Mystic Calling：Stone of Glory-Chapter 895: Something Answered from the Dark

After the battle, Ethan summoned all commander-level personnel to the main hall of Emerald Castle.

The surviving elites from the Phoenix Empire were also given seats at the table.

In the center of the hall, a virtual tactical map unfolded slowly, displaying the surrounding regions with multiple threat zones clearly marked.

Ethan swept his gaze across the room, his tone calm but direct:

"You've all seen it for yourselves—Emerald Castle has officially entered a high-risk phase."

"We're not just dealing with continued retaliation from the Phoenix Empire."

"There's also the growing possibility of interference from unknown civilizations."

"If we don't achieve a full-scale combat upgrade soon, we may not be so lucky next time."

He paused briefly.

"That's why I want every one of you focused on expanding our forces and boosting combat strength."

"Enter the Creature Dwellings. Summon at maximum capacity."

"Strengthen yourselves. Prepare for higher-intensity conflict."

Everyone in the room nodded almost in unison.

No hesitation.

They understood—this wasn't a suggestion. It was survival.

Mass summoning was just the baseline.

What would truly decide the outcome was how fast their high-tier combatants could grow.

And that required one thing above all: energy. Lots of it.

Fortunately—

Energy was the one thing Emerald Castle had in abundance right now.

The next phase of expansion had already begun.

...

Far away, deep within the heart of the Phoenix Empire, Drake sat alone on the throne.

The towering ceiling above him was draped with dark red crystal chandeliers. The flames within flickered weakly, unable to dispel the shadow clouding his brow.

He had never imagined that the once-glorious Phoenix Empire would fall to this.

Ever since Phoenix Queen Ignara left with most of the core leadership, the empire's upper-tier power had been gutted.

The once-stable power structure collapsed overnight. Regional legions began to stir with unrest. Old-guard factions and rising elites stood in open opposition, and civil war loomed on the horizon.

To stabilize the situation, Drake had been forced to promote his old loyalists, dragging them back into power to fill the vacuum.

At the same time, he deliberately fractured the imperial legions, isolating and weakening any forces still loyal to Ignara—splitting them up, scattering their influence.

In just a few short months, the entire empire's hierarchy had been reshaped.

The name "Phoenix Empire" was already fading from the historical stage.

In its place rose a new title—

The Drakar Empire.

A regime ruled entirely by dragonblood.

On the surface, the empire had stabilized. But Drake knew better.

That stability was paper-thin—fragile as ice underfoot. If Ignara ever returned, everything could collapse in an instant. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

He needed more power.

Power far beyond what any ordinary dragonblood could offer.

And so, after completing a series of covert deployments, Drake left the imperial capital alone, heading deep into the borderlands.

On the surface, it was nothing but a lifeless desert—an endless sea of yellow sand, with scorching winds whipping up dunes under an empty sky.

But when Drake stepped into a certain area at the desert's heart, the air shimmered faintly, as if he'd passed through an invisible membrane.

In the next instant, the world changed.

The blazing sunlight vanished, replaced by a vast, shadowed space.

The ground beneath his feet gleamed like obsidian. Wisps of dark red energy drifted through the air—like slow-burning mist, or the breath of something ancient and buried deep.

The pressure in the air was suffocating.

The energy here felt wrong—twisted. Almost infernal, as if it had clawed its way up from the depths of hell.

But when Drake's mind resonated with the energy, he sensed something unexpected—an eerie, crystalline order beneath the chaos. It wasn't true evil. It was a form of raw, primordial power—compressed, reshaped, and refined to the point of appearing dangerously unstable.

Like fire itself.

Capable of destroying everything… or purifying it.

The moment Drake fully stepped into the space, the dark red energy stirred as if catching the scent of something familiar. It surged, restless, then streaked toward him in streams of light.

They wrapped around his limbs, his torso, his spine—pouring into him without pause.

The impact was immediate. His bones groaned under the pressure, blood igniting like liquid fire. Scales began to rise beneath his skin.

Then came the sound—a deep, resonant dragon's roar.

Drake's body shattered and reformed in an instant.

A massive Elder Abyssal Dragon unfurled its wings in the void, its scales a shifting weave of black and crimson, gleaming with a cold, spectral light. Its enormous form coiled in midair, radiating a suffocating aura of dominance.

No one knew how long the transformation lasted.

Eventually, the chaotic energy calmed.

The dragon slowly drew in its presence, folding back into human form.

Drake now stood at the very heart of the space.

Beneath his feet was a naturally formed circular stone platform. At its center hovered a blood-red crystal, pulsing slowly like a beating heart.

He raised his hand.

Power surged through him, roaring to life.

The air trembled. Fine cracks spidered across the edges of the space. The crystal flared with blinding light, and the entire dimension stretched and warped as if being forcibly folded in on itself.

Then—at the breaking point—

The crystal shattered.

A deep spatial rift tore open in midair, like a door ripped violently from its hinges.

From within, a man stepped out.

His presence was vast and ancient, like a mountain waking from slumber. Embedded in the center of his forehead was a small, radiant red gem, pulsing with a soul-shaking energy that made the air itself recoil.

Drake's pupils contracted the moment he saw him.

Without hesitation, he dropped to one knee and bowed his head.

"Master," he said, voice trembling with awe and barely contained excitement. "You've finally descended into this world."

"If not for Phoenix Queen Ignara's overwhelming power, I would've erased her long ago."

The man gave a faint, satisfied smile. He reached out and gently patted Drake's head, like one might a loyal beast.

Then, from his sleeve, he drew a pitch-black crystal—dark as the void—and placed it lightly on Drake's shoulder.

Within the crystal, a shadowy energy swirled, like a sealed abyss whispering from within.

"This is the source of energy I've brought you," the man said calmly. "It will guide your body through a second evolution."

"It won't be long now—"

"You'll fully step into the domain of the Dark Dragonkin."