Chapter One Hundred and Forty-Eight
As Zephyra leapt forward to engage the Eternal Shardborne, the ground beneath them cracked—then shattered.
A dark-red light poured from a rift in the sky. The temperature dropped. Gravity folded in on itself.
Then… a massive claw emerged.
Xar'Zenth, the Primordial Dragon of Space, Time, and Reality, uncoiled from a dimensional tear overhead. Its wings stretched wide, eclipsing the battlefield in shadow and starlight.
Liana blinked. "Wait—he's serious?"
Sylvanna sighed, stepping back with crossed arms. "He always is when he doesn't want to waste time."
The Eternal Shardborne barely stirred before Xar'Zenth's third eye opened.
Time froze.
Reality twisted.
Space shattered.
A single flick of Xar'Zenth's tail created a ripple of sheer annihilation. It passed through the Shardborne like a whisper.
CRITICAL HIT
Eternal Shardborne has been erased from existence.
No death animation. No final cry. The being simply vanished—as though it had never existed.
MISSION COMPLETE
You have cleared the Temporal Rift.
Reward: ???
Crow, arms folded, nodded once.
"Good dragon."
Xar'Zenth yawned—a minor gravitational collapse following in its wake—and curled back up into the dimensional rift, satisfied.
Zephyra stood in stunned silence. "...Remind me not to challenge that one."
Liana smirked. "You're learning."
Sylvanna muttered something about "stealing all the fun," but no one dared challenge Crow's decision.
Especially not when it worked flawlessly.