Traven knelt before the woodland altar he had built with his own hands. Herbs, bones, and forest stones lay in careful rows. His silver suit caught the firelight as he stared at the carved symbols. One sealed dragon waited inside his system. Awakening it would make him apex ascendant. But the rites needed a name, and he did not have one. He raised his hand. The onyx ring on his finger glowed, its ruby eyes flickering. Through it, the system opened before him. A massive rune gate appeared, two crystal dragons coiled around a mithril door. Behind that door lay the sealed entry. Traven pressed the ring forward and demanded the name. The gate shuddered. Runes flared, then dimmed. A single word pushed back through the ring into his mind: DENIED. The mithril door did not move. The carved dragons stared at him, silent and cold. Traven lowered his hand. The altar fire crackled behind him. His prepared offerings were useless without the name. He had built the rite site for nothing. Then a small blue fox stepped from the trees. Its silver eyes met his. In its mouth, it carried a torn page covered in old script. It dropped the page at his feet and waited.