The capital gates opened slowly.

  Heavy wooden doors pulled apart by chains and iron wheels.

  The sound echoed across the stone road.

  Karnan rode beside the knight captain as they entered the city.

  The streets were already crowded.

  Word had spread faster than he expected.

  People filled both sides of the road.

  Merchants.

  Farmers.

  Soldiers.

  Children standing on crates just to see better.

  As the knights passed through the gate, someone shouted:

  "The Dragon Bearer has returned!"

  The crowd reacted instantly.

  Cheers erupted across the street.

  People clapped.

  Some raised banners with the royal crest.

  Others simply stared in amazement.

  Karnan felt every pair of eyes turn toward him.

  The sound grew louder.

  "Karnan!"

  "Radiant Warrior!"

  "Dragon Knight!"

  They were chanting.

  His name.

  Over and over.

  The knights around him seemed proud.

  Several of them smiled.

  One even raised his sword toward the sky.

  But Karnan felt something different.

  Something unfamiliar.

  Applause.

  It was the first time in his life he had heard something like this.

  He looked at the crowd again.

  People were smiling.

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  Excited.

  Inspired.

  To them, he was a hero already.

  And he had only been in this world for a few days.

  The captain leaned slightly toward him.

  "You saved that caravan."

  "And you drove off the raiders."

  "People talk."

  Karnan nodded quietly.

  But his thoughts were far away.

  Because another memory suddenly appeared in his mind.

  A very different scene.

  The college cafeteria.

  Plastic chairs.

  Bright fluorescent lights.

  Students laughing loudly around crowded tables.

  Groups discussing assignments.

  Others watching videos together.

  He remembered sitting alone near the window.

  A steel tray in front of him.

  Rice.

  Sambar.

  Nothing special.

  No one had called his name.

  No one had noticed when he arrived.

  Or when he left.

  Conversations continued around him as if he were invisible.

  He remembered hearing someone say behind him:

  "That guy is always alone."

  "Probably playing games all night."

  "Addicted."

  The words hadn't hurt much at the time.

  He had gotten used to it.

  Being quiet.

  Being unnoticed.

  Being average.

  Now the world around him was the complete opposite.

  Hundreds of voices shouting his name.

  Children pointing excitedly.

  People bowing slightly as he passed.

  The contrast felt unreal.

  He wondered if this was what fame felt like.

  Or maybe—

  This wasn't fame.

  This was expectation.

  A hero.

  A protector.

  A symbol.

  The crowd didn't know him.

  They only knew the story.

  Dragon Bearer.

  Radiant Flame.

  Chosen warrior.

  None of them knew about the college student who used to sit alone at lunch.

  None of them knew about the quiet apartment with one wooden chair.

  None of them knew about the nights spent leading raids under the name SolarFlare.

  To them—

  He was something else entirely.

  As they rode deeper into the city, the cheering grew louder.

  A group of young boys ran alongside the knights.

  "Show the fire!"

  "Dragon power!"

  One of them tried to imitate a flame with his hands.

  The knights laughed.

  Karnan forced a small smile.

  But inside—

  Something felt strange.

  Heavy.

  Because he understood something these people didn't.

  The flame he released earlier wasn't comfortable.

  It wasn't natural.

  It felt like borrowing power from something ancient.

  Something that didn't fully belong to him.

  Radiant Sync flickered briefly in his vision.

  Radiant Sync: 6%

  Still unstable.

  Still incomplete.

  He wondered what would happen when it rose higher.

  Would he still be himself?

  Or would something else take control?

  The dragon voice hadn't spoken again.

  But its presence remained faint.

  Like a distant echo in his mind.

  They reached the central plaza.

  The royal castle stood above the city.

  Tall towers casting long shadows across the streets.

  Guards cleared the path as the knights approached the palace gates.

  But the crowd outside continued cheering.

  "Karnan!"

  "Radiant Warrior!"

  "Protector of Valtheris!"

  The words sounded powerful.

  But also distant.

  Because the people chanting them didn't know the real person behind the title.

  Karnan looked at the crowd one last time before entering the castle.

  Hundreds of faces.

  All smiling.

  All hopeful.

  All believing something about him.

  And that made one question rise in his mind.

  A simple question.

  But heavy.

  Do they see me?

  Or the power?

  The palace gates closed behind them.

  The cheering faded slowly outside.

  Inside the courtyard, things were quiet again.

  Just soldiers.

  Stone walls.

  And the distant sound of the wind.

  The captain dismounted his horse.

  "You should rest," he said.

  "The king will want to see you soon."

  Karnan stepped down from his horse.

  His legs felt slightly tired now.

  Not from battle.

  From attention.

  From expectation.

  From the weight of a role he never asked for.

  He walked toward the palace entrance slowly.

  Each step echoing on the stone floor.

  Above him, the castle towers reached toward the sky.

  And somewhere beyond those towers—

  Something ancient continued watching.

  Waiting.

  For the Radiant Core to grow stronger.

  And for the moment when Karnan would no longer be just a man.

  But something else entirely.