The Lord of the Seas - An Isekai Progression Fantasy [ Currently on Volume 2 ]

The silence of the Underworld was thick, broken only by the echo of distant water dripping into nothingness. Before him stood Lukas Drakos. Before him stood the body he now wore.Before him stood the man whose name he now carried.

It was Lukas Drakos, the original. The true heir to the Drakos Throne. The one whose life he had—whether by fate or force—replaced.

Julien's knees buckled. Hands buried in the ashen dust of the realm between life and death, he finally let go. The dam cracked. And everything poured out.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." What was he sorry for?

He was sorry for taking the life that should have been his, the life that he had fought for so desperately growing up and the life that he had literally torn his body apart in that cave to achieve. When the body of Lukas Drakos finally awoke from its centuries-long slumber, it was the soul of Julien Fronterra who seemed to awaken from it. But he didn't know how to put all that he was sorry for into words.

How could he? How could words explain the guilt he had been holding onto the moment he felt Lukas' mother embrace him, thinking that her son had finally returned to her? How could words explain the shame of knowing that Rodan had given up his life for him, sacrificed his life for him to escape and he had failed, how could they even possibly begin to explain it all?

Lukas stepped forward slowly. His form shimmered faintly, like a memory clinging to reality. His face bore none of the resentment Julien feared—only calm, deep eyes filled with something worse: understanding.

"There is no need for guilt my friend," Lukas replied softly, kneeling beside him. "You must understand that…in this timeline….I would never have woken up. Truly. My soul had already begun to fade into the void. If not for you, the bloodline would've ended there. If not for your patron, Linemall would've lost the Seas forever."

But Julien shook his head violently, finding no comfort in Lukas' words. "That's not enough, it's not enough to explain what I've done. What I didn't do!" he choked out. "You say that as if it makes it right. But I don't know anything, Lukas. Nothing about this world. Nothing about your people. I can barely keep my own emotions in check, let alone rule anything."

Julien's breath hitched. He lifted his head to meet Lukas' gaze, eyes glassy with unshed tears. "Rodan is dead. He died because of me. I hesitated. I let my emotions take over. I let my grief cloud the fight. If I had been faster—smarter—maybe he'd still be alive. Maybe if I'd just trained harder…we'd have been able to get the upper hand on him."

He didn't even want to begin to get into the fact that the Hero was his father. That was a reality that he was not ready to comprehend. He dragged his hands down his face, leaving streaks of dust on his skin. "Everyone who deserved to sit on that throne has either died protecting it… or died protecting me. And for what? I'm not a dragon. I'm not even from this world. I'm just—"

His voice cracked, the last word barely a whisper.

"I'm just Julien Fronterra. I'm just a man. I'm no dragon. I'm not you, Lukas. And I don't think I can ever be you."

Julien remained in silence, still kneeling in the dust of the Underworld. But as Lukas turned back to him one last time, there was something new in his face—a warmth that reached beyond understanding. A smile. The warmest one he'd seen in a damn long time.

"You say you've done nothing," Lukas laughed, choosing to sit beside him now, putting a hand on his shoulder. "But I have been watching you since the moment you opened your eyes and began this new life of yours. Let me tell you what I've seen."

Julien looked up, eyes heavy with grief, but the storm within him stilled for a moment. He wanted to say something but Lukas stopped him, gesturing for him to listen.

"You walked among my people, not as their ruler, but as their equal. You didn't take the throne, you were not greedy for power like the rest of the dragonborn. You walked among the dragon kind, seeing yourself…as an equal. You gave them hope, Julien."

Lukas' voice grew stronger with each word, echoing across the Underworld like the drums of memory. Julien recalled the past few months of his time on Hiraeth, the first time he witnessed the sight of the Seas; the first time he'd realized he lived in a world filled with magic and dragons. It was a memory that he would never forget.

He turned, meeting Julien's eyes.

"Any lesser man would have run. To begin a new life in such a new world, so different from the one you came from…it's a surprise you stuck around, especially with the pressure of being a part of the Royal Drakos Bloodline. But you did. And you did more than that. You defeated the Kraken—a monster who would have ended up controlling the Seas, drunk on power that he'd never had before. Even then, you honored him when no one else would. He became your familiar. And…you gave him peace."

Julien's breath caught. The Kraken. He had saved him when the Hero ambushed them. It had just been moments ago but it felt like years had passed since his sacrificial act which had torn him into two.

"You guided Jesse Sterling when he was lost, a gifted child who can be…too smart for his own good. You taught him not to be afraid of his talent. You gave him the confidence to rise as a dragonborn, and one day, he'll rise further than any of us can imagine."

Lukas took a deep breath, then lowered his gaze.

"You gave my niece, Katrina and even Lady Kaitlyn hope. You gave them comfort in knowing that the Seas would be in good hands. And I know. You may say that you don't think you are, for some reason, worthy enough to sit on the throne and to that I say, you are terribly mistaken."

Julien frowned. "What?"

"Julien, I've seen what would've happened if things had gone differently—if I had awoken in my own body. I have seen a world in which I never died. A world in which I returned."

His tone grew somber. Almost…hollow. Lukas paused before continuing.

"I became a tyrant. So insecure, wanting more and more power. And it cost me everything. I drove Linemall to a bitter end."

The air around them grew still. Even the shadows of the Underworld seemed to listen.

"I let my desire for power consume me. I thought ruling meant control. That strength meant fear. I pushed harder and harder, thinking I was protecting Linemall. But all I did...was destroy it."

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Julien's mouth opened slightly in disbelief.

"Linemall turned to ash. And the dragons with it." His voice trembled — not with weakness, but with the weight of truth. This was not a prediction on what he thought would happen. This was certainty. He had seen it with his own eyes. "You were never a mistake, Julien. You are the answer. You've already done more than was ever asked of you. And now, I ask only this—trust yourself. Trust that your heart, your choices, your mercy, are exactly what Linemall needs."

Julien stared at him, the dam inside him beginning to crack—not from guilt this time, but from something deeper. Something purer. He sat still, unmoving, eyes locked with the man who once bore the name that now belonged to him. He swallowed.

Then asked, almost in a whisper, "If you say you have seen what the future could have been...then do you know what will happen to me?"

Lukas tilted his head, a low chuckle escaping his lips—a sound like rolling waves brushing an untouched shore. "I do," he said, his smile wry and eyes gleaming with secrets.

Julien leaned forward, hope flickering in his chest. "Then tell me."

But Lukas only shook his head, laughing again—this time, full of mirth, full of life. "No," he said. "I'm afraid I have sworn an oath to your patron. I can tell you no more."

Julien blinked. "What?"

His patron? He was talking about the Man in Green wasn't he? The god who made all of this possible, it was his divine intervention which allowed him to occupy Lukas' body in the first place. Just who was this god?

Lukas' smile widened. "Fate is fragile, Julien."

"But—"

Lukas raised a hand gently, still smiling, but now his voice took on a weight Julien hadn't heard before. The weight of finality. "You just need to know this: you are more than enough. More than worthy. You were chosen not because the world demanded it…but because the world of Hiraeth needed you. And it needs you now more than ever. More than you know."

He stepped back, that strange light from beyond the gate catching his outline. He seemed brighter now—more memory than man.

"From this day forth, you are no longer Julien Fronterra."

Julien stiffened.

"You are no longer human. No longer bound by that life's regrets, pain, or shame."

He reached out, and with a final touch to Julien's chest—over the heart— Lukas said softly:

"You are reborn."

And then, the soul of Lukas Drakos began to fade. Piece by piece. The wind that should not have existed in the Underworld stirred and Lukas' form scattered like stardust caught in the tide. But as he disappeared, his smile remained—the same smile he had when he first saw Julien here. One of understanding. One of trust in knowing who would carry on his name. His legacy. Julien wanted to call out—to beg for one more moment, he had so many more questions he wanted to ask—but something held him back.

Because he felt it. Not just within his mind—but in his soul. A warmth, ancient and endless, surged through him. Not foreign. Familiar. Memories flooded in, not like a violent torrent, but like waves brushing gently against a sleeping shore. The scent of salt in the wind. The laughter of his mother, Selene of Dawn as they swam in the oceans of Linemall. The roar of the sea in his blood. The first time he soared through storm clouds as a hatchling.

His memories. Lukas' memories. They were his now. He looked down at his hands: scaled now, cobalt and shimmering like moonlight on water. Clawed. Powerful. He felt the hum of magic in his breath, the weight of lineage in his blood. He saw his reflection in the water pooled beneath his feet, in its full draconic form.

Not Julien Fronterra. Not the broken boy from another world. But Lukas Drakos—the true Lord of the Seas. Child of Linemall. Heir of the Drakos Family. He was a dragon. A great wind blew through the Underworld, scattering the last remnants of the old Lukas into the void. But they didn't disappear. They merged—spiraling into Julien's form, becoming one whole soul at last. There was no more guilt. No more doubt.

Julien Fronterra was gone. And in his place stood a dragon reborn—not by blood, but by choice, by destiny, by the will of those who believed in him.

He stood tall. Wings unfurled. Eyes glowing with purpose.

"I am Lukas Drakos," he declared to the void, to the memory of a man who once carried the name. And this time he meant it.

A slow clap echoed through the stillness. Lukas turned, breath catching in his throat. It was the very same woman who had first led him here, the one whose caramel skin glowed like polished amber under the strange underworld light. Her long dark hair tumbled over her shoulders, and her golden eyes gleamed with the same familiar teasing amusement.

"That was…something." she remarked, arms crossed, hip cocked with lazy confidence. There was something infuriating about her—graceful, timeless, but never reverent. She wasn't impressed by him. She didn't even seem curious.

"You've been watching this whole time." Lukas bristled. "Are you mocking me?"

She arched her brow. "Mocking you, the great Lukas Drakos? I wouldn't dare."

Lukas couldn't help…but laugh. And she let out a laugh of her own in response but this time her laugh was gentler, recognizing that Lukas had a decent sense of humor before she gestured with one hand.

Two gates unfolded behind her—one of gold and warmth, the other of black stone and deep, shifting silver.

"You have a choice to make now, Lukas. What you do next will be up to you and you alone."

She walked toward the first gate, her fingers trailing against its surface.

"This one leads you back. Simple. Cutting your visit to Tartarus short. I send you back to the living world and you continue on your journey."

Then she turned and walked to the obsidian gate, her golden eyes glinting now.

"And this one?" she grinned, tapping her knuckles against it. "This is something your patron has prepared for you. You will enter Kairos Castle. And there you will face trials that will prepare you for what is to come. But I am telling you now…the pain you will experience in those trials will be different from everything you've faced thus far. Trust me."

She stepped back and crossed her arms, looking him up and down; as if daring him to give her an answer. Lukas stared at the two gates. But he'd already made up his mind the moment she walked to the second. Even she knew that, she could see it in his eyes.

"Then I choose the second."

"Very well, then Lukas Drakos. I welcome you, now the rightful Lord of the Seas, to Kairos Castle where you will be tested in ways you have never before."