★7§4.20
VERA'S POV
Meanwhile, Vera and Zar have infiltrated the city and have successfully found the prisoners.
'That boy, what the hell was he thinking?'
As we moved deeper into the city, the ground trembled beneath our feet, the aftershock of the distant blast rolling through Pyrral like a delayed heartbeat.
'What's happening?'
"An explosion to the south."
Zar said, pointing toward a rising mass of writhing darkness staining the horizon.
"An explosion?"
A nearby guard echoed.
"Yes. A massive surge of darkness is consuming the southern sector!"
Another voice cut through the chaos.
"The Marquis has ordered all units to the south! You three, remain here and guard the prisoners!"
"Understood!"
Most of the Void Dragons present launched into the air or rushed down the streets, converging toward the disturbance.
The area thinned quickly, leaving only few soldiers. Zar glanced at me, lowering his voice.
"I think this is our best chance."
'Is this what he meant by 'utilise my signal'? That sneaky Star. To be able to plan something like this.'
"Yeah. Let's go."
The two of us moved fast, the guards dropped before they could even process what was happening. Chains shattered as we freed all the prisoners held captive. All of them were Dragons, perhaps soldiers caught in Howling Wastes.
"Where's the Gate, Zar? We need to find it and wait for Nyxon."
He hesitated for a breath, then nodded.
"This way."
"Follow him. I'll cover the rear."
I said, the prisoners following Zar one after the other.
The fifteen former prisoners trailed behind Zar while I stayed back long enough to ensure no one was left restrained or too injured to move. Once satisfied, I followed.
Zar navigated confidently, weaving through dense forest terrain as distant shockwaves continued to rumble through Pyrral. Smoke and darkness still stained the southern sky.
Within minutes, we slowed.
"Where's the Gate?"
Someone asked.
We were still in the forest but there was no visible structure or any hint of a Gate.
Zar stopped.
"It's close."
He said quietly.
"But crossing into the Howling Wastes right now isn't ideal."
"It's our way home."
One of the Dragons snapped.
"We'll take the risk."
"Yes."
Another agreed. Murmurs spread through the group impatience, fear, desperation blending together. The Howling Wastes were dangerous, but remaining here while the city mobilized was worse.
'Based on the information, Parvak was empty. The Void Dragons have recently been scouting the Realm, so it might be our best shot. But still, we can't go without Nyxon. Where the hell is he?'
"What are we waiting for?"
The complaints stacked over one another.
"I'm waiting for the one who made your escape possible."
I said.
"It's better if we leave with him."
"Well, give him my thanks."
A dragon scoffed.
"But I'm not waiting. This is a narrow window. If we move now, we can use the Gate before they regroup."
"Xan is right."
Another added.
"With our numbers, we can secure the Gate and cross into Parvak."
Murmurs spread again, fear dressed as logic.
'I seriously doubt we can make it past a Caraxis Family Void Dragon far worse and deadlier than Obsidian Wyrm.'
Zar glanced at me.
"What should we do?"
"I'll look for Nyxon. Stay here."
"With the others, indeed."
Xan said flatly.
"We'll see you on the other side."
Nine dragons, including him, launched into the air and disappeared toward the Gate's hidden direction. I didn't try to stop them. If they made it safely, good. If not… that was their choice.
"Why didn't you follow?"
I asked the remaining five.
A female dragon answered, steady despite the tension. "We want to. But we won't abandon the one who saved us. We'll wait."
The others nodded in response. I studied them for a moment, then gave a short nod in return.
"Stay with Zar. Don't move unless you must."
"And you?"
"I'll go drag him out."
I turned and headed toward the city, the tremors still rolling faintly beneath my feet.
NYXON'S POV:)
Lady Silverhair remained seated over me, her lavender eyes glowing faintly, focused, as if watching events unfold far beyond the chamber walls.
Then she smiled, the glow fading slowly. She looked down at me, a wry curve tugging at her lips.
"Velros will handle it."
'I'm cornered.'
She leaned in and kissed me.
My eyes stayed fixed on the ceiling. I didn't respond, nor did I resist. My mind had already detached from the moment, running through variables and exits. The explosion bought time, but not enough. Velros moving personally meant the situation had escalated beyond distraction.
Essen was still active, the explosive particles remained in circulation.
I mapped the palace in silence, calculating the strain of tearing through layered wards while she was this close. An uncalculated shift would alert every ancient presence in Pyrral. A forced trigger will collapse the chamber instead.
As must as these villainous acts fits Nyxon, I'll chose Antares's personality and wait. Her proximity was meant to unsettle, to dominate. I just needed an opening.
"No hiding."
She murmured.
"What otherworldly eye are you concealing?"
Her fingers moved toward the eyepatch.
In that fraction of a second, the path revealed itself.
'I can use that.'
The moment the eyepatch lifted,
"Aphanon."
Enta whispered.
A flash erupted. It wasn't fire or lightning, but a pure and absolute radiance. A single blink of light that split the chamber apart in silence. It vanished as instantly as it came, leaving afterimages burned into space itself.
Lady Silverhair collapsed forward. As her body fell, I triggered Aether Move, displacing myself a breath before impact and reappearing several paces away.
"Is she dead?"
I asked. Not that I care but if she is, Nyxon killed the queen. And that makes me a wanted man. A mouth split open along my chin, stretching into a crooked grin.
"The paradoxical light overwhelmed her senses, drowning her in silence, blindness, and numbness so that only emptiness remained. For now, she was no longer with us. The food is fresh, hot and ready to be eaten."
I shove an orb of light into his mouth, shutting him down.
"Shut up."
I made my way out.
Mid-stride, I snapped my fingers. The cloak slid over my shoulders as if alive, wrapping around me in darkness. A portal rifted open mid-walk, swirling with dark energy.
Without pause, I let the cloak settle, and in one fluid motion, I stepped into the portal. Every movement carried weight, inevitability, and quiet menace the shadows themselves seemed to obey.
(Eren style. I love that move.)
Ignoring the violent signatures tearing through the city, I searched for something familiar. Surprisingly, it was Vera. Her presence was close. Which had me thinking, what's she doing in the city?
I stepped through space and appeared behind her, resting a hand lightly on her shoulder. She flinched, turning sharply, then exhaled in relief when she saw me.
"What are you doing here?"
I asked.
In the distance, a monstrous signature was radiating. Equal in magnitude to Obsidian Wyrm… but far more feral.bA Void Dragon had transformed. Though it was a serious situation, I ignored it.
"I came looking for you."
She said.
"So you wasted the opening?"
"No. Zar is with the prisoners. We didn't want to leave without you."
"You should have. I can find you anytime."
I glanced toward the forest's edge.
"Let's go."
She nodded and led the way back to where she had left them. In no time, we arrived but no one was there. Neither Zar nor the prisoners were here.
"Where did they go?"
She asked.
I extended my senses, searching. Without Etherium of course.
"There."
I said quietly, detecting multiple signatures, on the other side.
Her expression tightened.
"Don't tell me they left."
"They did."
The transformed dragon's presence surged again behind us, closer now. What's odd was, it diminished as it approached us.
"Let's move."
We launched forward, cutting through the forest toward the Gate's direction.
"Seven of them couldn't wait and headed for the Gate. I doubt the others followed them."
"Why?"
"They said they couldn't leave without you."
'Oh really? I saved them, but they must've felt something that made them stay. What did they fell?'
I asked myself, a question without an answer.
As we drew closer, I masked our presence and slowed, studying the scene ahead instead of rushing in blindly. Several Void Dragons had intercepted a group of prisoners, forcing them to their knees while two remained in full draconic form, their scales and horn structure marking them as members of the Caraxis Family.
Zar was nowhere among them.
I exhaled slowly, irritation sharpening my focus. If he had abandoned them, or worse, betrayed them, I would deal with him personally.
"These are the Dragons who left. One of them is called Xan. He's the one who made the call and the others followed."
'Still, where are the others?'
At the question, I recognized the signature before I saw him. The Marquis, Thyros, stepped into view, composed as ever.
"What do we have here?"
He asked.
"I caught their scent and followed it."
One of the Caraxis dragons replied.
"It seems they used the explosion to attempt an escape."
"Apparently."
The Marquis said, giving a slight shake of his head.
More signatures descended, Void Dragons in humanoid form, tension etched into their faces.
"The city is in ruins."
"The prisoners..."
They spoke in unison, uncoordinated.
Thyros lifted a hand, drawing silence.
"One at a time. You, speak."
"The majority of us left the city under your orders. When we returned…"
The dragon hesitated.
"It was a slaughterhouse. Limbs scattered everywhere."
"Scattered?"
The Marquis pressed.
"Not a single body intact?"
He asked, a bit too specific as if only one thing could leave such trace.
"Yes. And some were killed in their draconic forms."
A murmur rippled through the gathered dragons.
"That's impossible."
"No."
Another said, voice tightening. "It isn't."
"That thing is here."
Fear crept into their expressions. Whatever they believed had arrived was not an enemy they expected to fight… but one they hoped never to see again.
'That 'thing'? Are they talking about the rampaging signature I felt back there?'
One by one the Void Dragons were complaining. Thyros simply raised his hand commanding silence, yet again.
"What about you?"
"Same story. But on our end, someone knocked down the guards. When they woke up, the prisoners were gone."
"So they didn't escape on their own."
The Marquis noted.
"Yes. They were positive that someone ambushed them from behind."
"How weird. They got rusty in no time."
"Apologies. I told the younglings to stay on guard before responding to your call. This is entirely my fault."
He lowered his head apologetically.
"Don't worry..."
"Word from the queen."
A new Void Dragon hastly appeared to the scene.
"What's she saying?"
"The outsider, Nyxon, has escaped. 'Find him and bring him to me immediately'."
The Silverwing Dragon answered.
"You were with the Queen?"
Vera asked.
"Yeah. But don't ask what happened."
I replied, eyes fixed ahead.
"I didn't intend to."
"Things just keep getting interesting."
Thyros gave a malicious grin.
"Seven? There were fifteen prisoners. Where are the remaining six?"
One of the guards asked.
"Don't ask me."
The other replied.
"These are the ones we caught heading towards the Gate."
"The others must be hidden out there."
The two Caraxis Void Dragons replied, the latter raised his long neck, glancing around.
I deliberately rustled the leaves. He turned, glancing toward the sound. Vera froze, her breath shallow and quiet. Afraid any sudden move now, and we'd give ourselves away. I locked eyes with the beast, but he's not sharp enough to pick up our presence but his eyes are with us. Anything without magical signature isn't alive, so it moved on.
"What should we do with prisoners?"
"We'll take them back."
"And do what, exactly?"
Thyros asked, voice steady but edged.
"Keep them in cages for how long? If they were useful for labor, that would be different. But they're not. We're wasting capable younglings guarding liabilities."
"But the queen..."
"This is a military matter."
The Marquis cut in.
"The Vaermithorh Family oversees these posts. Return to your station."
His gaze shifted to the second Caraxis dragon.
"You will execute them. One by one. Those of you who came from the city, return immediately. The rest will secure the perimeter and ensure there is no interference."
"Roger that."
They answered in unison.
The second Caraxis dragon stepped forward, black flames gathering in his mouth before spilling outward. The fire clung and consumed without haste. One prisoner after another fell beneath it, nothing but black ashes remained.
The Marquis watched long enough to confirm compliance, gave a single nod, then took off in another direction.
The clearing grew quieter, save for the low crackle of voidfire.
Vera's voice came low beside me. "What now?"
I kept my gaze forward, calculating distance, numbers, timing. Intervening now meant direct confrontation with multiple Void Dragons while one of their higher authorities was still within range. Waiting meant more deaths.
"Interrupting the execution will only draw attention. We have to find..."
I picked up a few signatures approaching us from behind and one of them was recognisable. Without wasting time, I drew a blade and headed for that bastard. I knocked him down first, before raising my sword.
"Where were you?"
I asked, ignoring the six dragons behind him.
"We noticed the dragons were heading to the Gate so we went back to hide in the forest."
Zar replied with that innocent face of his.
'Are you sensing that?'
'Sensing what?'
'Never mind.'
"Hold on, Nyxon."
Vera finally caught up to us.
"I told you, I left the others in his care. They have the right to run, don't they?"
I called off the sword and stepped back.
"We're exposed here."
"We found a cave back there. We can stay there for the time being."
'For a fugitive, this bastard knows a lot.'
"Sure. Lead the way, Zar."
They left and I was left to ponder what that was.
To be continued...