Propostrous
1350 Words
The world did not end quietly.
It screamed.
By nightfall, the city was no longer a city. It was a battlefield stitched together by fire and fear.
Buildings burned unchecked. Military sirens wailed and then cut off abruptly. Social media flooded with awakening videos — glowing sigils, monster sightings, ranking confirmations.
And one clip dominated every screen.
Aiden Kross.
SS-Rank.
Dominion Field.
Monster execution.
Within hours, the video had been replayed millions of times.
Speculation exploded.
“Government experiment?”
“Chosen by the sky?”
“Is SS the highest rank?”
“Is he human?”
At University Central, panic turned into strategy.
Because power changes behavior faster than fear ever could.
Marcus Hale stood in the center of the same courtyard where he had humiliated Aiden only hours earlier.
The fountain was cracked. Blood stained the marble. Two D-rank creatures lay dead near the gates.
And Marcus was glowing.
A brilliant golden sigil burned across his chest — a roaring lion with a mane like molten sunlight.
Above him shimmered translucent text:
A-Rank: Golden Sovereign Lion
Students gathered behind him.
Protection.
Safety.
Authority.
The lion aura radiating from him pushed weaker ranks to the back instinctively.
Lyra stood slightly behind his right shoulder.
Her own sigil shimmered faintly on her collarbone.
B-Rank: Seraph Radiance
White-gold wings etched in light.
Healing potential. Support affinity.
Not offensive.
Not dominant.
Marcus raised his hand and golden energy surged outward, slamming into a lunging C-rank monster.
The creature crashed into a pillar, skull crushed.
Cheers erupted.
“He’s stronger than the military!”
“Marcus can protect us!”
Marcus basked in it.
This felt right.
Power.
Respect.
Fear.
Then someone whispered—
“SS-Rank is coming here.”
The cheering faltered.
Marcus’ jaw tightened.
“I saw the broadcast,” he said sharply. “Rank doesn’t decide outcome. Control does.”
But even as he spoke, the memory replayed in his mind.
The pressure in that video.
The way the D-rank monster collapsed without being touched.
The sky labeling him “First Dominion Candidate.”
Marcus refused to feel threatened.
He was A-Rank.
He was born to rule.
He would not kneel to a delivery boy.
Across the city, Aiden walked through streets littered with debris and corpses.
His steps were unhurried.
Each time a creature sensed him, it reacted the same way—
Hesitation.
Instinctive retreat.
Even higher-ranked monsters avoided direct engagement unless provoked.
The dragon on his back pulsed rhythmically, as if breathing.
Inside his mind, a faint interface shimmered.
Not loud.
Not intrusive.
Simple.
SS-Rank Abyssal Dominion Dragon
Synchronization: 100%
Dominion Radius: 15 meters
Sigil Fragments Absorbed: 1
Evolution Progress: 3%
He understood it intuitively.
Not learned.
Remembered.
His power wasn’t adapting to him.
It had always belonged to him.
A distant explosion echoed toward campus.
Aiden stopped walking.
He turned his gaze in that direction.
University Central.
The place he had been told he didn’t belong.
A thin smile almost formed.
Then vanished.
He changed direction.
Back at the campus gates, tension rose.
Scouts had reported movement.
Monsters converging from multiple streets.
Marcus stood at the entrance, golden aura flaring brighter.
“Form perimeter!” he commanded.
Students with C and B-rank sigils stepped forward.
Improvised weapons glowed faintly.
A D-rank beast lunged through the smoke.
Marcus moved first.
His fist ignited with golden light and struck downward.
The impact cracked the pavement.
The creature split apart.
Cheers again.
Confidence returned.
Then the air changed.
Subtle at first.
A drop in temperature.
A weight pressing gently against skin.
Lyra felt it immediately.
Her Seraph sigil flickered.
Marcus noticed next.
His lion aura dimmed slightly.
“What is that…” someone whispered.
The pressure increased.
C-ranks began dropping to one knee.
D-ranks collapsed entirely.
Even Marcus’ breath grew heavier.
From the smoke at the end of the road, a silhouette emerged.
Slow.
Measured.
Aiden stepped into view.
No dramatic entrance.
No roar.
Just presence.
The dragon’s eyes glowed faintly through his torn shirt.
The air around him warped.
Marcus’ jaw clenched.
“Stay behind me,” he ordered, though his voice lacked its earlier certainty.
Aiden stopped ten meters away.
Within that space—
The ground subtly cracked outward in a circular pattern.
Dominion Field.
Activated.
Students fell instinctively.
Lyra gasped as her legs trembled but remained standing with effort.
Marcus forced golden energy to surge around him.
The lion behind his back roared in luminous defiance.
“Aiden,” Marcus called out. “This campus is under my protection.”
Aiden looked at him as if studying a distant object.
“I didn’t come for protection,” Aiden replied calmly.
His voice carried without strain.
“I came for territory.”
Silence dropped like a blade.
Marcus laughed, but it was sharp. Defensive.
“You think one higher rank makes you king?”
Aiden tilted his head slightly.
“You already know the answer.”
The lion aura flared violently.
Marcus lunged.
Golden energy exploded from his fist in a concentrated strike aimed at Aiden’s chest.
Gasps erupted.
Impact—
The shockwave shattered nearby glass.
Dust erupted.
For a split second, no one could see.
Then the dust settled.
Aiden hadn’t moved.
His hand was raised.
Marcus’ fist stopped inches from his body.
Caught.
Black energy coiled around Aiden’s fingers like smoke chains.
The lion’s roar distorted.
Marcus’ eyes widened.
“What—”
Aiden stepped forward.
The dominion pressure intensified.
Marcus’ knees buckled involuntarily.
He resisted.
Veins bulged in his neck.
Golden light cracked beneath the invisible weight.
Aiden leaned closer, voice low enough that only Marcus heard clearly.
“You told me to know my place.”
The dragon sigil flared brilliantly.
“This is it.”
The pressure spiked.
Marcus slammed to one knee.
The courtyard gasped collectively.
Phones were recording again.
History repeating—
But inverted.
Marcus roared and forced himself upright with raw will.
Golden claws manifested over his hands.
He swung again wildly.
Aiden sidestepped effortlessly.
Then placed a palm flat against Marcus’ chest.
The dragon’s eyes blazed.
A pulse of black energy erupted point-blank.
Marcus was launched backward across the courtyard, crashing through the broken fountain.
Silence.
His lion sigil flickered violently but did not shatter.
Aiden did not pursue.
He simply stood at the center of the courtyard.
Dominion Field expanding slowly.
“From this moment,” Aiden said calmly, “University Central falls under my authority.”
No one argued.
No one challenged.
Lyra stared at him.
Not in pity.
Not in regret.
But in realization.
The hierarchy had shifted permanently.
Aiden turned slightly toward her.
For a second, their eyes met.
There was no bitterness in his gaze.
No longing.
Only distance.
She understood then.
She had not left a poor boy.
She had misjudged a king before his throne rose.
Suddenly, the crimson sky flickered.
The global voice returned.
Stronger.
Clearer.
“First Territorial Claim Confirmed.”
A massive projection appeared above the campus, visible for miles.
Sector One – Provisional Ruler: Aiden Kross
Gasps spread across the city.
Other awakened elites watched from afar.
Military remnants observed via satellite.
Foreign broadcasts replayed the moment Marcus Hale knelt.
The system was evolving.
And so was he.
A faint notification appeared before Aiden’s eyes.
A-Rank Combat Evaluated.
Dominion Expansion Successful.
Evolution Progress: 11%
The dragon shifted slightly across his back.
Growing.
Aiden lifted his gaze to the fractured sky once more.
This was only the beginning.
Territory was claimed.
But the world was vast.
And somewhere beyond the horizon—
Other S-ranks were awakening.
Other rulers were rising.
And eventually…
They would challenge him.
Aiden welcomed the thought.
Power was no longer about proving others wrong.
It was about defining the world itself.
Behind him, students slowly rose—
Not cheering.
Not chanting.
Waiting.
For instruction.
For order.
For command.
Aiden finally spoke.
“Clear the bodies.”
His voice was steady.
“Reinforce the gates.”
He turned toward the main building.
“We build from here.”
No one questioned it.
The Lion had roared.
The Dragon had answered.
And the campus had chosen.
- Writer
