Reborn as the Last van Ambrose

The passage opened into a vast underground cavern. The ceiling stretched so high it disappeared into darkness, while the floor spread out in all directions and it was just as dark as the ceiling. But this wasn’t just empty space—it was a graveyard.

This chamber had no water. Just like the city around the BloodGate.

Massive dragon skeletons lay scattered across the cavern floor, their bones gleaming with an eternal white light that provided the only illumination. Some skeletons were coiled in sleeping positions, while others lay sprawled as if they had fallen in battle. The largest specimens were easily two hundred feet from nose to tail, their skulls alone were the size of buildings.

"By the depths," General Huoyan whispered, her voice barely audible in the sacred silence. "How many dragons are buried here?"

Lin walked closer to examine one of the nearer skeletons. The bones didn’t just remain—they pulsed with residual magic, the power that had been accumulating. "These aren’t just any dragons. Look at the bone structure and the size. These are ancient royalty, dragons who ruled before the four realms were divided."

Captain Zhen pointed toward a section where the skeletons were arranged in more deliberate patterns. "Some of these look like they were placed here ceremonially. Others..."

"Others died fighting," Commander Yuehua finished, studying a skeleton whose ribs were clearly shattered, its skull bearing deep gouges that could only have come from another dragon’s claws.

Grim felt his blood stir in his veins as it responded to the ancient power that permeated the graveyard. The sensation was overwhelming—like standing in the presence of sleeping gods. "We need to move carefully. This place feels... aware."

They walked deeper into the graveyard, weaving between the massive skeletons.

"Stay on the paths between the graves," Lin warned, noticing what appeared to be worn routes through the bone field. "Don’t disturb anything."

But as they navigated the labyrinth of ancient remains, Commander Yuehua misjudged her distance from a particularly large skeleton. Her foot came down on what looked like an empty space but connected with something solid. freeweɓnovel.cøm

The sound that erupted was thunderous—not just the crack of breaking bone, but something deeper, more resonant. It echoed through the cavern like a bell tolling, reverberating off the distant walls and seeming to wake echoes that had slept for centuries.

Commander Yuehua looked down in horror. Her foot had landed on what appeared to be a dragon’s finger bone, now split cleanly in two. The break glowed with an angry red light that spread slowly through the rest of the skeleton.

"What did you do?" Captain Zhen demanded, but his voice was already being drowned out by other sounds.

The crack had awakened something—or rather, several somethings. Throughout the graveyard, skeletons began to stir. Not all of them, but enough to turn the sacred burial ground into a nightmare of moving bones and awakening spirits.

The first to rise was a dragon skeleton perhaps fifty feet long, its bones reforming into a complete frame held together by crackling energy. Where its eyes should have been, twin flames of blue fire ignited. Its jaw opened, revealing rows of spectral teeth, and it released a roar that shook the very foundations of the cavern.

"Ancient guardians," General Huoyan breathed, transforming immediately into her dragon form. Even she looked small compared to the awakening giants.

More skeletons were rising now—some becoming fully formed bone dragons, others remaining partially buried. Their movements were jerky and unnatural, but their intent was clear. The living had disturbed the dead, and retribution was coming.

The first bone dragon struck with shocking speed, its spectral claws raking across Commander Yuehua’s side before she could fully transform. Blood sprayed across the ancient bones as she was sent tumbling through the bones. Her partial transformation is interrupted by the savage attack.

"Yuehua!" Captain Zhen called out, racing toward her as a second bone dragon emerged from a cluster of smaller skeletons. This one was even larger than the first, its skull bearing the crown-like ridges that marked it as ancient royalty.

Lin completed her transformation into her dragon form, ice magic erupting around her as she engaged the first attacker. Her frozen spears struck the bone dragon’s ribs, but instead of shattering them, the ice simply passed through gaps in the dragon’s spectral body.

"They’re not entirely physical!" she called out, dodging a swipe that would have taken her head off. "The magic holding them together—we need to disrupt that!"

General Huoyan engaged the crowned bone dragon, her own considerable size still dwarfed by the ancient royal. Her claws met their spectral ones in a shower of sparks, the collision sending shockwaves through the graveyard.

Captain Zhen reached Commander Yuehua just as a third bone dragon emerged from the depths. This one was different—sleeker, faster, its bones held together by silver rather than blue energy. It moved like a living serpent, coiling through the ground.

Commander Yuehua struggled to her feet, blood still flowing from the deep gashes in her side. "I can still fight," she insisted, but her transformation was incomplete, leaving her in a partially human form that was neither fast enough to evade nor strong enough to match the bone dragons.

The silver-energy dragon struck like lightning. Its spectral jaws clamped down on Commander Yuehua’s arm just above the elbow.

The sound of tearing was horrible—not just the rending of muscle and bone, but something deeper as if the dragon’s bite was severing more than just physical matter. Commander Yuehua’s scream echoed through the graveyard as her arm was torn completely away, trailing blood around her.

She collapsed, shock and blood loss overwhelming her system. The severed arm was spit out and was twitching on the floor.

"No!" Captain Zhen roared. His dragon form was smaller than the others but built for speed and precision. He launched himself at the silver bone dragon with reckless fury.

Meanwhile, Grim remained standing still. The ancient magic in the graveyard was affecting him differently than the others. Instead of feeling threatened, he felt... recognized. The dragon blood in his veins was resonating with the power of the ancient dead, creating a connection he didn’t fully understand.

In the distance, beyond the immediate battle, something else stirred. A shadow moved among the far skeletal remains—not a bone dragon, but something that still retained flesh and scales.

This observer made no move to join the battle, content to study the intruders and judge their worthiness. Particularly the human who carried dragon blood, whose very presence had set the graveyard’s ancient magic humming with anticipation.

The battle raged on around Commander Yuehua. Her life bleeding away into the sacred ground of the dragon graveyard. Captain Zhen fought, but he was outnumbered and outmatched. General Huoyan and Lin struggled against opponents whose power had been accumulating for thousands of years.

And through it all, Grim stood at the center of the chaos, untouched by the bone dragons who seemed to recognize something in him that stayed their spectral claws.

The watching dragon in the distance leaned forward with interest.