Alister slowly stepped forward, each movement making the earth groan beneath his massive weight. The rain hissed against his golden-scaled hide, steam rising in thin coils where droplets met the heat radiating from him.
Eli'Erel's gaze remained fixed on him, unflinching. Her wings shifted once, obsidian feathers catching the stormlight as she lifted herself higher in the air.
"No matter what you think will happen here today," she said, her voice sharp enough to cut through the thunder, "in the end, it will not turn out as you hope."
A low growl rolled from Alister's chest, not of anger, but of something heavier—certainty. His golden eyes glimmered like twin suns through the storm, unblinking, unyielding.
"We will see."
Spears of pure light materialized around him, each edge flickering like molten glass.
