Crackling energy ripped through the high-arched ceiling of the academy's testing hall, painting the stone walls in jagged streaks of crimson and gold. Dust rained down in thick, choking sheets, coating my trembling hands as I stared at the runic circle glowing on the floor. Gravity seemed to double in an instant, pinning my knees directly to the cold, cracked flagstones. Breathing became an agonizing luxury I could barely afford. Before me, the jagged tear in reality widened, bleeding a light so brilliant it threatened to scald my retinas. Runes etched into the reinforced stone walls—designed by the empire's greatest mages to contain high-tier disasters—began to glow a frantic, bleeding red. Then, they shattered. Shards of enchanted glass and reinforced stone rained down, vaporizing into fine white ash before they could even touch my hair. Pressure built in my ears until a wet drop of blood slid down my cheek, warm and copper-scented. Out of the blinding gold rift stepped a figure of terrifying, predatory grace. Golden scales coated his high cheekbones, glittering like crushed diamonds under a harsh spotlight. Curved horns swept back from his brow, dark as obsidian and sharp enough to slice the very air around him. Tall, impossibly broad, and radiating a dry heat that threatened to blister my skin, the creature looked down at me. Slit-pupiled eyes of molten gold locked onto mine, stripping away every defense I had ever built. "A human," a voice rumbled, vibrating through the stone floor and straight into my teeth. "And a remarkably pathetic one at that." Panic clawed at my throat as I tried to scramble backward, my fingers scraping against the ruined floor. My newly transmigrated body felt like a fragile cage of glass, ready to shatter under his passive aura alone. This was Solaris's worst nightmare: a calamity-class golden dragon. I had wanted a way out of my expulsion, a way to survive the ruthless magical elite who looked at my zero-tier core with absolute disgust. Instead, I had summoned a god. Silence stretched between us, thick and suffocating. Every beat of my heart felt like a countdown to my own destruction. My eyes scanned the wreckage of the testing room, finding the shattered remains of my evaluation crystal. Only moments ago, the professors had sneered at me, writing me off as trash. Now, the entity standing before me could wipe their entire civilization off the map with a flick of his wrist. Yet, he wasn't attacking. Instead, he was studying me with a slow, intense curiosity that made my blood run cold. "Speak, little thief," the dragon murmured, taking a slow, deliberate step forward. Claws, dark and gleaming, tipped his elegant, long fingers. "You dragged me from my deep slumber with a blood offering so weak I almost mistook it for an insect bite." He tilted his head, a mocking smile curving his lips to reveal rows of razor-sharp fangs. "Why shouldn't I turn this entire academy into a burning crater?" Sweat pooled at my collarbone as the air grew thinner, choked by the sheer weight of his magic. "I... I needed help," I choked out, my voice barely a whisper against the roaring pressure of his presence. "They were going to throw me out. I have nowhere to go." Deep down, the familiar, bitter ache of my old life flared up. Back on Earth, I was always the one left behind, the quiet outcast nobody bothered to love or protect. Here, in this magical world, it was proving to be exactly the same. If I got expelled now, I would die on the streets, forgotten and unmourned by a society that only valued magical power. "Please," I gasped, looking up into those terrifyingly beautiful eyes. "Help me." Desperation made me bold, pushing past the paralyzing fear that locked my muscles. I had lived my entire past life as a shadow, always adapting, always yielding just to keep the peace. When my parents abandoned me, I stayed quiet. When my partners walked away, I smiled and wished them well, hiding the gaping black hole in my chest. But I wouldn't die quietly in this cold, unfamiliar world. If I had to sell my soul to a monster to survive, I would do it without hesitation. Aurelius—for I instinctively knew his name through the faint, trembling thread connecting our souls—let out a low, rumbling laugh. "Help you?" he echoed, leaning down until his burning, spice-scented breath fanned my face. "A dragon of my stature does not offer charity, little spark." He reached out, a single claw tracing the line of my jaw with agonizing slowness, leaving a trail of sparks on my skin. "Your magic core is a joke. A hollow, useless shell." "But your soul... your soul has a delicious, foreign flavor." "I can protect you. I can make those who mocked you crawl on their knees in the dirt." "But my price is absolute." He pulled back slightly, waving a hand in a lazy, circular motion. Glowing golden script materialized in the air between us, written in an ancient, forbidden language that made my eyes water. "A marriage contract," I whispered, translating the magical runes instinctively through the summoner's link. My heart did a violent, painful flip against my ribs. "A soul-binding marriage," Aurelius corrected, his eyes flashing with a wicked, possessive amusement. "You will be mine. In body, mind, and magic." "Bound to me for eternity, with no hope of escape." "Refuse, and I shall let the academy elders execute you for summoning a forbidden beast." "Choose, little spark. Death and abandonment, or eternal submission to me?" Tears pricked the corners of my eyes as the weight of his words sank in. It was a trap, a golden cage designed to strip away my autonomy before I even had a chance to build a life. Yet, the alternative was a cold, lonely death. No one would miss me. No one would search for the zero-tier failure named Isaac. "I accept," I breathed, my hands shaking violently as I reached toward the glowing contract. "A wise choice," Aurelius purred, his smile widening to reveal his dangerous teeth. Biting my lip until it bled, I pressed my blood-stained thumb against the glowing golden script. Searing pain erupted in my chest, so intense I screamed, my voice echoing off the ruined walls. Gold veins of light spread across my collarbone, etching a permanent, intricate draconic crest directly over my heart. Heat rushed through my veins, temporarily filling my empty magic core with an overwhelming, intoxicating power. I collapsed onto my hands and knees, panting, staring at the glowing mark visible through my torn shirt. "Beautiful," Aurelius whispered, hovering over me like a shadow of pure gold. Power hummed beneath my skin, a foreign, wild energy that didn't belong to me. My magic core, once a cold and empty void, now vibrated with a faint, golden resonance. It was a fraction of his power, a mere drop from his ocean, but it felt like drinking liquid sunlight. I looked down at the crest on my chest, watching the gold lines pulse in sync with my heartbeat. This was my salvation, and my ultimate undoing. I was no longer just a zero-tier outcast; I was the secret spouse of a calamity-class beast. --- Suddenly, the heavy wooden doors of the testing hall groaned under a sudden external pressure. Footsteps echoed from the corridor outside, accompanied by the panicked shouting of the academy's elite guards. "They are coming," I gasped, looking up at the massive golden dragon in panic. "If they see you, they will kill me!" Aurelius only chuckled, a low, vibrant sound that made my skin tingle with static electricity. "Let them try," he said, though his eyes gleamed with a mischievous light. "However, a direct confrontation is so dreadfully boring." Nearby, slumped against a broken pillar, lay Julian. Julian was the top-tier student who had spent the entire morning mocking my lack of magic. He had been knocked unconscious by the sheer force of Aurelius's arrival. Aurelius cast a predatory glance toward the handsome, silver-haired boy. "Watch closely, my sweet little husband," the dragon whispered. Without warning, a wisp of golden light detached from Aurelius's chest and shot straight into Julian's unconscious form. Julian's eyes snapped open. But they were no longer his usual cold, icy blue. Instead, they glowed with a familiar, wicked molten gold. Standing up with a fluid, unnatural grace, Julian dusted off his pristine academy uniform. He walked toward me, his hips swaying with a confidence the real Julian never possessed. "My, what a lovely view," Julian spoke, his voice carrying Aurelius's smooth, teasing tone. He knelt beside me, his long fingers reaching out to gently cup my chin. "Your heart is beating so fast, Isaac," he murmured, leaning in until his lips almost brushed my ear. "Do I fluster you this much already?" Flustered didn't begin to cover it. My face burned a bright, furious red as I stared at my classmate's possessed body. "Stop it!" I whispered fiercely, trying to push his hand away. "Someone is going to walk in!" Julian's silver hair caught the dim light as he leaned closer, his fingers sliding from my chin to trace the hot collarbone where the crest lay hidden. His touch sent a sharp, electric shiver straight down my spine. 'So soft,' the dragon murmured through Julian's lips, his gaze dropping to my mouth. 'And so deliciously fragile.' My hands pressed against his chest, feeling the steady, calm heartbeat of my classmate, completely hijacked by the ancient entity. 'Please, Aurelius,' I whispered, my voice cracking. 'If the headmaster finds us like this, he'll lock me in the deepest dungeon.' Julian's possessed face softened into a look of mock pity. 'Let them try,' he whispered back, his breath warm against my neck. 'I would tear this castle apart brick by brick before I let them touch what is mine.' Julian—or rather, Aurelius—only grinned, his thumb stroking my lower lip. "Let them," he purred. "They will only see a concerned classmate helping the poor, defenseless zero-tier student." "But you and I will know the truth." He winked, a gesture so utterly uncharacteristic of the arrogant Julian that I almost snorted. Loud voices outside grew closer, keycards clicking against the heavy lock of the reinforced doors. "Get out of him!" I pleaded, my heart hammering against my ribs. "I have to pretend to take my magic lesson, or they'll know something is wrong!" Aurelius laughed through Julian's lips, a sound of pure delight. "Very well, my darling," he said, stepping back. "I shall let you play your little academy games for now." With a soft sigh, Julian's eyes closed, and his body slumped back onto the stone floor, unconscious once more. Aurelius's main, semi-humanoid body stood before me again, towering and magnificent. As the crest settles, Aurelius whispers, 'Our souls are one, Isaac. But to keep our bond secret, I shall wear the skins of those around you,' right before his physical body dissolves into a shower of shimmering gold dust.

Chapter 2: The Golden Dragon's Terms