The training room was silent as Albedo stood in the center, rolling his sleeves up to his elbows while he stared at the Heart.

It thumbed slowly, yet it consistently released an almighty spiritual and mana pressure in the environment. It was warping the environment as well, the heat was constantly rising, and Albedo could feel the raw power of the original owner of the heart as well.

Even so long after its death, the heart had an aura of nobility and power. It was easily on the level on Raphaeline's aura.

After taking a deep breath, Albedo raised a dagger.

It wasn't ornate. Just a surgical blade of mana-steel, gleaming with deadly precision. He pressed the edge against his palm, and without hesitation, dragged it through flesh.

Blood began to drip instantly into the floor, and Albedo began to work. His fingers danced across the floor with fluid practice, not just drawing symbols, but invoking a language older than the Empire itself.

Not one rune was wasted. Not one line misplaced. Was he was doing was a Ritual that was explained in the Novel, and he had been preparing for it ever since he saw the Flame Dragon Heart as a reward.

It was a ritual designed to replace his own Human heart with the Flame Dragon Heart. The Dragon Heart would provide him with a comprehensive strength increase both now, and in the future due to the effects it would provide.

Firstly, a much much stronger physique. The Heart is where all mana and blood pumps through, and a strong heart will inevitably provide benefits like that.

It would also give him High Flame Resistance, when paired with his physique, would make him Immune to Fire. Increased Fire Affinity.

However, the biggest benefit is the widening and strengthening of the Mana Veins. This will improve his mana flow, essentially making everything both easier and more efficient.

It would also allow him to understand the Draconic Language, which would massively buff his spell power and allow him to learn more techniques and runes.

It is painful, but it would be like going through an evolution.

He continued preparing the ritual, working in circles.Starting with the Core Glyph of Vital Flame, the foundation upon which the ritual would be built.

From there, branching sigils flowed outward like veins, forming a twelve-pointed star with layered rings interwoven between each line.

A circle of Transference.

A circle of Anchoring.

A circle of Soul Sync.

A fourth, most important, marked with his blood: the Seal of Dominance.

It was required not just to implant the heart, but to bind it to his will.

If he failed to do so, even for a moment, the organ would reject him. Or worse, it would awaken and consume him from within.

After all, a Holy Ranked Heart would still have some form of will, so he needed to make sure everything was perfect.

Sweat rolled down his neck as he worked on the ritual, hours passing him by while he remained full focused on his objective.

His blood mixed with ink, charred ash suspended in liquid essence, and a haze of rising mana blanketed the chamber.

The ritual array had grown from a simple pattern into a glowing masterpiece of ancient spellcraft. It stretched across the stone like an spiderweb, pulsating with energy.

At the center of the array, he placed the Flame Dragon's Heart.

The very air recoiled as it came in contact with the final glyphs. The runes responded at once, glowing crimson, gold, and deep abyssal black.

The walls of the training room trembled, the air thickened, and the temperature rose to an unbearable degree. Flames appeared at the outer rings of the ritual circle as if the sigils themselves were combusting from contact with that sacred organ.

Albedo stepped into the center, blood dripping from his fingers.

He stood before the Heart, already having removed his upper body clothing. His mana surged, pouring into the formation, activating the matrix in stages. One by one, each array lit up.

"Bind the fire…Claim the breath…Embrace the heat…Reject the flesh…"

He chanted each line with reverence and intensity, his voice deep and unwavering.

"By my will, By my soul, By the blood that burns, I summon the Heart of Flame to become mine."

The chamber exploded with light once he finished speaking, the Flame Dragon Heart rising into the air and rotating slowly above Albedo's chest.

Its rhythmic thump began to sync with Albedo's own heartbeat, faster and faster, until the two were nearly indistinguishable.

Then came the final step.

Albedo took the blade again, this time pressing it against his chest. Right above his heart. His breath came slow. Steady.

"This is my choice."

And with a single thrust, he pierced his own chest. His mana immediately begun to rampage, his blood pouring out of the wound like a broken damn.

As the old heart stopped beating, the new one began to descend, flames roaring, tendrils of molten energy reaching toward him like a predator claiming its host.

And just before it touched him,

The world went white.

***

Hours had passed, but Albedo couldn't sense that, he was in a different place. Where he was, everything was burning, an intense vast amount of fire swarming from every single direction.

There was no sky or ground. The only sound he could hear was the sound of roaring flames, there was no form around him, just pure fire.

Albedo floated somewhere between life and death, his consciousness drifting in a crucible of roaring flame and thunderous heartbeats. Molten rivers of mana flowed through his nerves.

Every cell was screaming, screaming as it broke, twisted, evolved and was reforged. He couldn't tell how long he remained in that state. Seconds? Hours? Years? Time melted in the inferno.

But then, at the center of it all, a single beat echoed.

~THUMP!~

The sound did not come from his ears. It was deeper. It came from within him, constantly.

~THUMP!~

It was like a declaration, a pulse of divine heat that carved a path through his body. Every thump, he felt himself evolving, his cells being reforged, his bones growing firmer, his mana purer.

The next moment, Albedo awoke.

His eyes flew open with a gasp, his entire body seizing as if struck by lightning. A wave of heat burst outward from him, sending the ritual candles scattering and extinguishing the lingering flames from the outer ring of the array.

He lay there for several breaths, eyes wide, chest heaving, body drenched in sweat and dried blood.

But he was alive, and he felt better than ever before. He sat up slowly, body crackling with latent energy.

His limbs moved with a incredible fluidity each muscle responding as if guided by perfect instinct. He stood, and the very air around him responded.

A ripple spread outward, mana bending in reverence.

"…Incredible," Albedo whispered, staring down at his own hands. His skin shimmered faintly with residual mana, and beneath it, he could see subtle streams of golden-red light pulsing through his veins like magma.

Even his blood was purer due to the influence of the Dragon Heart.

His breathing was also deeper, each inhale dragging in far more ambient mana than before. And it flowed into him smoothly, effortlessly.

The easiest way to describe it would be if before, his mana traveled through streams and rivers, now it surged like an ocean,

He pressed a hand to his chest, and there it was. A dull, constant thrum. Not painful. Not overwhelming. Just… present. Powerful. Regal.

The Flame Dragon's Heart.

It had fully taken root inside him.

His physique felt different too. Every motion was stronger. Quicker. Balanced. He flexed his fingers, and tiny embers danced at his fingertips, flickering and swirling in response to his thoughts without the need for spell circles or chants.

And more than that, the pressure.

It was faint, but he could feel it. An aura that hadn't been there before. A kind of natural dominance that flowed from his core.

The same way noble beasts command submission in lesser creatures, or how a lion needs not roar to be feared.

He hadn't even tried to release it.

Yet the training room walls were still faintly vibrating. The runes around the chamber shimmered nervously.

And then he checked internally.

Peak Silver. He had gone up an entire small realm, and his strength had grown far beyond a single small realm could comprehend.

Finally, he felt another piece of knowledge in his head. A language he hadn't understood before, and he knew exactly what it was.

The Ancient Dragon Language, he could now speak and understand it, which would allow him to comprehend concepts and symbols that would boost his power.

He walked over to the cracked ritual ring, and with a single gesture, he compressed the residual flame into a small orb, extinguishing the heat in the chamber entirely. The room darkened.

Albedo stared at the center of the array, where only his blood remained. A reminder of the price paid.

But as he turned away, wrapping his arms loosely around himself, he didn't feel weakened. He didn't feel drained.

He felt ready for everything that was coming, and eager to battle, to prove himself even more.

And as the morning sun finally rose outside, its golden light slipping in through the high windows of the training hall, it caught briefly on Albedo's skin.

And in that moment, his shadow shimmered, not human, but something larger. Something regal.

Something draconic.