Chapter 176: Aster’s Vow

The village was still in mourning. The once vibrant streets now felt hollow, filled with nothing but hushed whispers and tear-streaked faces. The air was thick with grief, but for me, it wasn’t sadness that burned in my chest, it was rage. A rage so fierce, so blinding, that I could feel it clawing at my throat, demanding to be unleashed.  

Lira was gone. Yong was gone.  

And it was because of him.  

Sirius. My so-called father.  

I clenched my fists, my nails biting into my palms as I stood in the freezing wind, staring at the blood-stained snow where Yong’s body had been. They had taken him away, but the memory of him lying there, lifeless and broken, wouldn’t leave my mind. Neither would the image of Lira, so small and innocent, taken from us before she had even gotten the chance to truly live.  

How could he do this?  

I didn’t know Sirius, not truly. I had grown up without a father, and when I had finally met him, I had been cautious. I had kept my distance. Something inside me had told me not to trust him, and I had been right.  

But my mother hadn’t listened.  

She had let him in.  

I gritted my teeth, the anger inside me boiling over. I should have done something. I should have stopped him. I should have.. 

A gust of wind blew through the village, sending a chill through my bones, but I barely felt it. I was too lost in my fury.  

Behind me, I heard voices, hushed and filled with resentment.  

"She let him in."

"This wouldn’t have happened if she had listened."

"The dragon king is a monster, and now we have lost our own."

I turned my head slightly, my hands balling into fists at my sides. The villagers weren’t looking at me, but I knew who they were talking about. My mother.  

And a part of me hated that they were right.  

I wasn’t stupid. I knew she had made a mistake, that she had wanted to believe there was still something good left in Sirius. But in doing so, she had doomed Yong. She had doomed Lira.  

My mother, Astra, the strongest woman I knew, was now a shell of herself. She sat inside our home, staring at nothing, her face pale, her eyes vacant. She hadn’t spoken in hours.  

I couldn’t stand to look at her like that.  

Because I wanted to blame her, but I also knew it wasn’t just her fault. The blame belonged to the man who had wielded the blade, the one who had taken everything from us.  

Sirius.  

I turned back to the bloodstained snow, my breath coming out in sharp puffs of air. I had never truly known Yong’s past, but he had raised me like his own. He had taught me how to fight, how to control my dragon blood. He had been my father in all the ways that mattered. And Lira, she had been my sister. The way she had looked up to me, the way she had laughed and called me big brother with that bright, innocent smile. 

Sirius had taken that from me.  

He had taken everything.  

I felt my breath hitch, my fingers trembling from the force of my fury. I wanted to scream, to break something, to hurt something. But there was only one person I wanted to hurt.  

I would kill him.  

The thought hit me like a blade to the chest, sharp and undeniable.  

I would make him pay.  

Sirius thought he could do this and just leave, as if his actions had no consequences. He thought he could kill my family and fly away like the coward he was. But I wasn’t a child anymore. I wasn’t some weak little boy who would cower in fear.  

I would find him.  

I would make him suffer.  

The thought burned itself into my soul, and I welcomed it. I would become strong, strong enough to face him, strong enough to end him.  

But not yet.  

I exhaled sharply, forcing myself to calm down, even though every part of me wanted to run out into the world and hunt him down. But I wasn’t ready.  

Sirius was the King of Dragons. He had fought wars, destroyed empires. He had years of experience, of power, and I… I was still a boy.  

A boy filled with fury, but still just a boy.  

I had to be patient. I had to train. I had to learn everything I could about my dragon blood, about the powers I had yet to unlock.  

Yong had trained me in combat, had taught me how to wield my strength. But I needed more. I needed someone who could push me past my limits, someone who could shape me into the warrior I needed to be.  

I turned away from the bloodstained snow, my mind already working, already planning.  

I needed to leave the village.  

I needed to find the strongest fighters, the greatest mages. I needed to go beyond this quiet, hidden world and step into the true battlefield.  

Because one day, I would stand before Sirius.  

And when I did, I would not hesitate.  

I would not show mercy.  

I would take everything from him, just as he had taken everything from me.  

My jaw clenched, my eyes burning with unspoken fury as I made my silent vow.  

I would become strong.  

I would find him.  

And I would kill my father.