SSS Ranked Reincarnation: Dark Dragon Legacy

Lyrax’s gaze lingered on Silva for a long moment before he finally spoke.

“The Council is asking where you’re from.”

Silva raised an eyebrow. “That’s their first question? What do they want with that information? I thought this planet was supposed to be a free space where everyone could do as they pleased.”

Lyrax gave a dry, humorless chuckle. “Do whatever they wanted? That’s funny,” he said, shaking his head. “That’s the illusion they feed people, to let them believe they have freedom. But true freedom doesn’t exist anywhere. Order and law must exist.”

He folded his arms, watching Silva closely. “Surely you know by now that the Arcane Council is law and order here. What they decree becomes reality. The freedom you think you have on this planet isn’t real, it’s just a longer leash.”

Silva smirked faintly. “And you’re just telling me that outright? I figured something like that would be kept secret.”

Lyrax laughed again, low and rough. “Not really. Everyone knows the Council is the law. But when beings are fed something that sounds nice, they cling to it. They want to believe in freedom. Deep down, though, they all know the truth.”

“Lyrax. Enough,” a voice boomed suddenly, cutting through his thoughts. It wasn’t spoken aloud but directly into his mind, one of the seven voices from the flames.

Lyrax stiffened. “Yes, Master. Yes, my Lord,” he replied mentally, lowering his head slightly before clearing his throat and speaking aloud again.

“So tell me, where exactly are you from?” Lyrax asked, his voice strained, as if pushing against invisible restraint.

Silva slowly shook his head. “I couldn’t tell you even if I wanted to.”

Lyrax’s expression hardened. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”

“My home planet is in a… delicate situation,” Silva said calmly. “And so is the god who rules over it. There’s a reason I can’t tell you, and won’t.”

Lyrax’s temper flared instantly. “You little brat!” he roared, his control snapping for a moment. “Who the hell do you think you are, refusing to give information to the Council?!”

“Stop it, Lyrax!” the voice thundered again in his mind, shaking the air inside his skull. “You are not here to ask questions for yourself. You are here to ask for us! Remember your place.”

Lyrax froze. His mouth opened, but no words came out. His jaw trembled with suppressed rage.

Silva watched him closely, then smiled faintly. “They’re talking to you, aren’t they?” he said. “Telling you to keep quiet.”

Lyrax didn’t respond, but the flicker in his eyes gave him away. Silva’s grin deepened.

“I can tell you want to speak freely,” he continued, “but they’re not letting you. You’re their mouthpiece, nothing more.”

Lyrax’s fists clenched, the veins on his temple pulsing. He wanted to shout back, to put Silva in his place—but the warning from the Council still rang sharp in his mind. So instead, he forced himself to breathe, to wait for the next command.

Then, as if prompted, he finally spoke again.

“Who exactly is the main god of your world?” Lyrax asked, his tone hollow, the question not his own.

“The main god of my world?” Silva repeated, his tone edged with irritation. “I literally just told you I can’t talk about my world because of certain… circumstances. There’s no way I’m revealing something like that to you.”

Lyrax frowned, his composure cracking. “So you’re refusing to tell the Council anything? Is that what you plan to keep doing?”

“Not exactly,” Silva said, his expression calm but firm. “If you ask me something I can answer, I’ll answer. What’s the point in hiding it? But if I refuse, then it means it’s something I won’t answer. No matter what.”

Inside Lyrax’s head, a deep voice echoed from the flames.

“This being is indeed a dragon. Prideful.”

Another voice followed, sharper, colder.

“Indeed. Even as he pretends to act humble, that ancient dragon pride seeps through, the very thing everyone loathes.”

Then a female voice spoke, commanding.

“Ask him why he came here.”

Lyrax’s lips twitched slightly before he voiced the question aloud.

“Why did you come here, then?”

“New beginnings,” Silva said immediately.

Lyrax blinked. “New beginnings? What does that even mean?”

Silva smirked faintly. “What the hell do you think it means?”

Lyrax’s eye twitched. “It means new beginnings,” Silva added casually, repeating himself, his tone deliberately infuriating.

Lyrax’s patience was breaking. He ran a hand through his hair and let out a shaky breath. “So you left your homeworld to start anew? Could it be that you were running from something?”

A flicker, just a faint one, passed through Silva’s eyes. He didn’t respond right away.

Lyrax caught it and smirked. “I hit the mark, didn’t I?”

Silva smiled. “You want to get it out of me, don’t you? You were right. But it’s not exactly a secret. Yes,” he said finally, “there is something I’m running from. That’s the reason I’m here.”

“And this thing,” Lyrax pressed, “it’s from your world, isn’t it?”

Silva slowly shook his head. “Not at all. There’s nothing from my world that could make me run away.”

Lyrax’s brows rose. “So you’re admitting you’re the strongest being in your world?”

“I never said that,” Silva replied flatly. “All I said was, if it were from my world, I wouldn’t have had to leave.”

“Then what is it?” Lyrax demanded.

Silva’s gaze darkened. “If I told you, it would cause panic across the entire Arcane Council, and probably this whole planet. You’d all try to kill me the moment you understood.”

Lyrax narrowed his eyes. “And what makes you think we wouldn’t try to kill you for not saying it?”

Silva’s tone stayed calm. “You can try,” he said simply. “But as long as I don’t pose a threat, I’m sure the wise choice would be to not do something foolish. Don’t provoke what you don’t understand.”

Lyrax’s voice hardened. “And you think you can harm us?”

Silva’s smirk returned. “You can try to find out, and see.”

For a moment, silence filled the air. The flames of the Council flickered faintly, the voices within them gone quiet.

Then Silva continued, his tone dropping to something calmer, almost weary.

“Look,” he said, “all I want is to gather knowledge, gain experience, and build myself in this world before I go out into the vast expanse waiting for me. There’s a lot to learn here, a lot to do. I just want to become part of the Council, earn permission to go on missions, and contribute where I can. That’s all.”

He turned his gaze back to Lyrax, the edge of warning in his voice unmistakable.

“I’m not going to meddle in anyone’s affairs. So do yourselves a favor, don’t start poking around in mine. You might not like what you find.”