The primordial beast of ash

Chapter 9

"Close your mouth, Mercer, unless you want to swallow the ash."

Ethan stepped off the steaming carcass of the Earth Tremor Bear, his voice cutting through the thick, sulfurous fog. Solis trotted silently to his side, the sleek, obsidian dragon shaking his dark scales as the last of the black flame flickered out in his throat. The ancient royal crest on his forehead dimmed, settling back into a quiet, pulsing hum beneath the dark skin.

Sophia looked up from the dirt, her fingers still trembling against her bloodened sleeve. The shock of witnessing a supposed genetic failure effortlessly dissolve a Tier-4 colossus had completely overridden the pain of her shattered shoulder.

"I know what I saw, Vance," Sophia said, her voice dropping to a fierce, terrified whisper as she struggled to her feet. "The Merchant Guild handles archives stretching back to the founding of the first outer wall. That symbol on his head... it belongs to the Primeval Lineage. If the High Elders find out what you are holding—"

"They will try to kill him again," Ethan interrupted coldly, wiping a smear of dark bear grease from his cheek. "Just like they tried on the summoning platform. The only difference is, this time we can fight back."

Sophia went quiet, her emerald eyes darting from Ethan’s hardened expression to the ruins of the forest around them. She could still feel the residual density of the chaos aura in the air; it made the natural mana in her own core feel sluggish, almost submissive.

"You saved my life," she said softly, the pale, soothing light of her healing magic finally stabilizing around her torn shoulder. "The Crest family ambushed my wagon because we refused to grant them exclusive distribution rights to the upcoming harvest of volcanic crystals. They want total monopoly over the city's power grid before the City Trial begins."

"Then we have a common enemy," Ethan said, reaching down to offer her a hand.

Sophia hesitated for a fraction of a second before gripping his forearm, letting him pull her up. "I can give you resources, Ethan. Secret training grounds outside the district, unrefined ores, and guild protection to hide your signature. But you have to promise me one thing."

"I do not make promises, Mercer," Ethan muttered, turning his gaze back toward the towering stone walls of Sky-Reach visible through the treeline. "I make deals. What do you want?"

"When the time comes to break the Crest family," Sophia said, her jaw tightening as she looked at the blood on her sleeve, "I want to be the one who buys their assets."

Ethan let out a short, humorless laugh, his eyes flashing with a spark of dark amusement. "Deal. But you had better start moving. The sound wave from that alpha wolf will have attracted every border scout within a three-mile radius."

"Wait," Sophia called out as Ethan whistled softly to Solis. "You need to be careful if you are planning to return to the city districts. The High Elders aren't stupid. They know that pillar of golden magma from the black market wasn't an accident."

Ethan paused, his back to her. "What are you trying to say?"

"The Crest family has already moved their private enforcers to the outer perimeters," Sophia warned, her voice tight with genuine concern. "They have initiated a total lockdown on the city gates for the registration phase of the City Trial. They are going to screen every single participant's beast energy signature with an advanced scanning array. If they detect even a fraction of that chaos frequency..."

"They won't," Ethan said, stepping back into the dense, foggy thicket, Solis dissolving into the dark shadows at his heels. "By the time they realize what we are, it will be too late to stop it."

---

One month later.

The morning sun beat down ruthlessly on the high stone archway of the Southern Gate. A suffocating mass of hundreds of young tamers, merchants, and low-tier mercenaries shuffled forward in a tight, sweating line, all waiting to register for the most prestigious tournament in the district—the City Trial.

Ethan stood near the back of the crowd, a heavy burlap cloak pulled low over his face to shield his eyes from the glare. Beneath the rough fabric, his posture was entirely fluid, his body relaxed but primed. Beside his ankle, hidden under the sweeping hem of the cloak, Solis moved like a silent shadow, his breathing perfectly synchronized with Ethan's heart.

The line crawled forward, one by one, until Ethan finally reached the heavily fortified checkpoint.

Standing right beside the registration desk, flanked by four elite guards in gleaming gold-and-crimson armor, was Asher Crest. The young noble looked immaculate, his silver-trimmed academy coat devoid of a single speck of dust. In his right hand, Asher casually balanced a massive, multi-faceted energy-scanning crystal that hummed with a sharp, static charge.

"Next," the gate warden grunted, not even looking up from his parchment.

Ethan took a steady step forward, crossing the threshold of the iron gate.

The moment his boot touched the stone platform, the advanced scanning crystal in Asher’s hand didn't just vibrate—it flared with a violent, deafening screech. The smooth, blue core of the gem turned a blinding, aggressive shade of flashing red, casting a bloody light across the stone archway.

Asher’s eyes snapped up from the crowd, his gaze locking instantly onto the hooded figure before him as his knuckles turned white around the vibrating crystal.