave you everything. They trusted you. I trusted you."

Rin remained still, his voice steady. "I don't know what he told you, but you know I'd never do that. He's the traitor here, not me. Selvara… you have to trust me."

But then Orien stepped forward too, his face grim. "Sir… I couldn't refuse you back then. I thought maybe it was for the greater good. But as time passed… I realized. You're dangerous. Unpredictable. I feared for my brothers. For my people. I'm sorry."

Kaelion seized the moment, his voice dripping with fake sympathy. "Princess Selvara," he said smoothly. "It seems there's a misunderstanding. Rin was the one who killed your brothers. Not me."

Selvara's eyes flared. "Liar!" she spat. "How long are you going to treat me like a fool? I know everything. It's ironic, isn't it? That two traitors will be killed by another traitor."

That stopped them cold. Rin and Kaelion looked at her, then at Orien. The boy's expression was solemn.

"Lord Arkan told us everything," Orien said. "He helped us. Helped us surpass the bloodline seal. He showed us who you both really are."

Kaelion instinctively stepped back. "That's… impossible. He's my father's Wing. He can't disobey. He can't even think of betrayal."

Rin's jaw clenched. "And my blood isn't something that can just be stolen or suppressed."

Orien gestured around the ruined chamber. "And yet… here we are."

Rin's voice dropped, a desperate plea. "Selvara. You've been set up. Both of you. Whatever Arkan told you,it's not the whole truth. Listen to me."

But she shook her head, her gaze resolute. "No," she whispered. "I don't want to hear another word from you. Just die."

She raised her arm. In her hand was a red orb, not merely large, but massive,far bigger than the prototype Rin had once detonated.

His eyes went wide with horror. "Selvara, NO! You'll die too...."

She ignored him. Rin activated the Tyrant's Echo, pouring every ounce of mental force into stopping them, but it bounced off, repelled by a barrier neither of them had sensed before. A hidden force shielded the two.

Selvara's hand clenched around the orb.

Rin vanished in a blur, running.

But...

BOOM.

The factory exploded behind him, a deafening roar. Fire swallowed everything. Walls tore apart, steel shrieked, twisting into grotesque shapes. The shockwave launched him across the mountainside, slamming him into a stone ridge.

He rolled, coughing, smoke filling his lungs. He staggered forward,only to slam into something invisible.

A wall.

Smooth. Cold. Hidden.

It wouldn't let him pass. His hand touched it, and something ancient stirred behind the barrier.

Rin froze. What the hell is this place?

Then,a voice. Faint. Mechanical. Familiar.

> "Trial confirmed. Initiating core extraction sequence.">

The wall began to glow.

And Rin realized....

This wasn't over.

It had just begun.