The ground split.
From beneath the shattered soil, a colossal shadow tore its way into the moonlight. Megalania emerged, its body shimmering with molten lines that pulsed like veins of lava. Steam rolled off its obsidian-black scales, each spike along its spine glowing faintly as though forged in a furnace.
The sisters inside the carriage froze, their hands clutching each other as the beast raised its head and released a low, rumbling hiss that rattled their bones.
"T-titan…" whispered the younger sister, her eyes wide.
The assassins who survived the slaughter dropped their weapons, terror-stricken. "W-what kind of monster is that!?"
Kael stood still in the center of the battlefield, mask gleaming crimson. His presence was already overwhelming—but now, with the titan lizard towering behind him, he looked like a nightmare given flesh.
Megalania's chest swelled. Heat distorted the air around it, pulling ambient mana like a vortex. The spines along its back lit up one by one, glowing brighter with each second until the night itself seemed to bend around the radiance.
The leader hiding behind the boulder felt his blood run cold. "N-no…" He scrambled to move, but something clamped down on his ankles.
Shadows.
They rose from the earth like living chains, binding his legs, locking him in place. He thrashed, panic surging, but they refused to yield.
And then he saw it—the masked figure watching him, crimson eyes burning. He could feel the smirk beneath that mask, as though death itself were mocking him.
Desperation clawed at him. With trembling hands, he triggered the communication rune hidden in his gauntlet. His voice cracked as he sent his final message:
"Encountered… masked monster. Controls shadows. Titan-class beast at his side…!!"
The rune flared—message sent.
Far away, in the royal city, Arlen and the prince received it.
Arlen's heart stopped, eyes widening as he read the words. "Titan-class… beast?"
The prince's hands shook, crushing the goblet in his grip. Wine spilled like blood across his lapel. "Impossible…! There shouldn't be one alive in this region!"
But their disbelief was nothing compared to what came next.
Megalania's maw opened wide. The air screamed as condensed mana ignited within its throat, swirling into a molten-white orb. Spines along its back shone like miniature suns, drawing every last drop of power from the air.
And then it unleashed it.
A beam of pure destruction tore through the night—white-hot plasma wrapped in spiraling flames. It slammed into the boulder with apocalyptic force, erasing stone, soil, and the screaming leader in an instant. The earth melted into glowing glass, shockwaves ripping through the forest.
The sky itself seemed to split.
The sisters shielded their faces from the searing light, their carriage rattling as the very ground quaked. When they dared look again, the land where the boulder had stood was gone. Nothing remained—only a smoldering scar that stretched endlessly forward.
But what stunned them most was not the devastation nearby.
It was the fact that the beam didn't stop.
The Plasma Breath cut across the horizon, a streak of incandescent annihilation that pierced the night sky.
And far away, in Greyspire, people screamed and stumbled out of their homes as the heavens lit up. A line of fire blazed across the distance, so bright it looked like dawn had broken in an instant.
"By the gods…" a noble whispered from his balcony. "What… what is that…?"
Citizens filled the streets, their faces painted in horror and awe as they pointed skyward. Murmurs became panic, and panic became chaos.
Back on the battlefield, the titan lizard released a guttural roar that shook the trees to their roots.
Kael's voice, cold and quiet beneath his mask, whispered into the night:
"Plasma Breath."
And the world would remember that name.
The battlefield was silent. Only the faint hiss of scorched earth and the smell of molten stone lingered in the air.
Kael stepped forward, boots crunching against the half-melted ground. Behind him, Megalania raised its head one last time, releasing a deep rumble before vanishing in a surge of shadow-light—teleported back into the Dungeon.
Within those depths, the titan lizard reappeared before the little girl. But no longer was it the towering twelve-human-long beast of fire and fury. Its body shimmered, contracting in size until it stood no taller than a massive wolf. It bounded toward her like a loyal pet, scales glowing faintly as it nuzzled against her small hand.
The girl giggled, wiping away tears she hadn't realized she shed. By her side, the Water Dragon—newly awakened—watched with serene eyes. The egg pulsed again at her touch, warmth radiating in rhythm with her heartbeat.
But outside, Kael still had a role to play.
The masked figure moved with unsettling calm, stepping to the assassins' charred remains. With a gesture, shadows writhed, and a cold necrotic light spread over the battlefield. Flesh and bone knit back together, and the assassins—once dead—rose again.
Their leader's corpse twitched, missing all but a single finger, yet his spirit was bound, kneeling before the mask.
Kael's voice was steady, low. "You have failed in life. But in death, you will serve. My shadows will hold you until I see fit to release you."
And with another wave, they collapsed into darkness, dismissed into the eternal prison of his shadow-army.
Only then did Kael turn toward the carriage. The two sisters had yet to recover, their eyes still locked on him as if he were some myth born of blood and flame.
Without a word, he opened the door and stepped inside, taking a seat opposite them. His mask glowed faintly, an unsettling crimson reflection flickering in their frightened eyes.
"Who… are you?" the younger sister finally whispered, voice trembling.
Kael leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "That is not important. What matters," he said, voice carrying a calm yet commanding weight, "is choice."
He lifted a hand, and in the palm of his glove, an obsidian flame burned softly. "I offer you this: support my friend's trade company. In return, I will support you in the throne fight to come."
The older sister's eyes narrowed. "You… speak of crowns and succession as though you have the power to influence it."
Kael tilted his head slightly. "Did you not see the truth with your own eyes? Influence is not something I lack."
Silence filled the carriage. The younger sister pressed her lips together, mind racing. Finally, she asked the question gnawing at her heart. "Will you come with us… to Greyspire?"
Kael leaned back, shadows curling faintly at the edges of his cloak. "As a guest. Nothing more."
The older sister's gaze sharpened, studying him with the shrewdness of someone raised among vipers. "And when we arrive?"
"Then you will give me your answer," Kael replied. "Support… or silence."
The mask hid his face, but they felt his eyes pierce them regardless. The carriage jolted forward, resuming its path to Greyspire, carrying with it two royal sisters who now knew the world was far more dangerous than they'd ever believed—sitting across from the masked figure who had just rewritten the balance of power.