Voice Through the Seal
Marcus Thorn could not move.
The whisper still echoed inside his mind.
"Help me..."
His father's voice.
The same voice he had heard throughout his childhood.
The same voice that had taught him how to fight.
How to survive.
How to never surrender.
Five years had passed since his disappearance.
Five years of unanswered questions.
Five years of grief.
And now, from beyond an ancient magical prison buried beneath the Monster Arena, that voice had returned.
Marcus stared at the narrow crack in the stone seal.
His hands trembled.
His heart raced.
This changed everything.
For several moments, he simply knelt in silence.
Trying to convince himself that he hadn't imagined it.
Perhaps exhaustion was affecting his mind.
Perhaps the underground magic was creating illusions.
Perhaps he only wanted to believe.
Yet deep down, he knew the truth.
That had been his father.
He would recognize that voice anywhere.
The problem was simple.
If his father truly lived beyond the seal...
Then what exactly was imprisoned with him?
Marcus carefully approached the crack.
Blue light still pulsed faintly between the ancient stones.
Cold air drifted outward.
The temperature around the seal felt unnatural.
Almost frozen.
He pressed his ear closer.
Nothing.
Only silence.
Then—
A distant metallic sound.
Clang.
Like chains moving somewhere deep underground.
Marcus frowned.
Clang.
Again.
Heavy chains.
Large chains.
The kind used to restrain something enormous.
The sound sent a chill through his body.
Whatever lived beyond the seal wasn't merely trapped.
It was imprisoned.
And judging by the strength of the magical barrier, it wasn't an ordinary creature.
The glowing runes covering the door were older than the kingdom itself.
Perhaps older than history.
Entire civilizations had likely risen and fallen since the prison was built.
Yet it still stood.
That alone revealed how dangerous its prisoner must be.
Marcus reached toward the crack.
The moment his fingers touched the glowing stone—
A surge of energy exploded outward.
Blue light flooded the corridor.
Ancient symbols ignited across the walls.
The ground trembled.
Marcus was thrown backward.
His torch rolled across the floor.
For several seconds, the entire underground passage glowed like daylight.
Then the light faded.
Silence returned.
Marcus slowly stood.
Pain shot through his shoulder.
But something else had happened.
Something impossible.
He had seen a vision.
A glimpse.
A memory.
Or perhaps a warning.
He wasn't sure.
For a brief moment, the seal had shown him what lay beyond.
A gigantic underground chamber.
Ancient pillars.
Endless darkness.
And chains.
Massive chains thicker than tree trunks.
At the center stood a shadow.
A colossal shape hidden beneath darkness.
Marcus had only seen its outline.
Yet even that had been enough.
The creature dwarfed every monster he had ever encountered.
Even the Thunderhorn looked insignificant by comparison.
And near the creature...
A human figure.
Chained.
Weak.
Barely standing.
His father.
Marcus's pulse quickened.
The vision had lasted less than a second.
Yet the image remained burned into his mind.
The legendary gladiator was alive.
Or at least he had been alive recently.
Marcus clenched his fists.
After five years, he had finally found proof.
His father was somewhere beyond the seal.
And he intended to rescue him.
No matter the cost.
Suddenly, footsteps echoed through the corridor.
Marcus immediately extinguished his torch and hid behind a pillar.
Voices approached.
Not guards this time.
More important.
More dangerous.
Several figures emerged from the darkness carrying magical lanterns.
At their center walked the man in black.
The mysterious observer from the arena.
Marcus watched carefully.
The man moved with calm confidence.
Unlike the guards, he showed no fear of the ancient prison.
The others clearly respected him.
Or feared him.
Perhaps both.
They stopped before the cracked seal.
One of the attendants bowed.
"The damage has worsened."
The man in black studied the crack.
His expression darkened.
"I can see that."
Another attendant spoke nervously.
"The creature is awakening."
Silence followed.
Then the man in black smiled.
A cold smile.
The kind that made Marcus uncomfortable.
"Good."
The attendants exchanged worried looks.
Good?
Why would anyone want the monster to awaken?
"The preparations are nearly complete," the man continued.
"The next phase can begin."
One attendant hesitated.
"And the prisoner?"
The man's smile vanished.
"Leave him alive."
Marcus froze.
The prisoner.
His father.
They were discussing him.
The attendant looked confused.
"Why keep him?"
The man in black slowly approached the crack in the seal.
Blue light reflected in his eyes.
"Because he serves a purpose."
"What purpose?"
The man stared into the darkness beyond the barrier.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he answered.
"He is the key."
Marcus's heart pounded.
The key?
What did that mean?
His father wasn't merely a prisoner.
He was important.
Important enough to remain alive for five years.
Important enough for this mysterious man to protect him.
Questions flooded Marcus's mind.
Yet before he could learn more, something unexpected happened.
A roar erupted from behind the seal.
The corridor shook violently.
The attendants stumbled backward.
Several nearly dropped their lanterns.
Blue energy exploded across the runes.
The crack widened slightly.
The man in black remained calm.
Almost amused.
Then two gigantic eyes appeared within the darkness beyond the opening.
Blue.
Ancient.
Terrifying.
The same eyes Marcus had seen earlier.
For several seconds, the creature stared through the crack.
Directly at the man in black.
Neither moved.
Neither blinked.
The silence felt unbearable.
Then the monster spoke.
Not with a roar.
Not with a growl.
Words.
Human words.
Ancient.
Deep.
Powerful.
"You cannot stop what is coming."
The attendants turned pale.
One collapsed to his knees.
Marcus could hardly breathe.
The creature could speak.
The man in black laughed softly.
"I don't intend to stop it."
The creature's eyes narrowed.
A low growl echoed through the chamber.
Then the man stepped closer.
"So tell me, old dragon..."
Marcus froze.
Dragon?
The creature was a dragon?
The largest dragon in existence?
The man continued.
"When the seal breaks..."
"When the world burns..."
"Will you finally remember who you truly are?"
The dragon's eyes glowed brighter.
For the first time, genuine anger appeared in its voice.
"You play with forces beyond your understanding."
The man smiled.
"Perhaps."
Then he turned away.
The conversation was over.
The group departed.
Their lanterns disappeared into the darkness.
Soon the corridor became silent once more.
Marcus slowly emerged from hiding.
His mind struggled to process everything he had heard.
A dragon.
A prisoner.
A prophecy.
And a mysterious man preparing for something terrible.
He approached the seal again.
The crack remained small.
Yet now he knew far more than before.
Somewhere beyond the barrier lived an ancient dragon.
And somewhere beside that dragon...
His father waited.
Alive.
Imprisoned.
And running out of time.
As Marcus stared into the darkness, a faint whisper emerged from beyond the seal once more.
This time the voice sounded weaker.
Urgent.
Desperate.
"Marcus..."
The young gladiator stepped closer.
"Father?"
Several seconds passed.
Then the answer came.
Three words.
May you like
Words that filled Marcus with dread.
"Don't trust him."
