The plane touched down on Kavaria's private tarmac just past midnight.
Chess descended the ramp in a dark-grey overcoat, his presence cutting through the chilled air like a blade. No entourage. No formalities. Just him—and the weight of centuries hidden in his blood.
Waiting for him beside a black SUV was Elsa.
Their eyes locked.
No words.
She walked toward him with purpose, then paused as she stood inches away. The night wrapped around them, silent and sacred.
"You came fast," she said.
"You called," he replied simply.
And for a moment, the chaos of everything else faded.
They drove in silence through winding roads, passing through the outer ring of Kavaria's ancient district. The city had a quiet reverence to it at night—like it was remembering itself.
Inside the SUV, Elsa handed Chess the scroll tube. "Oran says it reacts to your blood. Nothing else works."
Chess took it gently, then turned it over. The outer casing shimmered slightly in his hand, as if recognizing him.
Elsa's gaze lingered on his fingers.
"Do you ever think about what your bloodline really means?" she asked.
Chess was quiet for a beat.
"Every day," he murmured. "It's not a legacy I carry. It's a prison I escaped."
They arrived at the sealed chamber beneath Kavaria's citadel an hour later. Oran was already waiting, standing beside the altar where the slab and scroll now sat, untouched.
"This is it," Oran said, his voice tinged with awe. "We're standing on one of the original resting grounds of the Seven Seals."
The walls around them pulsed faintly with ancient energy.
Chess stepped forward. "Let's begin."
He unwrapped the scroll and placed it on the stone slab. The glyphs glowed faintly—but refused to open.
Oran looked nervous. "It needs blood."
Without hesitation, Chess took a ceremonial blade from the nearby table and sliced a shallow cut across his palm.
Elsa instinctively moved closer, but Chess offered a reassuring glance.
"I've had worse," he said softly.
He let a few drops fall onto the scroll.
The reaction was instant.
A golden glow surged from the glyphs, rising in spirals. Symbols reorganized themselves, and a portion of the stone slab cracked open—revealing a sunken chamber beneath it.
A stairway. Descending into darkness.
Elsa stared. "What is this?"
Chess narrowed his eyes.
"The next trial," he whispered.
Oran looked visibly shaken. "This… wasn't in any record. We thought the chamber would hold a map. Not another door."
Chess handed Elsa a light-emitting rune from the altar. "Stay close. Whatever lies beneath isn't meant for just anyone."
Together, they descended.
Lower Caverns of Kavaria
The stairway opened into a vast underground dome carved into obsidian rock. Stalagmites rose like black fangs from the ground, and in the center—suspended by chains of glowing gold—was a coffin.
Not just any coffin.
It was breathing.
Elsa froze. "Is that… alive?"
Chess's jaw tightened. "No. It's what remains of a Guardian."
He stepped forward, cautious. "This is a test. The second seal doesn't just hide knowledge—it defends it."
Suddenly, the coffin shuddered.
Chains rattled.
A burst of smoke erupted from its seams, forming a massive spectral dragon above it—its body translucent, glowing with violet fire.
The dragon's voice boomed.
"Who dares awaken the legacy of the Veiled Flame?"
Chess didn't flinch. He stepped into the beast's aura and met its burning eyes.
"I am Chess Golding, blood of the Dragon Son. I claim what was hidden—not for power, but to end what others have started."
The dragon studied him, then turned its gaze to Elsa.
"And she?"
Elsa lifted her chin. "I'm not of his blood. But I've bled for him. Fought beside him. I carry his secrets as my own."
The cavern pulsed with approval.
The chains glowed brighter.
The dragon lowered its head.
"Then let the second seal be passed to you."
The chains unraveled with a thunderous crack, and the coffin slowly opened—revealing a glowing, palm-sized golden sigil shaped like a flame encased in crystal.
Chess stepped forward, retrieved it, and as his fingers touched the crystal, a surge of heat rushed through him.
Visions.
A war lost to time. A betrayal from within the sect. A woman with silver eyes standing atop a scorched mountain, holding the broken remains of the first seal.
He staggered.
Elsa caught him instantly. "Chess!"
He blinked, grounding himself again.
"I'm fine," he said, breathless. "But we need to leave. Now."
Above Ground – Moments Later
As they emerged from the catacombs, the moon was already high.
Elsa looked at him. "What did you see?"
He didn't answer right away.
Then finally:
"Someone's been hunting the seals longer than we have. And she's close."
Elsa frowned. "She?"
Chess nodded slowly, still shaken. "She wore silver eyes. Just like the myths said. And she knew my name."
Elsewhere – Watching From Afar
A cloaked figure stood atop a mountain on the edge of Kavaria, watching the city below.
In her hand, a shard of crystal pulsed in sync with the second seal.
She smiled.
"They found it," she whispered.
Then she vanished.