The Void Dragon's golden collar was the Crown's central conduit.
Leon could weaken it, but removing it completely would sever the family contract. The Li family would lose its claim to the beast, and Leon would lose his inheritance, his licence and his place in the Guild.
His own history was held in that golden ring as well. His first flight on the dragon. The tournament where his father had shaken his hand for the first time. The day Leon received the family signet ring and believed he had earned not only power but respect.
Removing the collar would not erase those memories. It would make them harder to bear. Every happy scene turned out to be bound to a mechanism that had caused the beast pain.
Leon did not try to declare his entire past a lie. He ran his fingers over the gold and quietly thanked the dragon for the years he had spent beside him against his will.
The dragon merely stopped turning his head away.
Kane contacted his son directly.
"You can still put this right. Return the dragon to the circuit, and I'll announce that Rex controlled you with a parasite."
Leon looked out over the city. In the square, his family name stood on every seal holding people captive.
"Do you really think I can do nothing without your name?"
"I know it."
Once, those words would have driven Leon to prove his strength to his father. Now he turned to the dragon.
"If I remove the collar, our bond may disappear. You're free to leave."
The beast lowered its head.
Leon inserted the signet ring into the lock and turned it against the mechanism. The golden ring opened. The Crown's white line broke.
The dragon spread his injured wings. He could have flown beyond the city and never returned.
Instead, he took his place beside Leon.
The Crown's void channel lost its conduit. The third pulse on the tower roof became unstable.
Kane channelled all the remaining energy into the Chain Basilisk.
The white beast rose above the square, and its golden rings covered several streets.
One closed around me.
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