Chapter 2: The Mark Reveals

Three days after Kai's conversation with his grandmother, everything changed.

It started during the harvest festival. The entire village had gathered in the central square, lanterns strung between buildings, the smell of roasted meat and sweet wine filling the air.

Kai was helping carry barrels when he heard the screams.

A shadow fell over the village, blocking out the sun. He looked up and felt his blood turn to ice.

A dragon. Not the majestic creature from his dreams, but something twisted and wrong. Its scales were a sickly gray, and black smoke poured from between its teeth. A corrupted beast, the elders called them. Monsters that had lost their minds to dark cultivation.

"Everyone, run!" the village chief shouted. "Get to the shelters!"

But Kai couldn't move. His feet were rooted to the ground as the dragon descended, its malevolent eyes fixed directly on him.

"You," the beast growled, its voice like grinding stones. "I can smell it on you. The royal bloodline."

The dragon's mouth opened, flames gathering in its throat.

In that moment, something inside Kai snapped.

The warmth he'd felt for weeks exploded outward. Golden light erupted from his body, and on his forehead, a mark blazed to life. A dragon coiled around a crown.

The corrupted beast recoiled, genuine fear crossing its twisted features.

"Impossible," it hissed. "The Monarch bloodline was supposed to be extinct!"

Kai raised his hand, moving on pure instinct. Words he had never learned poured from his lips in an ancient tongue.

"By the authority of the Dragon Throne, I command you: KNEEL."

The power behind those words shook the earth itself. The corrupted dragon crashed to the ground, its body trembling, unable to resist the absolute authority in Kai's voice.

Around him, the villagers watched in stunned silence.

Elder Mei stepped forward, tears streaming down her weathered face. "I always knew," she whispered. "From the day you were born with those golden eyes. The Dragon Monarch has finally returned."

Kai stared at his glowing hands, the mark still burning on his forehead.

His ordinary life was over.

His destiny had begun.