"A dragon does not gather for peace. It gathers for memory."
— From the Prologue of the Scaled Oath Archive, sealed beneath the Eastern Wyrmgate
🐉 Western Skylands – Threshold of the Dragon Assembly
Beneath shifting clouds and crackling thunder, five ancient gates rose from the ground like teeth of the world itself. Each was carved from a different substance—bone, stone, crystal, bloodsteel, and voidwood.
They pointed toward the sky like accusations.
Like calls.
Because the Dragon Gathering had begun.
Not in celebration.
Not in war.
But in mourning.
And for the first time in over three hundred years, the echoes of all draconic lines pulsed with a single resonance:
"The Pactbreaker walks."
🧭 Journey – Jin Mu-Won and the Hollow-Bound Four Arrive
The land surrounding the gates shimmered, reality bending under pressure. Even Su Ren's eyes, sharpened by flame-will, struggled to process depth and distance. Lin Xue's moon-resonant aura was dimmed here—not by suppression, but deference.
Only Ash-Eye Dagan stood with a calm breath.
Because this place belonged to his kind.
"You alright?" Jin asked him.
Ash-Eye smirked, though his eyes were distant.
"I'm more than alright. I've been summoned."
📜 Lore Entry – The Dragon Gathering
Dragons do not hold courts. They do not keep thrones.
They gather—a ritual older than cultivation itself, rooted not in power, but identity.
Each gathering only occurs when a dragon oath is broken or when a lineage diverges so far it threatens the whole world-memory.
This time, both have happened:
The Tenth Pact has been touched.
A dragonfire bearer walks with Hollow Flame.
And the Mourner's Crown, long thought extinguished, pulses again.
🌀 Arrival of the First Line
A storm split overhead, and from it descended a scaled serpent wreathed in lightning—massive, graceful, and covered in inscriptions of old Murim dialects.
Soryong, the Sky-Binder of the First Line, landed with a gust of memory so powerful it knocked Lin Xue back three steps.
She bowed instinctively.
Not from fear.
But respect.
Soryong regarded Jin.
"So the name-breaker comes," he said in a voice like thunder rolling over glass.
"Do you bring another oath to burn… or one to restore?"
Jin did not flinch.
"I bring remembrance."
Soryong narrowed his eyes.
"Then speak carefully. For dragons do not forget what the world tries to erase."
🧠 Hollow Core Surge – Mourner's Crown Responds
Dragon-Class Memory Pulse Detected
Resonance Reached: Mourner's Crown → Wyrm Memory Archive, 47% Compatibility
Unlocking: Wyrm Echo Field – Collective Remembrance
Suddenly the sky fractured—lightning freezing mid-strike, flame halting in air—and dozens of draconic echoes flickered into view.
Not physical forms, but memory-constructs.
One bore golden antlers, once guardian of the Northern Wind.
Another had twin tails, bearer of the South's blood-judging rites.
One bore no form at all—a dragon of concept and breath alone.
All focused on Jin.
⚔️ The Ritual of the Name-Burned
Soryong spoke:
"One among you bears our fire but was not born of it."
All eyes turned to Ash-Eye Dagan.
He stepped forward.
"I was adopted into flame. Not by blood, but by need. The fire chose me."
The sky roared.
The ground burned.
And from the bloodsteel gate emerged a wyrmling—young, barely larger than a man, but carrying an old voice:
"Then show us."
Ash-Eye raised his arms.
His skin cracked.
And from his chest, a second heartbeat ignited—true dragonfire.
No longer borrowed.
No longer fused.
His.
🔥 Combat Ritual – Trial by Flameborne Name
Ash-Eye fought the wyrmling in an aerial spiral of fire, lightning, and martial grace.
Each blow tested:
His memory of flame
His restraint
His reverence
The fight ended not in victory—but in acknowledgment.
The wyrmling bowed, and Soryong nodded.
"Then the Pactbreaker does not walk alone."
"And neither does the firebearer."
🧠 Jin's Contribution – Naming the Forgotten
Jin stepped into the heart of the Gathering and whispered names of dragons lost in battle, forgotten in records, stripped from sect scrolls for political reasons.
"Valran, the Shardwing."
"Eisyl, who bore no breath but shielded the Eastern Pass."
"Korr of Black Ash, who fell saving a city that cursed her name."
With each name, the gathering grew brighter.
And then—
The Ash-Skinned Elder among the echoes approached and placed a memory scale upon Jin's chest.
"Then you are no longer merely a Pactbreaker. You are a Flame-Rememberer."
"Carry our dead. For they do not deserve to fade."
📜 Echo Reward – Dragon Memory Scale (Ash-Skinned Elder's Bequest)
[You have gained: Dragon Memory Scale – Ash Line, 3rd Generation]
Allows Jin Mu-Won to access ancestral dragon combat techniques stored in memory
Grants diplomatic immunity among Gathering-Class dragons
Passive: Heatless Flame Aura – suppresses false fire and illusion-based qi
Mourner's Crown Awakening: 52%
New Perk Unlocked: Collective Remembrance – Names whispered into battle may grant echo-based stat boosts if honored dragons resonate with cause
🌍 World Response – The Flames Shift
In the volcanic territories of the Southern Border, all dragon eggs begin glowing faintly.
Several flame-cults go silent overnight, leaders vanishing.
The Murim Archives update themselves without intervention.
New Title Detected: Flame-Rememberer
Jin Mu-Won designated "Living Archive" by Echoflow Authority.
As the Gathering disbanded into stars and thunderclouds, Jin turned to his allies.
Ash-Eye's shoulders no longer bore hidden shame—only pride.
Lin Xue stood taller beside him, the moon behind her reflecting off the scale on Jin's chest.
Su Ren exhaled slowly, as if for the first time in weeks.
And above them, the sky whispered:
"When names burn, memory rises."