Episode 13 — Secrets Behind the Name Azunakkii
The name Azunakkii remained floating above Adrian’s holographic display in Drako’s mind long after everyone had left the room. Until now, Drako’s biggest concerns had been learning his abilities, controlling his transformation, preparing for the tournament, and understanding why the ancient ruins reacted to his bloodlines. Now there was something much larger hiding behind all of it. According to Mira, the Azunakkii weren’t simply another human faction. Old stories described them as enemies that had come from somewhere beyond humanity’s world. Drako didn’t know whether those stories were true, but the strange foreign energy he had detected made him take them seriously. Still, he refused to become distracted. He had eighteen days before the tournament qualifiers, and his ranking was only 149. If he wanted to represent Astra Academy, he needed to climb quickly. More importantly, he needed to master Dragon Blood Vision. Drako entered an empty training chamber before sunrise and activated the new hybrid technique. His right eye became gold and his left crimson. Immediately, the room changed. Energy flowed through the walls. He could sense the heartbeats of students walking outside, see faint traces left behind by abilities used in the chamber hours earlier, and detect weaknesses in the damaged training targets. [Dragon Blood Vision activated.] [Warning: Current safe usage period: 47 seconds.] “Forty-seven?” Drako asked. [Hybrid abilities place increased strain on Host.] “Then I’ll make every second count.” He activated a moving training program. Six mechanical targets emerged from the walls and attacked simultaneously. Instead of relying on Blood Step immediately, Drako watched them. Dragon Blood Vision showed energy gathering inside each machine before it attacked. One target fired. Drako moved before the blast was released. A second approached from behind. He ducked without looking. A third charged from his left. Dragon Scales appeared only on his shoulder, blocking the strike. Drako smiled. “This is different.” He wasn’t becoming faster simply because of the ability. He was seeing enough information to make better decisions. [Dragon Blood Vision proficiency increased.] Then pain stabbed behind his eyes. Drako deactivated it immediately. Forty-nine seconds. Two seconds better than before.
Later that morning, Adrian found Drako outside the combat hall. “I didn’t sleep.” Drako looked at him. “You look like you fought something.” “I fought the academy database.” Adrian held up his wrist device. “The database won.” Drako laughed. Adrian lowered his voice. “But I found more fragments about the Azunakkii.” Drako’s expression became serious. “What did you find?” “Almost nothing, and that’s what bothers me. References to an old conflict were deliberately removed. Whoever erased them didn’t just delete documents. They removed names, battle records, locations, even references inside unrelated historical files.” “Why hide a war?” Adrian shook his head. “I don’t know.” Mira and Raizen approached. Mira heard the final sentence and immediately knew what they were discussing. “You need to stop searching openly,” she said. Adrian frowned. “Why?” “Because if somebody erased those records, they might notice somebody trying to recover them.” Adrian’s expression changed. “That’s actually a good point.” Drako looked at Mira. “You said your family told stories about them.” Mira nodded. “Stories. Nothing more. According to them, humanity fought something that came from beyond our known territory a long time ago. Eventually the enemy disappeared.” “Why did they attack?” Drako asked. Mira hesitated. “I don’t know.” Drako could tell she wasn’t lying, but Dragon Blood Vision wasn’t necessary to see she knew more than she wanted to discuss. He let it go. They were friends. He wasn’t going to force her secrets out of her.
Their instructor entered the combat hall and announced the day’s ranking matches. Drako’s next opponent was Rank 121, a Level 3 fighter named Sorin. Unlike Varek, Sorin didn’t use weapons. His ability allowed him to harden his body into a stone-like material. When Drako entered the arena, Sorin was already waiting. “You’re climbing quickly,” Sorin said. “That’s the plan.” “Then you’ll have to get through me.” The referee started the match. Sorin’s skin immediately became dark gray. He charged directly toward Drako. Drako blocked the first punch with Dragon Scales. BOOM! Both fighters slid backward. Sorin smiled. “Your scales are tough.” Drako shook his arm. “So are you.” Sorin charged again. Drako activated Blood Enhancement and moved around him, striking his ribs with Dragon Strength. The punch landed cleanly. Sorin barely reacted. Drako jumped backward. “Okay. Punching the rock isn’t working.” Sorin laughed and attacked again. Drako’s eyes changed. Gold and crimson. Dragon Blood Vision activated. Immediately, he saw energy flowing throughout Sorin’s body. Most of it concentrated around his skin and muscles, creating the hardened defense. But the energy wasn’t evenly distributed. Every time Sorin moved his right leg, the protection around the back of his knee weakened for a fraction of a second. Drako smiled. “Found it.”
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Sorin threw another punch. Drako used Blood Step. Crimson energy flashed and he disappeared. Sorin immediately protected his back, expecting Drako to reappear behind him. Instead, Drako appeared low on his right side. Dragon Strength activated only in two fingers. He struck behind Sorin’s knee at the exact moment the defensive energy weakened. Sorin’s leg collapsed beneath him. “What?” Drako stepped away rather than attacking him while he was down. Sorin stood and hardened his leg again. “How did you know?” “You showed me.” Sorin became more cautious. He stopped attacking recklessly. Drako’s Dragon Blood Vision timer reached thirty-eight seconds. He needed to finish soon. Sorin suddenly covered his entire body in a thicker stone layer. His speed decreased, but his defense became significantly stronger. “Let’s see you find a weakness now.” He charged. Drako studied him. Almost all Sorin’s energy was being used for defense. That meant something else had weakened: mobility. Drako deactivated Dragon Blood Vision to preserve energy. Sorin swung. Blood Step. Drako disappeared. Sorin turned. Drako appeared behind him, then immediately used Blood Step again. Sorin turned a second time, slower now. Drako changed direction a third time. Crimson flashes surrounded Sorin from multiple angles. “Stop running!” Sorin shouted. “I’m not running.” Drako appeared directly in front of him. Golden and crimson energy twisted around his fist. “Dragon Blood Strike.” Sorin crossed both arms. Drako struck the hardened defense. BOOM! Cracks spread across the stone covering Sorin’s arms. The impact lifted him from the ground and sent him sliding backward. Drako’s shoulder screamed with pain, but he remained standing. Sorin tried stepping forward. The stone armor cracked further and fell away. He dropped to one knee. The referee raised his hand. “Winner: Drako!” [Official victory.] [Ranking updated: 149 → 124.] Drako breathed heavily. Dragon Blood Strike was stronger, but still punishing his body. [Dragon Blood Strike Stability: 46%.] Drako smiled. Almost halfway.
Kaien approached him after the match. “You’re climbing too slowly.” Drako laughed. “Good afternoon to you too.” Kaien showed him his ranking. Rank 17. Drako stared at it. “You’ve been busy.” “I told you nobody here was stopping me.” Drako smiled. “Don’t lose before I reach you.” Kaien’s Phoenix flames briefly appeared. “Worry about reaching me first.” As Kaien left, Drako noticed several unfamiliar people watching from an observation balcony. Their uniforms carried symbols from different organizations. Some represented academies. Others represented factions Drako didn’t recognize. One man wore a green symbol shaped like a circuit surrounding a planet. Adrian noticed it too. “That’s interesting.” “What?” Drako asked. Adrian pointed subtly. “Green Family representative.” Drako looked again. “Who are they?” Adrian almost seemed offended. “You don’t know the Green Family?” “Should I?” “They build everything. Computers, entertainment systems, games, ships, communication networks, advanced transportation. Their technology operates across multiple worlds.” Drako looked toward the representative. “Multiple worlds?” Adrian nodded. “They’re one of the most technologically advanced human families in existence.” “Why are they watching an academy tournament?” Adrian shrugged. “Maybe they’re scouting.” The representative left before Drako could learn more. Neither of them knew that the Green Family’s only son, Teck, would eventually become much more important to Drako than any tournament observer.
That evening, Drako returned to his room and found a message waiting on his academy terminal. It contained no sender. Only coordinates and five words: STOP SEARCHING FOR THE AZUNAKKII.Drako stared at the screen. Adrian was the one searching, yet the warning had been sent to him. That meant someone knew they were working together. The System suddenly appeared. [Unknown surveillance signature detected.] Drako activated Dragon Blood Vision and looked around his room. Nothing. Then he noticed a tiny energy trace attached to the terminal. Someone had accessed it remotely. Drako clenched his fist. He called Adrian immediately. “Don’t search the name again.” Adrian became quiet. “Why?” “Because somebody knows.” Drako looked out his window toward the academy grounds. Students were training for a tournament, instructors were preparing qualifiers, and powerful families were beginning to watch Astra Academy. Beneath them waited ancient ruins connected to Drako’s bloodlines. Somewhere in deleted history waited the Azunakkii. Drako understood now that there were secrets far bigger than him. But he wasn’t ready to chase them yet. First he needed strength. First he needed control. First he needed to protect the people around him. His eyes turned gold and crimson as Dragon Blood Vision activated. “Whoever you are,” Drako whispered, staring into the darkness, “eventually I’m going to find out what you’re hiding.” For now, eighteen days remained before the qualifiers, and Drako still had more than a hundred rankings between himself and the top.