Caleb: It feels like... like something inside me is waking up.
King Aldrich: Guards! What is happening down there?! Why isn't the beast attacking?!
Guard Chief: My Lord, the dragon seems... hesitant! It's stepping back!
King Aldrich: Shoot him! Archers, draw your bows and shoot that boy right now!
Before the archers on the high walls could notch their arrows, the golden crest on Caleb's chest exploded into a blinding beam of light. The light shot straight up toward the sky, punching through the dust clouds and illuminating the entire colosseum. The crowd went completely silent, their mocking cheers dying in their throats.
Lady Serena: That mark... I've seen that symbol before in the ancient royal archives!
King Aldrich: Impossible! That line was wiped out twenty years ago!
Lady Serena: The crest of the Solar Dynasty... Father, he's not a peasant!
Caleb slowly stood up from the dirt, no longer trembling. The raw cuts on his bare feet and arms vanished as the golden magic washed over his body, healing his wounds instantly. The intense heat of the arena no longer burned him; instead, he felt a surge of ancient, overwhelming strength flowing through his veins.
Caleb: I remember... I remember the night the palace burned.
King Aldrich: Silence! Archers, fire! Kill him now!
A volley of twenty iron-tipped arrows rained down from the upper walls, speeding directly toward Caleb's head. Caleb didn't even look up. He simply raised his right hand, throwing out a wave of golden energy that caught the arrows mid-air, shattering them into fine wooden dust.
Crowd Member: Magic! He's a solar sorcerer!
Crowd Member 3: The lost prince has returned!
King Aldrich: Foolish peasants, shut your mouths! Guards, secure the balcony!
The giant black dragon lowered its head, letting out a confused, low whimper instead of a roar. It backed away slowly, its massive tail sweeping frantically against the ground. The creature could sense the overwhelming magical aura radiating from the young man standing before it.
Caleb: You brought me here to be slaughtered for your entertainment, Aldrich.
King Aldrich: You dare address your King by his name?!
Caleb: You are no king. You are a usurper who stole my father's throne while I was just a child!
Lady Serena: Father... is it true? Did you murder the old royal family?
King Aldrich: Quiet, Serena! You know nothing of what it takes to rule!
Caleb stepped forward, his bare feet sinking slightly into the warm sand. As he walked, the golden runes expanded across the ground around him, forming a massive glowing magic circle that covered half the arena floor. The air hummed with violent, concentrated power.
Caleb: It's time to take back what belongs to my people.
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