Chapter 3

I withdrew my icy gaze and closed my eyes, letting the couple lost in their delusions bark freely at the cliff's edge.

The royal guards had long grown impatient. Seeing me standing silent in the bitter wind, they approached like I carried the plague itself, shoving me without ceremony into the roiling black mist.

Weightlessness seized me instantly.

The chasm at the Rift's bottom held not a trace of light. The bone-cutting wind, thick with the stench of decay, howled through the darkness.

As the chains above locked shut with a dull echo, they'd dumped me here like refuse, then fled as if for their lives.

I braced against the rough stone wall, steadying myself as my eyes adjusted to the darkness. By the faint glow of leyline phosphorescence cutting through the death-tainted air, I made out the shape of what they called "the Empire's Curse"—the crippled dragon.

Kaelen lay motionless on a massive obsidian slab, eyes closed, breath so faint it seemed he might simply cease existing at any moment.

I crept closer, each step deliberate and silent.

When it hit me what he was actually lying on, my breath caught.

That was no ordinary stone—it was a complete slab of rare "Abyssal Permafrost," elemental magic's greatest prize. Any dragon capable of withstanding its lethal frost could use it to reforge their dragon crystal and amplify their magic exponentially.

By the pale blue luminescence radiating from the ice, I finally saw the true face of this dragon exiled for three millennia.

There was no trace of the revolting rotted flesh and festering sores the rumors described.

Instead, though clearly wracked by illness and ancient injuries, his face bore the sharp, austere beauty of a god. His cheeks were hollow, his skin deathly pale from millennia without sunlight—yet even in sleep, the sheer presence radiating from him was devastatingly beautiful.

This was nothing like the "decrepit, hideous monster" the royal family had painted.

After brief consideration, I brought my finger to my lips and bit down hard.

One drop. Two drops.

The rich crimson blood, carrying the ancient starborn dragon essence I could never fully conceal no matter how I tried, fell precisely into the crack between his pale, chapped lips.

The moment the blood seeped past his lips, a miracle occurred.

Kaelen released a low, hoarse cough and snapped his eyes open. The gray film in them hadn't fully cleared, but his gaze locked onto me like an abyssal predator identifying prey—utterly predatory.

I suppressed my instinctive tremor and tersely explained how the royal family had broken the engagement and thrown me into the abyss to forge a companion bond.

After hearing me out, not a flicker of surprise crossed his blade-sharp features. Those elongated eyes narrowed slightly, his voice ragged yet carrying undercurrents of profound meaning:

"So... it's you."

A chill ran down my spine. To protect my family, I absolutely could not expose my pure ancient starborn dragon bloodline. I immediately averted my gaze coldly, schooling my features into blankness.

Kaelen didn't press. He lowered his lashes thoughtfully and laughed—a low, dark sound:

"You have my gratitude... my mate. However, the magic within me remains unstable. As for completing the soul fusion through the marking ritual, I'm afraid I must ask you to wait a few more days."

Heat crept up my cheeks. I turned away from his gaze. "Focus on healing first."

Over the following days, I secretly mixed my starborn-infused blood into what he drank. His depleted magic recovered at a terrifying pace, until even the Abyssal Permafrost beneath him resonated with a humming vibration.

Several nights later, while the cold wind still raged outside the cavern, he pulled me into his arms with absolute certainty, finally completing our soul bond.

In the aftermath, clothes scattered around us, my gaze fell on the mark at his lower abdomen—a black scale edged in dark gold that seemed to devour light itself. An origin seal only a pureblooded Void Dragon King could bear.

Afterward, leaning against his burning chest, I finally asked the question I'd been holding back:

"With your Abyssal Void Dragon bloodline, how could you let the royal family degrade you like that?"

Kaelen's hand traced down my spine as a low, dark sound rumbled from his chest:

"I've lived three thousand years. Back then, to seize this permafrost from the deep sea, I was critically wounded by an ancient formation. To heal without interruption—and avoid the nauseating spectacle of royal politics—I sealed my magic and entered hibernation. But in that endless darkness, I sensed... that I was waiting for someone."

Every piece of the puzzle clicked into place instantly.

The one he'd been waiting for was me—or rather, the starborn bloodline within me that could awaken anything.

In my past life, when Seraphina was thrown into the abyss, the filthy dark magic in her body had directly caused the defenseless Kaelen's gruesome death. But in this life, fate had brought us together for mutual salvation.

The next day, as the abyss mist retreated in fear from his awakening and his magic recovered to more than half its strength, Kaelen decided to take me from this dead land to his true domain.

However, the moment we stepped past the boundary, we came face-to-face with Valerius and Seraphina, who stood surrounded by a royal guard detail, strutting about as if they owned the place.

Seeing me emerge unscathed, the smug expression on Valerius's face instantly darkened. He sneered with arrogant contempt:

"Aurelia, you lowly Crimson Flamedrake bitch still alive? Best not wear out that disabled old relic on the injury list—I don't want his corpse fouling my territory."

I was about to respond with a cold laugh when a powerful arm circled tight around my lower back.

Kaelen stepped forward, and the terrifying pressure of the Void Dragon instantly crushed the surrounding air. The guards' mounts shrieked and collapsed to their knees in unison.

He looked down at Valerius with absolute disdain: "What the hell are you? You think you're worthy to bark at my mate?"

Valerius staggered back under that invisible pressure, then roared in humiliated fury:

"I am the future Dragon Emperor of this realm! You blind cripple dare refuse to kneel? Aurelia, you're conspiring with outsiders—you're a disgrace to dragonkind!"

Kaelen's voice dropped lower, resonating with magic that made eardrums throb:

"Future Dragon Emperor? With your inferior Ashiron Drake genes? Peel back that gold-plated facade and you're not even worthy to lick my boots."

Valerius's face flushed dark with fury. Seraphina, seeing this, immediately placed her hand on her flat stomach, putting on a show of pity while failing to hide her smugness as she interrupted the standoff:

"Aurelia, don't be angry. Valerius and I deigned to come to this wretched place today not to fight with you." She lifted her chin high, eyes gleaming with barely contained triumph. "I'm pregnant."

She deliberately raised her voice, as though proclaiming a divine revelation: "Last night, the gods blessed me with a vision. I saw my son—a Golden Dragon of unparalleled magnificence! His soul addressed me directly, revealing it had twice traversed the astral realms before deeming my bloodline worthy."

"So, Aurelia, since you dabble in those quaint blood-reading arts, do enlighten us—what destiny awaits the child prophesied to surpass us all?"